Whenever your character takes action, and there is doubt in the outcome—failure is a possibility, or the result might depend on how well they succeed—the gamemaster asks you to make a skill test. When you make a skill test, the gamemaster tells you how difficult the skill test is, expressed as Difficulty. 

Select one of your skills and one of your drives and add their scores together to make a target number. Then, roll two d20s:

• Each die that rolls equal to or under that target number is a success.
• Each die that rolls a 1 is a critical success, worth two successes. 

If your character has a focus that would help in that action, then any die that rolls equal to or less than their skill is a critical success instead. Count your successes, and if you scored successes equal to or greater than the Difficulty, your character has passed the skill test and achieves what they set out to achieve.

When to Roll

Much of the time, when playing Dune: Adventures in the Imperium, you simply describe what you want your character to do, and the gamemaster decides whether it’s possible and what happens next. Most actions your character takes should be so simple that you don’t need to use the rules.

However, there are sometimes actions that aren’t so simple to resolve. Most commonly, these fall into one of three categories:

• The action is difficult or dangerous, or both.
• The action is directly opposed by someone else.
• The action is simple, but how well you succeed is important.

In these situations, the gamemaster asks you to make a skill test, following the process described below.

What’s at Stake

Both you and the gamemaster should have a clear idea of what a skill test is for, and what happens if the skill test succeeds or fails. In general, one of the following is likely to be true: 

• The skill test is an attempt to achieve something: if you pass, you get the result you desire; if the skill test fails, you don’t get that. 
• The skill test is to avoid or resist a danger. In this case, a pass means that you avoid some or all the danger, while failure means that you suffer the full effects of the danger you sought to avoid. 
• The skill test is to achieve something, but there’s something at stake as well. If you pass, you get what you wanted and avoid the consequences, while failure means that you suffer the consequences instead, or must choose to face the consequences if you want to achieve your goal. 

The gamemaster should inform you of the potential outcomes for success or failure before you attempt a skill test. Your character is assumed to be capable enough to know the likely outcomes for their actions.

Difficulty

For many skill tests, as long as you achieve one success you have succeeded at the action you are attempting. However, some actions are simply more complex than others, or can be made more difficult by circumstances. While it may be a challenge to pick a lock, it is more of a challenge to do so in the rain, blindfolded with an enemy agent about to attack you.

When a player asks to make a skill test, the gamemaster should determine the Difficulty of the task, which is rated 0–5. The player must get at least as many successes on the skill test result as the Difficulty to achieve the task. If they fail they may still opt to ‘succeed at a cost’. The gamemaster should determine the Difficulty as fairly as possible based of the task at hand. However, the gamemaster may then spend Threat to increase the set Difficulty to represent further complications to the task.

The gamemaster may allow a test to be made with a Difficulty of 0. This sort of test is made when the character cannot really fail, but the quality of their action may still apply. This might be staking out an enemy facility to get an idea of the security, scouting out terrain before a battle, or mingling with the guests of a soiree to pick up rumours and gossip. As usual, any successes scored above the Difficulty generate Momentum, and so such tests can grant a boost to the player’s Momentum pool before they initiate a conflict, representing their preparations and planning.

In general, the Difficulty should follow the following guidelines:

Simple (Difficulty 0)

• Nudging open a stuck door
• Following an unaware subject in the dark in a place you know intimately
• Asking for a simple favor
• Deceiving a simple-minded subject
• Investigating a subject of common knowledge

Average (Difficulty 1)

• Overcoming a simple lock
• Following an unaware subject in the dark
• Asking for a significant favor from a friend
• Deceiving a trusting subject
• Investigating private but not secret knowledge

Challenging (Difficulty 2)

• Overcoming a complex lock
• Following a suspicious subject in the dark
• Asking for a favor that costs the benefactor something minor
• Deceiving a wary subject
• Investigating confidential or hidden knowledge

Daunting (Difficulty 3)

• Overcoming a complex lock in a hurry
• Following a suspicious subject during the day
• Asking for a difficult favor from someone you already owe
• Deceiving a deeply suspicious subject
• Investigating knowledge that has been actively hidden by a powerful faction

Dire (Difficulty 4)

• Overcoming a complex lock, in a hurry, without the right tools
• Following a suspicious subject in the daytime in streets they know well
• Asking for a complicated or expensive favor
• Deceiving a subject who considers you an enemy
• Investigating knowledge whose very existence has been hidden

Epic (Difficulty 5)

• Overcoming a complex lock, in a hurry, without the right tools, during a battle
• Following a subject who knows they are being followed, knows you personally, and knows the streets
• Asking for a dangerous favor from a stranger
• Deceiving a your worst enemy
• Investigating knowledge whose very existence has been hidden for centuries 

What Are You Doing, and Why?

When you’re attempting a skill test, the choice is yours as to which skill and which drive you want to use. However, this isn’t simply a case of picking the biggest numbers.

First, select your skill. This should be fairly obvious, as your skill relates directly to what you’re doing. Usually the gamemaster determines the skill to be used, but the player is allowed to suggest alternatives. 

When you’ve selected your skill, check to see if any of your focuses apply to the action. For both skill and focus, the gamemaster may overrule your choices and suggest something else, or they may prompt a particular choice in advance. However, you always get to make a choice and try to justify why it fits the situation: the choice of skill is defined by what it is you’re choosing to do.

Second, select your drive. This reflects your character’s motivation and drive behind the action—why they are doing what they’re doing. Some of your drives come with a statement. These describe the most important aspects of what your character believes, providing both advantages and limitations. To select which drive to use, look at the character’s drive statements and pick the one most appropriate to the situation. This is not necessarily the most advantageous, as drives can often be a disadvantage in some circumstances. The drive linked to the drive statement you choose is the one you must use for the test. If multiple statements are appropriate, choose which of those drives to use. If none of the statements apply, choose one of the character’s drives that does not have a statement to use in the test.

When you wish to use a drive, you must check to see if the statement agrees with the action.

• If the drive statement agrees with the action, then you can use that drive on this skill test. In addition, you are allowed to spend a point of Determination on that skill test if you wish. You cannot spend Determination if the drive you’re using has no statement.
• If the drive statement clashes with the action—the drive doesn’t support the action, or the action goes against the drive—then the gamemaster may offer you a point of Determination and ask you to make a choice about the drive: either comply with the drive, or challenge it. If you comply, you suffer an immediate complication on the action you’re attempting, which could include being unable to carry out the action. If you challenge the drive, you can use it in the skill test, but the statement is crossed out immediately after the skill test is resolved, and you can’t use that drive until you’ve recovered it—you now doubt how you feel about that drive, and can no longer rely on it. If you don’t want either of those options, you may refuse the point of Determination and choose a different drive.

If the drive you’re using has no statement, then you may choose to use it, without restriction. In these cases, the following guidance may be helpful when determining which to use:

• Duty: Does the action relate to your responsibilities or obligations? Often easy to justify when acting for your House.
• Faith: Does the action rely upon trusting in others, an organization, or a higher power? Often useful when relying on empathy and wisdom.
• Justice: Does the action relate to matters of morality, of simple right and wrong, or to the law? Often useful (ironically) in acts of deceit.
• Power: Does the action rely on you having authority, status, or power over someone, or does it relate to your ambitions? Often useful in conflict.
• Truth: Does the action seek to uncover secrets, or to convince someone of something, whether true or false? Often useful in investigation.

Tests can also be augmented by the players spending points of Momentum or Determination, or hindered by the gamemaster spending points of Threat. A result of 20 creates a complication for the character making the test. This represents an additional problem, similar to a trait, that makes further tests harder. We describe how players and the gamemaster can spend and acquire these points later in this chapter.

Example: The gamemaster determines that for Kara to make the trade deal with the spice merchant, she needs to use her Communicate skill. This is mainly as they are in an informal setting at a party. Were it a board room negotiation, Discipline or perhaps even Battle might have been another option.

Next, Kara’s player looks at her drive statements. Kara has three statements: 

• Duty: “I am the heir of my House.”
• Faith: “My family trusts me.” 
• Power: “I get what I want.”

As Kara is negotiating on behalf of her House, her Duty statement seems the most appropriate. Her Faith statement might also apply, but as she is not with her family at this soiree it isn’t quite right. If she were negotiating for herself and not her House, her Power statement might be the one to use.

Next, Kara’s player and the gamemaster must decide if the task is at odds with the drive statement. In this case it is not, as Kara is negotiating as the heir of her House. However, had this negotiation been a minor trade issue that could have been left to an underling, her drive statement might have been at odds with the task.

Choosing Drives

It can be difficult to decide which drive is the most appropriate, but just as difficult to pick when none of your drive statements seem to fit the situation. The following guidelines should help you make that decision.

If you have exactly the right drive statement...

Great! Pick that drive and carry on.

If several drive statements suit the action...

Here you can pick from whichever you prefer (usually the highest), but consider how your character is deciding to approach the action defined by the drive you choose. If it feels more ‘in character’ to pick a lower rated drive, that’s great too.

If none of the drive statements suit the action...

Sometimes there just isn’t a drive or statement that fits. In which case, you should choose one of your two lower drives that don’t have a statement. This represents the character attaching no real focus to the task as it doesn’t mean as much to them.

If the most appropriate drive statement is one that opposes the action...

In this case you can choose to challenge the drive. The gamemaster may offer a point of Determination. If you take it, you delete the opposing statement after making the test. The character has chosen to act against their drives and must rethink their values. This is a way for you to change your character’s drives if they are not suiting the way you are playing them.

If you know what drive seems appropriate but the statement doesn’t fit...

Here you might comply with the drive and gain a point of Determination, picking the drive you think is most appropriate, even though the statement doesn’t quite fit. Your character considers the action at odds with their drives, but not enough to make them question their ideals. They can continue to make the test and keep their drive statement but pick up a Complication to represent how unsettled they are. 

Skill Test Procedure

When attempting a skill test, follow the procedure below:

1. The gamemaster usually selects one skill to be used, then the player should pick one drive they think is appropriate, guided by their drive statements. They may also select an applicable focus if they have one. These are added together to become the target number. 
2. The gamemaster sets the Difficulty for the skill test; this is normally between 1 and 5, but it can be higher. Some skill tests may have a default Difficulty listed in the rules, but traits, Threat, and other factors can increase or decrease Difficulties. The Difficulty is the number of successes you must generate to pass the skill test. 
3. The players and gamemaster should also finalize any traits they are applying (some might be required to even make it possible) before moving on to roll the dice.
4. You take two d20s, plus any additional d20s you’ve bought for this skill test. This is your dice pool for this skill test. Then, roll your dice pool.
5. Each d20 that rolls equal to or less than the target number scores a single success. Each die that rolls a 1 is a critical success, which scores two successes instead of one. 
1. If a focus applies, then each die that rolls equal to or less than the skill being used scores a critical success. 
2. Each die that rolls a 20 causes a complication. 
6. If the number of successes scored equals or exceeds the Difficulty of the skill test, then you have passed. If the number of successes scored is less than the Difficulty of the skill test, then you have failed.
1. If the number of successes scored is greater than the Difficulty, each success above the Difficulty becomes a single point of Momentum. 
7. The gamemaster describes the outcome of the skill test, and if the skill test was successful you may spend Momentum to improve the result further. After this, the effects of any complications are applied. 

Example: Kara’s player and the gamemaster have determined that the test to convince the merchant to make a deal should be Communicate + Duty, and that Kara can apply her ‘Diplomacy’ focus to the roll.

The Difficulty would normally be 2, but the gamemaster reduces this to 1 as Kara has the trait Honorable.

With a Communicate of 6 and a Duty of 7, Kara’s player must roll 13 (6+7=13) or less to gain a success. Any die that rolls 6 or less count as two successes, because of the focus. If no focus applied, Kara’s player would need to roll a 1 to gain two successes.

Kara’s player has 2d20 to roll for the test, and no Momentum yet to buy any more. But as this is an important deal, she decides to give the gamemaster Threat so she can add another die, for a dice pool of 3d20.

She rolls 5, 14, and 20. The 5 grants two successes, the 14 grants nothing, and the 20 saddles Kara with a complication. 

As Kara only needed one success (Difficulty 1), the roll is a success. She also gains 1 point of Momentum for getting one more success than she needed. The trade deal is completed in Kara’s favor. 

However, there is still a complication. The gamemaster suggests that Kara has been so busy negotiating she has failed to notice how often the servants have been filling her glass. She gains the temporary trait ‘Intoxicated’, which might cause problems if more negotiations must be done.

Improving the Odds

While succeeding at most common tasks is a straightforward matter, even the most capable and driven character cannot succeed at the most challenging tasks without effort, opportunity, or assistance. To truly triumph, a character needs to find some other way of improving the odds. 

Players have a number of ways to improve the odds: buying more d20s to roll, spending Determination, or getting assistance.

• Momentum can be spent to buy additional dice before a skill test. You can buy up to three d20s for a skill test after the Difficulty has been declared, but before any dice are rolled. The first die you purchase for a skill test costs 1 point of Momentum, the second die costs 2 Momentum, and the third costs 3 Momentum (so buying an additional 2d20 costs 3 Momentum and an additional 3d20 costs 6 Momentum). 
• Threat can be generated to buy extra dice instead of spending Momentum. This works in the same way as spending Momentum, above, but you may generate Threat to pay some or all the cost, generating 1 point of Threat for each point of Momentum you would have spent.
• Determination ties into a character’s drive statements, and has other uses, but it can be used to improve the odds. If the statement for the drive you’re using on a skill test supports the action you’re attempting, you may spend a point of Determination before rolling to change one of the dice so that it automatically rolls a 1, or after rolling to re-roll your entire dice pool. Determination and a character’s drive statements are discussed above.
• Assistance is when another character actively assists your action. The gamemaster may limit how many characters may assist a given skill test. Each assistant selects a drive and skill to create a target number of their own, based on how they are helping, and rolls 1d20 (assistants cannot buy extra dice themselves). Any successes they generate are added to the skill test you are attempting, so long as you score at least one success of your own. Any complications from anyone involved in the skill test apply to everyone. 

Example: Having completed her trade agreement in principle with the spice merchant, Kara can enjoy the rest of the party. Unfortunately, she notices that her old enemy Marcus Tarin, a courtier from a rival House, is also in attendance. Kara decides to chat with some of the other guests to see if anyone else knows why Marcus has arrived and what he plans. 

As Marcus wasn’t expected, the gamemaster decides learning anything is a Difficulty 3 test, not a result Kara’s player believes she can roll easily on 2d20. Kara has a point of Momentum from her trade negotiations to buy another d20, and she decides to give the gamemaster Threat to get another one. This brings her dice pool up to 4d20.

While that should be enough, Kara can also enlist the help of Anna, her handmaiden. Anna sees what she can learn from the other servants. She makes a skill test of her own using only 1d20, but any successes she gets are added to Kara’s total. 

Recovering Drives

If any of your character’s drive statements are crossed out, then they are less certain of their drives, and of their place in the universe. It takes time, reflection, and counsel to clear away that uncertainty.

At the end of any scene during which your character contemplated personal matters or discussed them with another character, and you did not spend or gain any Determination during that scene, you may ask the gamemaster to allow your character to recover a drive. If you don’t do this during play, it happens automatically between adventures, should no suitable opportunities arise.

When your character recovers a drive, select a single drive which has had the statement crossed out, and do one of the following:

• New Statement: Create a new statement for that drive, which should in some way reflect your character’s changed views and perspectives.
• Changing Priorities: Modify the score of that drive by –1 and choose the drive with the next lowest score to increase by +1 (so, if you’re reducing a drive with a score of 6, you would increase the one which had a score of 5). If this would mean that the drive is reduced to less than 6, then it no longer has a statement (and similarly, any drive increased to 6 gains a statement). If this doesn’t reduce the drive’s score to 5, then the statement may remain unchanged (and no longer crossed-out).

Whichever option is chosen, the drive is now recovered and may be used freely, though you cannot challenge a drive which has already been challenged and recovered during that adventure (people’s core drives do not change that often).