Non-Combat Situations

ELDRA is built on a dark, high-fantasy world where conflict takes many forms — not all of them fought with blades. Whether navigating a tense negotiation, scaling a crumbling tower, tracking prey through cursed wilderness, or deciphering a forbidden inscription, characters rely on the same core mechanic: rolling dice against a target.

Skill Rolls

Whenever a character attempts something uncertain and the outcome matters, they make a Skill Roll. Roll four Fate dice (4dF), add the relevant skill level, and compare the result to a target number set by the GM or to an opponent’s roll.

Result = 4dF + Skill Level

If the result meets or exceeds the target, the attempt succeeds. The difference between the result and the target is the Margin — how decisively the action succeeded or failed.

Margin	Outcome
-3 or lower	Failure with consequence — something goes wrong beyond just not succeeding.
-1 to -2	Failure — the attempt does not succeed.
0	Failure — the attempt does not succeed.
+1 to +2	Success — the attempt succeeds cleanly.
+3 or higher	Strong success — the attempt succeeds and the character gains an additional benefit at the GM’s discretion.

Note: The GM may skip the Margin table for straightforward checks and simply rule pass or fail. Margin is most useful when degrees of success matter — social manipulation, extended tasks, or actions with lasting consequences.

Difficulty Ratings

When no opponent is rolling, the GM sets a static Difficulty Rating for the task. Use the following scale as a reference:

Difficulty	Rating	Examples
Trivial	0	Lighting a torch in calm conditions, recalling common knowledge.
Simple	1	Picking a basic lock, tracking fresh footprints in soft earth.
Moderate	2	Scaling a rough wall, persuading a suspicious merchant.
Hard	3	Deciphering an obscure dialect, sneaking past an alert guard.
Formidable	4	Forging a convincing noble’s seal, tracking prey through a blizzard.
Extreme	5	Recalling the contents of an ancient forbidden text, disabling a master-crafted trap without tools.
Near-Impossible	6+	Tasks that push the limits of mortal ability.

Types of Skill Checks

Standard Check

A single character attempts a task against a static Difficulty Rating. The GM sets the difficulty, the player rolls, and the Margin determines the outcome. No time pressure, no opponent.

Example: Attempting to recall the weakness of a specific creature (Lore vs Difficulty 3).

Contested Check

Two characters directly oppose each other. Both roll their relevant skills simultaneously. The character with the higher result wins. The Margin between the two results determines how decisively. In the event of a tie, the situation remains unchanged — neither side gains ground.

No stress or damage is dealt in a Contested Check unless a specific rule states otherwise. Contested Checks are used when one character is actively working against another — not harming them, but directly opposing their intent.

Example: Attempting to deceive a city guard (Influence vs the guard’s Resolve).
Example: Pickpocketing a mark (Burglary vs the target’s Perception).
Example: Arm-wrestling a rival (Might vs Might).

Extended Task

Some goals cannot be accomplished in a single roll. An Extended Task requires the character to accumulate a set number of Progress Points before a set number of Setback Points are reached. The GM defines both thresholds at the outset.

Each successful roll generates Progress Points equal to the Margin (minimum 1 on a success).
Each failed roll generates Setback Points equal to the absolute Margin (minimum 1 on a failure).
When Progress Points reach the threshold, the task is completed.
When Setback Points reach the threshold, the task fails — and may carry a consequence.
Each roll represents a meaningful unit of time: a few minutes, an hour, or a day, depending on the task.
Example: Crafting a forgery requires 8 Progress before 4 Setbacks (Burglary or Crafts).
Example: Treating a severe infection over several days requires 6 Progress before 3 Setbacks (Crafts or Lore).

Group Check

When multiple characters attempt the same task together, each rolls individually. Count the number of successes. The GM determines the required number of successes based on the difficulty of the task and the size of the group.

If at least half the group succeeds (rounded up), the group as a whole succeeds.
A character who succeeds with a Margin of +3 or higher may contribute their excess Margin as a +1 bonus to one other participant’s result, declared before rolls are resolved.
If the group fails, individual failures may still carry personal consequences at the GM’s discretion.
Example: A party attempting to move quietly through a courtyard (Stealth vs Difficulty 3). If at least three of four characters succeed, the group passes undetected.

Advantage and Disadvantage

Advantage and Disadvantage reflect situational superiority or difficulty. When you have Advantage on a roll, roll one additional die and discard the lowest result. When you have Disadvantage, roll one additional die and discard the highest result.

Multiple sources of Advantage or Disadvantage cancel each other out one by one. If you have two sources of Advantage and one source of Disadvantage, you roll with one Advantage.

Assisting Another Character

A character may spend their action to assist another character’s Skill Roll, giving them +1 to their roll. To assist, the helping character must have a plausible way to contribute and must declare the assistance before the roll is made. The assisting character’s relevant skill must be no more than 2 levels lower than the acting character’s skill; otherwise, they cannot provide meaningful help. A maximum of two characters may assist a single roll at one time.

When to Roll

Not every action requires a roll. The GM should only call for a Skill Roll when:

The outcome is uncertain — if failure is impossible or success is guaranteed, no roll is needed.
The outcome matters — if success and failure lead to the same narrative place, there is no point rolling.
There is something at stake — time, resources, relationships, or danger.

If all three conditions are not met, the GM should simply decide the outcome and move the scene forward.

Action Structure in Structured Scenes

When a scene requires turn-by-turn structure — combat, a timed escape, a contested ritual — ELDRA uses the Action Point (AP) system described in Section 3. Outside of structured scenes, characters act and respond freely through narrative, with Skill Rolls called when the conditions above are met. The AP system does not apply outside of structured scenes.

Skill Rolls

Result = 4dF + Skill level

If the result meets or exceeds the target, the attempt succeeds. The difference between the result and the target is the Margin—how decisively the action succeeded or failed.

Margin	Outcome
−3 or lower	Failure with consequence — something goes wrong beyond just not succeeding.
−2 to −1	Failure — the attempt does not succeed.
0	Tie — the attempt does not succeed.
+1 to +2	Success — the attempt succeeds cleanly.
+3 or higher	Strong success — the attempt succeeds and the character gains an additional benefit at the GM’s discretion.

Note: The GM may skip the Margin table for straightforward checks and simply rule pass or fail. Margin is most useful when degrees of success matter—social manipulation, extended tasks, or actions with lasting consequences.

Difficulty Ratings

When no opponent is rolling, the GM sets a static Difficulty Rating for the task. Use the following scale as a reference:

Difficulty	Rating	Examples
Trivial	0	Lighting a torch in calm conditions, recalling common knowledge.
Simple	1	Picking a basic lock, tracking fresh footprints in soft earth.
Moderate	2	Scaling a rough wall, persuading a suspicious merchant.
Hard	3	Deciphering an obscure dialect, sneaking past an alert guard.
Formidable	4	Forging a convincing noble's seal, tracking prey through a blizzard.
Extreme	5	Recalling the contents of an ancient forbidden text, disabling a master-crafted trap without tools.
Near‐Impossible	6+	Tasks that push the limits of mortal ability.