Page 22 - Chronicles of Darkness

dice pool — The number of dice rolled to determine point — A trait expended to gain certain effects, such as
failure or success (and the degree of success) for a character’s a Willpower point or a measurement of damage or Health.
action. Dice pools are usually determined by adding an The amount of points available to spend is equal to the parent
Attribute to a Skill, plus any relevant equipment and/or trait’s dots. Spent points are regained over time or through
modifiers. certain actions.
dot — The incremental measurement of a permanent ranged combat — An attack that sends a projectile of
trait. Most traits range from 1 to 5 dots, but some (such as some sort at a target, whether it’s a bullet from a gun or a
Willpower) range from 1 to 10, and others (Health) can go knife from a hand. Such attacks use the Dexterity Attribute
higher. for their dice pools. Characters’ Defense cannot normally be
dramatic failure — A result of 1 on a chance roll causes a used against firearm attacks, although targets can penalize an
dramatic failure, a catastrophe worse than a normal failure. opponent’s accuracy by going prone or taking cover.
The character’s gun might jam or he might wind up shooting reflexive action — An instinctual task that takes no appre-
a friend by accident. The Storyteller determines and describes ciable time, such as reacting to surprise or noticing something
the result. A player can also turn a failure into a dramatic out of the corner of your eye. Performing a reflexive action
failure voluntarily in order to gain a Beat. does not prevent a character from performing another action
Durability — A trait representing an object’s hardness, within a turn.
based on the material from which it is made (wood has less Resistance — Characters can resist others’ attempts to
Durability than metal). Durability is measured in dots. An socially sway them, physically grapple them or even mentally
attack’s damage must exceed Durability before the object is dominate them. Whenever applying such resistance requires
harmed. a character’s full attention, it is performed as a contested
equipment — Characters can improve their chances of suc- action, but more often it is a reflexive action, allowing the
ceeding in a task by using the right equipment. This benefit target to also perform an action that turn.
is represented by modifiers to the dice pool, depending on scene — A division of time based on drama, such as
the equipment used and its quality. the end of one plot point and the beginning of another.
exceptional success — Whenever five or more successes Whenever a character leaves a location where a dramatic
are rolled, the character achieves an exceptional success. event has occurred, or when a combat has ended, the current
This achievement sometimes provides an extra perk over and scene usually ends and the next one begins.
above the effect of having multiple successes. For example, Skill — A character trait representing learned ability or
a character who gains five successes on a fast-talk roll might knowledge. Added to an Attribute to determine a character’s
allay the target’s suspicions enough that he believes anything basic dice pool for a task.
the character says for the remaining scene. Specialty — An area of Skill expertise in which a character
Experiences — A collection of five Beats, used to purchase excels. Whenever a Specialty applies to a character’s task, one
new traits or to boost the dots of existing traits. die is added to his player’s dice pool. There’s no limit to the
extended action — A task that takes time to accomplish. number of Specialties that you can assign to a single Skill.
Players roll to accumulate successes during phases of the Storyteller — The “director” or “editor” of the interactive
task, succeeding once they have acquired the needed total. story told by the players. The Storyteller creates the plot and
failure — A dice roll that yields no successes is a failure roleplays the characters, both allies and enemies, with which
— the character does not succeed at his task. the players’ characters interact.
Initiative — An advantage trait representing the charac- success — Each die that rolls an 8, 9 or 10 yields one suc-
ter’s ability to respond to sudden surprise, determined by cess. (Exception: A chance roll must produce a 10 to succeed.)
adding Dexterity + Composure. A character’s Initiative helps In an instant action, a player must roll at least one success
him get a high standing in the Initiative roster. for his character to accomplish a task. In an extended action,
instant action — A task that takes place within a single the number of successes required (accumulated over a series
turn. A character can perform only one instant action per of rolls) depends on the task. In an attack roll, each success
turn, unless he has a Merit or power that lets him do otherwise. produces one point of damage.
Integrity — A trait representing a character's mental trait — An element on the character sheet. Traits include
stability. Attributes, Skills, Merits, advantages, anchors, supernatural
Merit — A character trait representing enhancements or powers, and more.
elements of a character’s background, such as his allies or turn — A three-second period of time. Instant actions
influence. Merits are measured in dots, but are not always are observed in turns. Combat (a series of instant actions)
used to determine dice pools. Instead, they represent increas- is observed in consecutive turns as each combatant tries to
ing degrees of quality or quantity concerning their subject. overcome opponents.
modifiers — Dice pools are often modified by a number wound — A marked Health point, denoting an injury
of factors, from bonuses (adding dice) for equipment or ideal from damage.
conditions to penalties (subtracting dice) for poor conditions.

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Lexicon