Every check in the game is one twenty-sided die plus your bonuses, against a number you need to reach.

Roll a d20 and add your bonuses: the relevant Skill, its governing Attribute's bonus, and anything else that applies. Meet or beat the target number and the check succeeds; fall short and it fails.

A natural 20 always succeeds and is a critical; some powers widen that range to 19–20 or more. A natural 1 always fails and is a fumble. In combat a critical hit doubles the damage dice and the attribute bonus, never flat bonuses, and a fumble costs you your weapon or leaves you exposed.

The target number depends on the situation. In combat it is usually the defender's Defense; some effects call for a Saving Throw instead. Outside combat it is set by the difficulty of the task:

Difficulty	Target	Average character (+0)	Trained (+5)
Easy	8	65%	90%
Average	11	50%	75%
Hard	14	35%	60%

An average character has attribute 10 and no training, so +0; their chance of success is (21 − target) × 5%. A Storyteller can always name a different number.

Attributes are your character's rawest traits, the fundamentals upon which everything is built. They measure how strong or intelligent they are before powers or the grace of the gods further boost them. If a character is the victim of attacks that negate their supernatural gifts and they are reduced to their very basics, these are the attributes they must rely on. Attributes are not trained; they are developed through a mix of constant use and natural talent.

A roll never adds the score itself, only its bonus: (score − 10) ÷ 2, rounded down.

Rating	Description	Bonus	AGI	BRN	END	INT	PER
0-1	Helpless	No Roll	-	-	-	-	-
2-3	Toddler	-4	-	-	-	-	-
4-5	Child	-3	-	-	-	-	-
6-7	Elderly	-2	-	-	-	-	-
8-9	Average Human (Young Adult)	-1	Blindfold	Saint Anna	Wallflower	Pixie	Elixir
10-11	Average Human (Adult)	+0	Hellion	Jubilee	Dust	Rogue	Wither
12-13	Average Mutant (Adult)	+1	Magneto	White Queen (Base)	Karma	Sunspot	Icarus
14-15	Trained Mutant	+2	Wind Dancer	Wolfsbane	Storm	Shadowcat	Mirage
16-17	Peak Condition	+3	Psylocke	Cyclops	Penance	Cypher	Domino
18-19	Best of the Best	+4	X-23	Colossus (Base)	Marrow	Prodigy	Gambit
20-21	Enhanced Physiology	+5	Nightcrawler	Beast	Wolverine	Three-In-One	Sage

Every Attribute starts at 10. These measure a character's baseline Attributes. Some bonuses are considered innate (like Atlantean Physiology and others), and thus added on top of the raw attribute for purposes of what is the natural score of the character's Attribute, versus how high it can get with transformations and boosts. Characters can only go over 18 with super powers.

Attribute	Abbreviation	Feeds	Description
Agility	AGI	Defense, Reflex save, initiative; Brawling, Melee, Shields	Represents coordination, reflexes, and grace in motion. A high AGI allows a character to dodge attacks, move with precision, and perform acrobatic feats that others can’t. It governs balance, speed, and manual dexterity.
Brawn	BRN	Damage on most physical attacks; Athletics	Measures raw physical strength and muscle power. It determines how hard a character can hit, how much they can lift, and how forcefully they can exert themselves. Essential for melee combat and physical feats of might.
Endurance	END	Health, Fortitude save, staying conscious	Reflects stamina, toughness, and resistance to physical harm. END governs how long a character can exert themselves without tiring, how well they resist injury, and how quickly they recover from strain.
Intellect	INT	Willpower save; Meditation, Strategy	Measures analytical ability, reasoning, and problem-solving skills. A high INT allows a character to recall information, process complex ideas, and outthink their opponents in high-pressure situations.
Perception	PER	Firearms	Represents awareness of surroundings and attention to detail. It affects spotting hidden dangers, tracking subtle movements, and noticing small clues that others might overlook.

Damage is set per attack: each part of an attack names the attribute it scales with, so a punch adds Brawn while a psychic blast might add Intellect.

Skills represent the refined capabilities and expertise of a character, defining their ability to perform specific tasks and excel in various situations. Each Skill is based on a specific Attribute that influences its effectiveness, and they vary in difficulty, reflecting the complexity in learning each of these.

A skill roll adds the skill's trained total and its Attribute's bonus. A skill's difficulty is the target number a check with it uses unless the situation calls for another.

Skill	Attribute	Difficulty	Description
Athletics	BRN	Average (11)	The measure of one's ability to efficiently impose their physical attributes on the world around them.
Brawling	AGI	Easy (8)	The rough art of unarmed fighting with fists, grapples, throws, and bone-breaking holds.
Firearms	PER	Average (11)	Aiming and running any kind of gun.
Investigation	PER	Average (11)	Finding what others missed: searching a scene, following a trail, reading the signs of what happened and who was there.
Meditation	INT	Average (11)	Focused mental discipline. Governs Willpower, the mental defence against psychic attacks.
Melee	AGI	Average (11)	The practiced use of handed weapons in tight quarters, striking swiftly at gaps in armor.
Shields	AGI	Easy (8)	The skill of bracing, deflecting, and turning aside blows while holding firm against attack.
Strategy	INT	Hard (14)	The ability to plan broad and sweeping military actions and predict the actions of the enemy in the theater of war.

Some effects aren't stopped by Defense. The target rolls a Saving Throw instead: d20 + the save's Attribute bonus + its save bonus, against the effect's number.

Save	Attribute	Resists
Reflex	AGI	Effects you can dodge: blasts, traps, area attacks
Fortitude	END	Poison, disease and other attacks on the body
Willpower	INT	Psychic attacks, illusions and control of the mind

Everyone's save bonus starts at 0. It improves in two ways: a character's Physiology can grant a bonus to any save, and characters can upgrade their saves individually. Some Physiologies make a body immune to a save outright.