Star Wars: Edge of the Empire Rule Book

TABLE 1-3: DIFFICULTY LEVELS

Difficulty Level Dice Example

Simple -

Routine, with the outcome rarely in question. Usually not rolled unless the GM wishes

to know the possible magnitude of success, or Setback dice indicate the possibility of

complications.

Easy • Picking a primitive lock, tending to minor cuts and bruises, finding food and shelter on a lush planet, shooting a target at close range.

Average •• Picking a typical lock, stitching up a small wound, finding food and shelter on a temperate planet, shooting a target at medium range or trying to strike a target while engaged.

Hard ••• Picking a complicated lock, setting brokenand shelter on a rugged planet, shooting at a target at long range. bones or suturing large wounds, finding food

Daunting •••• Picking an exceptionally sophisticated lock, performing surgery or grafting implants, finding food and shelter on a barren desert planet, shooting at a target at extreme range.

Formidable ••••• Picking a lock with no comprehensible mechanism, cloning a new body, finding food and shelter on a planet without breathable atmosphere.

A character's career choice provides career skills.
Characters start out with training, or "ranks," in some
of their career skills. Over the course of a campaign, a
character can learn and improve any skills he choos-
es; however, improving career skills costs fewer expe-
rience points than skills outside his current career.

For a more in-depth look at skills and their applica-
tion, see Chapter III: Skills

DIFFICULTY

The third factor in defining a dice pool (in addition to
a characteristic and related skill) is the difficulty of the
task being attempted. The characteristic and skill ranks
add positive dice to the dice pool. Difficulty adds nega-
tive dice, which make success more challenging. In ad-
dition to the task's inherent difficulty, other dice may
be added to reflect additional complications based on
the environment or specific situation.
While the characteristic and related skill training
are defined by the character attempting the task,
the difficulty of a task is set by the CM. There are
six basic difficulty levels (see the Impossible Tasks
sidebar on page 18 for an optional seventh dif-
ficulty level). Some modifiers or situations may war-
rant checks higher than Formidable, based on the
CM's discretion.

In addition to providing a general classification

which describes a task's inherent challenge, the dif-

ficulty level also indicates how many purple Difficulty

dice are added to the dice pool when attempting that

particular task. A task performed against a set diffi-

culty level is referred to as a standard check.

DEFINING TASK DIFFICULTY

When used to describe the difficulty of checks or

tasks, difficulty levels are represented using one of

the defined difficulty labels, followed by the number

of Difficulty dice added to the dice pool in parenthe-

ses. For example, a player might face an Easy (^)

Perception check or a Hard [4) 4) 4)) Mechanics

check. More detailed examples of each difficulty level

are provided here to give players a clear idea of what

the different levels represent.

SIMPLE TASKS (-)

A simple task is something so basic and routine that

the outcome is rarely in doubt. Success is assumed

for the majority of simple tasks. If failure is virtu-

ally impossible, the task should not even require a

check—the CM may simply state the proposed action

succeeds. If circumstances make the outcome uncer-

tain, then a simple task may require a roll. This is gen-

erally only the case if one or more Setback dice are

introduced, such as Setback dice added from injuries,

the environment, or opposition.

A simple task adds no Difficulty dice to the skill

check's dice pool.

EASY TASKS (4)

An easy task represents something that should pose

little challenge to most characters, but something

could go wrong and failure is still possible. A typical

character with the proper training, resources, and the

right tools for the situation should reasonably expect

to succeed at most easy tasks he attempts. Often, the

magnitude or potential side effects are more uncer-

tain than the success itself.

An easy task adds one Difficulty die (^) to the skill

check's dice pool.

PLAYING THE GAME

EDGE OF THE EMPIRE