Difficult, Risky, and Heroic Rolls

Before you roll a skill check, the GM can decide that the action you’re attempting is Difficult or Risky (or both). A Difficult roll is harder than usual and adds +1 Difficulty. A Risky roll has clear and obvious complications, even on a success. For example, if a pilot is trying to sneak into a heavily guarded facility, the GM might decide the roll is Risky – even if the pilot manages to sneak in, they’re likely to have limited time to sneak out. When rolling a Risky Skill Check, a character always suffers the consequences (or a lesser version of them) on any result under 20. A Risky Skill Check still succeeds as usual on 10+, but the character suffers consequences anyway.

If an action is so hard that success seems outlandish, the GM can make it Heroic. A Heroic roll is only successful on a result of 20+, and the character making the attempt also suffers consequences if the result is less than 20. If the GM wants to push things even further, a Heroic roll can also be Difficult. Pilots that accomplish such tasks are the stuff of legend. The GM may always declare that a Skill Check can’t be made under the current circumstances. No matter how good your Apply Fists to Faces Trigger is, you probably can’t punch through a starship hull with your bare hands.