SKILLS AND DICE ROLLS

Roleplaying is an intimate conversation. The GM sets the scene, you describe what you do, she tells you how the NPCs react, you respond, and so on—back and forth. The story grows one step at a time, and everyone lives happily ever after.
Yeah, just kidding about that last part. Not on the Frontier, you don’t.
Sooner or later, the shit—just like prisoner Murphy—hits the fan. Things come to a head, a point of no return is reached, and a problem mounts that cannot just be settled by talking your way out of it.
That’s when you call upon your mad skills. Just break out the dice and show Mother you know a thing or two.

THE 12 SKILLS

HEAVY MACHINERY (STRENGTH)

STAMINA (STRENGTH)

CLOSE COMBAT (STRENGTH)

MOBILITY (AGILITY)

RANGED COMBAT (AGILITY)

PILOTING (AGILITY)

OBSERVATION (WITS)

COMTECH (WITS)

SURVIVAL (WITS)

COMMAND (EMPATHY)

MANIPULATION (EMPATHY)

MEDICAL AID (EMPATHY)

ROLLING DICE

There are twelve skills in total in the game, all described later in this chapter. Three skills are connected to each of the four attributes: STRENGTH, AGILITY, WITS, and EMPATHY. Skills are measured in skill levels, from 0 to 5.
There two types of six-sided dice are used in this game: Base Dice and Stress Dice. You can play this game with any normal six-sided dice, but it helps if you have them in two different colors to tell Base Dice and Stress Dice apart.

ROLLS WITHOUT SKILL

If you don’t have the skill required for the particular action you want to perform, you can roll anyway—simply roll a number of Base Dice equal to your attribute as well as any Stress Dice.

MEAN SUCCESS

When you use a skill, first describe what your character does or says. Then, add your skill level to your score in the attribute connected to the skill, and grab that many Base Dice. If you have Stress Dice (below), add these to the dice pool as well.
Then just roll all the dice together. For your action to succeed, you must roll at least one 6—if not, your action fails. If you roll more than one , you can perform stunts (listed under each skill description).

THE SYMBOL

On the Stress Dice, if you roll one or more 1 you risk panicking.

GEAR

Gear can give you extra Base Dice to roll, but not always; sometimes a specific piece of gear is needed just to perform the action.

THE ART OF FAILURE

If you don't roll any , something goes wrong. For some reason, you failed to achieve your goal. Feel free to elaborate on why with the help of the GM. She might even let a failed roll have further consequences to move the story forward in a dramatic way.
Failure must not stop the story completely. Even when you fail, there must be a way forward—perhaps at the cost of time, risk, or UA dollars, but still a way. The GM has the final say on the consequences of failure in any particular situation.
You have one last chance if you really want to succeed—you can push the roll.

PUSHING YOUR ROLL

If you are desperate to succeed with a dice roll, you can choose to push the roll. This means that you grab all the dice that didn’t show 6 and roll them again. You get a new chance to roll 6's.
Usually, you would only push a roll if you failed it, although you can push your roll even if you rolled 6 first, to get more 6's to increase the effect of an attack, for example. Pushing a roll is not without risk, as it increases your STRESS LEVEL; more on that below.

ONLY ONCE

You can only push your roll once. If you don’t succeed on your second try, you just have to deal with the consequences. Some talents can allow you to push certain rolls a second time, however.

DESCRIBE YOUR ACTION

You create a story together in the ALIEN roleplaying game. A dice roll is a dramatic high point. First you describe what you are trying to achieve, so that everyone knows what is at stake. Then you roll your dice. Interpret the result and describe what happens. Describe what you do, what you say, or what you are thinking. If you push your roll, describe how. Do it yourself, don’t wait for the GM—the GM should only stop you if you go beyond the results you have rolled.

STRESS LEVEL

Pushing yourself builds tension to a point where you risk going into wild panic or a violent outburst. When you push a roll, your STRESS LEVEL immediately increases by one point. Mark this down on your character sheet before you re-roll your dice.
When making skill rolls—including the immediate re-roll when pushing—add a number of Stress Dice to your dice pool equal to your current STRESS LEVEL. This means the stress actually increases your chances to succeed at skill rolls—it makes you more sharp and alert. However, if you roll a 1 on one or more Stress Dice during a skill roll, you risk panic.

PANIC

Pushing dice rolls is a little like playing blackjack—it increases your chances of success, but if you push too hard, you suffer the consequences. In the ALIEN roleplaying game, these consequences are triggering panic and losing control of your character.
When you roll Stress Dice in a skill roll and one or more 1's, you cannot push the roll—instead, you must immediately make a Panic Roll. A Panic Roll can cause your skill roll to fail no matter how many 6's you rolled.
Besides pushing skill rolls, other stressful or dangerous events can increase your STRESS LEVEL as well as trigger Panic Rolls.

Ammo

If your action is firing a weapon with a limited magazine, rolling one or more 1's means that you empty the magazine in addition to making a Panic Roll.

ONLY ONE CHANCE

As a rule, you only have one chance to succeed with any action. Once you have rolled the dice—and pushed the roll—you can’t roll again to achieve the same goal. You need to try something different or wait until the circumstances have changed in a substantial way. Or let another player character try. This rule does not apply to combat, where you can attack the same enemy over and over until it is dead on the floor.

GROUP ROLLS

When you face a challenge together with the other PCs, don’t roll dice separately. Instead, you choose who among you is best suited to take on this challenge. The others may help them (see below) if it’s relevant to the situation. If the roll fails, it counts as a failure for all of you—you are not allowed to try one time each.
This rule does not apply in combat, where each PC is free to attack any enemy they like.

MODIFICATION

Sometimes, external factors help you to succeed. This gives you extra Base Dice to roll. Other times, something hampers your action. This gives you fewer Base Dice to roll than normal. This is called a modification. Modification +1 means you roll one extra Base Die, +2 means you roll two extra Base Dice, and so on. Modification –1 means you roll one Base Die fewer than normal, –2 means two fewer, and so on.
Several modifications can apply to the same roll, simply add them together. A modification of +2 and one of –1 add up to +1. If you don’t have enough Base Dice to remove after a modification, remove Stress Dice. If you end up with no dice at all, you have no chance to succeed at this action—time to rethink your strategy!
You can get modifications in several different ways:

Gear

The difficulty of the action itself

Help from others

DIFFICULTY

Normally, the GM doesn’t assess how difficult an action is. You only roll dice in challenging situations—period. But sometimes, the GM might want to underscore that external factors either help or hinder an action. Use the table below for guidance.
There are also cases when modifications are imposed by the rules, like when you aim carefully with a ranged weapon , shoot at long distance, or if you’re in a bad bargaining position when you attempt to use MANIPULATION on someone. Some talents can also give you a positive modification in certain situations.

HELP FROM OTHERS

Other PCs or NPCs can help you succeed at a skill roll. This must be declared right away, before you roll your dice. It must also make sense in the story—the individual helping you must have the capacity to support your action. The GM has the final say.
For each person helping you, you get a +1 modification. No more than three people can help you with a single roll, meaning your maximum modification from assistance is +3.
In combat, helping counts as the same type of action as the one you are supporting (fast or slow).
NPCs can help each other in the same way as player characters. Letting NPCs act in groups instead of individually is often an easy way to manage large numbers of NPCs in conflicts.

OPPOSED ROLLS

Sometimes rolling a 6 isn’t enough to succeed with your skill roll. In some cases, you have to beat your foe in an opposed roll. To win an opposed roll, you have to roll successfully and roll more 6's than your adversary. Every 6 your adversary rolls eliminates one of your 6's. Only you (the attacker) can push your roll.
Sometimes you and your adversary roll for different skills, sometimes the same. Opposed rolls are common when you MANIPULATE or use MOBILITY to sneak, and when someone uses those skills against you. The GM can also use opposed rolls when she deems it appropriate, like rolling STAMINA vs. STAMINA to determine the outcome of an arm wrestle.

“Hey, I feel like kind of a fifth wheel around here. Is there anything I can do?”
“I don't know, is there anything you can do?”
“Well, I can drive that loader. I have a Class-2 rating.”
“Be my guest.”

— LT. ELLEN RIPLEY AND MASTER SERGEANT AL APONE