General System Overview
Many people are asking about a general overview of the Destiny system. Here are the basics and more detail will be provided in the finished products.
Dice
Destiny is a tabletop Role Play game and like most RPGs Destiny uses dice to determine arbitrary outcomes. This outcome will determine success or failure. Please note that the dice should not be used in lieu of actual role playing. If a situation can get by without the use of dice we would recommend that you do so.
Destiny will use 2 ten sided dice for all rolls. This is represented as 2D10. You can purchase 10 sided dice from a game store, hobby store, comic book store or online. Ebay is a great recourse to purchase dice.
Attributes
Characters possess several attributes which determines their innate capabilities. These are the natural talents and gifts of the character.
Attributes will have a rating that will range from 1 – 10 with one being the worst. This higher an Attribute Rating is the better. The average Attribute Rating in Destiny is 4.
When your character performs an action that requires the dice to be rolled you will usually add your Attribute Rating to your roll.
Skills
Each character will possess skills which represent your characters training and learned abilities. Skills are the backbone of your character.
Skill Ratings will have a range from 0 (unskilled) to 10 (unsurpassed). As with Attributes, the higher the Skill Rating the better you are at performing that skill. The average Skill Rating in Destiny is 4.
When your character performs an action that requires the dice to be rolled you will usually add your Skill Rating to your roll.
Situational Modifiers
As with real life, not everything is strait forward. There will be certain situations or conditions that will make performing a task easier or more difficult. This is represented as either a bonus or penalty that will be added or subtracted from your total.
Performing a ranged attack at night with no real light is more difficult than doing so in broad daylight. This would be represented by a penalty or negative number.
Picking a lock with high quality professional tools can make the job easier and therefore would be represented as a bonus or a positive number.
All modifiers are cumulative unless otherwise stated and are added or subtracted after the die roll is complete.
Rolling the Dice
Now that you understand all the factors that can impact the outcome of an action, you will need to know how to put it all together.
The GM will determine which Attribute you will need to use to perform the task at hand and which Skill will need to be used.
The player will add the appropriate Attribute Rating with the appropriate Skill Rating. This will usually result in a number from 2 through 20.
The player will roll 2D10 (two ten sided dice) and add them together. This will usually render a result of 2 through 20.
It is important to note that most 10 sided dice have a number from 0 – 9 on them. The 0 represents 10.
There two special rules that apply to the rolling of the dice. First is the Rule of 10s. If you ever roll two 10s (a 10 on both dice on the same roll) you will roll an additional 1D10 (one ten sided die) and add it to the original roll total (which would have been 20).
Second is the rule of 1s. If you ever roll two 1s (a 1 on both dice on the same roll) you will roll an addition 1D10 and subtract the result from the original roll total. Please note this can result in a negative number.
The player will then add the Roll result to the Attribute and Skill Ratings. This will typically give you a result from 4 – 40.
At this time the player will apply any situational modifiers that the GM has determined apply, if any.