Mechanics

Key facts

Characteristic

Reason

Overview

Mechanics covers anything with moving parts: raising a portcullis whose chain is jammed, reading a clockwork mechanism to find the release, disabling a pressure plate, wrecking a siege engine so it cannot be repaired by morning. It is a Reason skill because it is diagnosis before it is force. It comes up in dungeons full of traps, in workshops and mills, aboard ships, and any time the fastest route through an obstacle is the machine that controls it.

How it works

Characteristic: Reason. Skill group: Reason skills. Test: 2d10 + Reason; 11 or lower is tier 1, 12 to 16 tier 2, 17 or higher tier 3. Training grants a benefit and unlocks attempts untrained heroes cannot make. How it is used: Tier 3 gets the device doing exactly what you want, quietly. Tier 2 works but leaves damage, noise, or a time cost. Tier 1 fails, and a trap or mechanism may trigger. Edges and banes: Tools, light, and time to study the device grant an edge (+2). Working blind, under attack, on unfamiliar or magically driven mechanisms, or with bare hands imposes a bane (-2).

Tips and playstyle

Best for: Dungeon-facing parties without a Shadow, and heroes who like solving rooms instead of fighting them. Character concepts: Artisan career millwright, Criminal who worked with a crew of trap-breakers, a memonek raised around unfamiliar machinery. Synergies: Pick Lock for the locks themselves, Engineering for the structure the machine is built into, Alertness to find the trap before you reach for it.

Frequently asked questions