The Core Mechanic

Adventures in Scion are rife with risky situations. Faced with such a challenge, players must decide how their character will approach it, and then roll dice to determine the outcome. Players roll a pool of 10-sided dice (or d10s) based on the Skill and Attribute they are using to resolve the challenge. Each die that meets or exceeds the character’s target number is a success. If the player rolls at least one success, she can add bonus successes from useful Enhancements. The player uses this collection of successes to meet the Difficulty of the challenge and overcome any Complications. If she can’t generate enough successes to meet the challenge’s Difficulty, she fails and receives a Consolation.

The most important question is not how players roll the dice, but when they should.

WHEN TO ROLL DICE

Stories are full of moments when a character’s fate hangs in the balance. Dice model this drama and uncertainty. When a situation is well within characters’ capabilities and outside factors aren’t mucking it up, the Storyguide should assume success. When characters face an important trial that could end in success or failure, their players should roll dice. We call these situations challenges, and they all rely on a dice pool.

FORMING A DICE POOL

A dice pool is a set of 10-sided dice which represents a character’s ability to tackle a particular challenge. Each dice pool is made of two parts: a Skill and an Attribute. The player decides which Skill from their character sheet best matches the challenge he’s facing, and then decides which Attribute best matches his approach to using that Skill. He then adds together a number of d10s equal to the Ratings of the chosen Skill and the chosen Attribute.

ROLLING DICE

Rolling dice in Scion is simple, with a lot of optional elements to accentuate your experience. The following pages help explain the process, but here’s a quick breakdown:
1. The player picks a Skill relevant to the roll at hand.
2. The Storyguide and player agree on which Attribute is most relevant to the way the character is approaching the roll. The Storyguide might determine the Approach while the player decides the Approach, or both can simply settle on one Attribute.
3. The Storyguide sets the Difficulty of the roll, as well as any Complications (optional).
4. The player rolls a number of d10s equal to the Skill + Attribute. Each die that rolls the target number or higher (usually 8 or 7) is a success. 10s count as a success and are rolled again. If the roll has at least one success, the player adds any Enhancements to the pool of successes generated (optional).
5. Using her successes, the player spends them to buy off the Difficulty. Should she desire, she can use remaining successes to buy off Complications and purchase Stunts (optional).