The core of any TTRPG is its Conflict Resolution system. Conflict Resolution are the rules that determine what happen when the result of a PC's actions are in doubt. There are many types of Conflict Resolution; from rolling a die and trying to hit a target number, to rock, paper, and scissors. Agate uses a Dice Pool system.
Dice Pools will be shown in the rules with the notation XdDV. Concrete values will often be present, ie. 2d20, but they may be excluded, ie. Xd12, or 4dDV.
Anything a PC attempts is an Action. All actions are associated with a Skill. When a PC takes an action, their player determines the Effective Rank. This will determine the Dice Value (DV) for the Dice Pool (DV is the type of die being rolled: twenty-sided, ten-sided, etc.). Dice Pools start with two dice of the relevant DV. Boons add dice from a named source; Hindrances subtract them. If a Hindrance would reduce a Dice Pool to 0, it instead adds 1 die, but now the Player takes the lowest value rolled, instead of the highest (see Outcome Ladder below). Additional Hindrances add additional dice.
Effective Rank & Dice Value
Your Effective Rank is your Skill Rank minus the task's Difficulty (plus or minus modifiers), maximum of 5. If you're Effective Rank is negative, it means you can't even attempt the Action.
Difficulty runs 0–15: mundane (0–3), impressive (4–6), masterful (7–9), legendary (10–12), and godly (13–15).
Each Effective Rank corresponds to a Dice Value:
| Rank | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Die | d20 | d12 | d10 | d8 | d6 | d4 |
Outcome Ladder
Once the Dice Pool is determined, the Action is resolved by rolling the Dice Pool, taking the highest value (or lowest, for hindered Actions), and reading the result on the Outcome Ladder. Players expend 1 Strain on a Success. The may also spend Strain to avert a Catastrophe (5) or wrest a Partial Success from a Setback (3), and they clear Strain (3) on a Triumph. On a Triumph they also gain 1 Renown. Strain cleared via a Triumph is not converted to Growth. For more about Strain, Renown, and Growth, see the Character chapter.
A Success means the PC managed to do what they set out to do. A Triumph means they did so with style and grace. Players are encouraged to narrate their Triumph as cinematically as they wish. A Setback means the PC failed at the task before them, but players may spend 3 Strain to wrest a Partial Success from the jaws of failure. The Weaver will decide what a Partial Success looks like, but Players are encouraged to narrate how their PC manages to just barely accomplish something against overwhelming odds.
A Catastrophe means something is about to go horribly awry. The Weaver will describe what is about to befall the PC or those around them; the Player then has a choice: accept fate, or defy it by spending 5 Strain to narrowly avert the Catastrophe through extreme effort. Players who spend the Strain are encouraged to narrate how the PC accomplishes this, and the exhaustion that ensues.
Certain systems in the game may dictate what Partial Successes and Catastrophes look like, often to speed up complex Scenes like Combat. The Weaver, however, is always free to substitute their own outcomes.
| Result | d20 | d12 | d10 | d8 | d6 | d4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Triumph | 20 | 12 | 10 | 8 | 6 | 4 |
| Success | 15 | 8 | 6 | 5 | 3 | 2 |
| Setback | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Catastrophe | 1 | 1 | 1 | — | — | — |