Difference between revisions of "Reaction"

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{{section|Acting Quickly|}}
 
{{section|Acting Quickly|}}
Reaction is also used to respond quick enough to avoid some sort of danger. The faster you need to react, the higher the DL. If the result of your Reaction check meets or exceeds the DL, you instantly snap to attention and gain enough time to act before it's too late.
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Reaction is also used to respond quickly enough to confront some sort of danger. This isn't the ability to move out of the way, that's what [[Dodge]] is for. Quite the opposite; this is the ability to endanger yourself for some kind of benefit. The faster you need to act, the higher the DL. The consequences of failure are often high, but the rewards are often worth it.
  
For instance, if your adventuring party springs a trap and the floor collapses, the GM might ask for a Reaction check at a DL of 15. The characters who fail the check don't have time to act before they plummet into the darkness below. However, those who manage to pass the check get a chance to [[Dash]] to safety, use [[Gymnastics]] to jump, and so on. Another example: your party is scaling a cliff wall and someone above you drops an item. You can try to catch it, but you need to make a Reaction check first to determine your speed to act.
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Let's say your adventuring party is scaling a cliff wall and someone above you drops an important item. If you succeed on a Reaction check, you gain a brief moment in which you can make a [[Grip]] check to catch it. Here's another example: some scaffolding falls from a high place and plummets toward a child on the street below. With a high enough Reaction check, you get the chance to make a [[Dash]] check to snatch her up and deliver her to safety before the laws of gravity spell her doom.
  
You could also make a Reaction check to help someone ''else'' in danger. For instance, some scaffolding falls from a high place and it's plummeting towards a child on the street. With a high enough Reaction check, you may have time to snatch her up and deliver her to safety before she gets squashed.
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If you fail a Reaction check, time runs out and trouble befalls you, and the GM should be creative with the consequences. For instance, if you fail the check to save an old man from an oncoming horse, you don't reach him in time. On the other hand… if you roll a [[Critical Failure]], maybe you can manage to push him out of the way only to get trampled yourself.
 
 
If you fail a Reaction check, time runs out and trouble befalls you, and the GM should be creative with the consequences. For instance, if you fail the check to save an old man from an oncoming horse, you may just not reach him in time. On the other hand if you roll a [[Critical Failure]], maybe you can manage to push him out of the way only to get trampled yourself.
 
  
 
[[Category:Skills]]
 
[[Category:Skills]]

Latest revision as of 03:40, 21 August 2019

Typically used with Courage.

In short: get ready. Characters with ranks in Reaction are top of things and ready to take immediate action. This skill represents your ability to call upon your bravery and charge into danger with a clear head instead of being startled by it. When a potentially hazardous situation arises, a Reaction roll is used to determine in what order each participant can act.

Joining Combat

When combat begins, your GM will tell you to roll Reaction. The higher the roll, the sooner you can act. The character with the highest Reaction check result gets to review every other combatant's plans and then act first, the character with the second highest acts second, and so on down the line. More information about the involvement of Reaction in combat order can be found in Chapter 10: Combat.

Acting Quickly

Reaction is also used to respond quickly enough to confront some sort of danger. This isn't the ability to move out of the way, that's what Dodge is for. Quite the opposite; this is the ability to endanger yourself for some kind of benefit. The faster you need to act, the higher the DL. The consequences of failure are often high, but the rewards are often worth it.

Let's say your adventuring party is scaling a cliff wall and someone above you drops an important item. If you succeed on a Reaction check, you gain a brief moment in which you can make a Grip check to catch it. Here's another example: some scaffolding falls from a high place and plummets toward a child on the street below. With a high enough Reaction check, you get the chance to make a Dash check to snatch her up and deliver her to safety before the laws of gravity spell her doom.

If you fail a Reaction check, time runs out and trouble befalls you, and the GM should be creative with the consequences. For instance, if you fail the check to save an old man from an oncoming horse, you don't reach him in time. On the other hand… if you roll a Critical Failure, maybe you can manage to push him out of the way only to get trampled yourself.