Challenges

 

Every action your character performs in Mythmaster can ultimately be resolved by rolling a Challenge. A Challenge is simply a roll of the dice that determines if a character succeeds or fails in their attempt to perform an action. There are two basic kinds of Challenges, called 21 Challenges and Versus Challenges.

The 21 Challenge (aka, 21C)

When a character attempts to perform a simple action where there is a chance they could succeed or fail, but nothing is directly opposing them, such as a creature or an enemy, they must roll a 21 Challenge to determine if they succeed. To roll a 21C, simply roll two 10-sided dice and sum them (generating a value between 2 and 20), then add a defined Stat, Attribute or Skill to your roll. If the result is 21 or higher, you succeed, if it is less than 21, you fail.

In a 21 Challenge, if you have the skill in question a natural roll of 20 always succeeds and is considered a critical, however if you are making an untrained attempt or similar, then a natural 20 does not guarantee success and is not a critical. A natural roll of 2 always fails, and is always considered a catastrophe.

Examples:
• To forge a sword in your smithy, roll 2d10 and add it to your Blacksmithing skill. On a result of 21 or higher, you successfully forge the sword.
• To vault over the fence behind your house, roll 2d10 and add it to your Agility Stat. On a result of 21 or higher, you successfully vault the fence.
• To track someone over open terrain, roll 2d10 and add it to your Tracking skill. On a result of 21 or higher, you track the target.
• To unlock a door using the Lock spell, roll 2d10 and add it to your Lock spell skill. On a result of 21 or higher, your spell unlocks the door.
• To lock a door using the Lock spell, roll 2d10 and add it to your Lock spell skill. On a result of 21 or higher, your spell locks the door. If your Lock spell skill is 14, and you rolled a 12, then we can say that the door is locked with Lock(26).

The Versus Challenge (aka, vsC)

When two or more characters are in competition, they must roll a Versus Challenge against each other. In a vsC, both characters roll a two 10-sided dice and add the result to the their relevant Stat, Attribute or Skill. Whoever has the higher result wins the Versus Challenge (ties generally go to the player).

In a Versus Challenge, natural rolls of 20 or 2 from either side will result in criticals or catastrophes.

Examples:
• To determine the winner of an arm wrestling match, the challengers each roll 2d10 and add their Strength. Whoever has the highest result wins the match.
• To track someone over open terrain while they are attempting to cover their tracks, each side rolls 2d10 and adds their Tracking skill to determine who succeeds.
• To use the Lock spell to unlock a door that has been magically locked using the Lock spell, we would need to know the result of the Challenge that was used to lock the door - if the caster who locked the door had a Lock spell skill of 14, and rolled a 12, then the door is locked with Lock(26). To unlock it using your Lock spell, roll 2d10 and add your Lock spell skill - if the result is higher than 26, you win (ties go to the player).