Against the Darkmaster · System Reference

Core Mechanics

Save Rolls

Not every attack can be dodged or parried. Save Rolls (SR) represent a character's innate ability to resist pernicious effects: poison, disease, fear, illusions, and other perils they may encounter in their adventures.

When a Save Roll is called, a character makes an Open-Ended Roll and adds their relevant SR Bonus, plus any applicable modifier. If the final result is higher than the Save Roll Difficulty, the SR is successful and the character resists the effects of the attack.

Toughness Save Rolls (TSR)

Toughness Save Rolls represent a character's innate resistance to physical threats: fatigue, poison, disease, and similar effects. A character's TSR Bonus is given by their Fortitude Stat, plus their Kin Bonus and special modifiers, plus a bonus based on the character's Level as shown on the Save Rolls Table.

Willpower Save Rolls (WSR)

Willpower Save Rolls represent a character's ability to resist attacks and effects influencing the mind: fear, illusions, and mind-controlling spells. A character's WSR Bonus is given by their Wisdom Stat, plus their Kin Bonus and special modifiers, plus a bonus based on the character's Level as shown on the Save Rolls Table.

Save Rolls Table

The Level bonus to SR and the standard Difficulty of a Save Roll are both determined by Level: the defender's Level sets the SR Bonus, while the Attack Level of the threatening effect sets the Difficulty.

Defender Level SR Bonus Attack Level SR Difficulty
1+5155
2+10260
3+15365
4+20470
5+25575
6+30680
7+35785
8+40890
9+45995
10+5010100
11+5211102
12+5412104
13+5613106
14+5814108
15+6015110
16+6216112
17+6417114
18+6618116
19+6819118
20+7020120
21++1/level21++1/level

Resolving Save Rolls

The standard Difficulty of a Save Roll is determined by the Attack Level of the effect the character is trying to resist, as shown on the Save Rolls Table. The Attack Level works as follows:

Points of Failure

The effects of some attacks depend on the margin by which their targets fail their Save Roll. For example, an attack could deal 1d10 points of damage for each 5 points of failure, or its effects could last one Round for each 10 points of failure.

In these cases, subtract the failed Save Roll result from the Save Roll Difficulty and divide by the given number, rounding up, to determine the effects of the attack.