Target Numbers can vary a lot, but the lowest standard target number is 10. That’s a pretty easy number for most characters to reach on an action check, especially when figuring in ability scores.

Often the target number for a particular action check is set at a single number that doesn’t change.

For instance, the target number to free yourself from Spider-Man’s webbing is 20. That’s a hard number for regular people to hit—almost impossible, in fact. The more Powerful a character is, though, the easier it becomes to hit that target number.

Setting Target Numbers

Sometimes, though, it’s easier to think about Target Numbers in terms of how much of a challenge it would be for the particular character attempting The Action Check. If it seems like they might have a roughly even chance of failure or success at what they’re attempting, then that action check would be considered Challenging.

A Challenging action check takes a bit of luck and effort to pull off. The Challenging TN by Rank table shows the target number for what would be considered a Challenging action at each rank.

(Rank is a measure of how Powerful a character is, and that’s covered in depth a bit later in The Book.)

Challenging TN by Rank

Adjusting the Target Number

The Narrator can modify a target number by assigning it a different adjective than Challenging: Trivial, Easy, Routine, Difficult, Ridiculous or Absurd. See the TN Modifiers by Adjectives table for how this works.

TN Modifiers by Adjectives

Example: Captain America (who is Rank 4) is soaring through a combat zone on a hang glider, and he needs to zip through a narrow gap between two skyscrapers. The Narrator thinks about it for a moment and decides that this is a Ridiculous task for a Rank 4 character.

A Challenging Rank 4 task has a target number of 14, so if the task is Ridiculous (+4), the target number is (14+4 =) 18. Better hope The Dice are in Cap’s favor!

Impossible Things

Just as the Narrator can say that many actions are so easy or simple that they don’t require an action check, they can also state that other actions are flat-out impossible and so don’t allow for an action check.

Example: The Hulk wants to try to push the Earth out of orbit. It doesn’t matter how hard the Hulk hits the ground or jumps up and down on it—even the Hulk isn’t strong enough to manage this. The Narrator tells the Hulk’s player that it’s impossible, but they can go ahead and try something else.