Some actions require more than skill or natural ability: obstacles must be overcome for the character to succeed. In these cases, call for a resistance roll. Resistance rolls pit characteristics or other measurable quantities against one other. For example, a heavy rock might be SIZ 15. To lift it, a character needs to roll their STR versus the rock’s SIZ on the resistance table.
To make a resistance roll, cross-index the active characteristic to the passive characteristic on the resistance table (below). The active characteristic is the party or force trying to influence the passive characteristic, the one resisting any change. The cross-indexed value is the percentage chance the acting force has of success.
Resistance Table
POW
of
Defending
Force
POW of Attacking Force
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 50 | 55 | 60 | 65 | 70 | 75 | 80 | 85 | 90 | 95 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2 | 45 | 50 | 55 | 60 | 65 | 70 | 75 | 80 | 85 | 90 | 95 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 3 | 40 | 45 | 50 | 55 | 60 | 65 | 70 | 75 | 80 | 85 | 90 | 95 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 4 | 35 | 40 | 45 | 50 | 55 | 60 | 65 | 70 | 75 | 80 | 85 | 90 | 95 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 5 | 30 | 35 | 40 | 45 | 50 | 55 | 60 | 65 | 70 | 75 | 80 | 85 | 90 | 95 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 6 | 25 | 30 | 35 | 40 | 45 | 50 | 55 | 60 | 65 | 70 | 75 | 80 | 85 | 90 | 95 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 7 | 20 | 25 | 30 | 35 | 40 | 45 | 50 | 55 | 60 | 65 | 70 | 75 | 80 | 85 | 90 | 95 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 8 | 15 | 20 | 25 | 30 | 35 | 40 | 45 | 50 | 55 | 60 | 65 | 70 | 75 | 80 | 85 | 90 | 95 | — | — | — | — |
| 9 | 10 | 15 | 20 | 25 | 30 | 35 | 40 | 45 | 50 | 55 | 60 | 65 | 70 | 75 | 80 | 85 | 90 | 95 | — | — | — |
| 10 | 5 | 10 | 15 | 20 | 25 | 30 | 35 | 40 | 45 | 50 | 55 | 60 | 65 | 70 | 75 | 80 | 85 | 90 | 95 | — | — |
| 11 | — | 5 | 10 | 15 | 20 | 25 | 30 | 35 | 40 | 45 | 50 | 55 | 60 | 65 | 70 | 75 | 80 | 85 | 90 | 95 | — |
| 12 | — | — | 5 | 10 | 15 | 20 | 25 | 30 | 35 | 40 | 45 | 50 | 55 | 60 | 65 | 70 | 75 | 80 | 85 | 90 | 95 |
| 13 | — | — | — | 5 | 10 | 15 | 20 | 25 | 30 | 35 | 40 | 45 | 50 | 55 | 60 | 65 | 70 | 75 | 80 | 85 | 90 |
| 14 | — | — | — | — | 5 | 10 | 15 | 20 | 25 | 30 | 35 | 40 | 45 | 50 | 55 | 60 | 65 | 70 | 75 | 80 | 85 |
| 15 | — | — | — | — | — | 5 | 10 | 15 | 20 | 25 | 30 | 35 | 40 | 45 | 50 | 55 | 60 | 65 | 70 | 75 | 80 |
| 16 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 5 | 10 | 15 | 20 | 25 | 30 | 35 | 40 | 45 | 50 | 55 | 60 | 65 | 70 | 75 |
| 17 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 5 | 10 | 15 | 20 | 25 | 30 | 35 | 40 | 45 | 50 | 55 | 60 | 65 | 70 |
| 18 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 5 | 10 | 15 | 20 | 25 | 30 | 35 | 40 | 45 | 50 | 55 | 60 | 65 |
| 19 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 5 | 10 | 15 | 20 | 25 | 30 | 35 | 40 | 45 | 50 | 55 | 60 |
| 20 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 5 | 10 | 15 | 20 | 25 | 30 | 35 | 40 | 45 | 50 | 55 |
| 21 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 5 | 10 | 15 | 20 | 25 | 30 | 35 | 40 | 45 | 50 |
For success, one of the sides—active or passive—must roll D100 equal to or less than the indicated number. If the passive force is not attempting to resist, then it does not roll. For example, a character with STR 13 (the active characteristic) has a 40% chance of picking up that SIZ 15 rock (the passive characteristic). The rock doesn’t do anything to resist, so it’s not going to roll against the character. If the roll is 40 or below, the rock is lifted. A roll of 41+ means the rock is just too heavy. The character can rest and try again later.
In general, the side controlled by a player is the one that should roll, whether active or passive. If there is a condition where it is uncertain as to who should roll, let the passive side, the defender, roll.
One of the most common uses for resistance rolls is STR vs. SIZ. To pick any of these things up, a character matches STR (the active characteristic) against the object’s SIZ (the passive characteristic). Following is a list of the sizes of the relative SIZ of average objects:
Object SIZ Examples
| Object | SIZ |
| Glass window | 3 |
| Door | 4–8 |
| Chair | 4–9 |
| Table | 4–12 |
| Lamp post | 30 |
| Home wall | 25–35 |
| Brick wall | 30–50 |
| Concrete wall | 30–50 |
| Concrete and steel wall | 35–55 |
| Small air vehicle | 40 |
| Automobile | 50 |
| Vault door | 60 |
| Medium land vehicle | 60 |
| Steel beam | 65 |
| Air vehicle, jet fighter | 80 |
| Medium tank | 80 |
| Air vehicle, airliner | 110 |
The resistance table isn’t just for picking things up, however. Use it in a DEX vs. DEX race to determine who wins between two characters with an equal MOV characteristic. Following are other ways to use the resistance table:
- Arm wrestling is straight STR vs. STR.
- Squeezing through a hole in the wall pits a character’s SIZ vs. the hole’s SIZ, only in this case, the character wants to lose.
- Drinking someone under the table is CON vs. CON.
- A psychic battle (or even a stare-down) uses POW vs. POW.
- Trying to resist a poison pits the poison’s potency (rated a value) against the poisoned character’s CON.
- Getting noticed when another person is also trying to be noticed is APP vs. APP.
The resistance table is for use when a raw characteristic is pitted against another, working on the principle that two equal forces have a 50/50 chance of winning if pitted against one another. The rest of the time, use a skill vs. a skill, or best judgment.