NOVACore Roll System – Basic Mechanics
In Void Pirates, almost every meaningful action — whether firing a pistol in a zero-gravity boarding action, hacking a corporate vault, persuading a black-market Broker, enduring a toxic atmosphere, or commanding a crew during a desperate ship-to-ship fight — is resolved using the NOVACore Roll System. This single, unified mechanic keeps the game fast, fun, and deadly, while letting gravity, skill, gear, and luck all pull their weight.
The heart of the system is the Action Roll (AR): roll three six-sided dice (3d6), add a handful of modifiers, and compare the total to a Target Number (TN). Beat the TN and you succeed. Fall short and you fail — often with consequences in this unforgiving Void. A roll exactly one point below the TN gives partial success (you get what you want, but something goes wrong). A natural 18 on the dice is a critical hit (extra damage or other benefit), while a natural 3 is a critical failure (fumble table or disaster).
Here is the full step-by-step process for every Action Roll.
Step-by-Step Resolution
- Base Roll — Roll the Dice
Roll three six-sided dice (3d6) all at once and add them together. This Base Roll will always be between 3 and 18. - Add Your Attribute Modifier (AtMod)
Choose the most relevant attribute for the action you are attempting:- Strength (STR): raw physical power, melee combat, lifting heavy objects. Agility (AGL): dexterity, dodging, precision shooting, acrobatics, piloting. Intellect (INT): problem-solving, hacking, technical repairs, medicine, tactics. Health (HLTH): endurance, resisting poison, fatigue, environmental hazards. Personality (PER): social skills, perception, deception, leadership, intimidation.
- Formula: Attribute score ÷ 3 (round up).Examples:
- Score 13 → 13 ÷ 3 = 4.333 → AtMod +5Score 9 → 9 ÷ 3 = 3 → AtMod +3Score 4 → 4 ÷ 3 = 1.333 → AtMod +2Score 18 → 18 ÷ 3 = 6 → AtMod +6
- Choose and Add One Skill Rank Modifier (SRM)
Pick one relevant skill that applies to the action (you cannot stack multiple skills on the same roll — choose the single best one). Skills come in two types:- Average Skill Rank (ASR) — Common skills. Bonus is +1 per rank.
Examples: Athletics, Ranged Combat, Perception, Streetwise, Persuasion.Difficult Skill Rank (DSR) — Advanced or specialized skills. Bonus escalates:
Rank 1 = +1
Rank 2 = +3
Rank 3 = +5
Rank 4 = +7
Rank 5 = +9
- Average Skill Rank (ASR) — Common skills. Bonus is +1 per rank.
- Add the Gravity Rating Modifier (GRM)
Your Gravity Rating (GR) interacts with the local gravity to produce a modifier that affects every Action Roll. See the Gravity Rating Modifier (GRM) Table - Add All Additional Modifiers (AdMods)
Apply any situational bonuses or penalties. These come from gear, drugs, environmental conditions, crew help, wounds, or GM judgment. Typical ranges: – Bonus: +1 to +5 (examples: XO-SKEL Suit, Combat Roids, Electronic Code Breaker, inspiration from a crewmate) – Penalty: –1 to –10 (examples: injured, meteor shower in the Theater of Operations (TO), mismatched gravity fatigue, darkness)- Add (or subtract) the net total of all AdMods.
- Compare the Final Total to the Target Number (TN)
The Target Number is the difficulty threshold set by the GM:- Difficulty TN
- Routine 8
- Average 12
- Difficult 18
- Very Difficult 21
- Heroic 24+
- Difficulty TN
- Determine the Outcome
Compare your final Action Roll total to the TN: - Result Outcome
- ≥ TN = Full Success: You achieve exactly what you intended — clean, perfect result.
- TN – 1 = Partial Success: You succeed, but with a complication (e.g., you hack the door but trigger a silent alarm; you convince the Broker but owe a favor).
- < TN = Failure: The action fails — setback, nothing happens, or things get worse (GM decides severity).
Action Roll Summary (Quick Reference)
- Base Roll: 3d6 (3–18)
- + Attribute Modifier (AtMod): Attribute score ÷ 3 (round up)
- + Skill Rank Modifier (SRM): +1 per rank (Average) or escalating (+1, +3, +5, +7, +9 for Ranks 1–5, Difficult) — only one skill
- +/- Gravity Rating Modifier (GRM): From the GRM table
- +/- All Additional Modifiers (AdMods): Situational bonuses/penalties
Example Action Roll (Full Calculation)
Task: A Floater hacker is trying to break into a vault in a zero-gravity environment during a micro-meteor shower (Very Difficult, TN 21).
- Base Roll: 3d6 = 12
- Attribute: Intellect (INT) = 9 → AtMod = 9 ÷ 3 = +3
- Skill: Electronics (Average, Rank 1) → SRM = +1
- Gravity Rating Modifier: Floater in Zero-G → GRM = +2
- Additional Modifiers:
- Electronic Code Breaker gear = +2
- XO-SKEL Suit (adds +1 to Floaters) = +1
Total: 12 (base) + 3 (AtMod) + 1 (SRM) + 2 (GRM) + 2 (code breaker) + 1 (suit) = 21 Result: 21 ≥ 21 = Full Success. The vault opens cleanly, no alarms, no complications.Special Rolls & Combat ModifiersOpposed Rolls
When two characters directly contest an action (e.g., one shoots, the other dodges; one lies, the other detects the lie), both roll full Action Rolls (3d6 + all modifiers). The higher total wins.
- Tie: Partial success for the initiator (e.g., half damage rounded down + a complication like a jammed weapon or alerted guards).
Combat-Specific Modifiers
- Point-Blank range (<5 meters): +2 to Attacker’s AR
- Long Range (>50 meters): –4 to Attacker’s AR
- Cover: +3 to Defender’s AR
- Aim (spend 1 Action): +2 to your next Attack AR
Initiative
At the start of combat, every participant rolls Initiative:
- 3d6 + AGL Modifier (AtMod)
- Highest total acts first. Ties broken by highest raw AGL score, then raw roll.
- Modifiers: Include any applicable SRM (e.g., Zero-G skill), GRM, gear (Spinal Reflex Rig +1), etc.
The NOVACore Roll System is designed to be fast, intuitive, and deadly — one roll handles everything from shooting, sneaking, hacking, persuading, enduring, to commanding. Gravity, skill, gear, and luck all matter, but the dice decide who lives and who drifts as frozen wreckage. Roll high, pirate. The Void doesn’t forgive low rolls.
Eye Of Balor Magazine 