Lift

Typically used with: Muscle

In short: move weight. The strong man in the party is best for picking things up, tossing them, and hauling them around, but that doesn't mean the rest of the party doesn't occasionally have to share the load. The Lift check is required any time a character needs to move some weight around.

Difficulty

The difficulty depends on the physical action being performed. Thus, it's up to the GM to determine appropriate numbers. Here are some examples. In the descriptions below where you see the phrase "if a character rolls a 30," take that to represent a character with 10 in Muscle, 10 ranks in Lift, and rolls a 10.

Hoist/Push/Pull

Your character may need to push, pull, or hoist an opponent, ally, or other heavy object. Depending on the conditions, a character can lift its own weight from the ground with a DL 10, twice its weight at DL 20, and three times its weight at DL 30. If pushing, pulling, or lifting from beneath an object, DL 10 is 150% of its weight, DL 20 is three times its weight, and DL 30 is 450% its weight. A character attempting to regularly lift more than its own weight has to be concerned about the stress it puts on the body — especially to the skeleton and internal organs.

Here are some examples: Nox the human knight is a well-built soldier, weighing 300 lbs. Thus, if he rolls a Lift of 30, he can pick up 900 pounds from the ground. (To put it in perspective, a world record for dead lift is about 1,000 pounds). If he gets beneath the object and lifts with his whole body, he can pick up 1,350 lbs (a world record for squat is over 1,200 pounds).

Throwing

Your character may need to throw a weapon to a comrade or a bomb to an enemy.

For a light-weight object that can fit in the hand (an apple, a baseball, a dagger), the result of the roll times 15 should be the number of feet the object is thrown. Thus, if a character rolls a 30, the object can be thrown 450 feet.

If you have a relatively light object (20 pounds or less) and a good amount of momentum, the result of the roll times 10 should be the number of feet thrown. A traditional Olympic games hammer weighs 16 pounds. An Olympic javelin weighs just under 2 pounds. Thus, if a character rolls a 30, they can toss a 16lb. hammer 300 feet (to put it in perspective, a world record for the hammer throw is 284.58 feet), and they can throw a javelin 300 feet. (To put it in perspective, a world record for the javelin throw is 297 feet).

A shot put weighs the same as the hammer, but it gets much less momentum. When held at the base of the neck and pushed out with the arm, the roll times 3 should equal the number of feet thrown. Thus, if a character rolls a 30, they can toss a 16lb. shot 90 feet. (To put it in perspective, a world record for the shot put is 75.87 feet).

A heavy object can be thrown much shorter a distance. For a 60 pound object, the result of the roll should be the number of feet thrown. Thus, if a character rolls a 30, they can toss a 60 pound weight 30 feet. (To put it in perspective, a world record for throwing a 56 pound weight is 36 feet).

Bigger/Smaller Creatures

The example DLs and feet listed here are calculated for creatures of average human weight and height: between 100–250 lbs., and between 5–7 feet. Characters who are much smaller or much bigger should take into account their own weight for lifting (an elephant weighing 6 tons should be able to lift his own weight on a DL 10 Lift), and their own height for throwing (a lemur should only be able to throw a marble so far).

Other Uses

In combat, Lift is used during the Grab.

Time

The amount of time a Lift check takes really depends on the task. Throwing or picking up an object should be 1–2 AP. Ask your GM for specifics.