Rolls

The system die, resolution modes, criticals and fumbles (and why they flip), and each field's roll settings.

How rolling works in your system: which die, when there is a success and what counts as a critical. It is defined in the builder's Rules tab, and each field can also have its own configuration.

Dice configuration

Main die type is the default die for the whole system: d20, d100, d6… If you choose custom you can write free notation (3d6, 2d10+1d4).

On top of that there are three global switches:

Compound rolls: 2d6+1d8+3

Wherever a die is written (the system's global one, a field's, a perk action's, an item's or the damage column of a list), more than one die type at a time is allowed:

Use this for "the dagger does 2d6 and this skill adds 1d8": write it in the damage box. The dice all roll in the same throw and the chip shows them separately (+1d8), so you can see where each number comes from.

The first group rules. The critical, the fumble, exploding dice and advantage/disadvantage are decided by the first group of the expression; the rest only add. In "2d6 from the weapon + 1d8 from the skill", the weapon crits, as in the tabletop game.

If the box turns red, the expression is not valid (2d6 de fuego is not a roll: the damage type goes in its own box). Previously an invalid expression was silently discarded and the roll used the system's global die.

Resolution mode

How it is decided whether a roll succeeds:

Below there is an important checkbox:

Success only if it EXCEEDS the threshold — a tie fails. This is the rule in Knave and many OSR games (attack > defense, save > 15). It affects both rolls and attacks.

Dice pool (pool with success counting)

With the Dice pool mode the dice are not added together: it rolls several dice and counts how many beat the number, one by one. The number of dice is the base (from the system's or the field's die) plus the extra dice from the chip (prepared/expert/support). Below the mode you choose the direction: success under or over the number. A die exactly equal to the number is an exact hit (a revelation, Lasers & Feelings style).

The result is graded by number of successes, and you set the text of each band in the band labels (in this same tab, when choosing the pool mode):

Two directions at once (like Lasers & Feelings: lasers under and feelings over the same number): instead of putting the whole system in pool mode, mark each field as Pool roll in the Fields tab and choose its direction there.

Narrative pool (World of Darkness)

Below, folded, there is a separate block: Narrative pool. It is for the family of Vampire: The Masquerade, Werewolf, Mage and Exalted, where counting successes is only half the roll. If you do not play those, leave it closed and nothing changes.

Ones subtract. You say how many successes each 1 cancels. This is why more dice are not always better: a huge pool also brings more ones. The card shows them in red, apart from the dice that simply missed, along with the tally: "3 hits − 1 for a one".

The botch. A botch is a separate result, not just a worse failure, and in these games it drives the story. There are two rules to choose from:

• If there are ones and no die hit: the Vampire V20 rule. A hit cancelled by a one is a normal failure, not a botch.
• If after subtracting you end below zero: the rule in other editions and at many tables.

The difficulty, before rolling. Turn it on and, when pressing a roll, a dialog with the numbers appears: the GM calls "Manipulation + Subterfuge, difficulty 8" and the player presses 8. It is shown on the card, in the chip, in the log and in the chat, so the table knows what was rolled against. You choose the range (V20: 2 to 10, default 6).

The specialty. A switch in that same dialog: if the character's specialty is relevant to this roll, the rewarded face is worth more than one success (in V20, each 10 counts as 2). It is declared when rolling instead of being always on, because the character has the specialty but only the roll decides whether it applies.

Willpower is not here; it is a post-roll decision (further down in this guide). On any rollable field, Add decision button → "Willpower" preset: spend a point, add an automatic success and that roll can no longer botch. The automatic success is counted after the ones have subtracted, so a one cannot cancel it.

2d20 pool (Fallout, Conan, Star Trek)

Another collapsed block, 2d20 pool, for the family that rolls two d20 against attribute + skill. It counts successes too, but differs from the narrative pool in three ways:

Difficulty is successes. Each die is compared to your attribute + your skill. The number the GM calls is how many successes are needed, from 0 to 5. Turn it on and the pre-roll dialog asks for that. Any leftover successes are called out with the name you give them (“+2 AP”) and, if you say which field they go to, they are added there on their own when the roll closes, never past the cap. That field can belong to a shared group sheet: Action Points belong to the table, not to each player.

The critical is a range. A die at or below a number is worth double, always: in 2d20 it is the 1. Each skill can raise its own by formula (“if tagged, up to its rank”). The card marks that die with ×2.

The complication. A die at or above a number (the 20) is counted separately and shown in red: it neither removes successes nor is a botch, and what happens is the GM's call. An unreliable weapon can lower it to 19 in its own roll.

Buying dice. Say how many extra dice can be bought (up to 3) and where they are paid from: up to two sources, each with its cost. One number is a flat cost per die; several, separated by commas, are the cost of the first, second and third die (AP: 1, 2 and 3). They are bought in the same difficulty dialog, before seeing the dice, and paid on confirm.

Criticals and fumbles

They are enabled with a switch and defined by the natural value of the die (before adding bonuses):

• Critical threshold and fumble threshold.

Mind the direction: the comparison flips according to the resolution mode.

So on a roll-high d20 you set critical 20 and fumble 1; on a roll-low d100 you set critical 5 and fumble 96. The editor adjusts the symbols and suggested values to the mode you chose and shows a reminder below the fields.

Wild die (a second die that competes)

For games where an important character rolls two different dice and keeps the best (the Savage Worlds Wild Die). In Rules → Wild die:

• Die: the one that joins every roll (d6).
• Who rolls it: a formula on the sheet. comodin makes only characters with that box ticked roll it; empty, everyone.
• Name: how it appears on the result card.
• Double 1 = critical failure: if the first die of the roll and the wild die both show a natural 1, the roll fails critically even if bonuses would make it a success.

Each die explodes on its own (if the roll explodes) and the best total counts; bonuses are added afterwards to the winner. The loser is struck through on the card and the wild die rolls in 3D in a different colour. It only applies to rolls with a verdict: damage never uses it, nor do pools. A single roll can switch it off with No wild die. A "Reroll everything" decision rerolls both dice, and Any except a critical failure in "Only with this result" stops a critical failure from being rerolled.

Degrees by margin (more than four results)

Some games need more than success and failure: on a classic d100 rolling half your percentage is not the same as scraping by, and failing by five is not failing by forty. For those there are degrees. Edit them in Rules → Result bands (label, tone and the condition with the formula editor, in order); they are saved in roll_rules.grade_bands:

"grade_bands": [
  { "key": "limpio", "label": "LIMPIO", "tone": "success",
    "when": "total <= objetivo / 2" },
  { "key": "te_quema", "label": "TE QUEMA", "tone": "warn",
    "when": "total > objetivo AND margen >= 0 - 10" }
]

The labels use your game's language: if your table calls the big failure "IT BREAKS YOU", write that, and it shows like that in the modal, in the chip, in the log and in the chat. Keep them short and in the present tense, since they are read at a glance when the die lands.

Each band is a label with a condition on total, objetivo and margen (= objetivo − total, positive if you had room to spare). They are checked in order and the first one wins, and its label replaces the success or failure one in the modal, the chip, the log and the chat.

Keep in mind:

• Critical and fumble rule. Degrees only apply on a normal success or failure; they never cover a critical or a fumble.
• The result does not change, only its name. An "IT BURNS YOU" is still a failure for the engine, and the GM is the one who charges the cost. Nothing that depends on hitting (damage, conditions) is altered.
• tone (success · warn · fail) only changes the color. Don't paint in red a degree where the player gets what they wanted and also owes something, because it reads as a failure.

The fumble by formula

roll_rules.fumble_formula sets the fumble threshold from the target instead of a fixed number. Use it when the band widens as you get worse, for example IF(objetivo < 30, 91, 96): you always fumble on 96-00, and on 91-00 if you roll against less than 30. This is the opposite of the complementary band of the critical by tens. When declared, it overrides that one; when absent, nothing changes.

You can also write it as a condition using the die: natural >= IF(objetivo >= 100, 100, 96) (“fumble if the natural die reaches 96, or 100 when your target is 100 or more”). If the formula uses natural or total, it is checked on every roll; otherwise it is the threshold to fumble from.

Result labels

You can use your game's own terms: instead of Success / Failure / Critical / Fumble, whatever you use at the table (Achievement, Disaster, *Master stroke*…). There is a results preview to check how it looks.

Rolls per field

Any Number, Derived, Select, Resource or Boxes field can be marked as rollable (Roll switch in the Fields tab). When you expand it, its Roll configuration appears, which can override the global one:

Faces with a value of their own (the combat die)

In Fallout damage is not added up: each d6 says 1, 2, nothing, nothing, "1 + Effect", "1 + Effect". The roll window anywhere (a field, a perk, a weapon, an action's damage) has two boxes: Value of each face ("1, 2, 0, 0, 1, 1") and Faces with Effect ("5, 6"). With them each die is worth what its face says and Effects are counted separately: the card shows "5→1" and marks the Effect face, and chat says "Damage: 4 · 2 Effects". If the Effect also adds damage (Vicious), set how much in "extra damage per Effect". In combat the number of Effects reaches the bar: it is used to pierce armour (see the Combat guide).

Custom dice (named, with painted faces)

In Rules → Custom dice you create dice your game calls by name: a Fantasy die, Genesys' dice, a challenge die. First the symbols faces can carry (success, advantage, triumph…; one can cancel another, and they subtract when counted). Then each die, with its name, its key for formulas, a color and its faces: what each one is worth, what it reads (★, A…) and how many symbols it carries. "Roll" tries it right there.

Any dice formula names it like any other: 2fantasia + 1d6, 3fantasia, 1d20 - pena. Face values add to the total, and the card and the chat show each face rolled and the symbol count after cancelling ("2 Success · 1 Advantage"). A formula with custom dice is written by hand (the "how many d sides" rows are for number dice). For now custom dice don't roll in 3D: they show on the card.

Dice groups (one color per thing)

In the field's Dice section: "Split the roll into dice groups". Use it for rolls where each die means something different, like the Year Zero family (Mutant Year Zero, Forbidden Lands, Alien): you roll the attribute dice, the skill dice and the gear dice at once and count all the sixes together, but a 1 does not mean the same depending on which pile it comes from. That is why the physical game uses three colors.

Each group has:

• Name: shown under its dice and in the result breakdown.
• How many dice: a formula. A group that gives 0 does not appear (no weapon, no gear die).
• Color: usually left empty, so it is derived from your accent color, shifted a bit per group, and each player sees the roll in their colors. Set it only if the color belongs to the game (Year Zero is yellow/green/black at every table and changing it is confusing).
• A 1 means: trauma, *gear damage*… Empty means the ones in that group do not count, as with the skill die.

With groups, the groups set the dice and not the field's value. When they land, the card breaks down the successes of each group and, in red, what hurt, so you know what to note on the sheet.

In 3D dice each group lands in its color without losing your skin: the body, the edge and the numbers are tinted, never the texture or the material. If your skin is a custom 3D model or has per-face art, it is left as is, and the breakdown still shows the rule. The name under the die always shows too, so players who can't tell the colors apart can still read it.

Before and after rolling

Two settings per field that change when something is decided:

• Alternatives to rolling (give up the roll and take a 6): they are offered before seeing the dice. Offered afterwards, they would always beat rolling, which is not the rule.
• Post-roll decisions: buttons that appear after seeing the dice and before closing the result. Until the player decides, the roll is not logged or published, because the number can still change and the table shouldn't see a result that isn't final.

What the player can decide

Each decision also accepts:

• Only with this result: so it only appears after a failure, a critical, etc.
• Only if…: a formula on the sheet (an upgrade you do not have yet is not offered).
• Can be repeated: by default each decision is used up on use. If it repeats, you can cap it: "you can repeat it, but at most 1 time in this roll".
• Costs from: deducts from a resource or counter on the sheet. If there is not enough, the button shows disabled with the reason instead of hiding, so the player knows the option exists.

Limiting how many decisions fit in a roll

"Limit how many decisions fit in a roll" button, above the list. You set a name (Manipulations, Momentum, *Pressure*…) and a formula for where the number comes from.

Costs from spends a resource of the sheet and it stays spent; this cap spends nothing and comes back whole on the next roll. It comes from Never Going Home: "on each roll you can use as many manipulations as the current value of the attribute that governs the skill; attributes do not decrease with use". Since the formula reads the sheet live, if that attribute is also health and damage lowers it, wounded you manipulate less, without anyone having to remember.

The player sees a marker next to the buttons, with one chip per point. Chips turn off as they are spent, and at zero the decisions are disabled with "no manipulations" (using the name you gave it). Each decision spends 1 unless you give it another number (0 = free), and the Buy more budget decision raises it. This covers rules like "discard a card and you have one more manipulation": the player burns the card from their hand and the sheet tracks the cap.

The player can chain several decisions in a row. Everything chosen stays in the log and in the chat message.

Decisions that roll dice (the extra ones and the rerolls) actually roll them on the table; the number does not appear ready-made. Those that only change the total (add, multiply, raise the degree) leave the dice where they landed.

In the builder you have See examples with cases already built: ±1 from Fighting Dreamers, D&D Luck, fate point that adds 1d6, reroll if you failed, Portent…

Situational modifiers (what you mark before rolling)

In Rules → Situational modifiers you write your game's own: Aim +2, Multi-action −2, Long range −4, Medium cover −4. The player marks them in the Situation bar on their sheet (and the Situation button on the map's combat bar) and they apply to the next roll of their kind; then they clear themselves.

• Group: those in the same group exclude each other (marking Long removes Medium).
• Applies to: traits, attacks and/or damage.
• Extra damage: added to the damage of the attack that used it (Wild Attack +2 to hit and damage).
• Sticky: doesn't clear on rolling; lasts until removed (a multi-action counts for the whole turn).
• Own condition: on the map, whoever uses it gets that condition (Wild Attack → Vulnerable).

Spending a pool when rolling

If the system enables it, a roll can spend points from a pool before being thrown (GUMSHOE style): you choose how much you spend, it is deducted and added to the total. It can be tied to the field's own pool or to a different one.

Extras for percentile systems

For classic d100 there are two global aids:

• Critical by tens: the critical is 10% of your percentage, with the complementary fumble.
• Automatic bands: a low range always hits and a high one always fails (01-05 / 96-00), above any percentage.

System roll tables

Oracles, encounters, names, loot: the game's tables live inside the system and travel with it (sharing, copying into a campaign, exporting). Create them in Rules → Roll tables with the same editor as your library tables: paste a list (one result per line) and let it spread the ranges, or type them by hand. d6, 2d6, d66, d100… all work.

• A result that names [[Another table]] rolls that one too (name or key, accents ignored).
• The category groups them («Travel», «Names»).
• On the sheet, the Roll table widget (Rolls category) puts a button per table; the dice show in 3D and in the roll log, and the result appears underneath. You choose which tables each widget shows.
• On the GM screen, the Tables panel lists them first, marked «system», next to your library tables.

On the next roll

The On the next roll widget (Rolls category) keeps a +1/−1 on the sheet until the character rolls: some help, a good result in another scene, another player's sabotage. It is added to the total of the next trait roll (not damage or table rolls), the label says so, and it clears itself. In roll-under systems, a bonus is a negative number.

How the result looks

The chat card uses the system's roll template, which you can write in the Style tab (or in the Roll Template pane of code mode) with {{total}}, {{objetivo}}, {{resultado}}, {{grado}}, {{#if critico}}…{{/if}} and the sheet's fields. See the Code mode guide for details.

{{resultado}} already brings the right name: your system's labels and, if the roll fell in a band, its degree. Don't reclassify it in the template with {{#if}}; if you do, the two versions will eventually disagree. {{grado}} is only the band (empty if it fell in none) and {{tono}}, its tone.

Keep it short. The card is read at a glance in the middle of a scene: the name of the roll, the degree and the tally. Explanations of what each degree means belong in the manual, not on every roll.

Common problems

"My criticals trigger backwards" Check the resolution mode: in roll HIGH the critical is the high number.

"A tie counts as a success and I do not want that" Check Success only if it EXCEEDS the threshold.

"I want this field not to give success/failure" Enable simple roll (no threshold) on it: it will only give the total.

Next step

Continue with Combat: actions, damage, defense and conditions.

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