Penalties to Checks (p. 158) #

This section explains situational penalties to checks.

Penalty from Being Prone #

If a character is prone, they take a –4 penalty on all checks except for resistance and intelligence checks.

During combat, standing back up from a prone position is a free action. However, the penalty from being prone lasts until the end of the round in which the character stood up. Hence, if a character stands up and immediately attacks an enemy, they will still take a –4 penalty on their hit check.

Penalty from Movement #

If a character is moving somehow, such as walking or running, they may take a penalty to checks on actions they attempt to perform.

As a general rule, if a character has moved less than their movement speed in meters, they will not take a penalty to checks. However, running a distance from their movement speed up to twice their movement speed means they will take a –4 penalty, and when performing a full movement up to four times their movement speed, they will take a –8 penalty. The GM may also decide that, based on the situation, objective, or type of action, the character cannot perform said action while running, or they can’t maintain their current state while moving.

Penalty to ranged attacks from movement #

If a character makes a ranged attack after moving, they take a –4 penalty to their hit check, even if they haven’t moved more than their movement speed in meters. If they have run twice their movement speed in meters, they take a –8 penalty; if the character moves any farther than that, they will not be able to perform a ranged attack at all.

If the character performs the ranged attack first, then moves, they can only move within their reach (up to 5 meters).

Penalty to spell usage from movement #

If a character has moved farther than their reach (5 meters), they take a –4 penalty for moving any amount up to their movement speed in meters, and a –8 penalty for moving an amount up to twice that. If the character moves farther than twice their movement speed in meters, they will not be able to use a spell afterward. If the character uses a spell and then moves, they can only move within reach (up to 5 meters).

Penalty to spell maintenance from movement #

Characters making a spell maintenance check will take a –4 penalty if they move farther than reach (5 meters) and a –8 penalty for running up to twice their movement speed in meters. If they move farther than that, they cannot perform a spell maintenance check (and the spell maintenance ends automatically).

If the character has already made a spell maintenance check, they can only move within reach (up to 5 meters).

Penalty from Poor Vision #

If a character has not acquired Darkvision, they will take a penalty to checks when they need to visually confirm an opponent or object in a dark place. To avoid taking this penalty, characters will need to bring a source of light-any item included in Lighting Tools.

Similarly, if some other situation causes poor visibility—such as there being an obstruction, crowded surroundings where the character can’t see over other people, or mist or fog hanging in the air—the character may still take a penalty. The GM should decide based on the situation how much of a penalty to apply. Use the following table as a guideline for penalty amounts.

Distractions #

Lights can be used as a distraction. If a character in a dark place directly sees a source of light without protecting themselves, they must make a strength resistance check (p. 145). If they fail this check, then for three rounds, they cannot see out of their eyes.

The GM determines the target score based on the strength of the light source and other factors. A quick rule of thumb is 9 for a torch, 11 for a lantern or lamp, 13 for magical light, and 15 for sunlight reflected off a mirror. If a character has some sort of setup to focus the light against the opponent, the GM can add 2 to the target score.

Penalties from Being in Water #

While in water or in a watery area, characters will take a penalty on all checks except resistance checks and intelligence checks. The GM determines how much of a penalty characters take based on the situation.

See below for a general rule on penalties for different predicaments.