Skill Difficulties

When designing a challenge, the first step is to determine the Difficulty Factor (DF) of challenge you wish to present, on a scale of 1 to 10. The higher the Difficulty Factor, the more difficult the challenge. For a Difficulty Factor of 1 (DF 1), the average person should be able to complete the task most of the time. A DF 10, on the other hand, is extremely difficult and something that only the highest of Grand Masters can complete. Consider the following scale when trying to determine appropriate Difficulty Factors for your PCs.

DF 1: The average untrained person will complete this task easily.

DF 2: The average untrained person has a 50% chance of completing. This task is easy for the Apprentice and very easy for the Novice.

DF 3: This is a moderate challenge for the Apprentice and a moderate to easy challenge for the Novice.

DF 4: This task is very difficult for the Apprentice and difficult to moderate challenge for the Novice. The task is easy for the Journeyman.

DF 5: This task is very difficult for the Novice and difficult to moderate for the Journeyman. The task is easy for the Master.

DF 6: This task is very difficult to difficult for the Journeyman. The task is difficult to moderate for the Master.

DF 7: This task is very difficult to difficult for the Master. The task is moderate for the Grand Master.

DF 8: This task is very difficult to difficult for the Grand Master.

DF 9: This task is very difficult for the Grand Master.

DF 10: This task is extremely difficult. It can only be accomplished by the highest of Grand Masters.

If you're not sure what the difficulty of a task should be, each Skill page includes a list of sample DFs (and their corresponding DCs) that can help. Try to choose a Difficulty Factor that is possible for your PCs at their current level (unless you want it to be impossible). For example, most PCs will not be able to reach the Master ranks in skills until level 12, so it would typically be inappropriate to use tasks with a DF above 6 before then.