Mastering Daily Life: Skill Checks & Skill Improvement

Using your everyday talents to overcome challenges and how to grow stronger in non-combat abilities.

What are Slice-of-Life Skills?

These skills cover a broad range of non-combat aptitudes crucial for navigating school, social situations, investigations, and personal pursuits. They are divided into categories:

• Academic Skills: (Academics (General), Research, Logic & Problem Solving, Lore (Cosmic/Cycles), Lore (Local/History))
• Social Skills: (Persuasion, Deception, Empathy, Performance, Etiquette)
• Practical Skills: (Athletics, Stealth, Crafting (Specify), First Aid, Technology)
• Each skill is rated using the Mythic Rank scale (Weak → Low → Below Average → Average → Above Average → High → Exceptional → Incredible), representing your character's current proficiency. Most skills start at Below Average or Average unless your character concept strongly suggests otherwise.

(See the dedicated "Slice-of-Life Skills" page for detailed descriptions of each skill).

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When to Make a Skill Check

The Game Master (GM) will ask you to make a Skill Check when:

• Your character attempts an action where the outcome is uncertain.
• Success relies significantly on one of your character's Slice-of-Life Skills.
• There's a meaningful consequence for failure.

Examples:

• Trying to convince the stern librarian (Persuasion) to let you into the restricted section.
• Searching through old town records for information about a past Cycle (Research).
• Trying to sneak past a patrolling security guard (Stealth).
• Attempting to cook a complex dish for a friend (Crafting (Cooking)).
• Trying to calm down a panicked bystander during a Malfested event (Empathy).
• Simple, guaranteed actions (like walking across an empty room or reading an unlocked book) typically don't require checks.

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Resolving a Skill Check: The Core Process

Skill Checks are resolved using the Mythic Fate Chart (provided elsewhere in the rules). Follow these steps:

• Step 1: Identify Skill & Starting Acting Rank
• The GM or player identifies the most appropriate Slice-of-Life Skill for the action.
• Your character's current Rank in that specific skill becomes the starting Acting Rank for this check (found on the vertical axis of the Fate Chart).
• Step 2: Determine Difficulty Rank
• The GM assesses the challenge's inherent difficulty and assigns a Difficulty Rank (found on the horizontal axis of the Fate Chart).
• Simple/Routine tasks: Below Average, Average
• Moderate challenges: Above Average, High
• Difficult/Complex tasks: Exceptional, Incredible or higher
• Step 3: Apply Rank Shifts (Crucial!)
• Check for any relevant temporary modifiers that provide Rank Shifts. These come from systems like:
• Stress: High Stress levels often impose negative Rank Shifts (-1, -2, or -3).
• Mood: Your daily Mood grants a +1 Rank Shift to one category and a -1 Rank Shift to another.
• Fashion: Appropriate attire might grant a situational +1 Rank Shift; inappropriate attire might grant -1.
• Accessories: Some accessories provide +1 Rank Shifts in specific circumstances.
• Situational Factors: The GM might apply a +/- 1 Rank Shift for particularly advantageous or disadvantageous circumstances not covered elsewhere (e.g., having specialized tools, severe weather).
• Calculate Final Acting Rank: Adjust your starting Acting Rank up or down the Fate Chart's vertical axis based on the total Rank Shift.
• Example: Your Persuasion is Average. You have -1 Rank Shift from Stress but +1 Rank Shift from a Confident Mood. The total shift is 0. Your final Acting Rank remains Average.
• Example: Your Research is Above Average. You have -1 Rank Shift from Stress. Your final Acting Rank for this check is Average.
• Example: Your Stealth is Average. You gain +1 Rank Shift from a helpful accessory. Your final Acting Rank for this check is Above Average.
• Step 4: Consult the Mythic Fate Chart
• Find the intersection on the Fate Chart between your Final Acting Rank (vertical axis) and the Difficulty Rank (horizontal axis).
• Note the target number range provided in that cell (e.g., "≤ 65," "≤ 85," "≤ 35"). This is the number you need to roll equal to or under on a d100 for standard success.
• Step 5: Roll d100 & Determine Outcome
• Roll a 100-sided die (or two 10-sided dice, one representing tens, the other units).
• Compare your roll to the target number from the Fate Chart cell.
• Success: If your roll is less than or equal to the target number.
• Failure: If your roll is greater than the target number.
• Exceptional Results: Check the bottom corners of the Fate Chart. If your roll falls within the lowest 1/5th of the success range, it's an Exceptional Yes (critical success). If it falls within the highest 1/5th of the failure range, it's an Exceptional No (critical failure). Note: Some GMs simplify this - clarify how Exceptional Results are handled in your game.
• Step 6: Describe the Result
• Based on the outcome (Failure, Success, Exceptional Yes/No), the GM and player narrate what happens. Don't just say "I succeed"; describe how your character achieves (or fails at) the action based on the skill used and the situation.

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Interpreting Outcomes

• Success: Your character achieves their immediate goal for the action. They persuade the guard, find the basic information, sneak past unnoticed, cook a decent meal.
• Failure: Your character does not achieve their immediate goal. They might be refused, find nothing, get spotted, burn the food. Failure can also introduce complications (e.g., the guard becomes suspicious, you make noise while sneaking, you waste ingredients).
• Exceptional Yes (Critical Success): Your character succeeds exceptionally well. They might gain bonus information, persuade flawlessly gaining extra favor, move completely silently, cook a truly impressive dish, or achieve their goal with unexpected flair or speed.
• Exceptional No (Critical Failure/Fumble): Your character fails dramatically. They might anger the guard, destroy the documents they were searching for, alert everyone to their presence, start a kitchen fire, or make the situation significantly worse in some way.

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Improving Your Skills: The 3-Check System

Characters aren't static; their skills grow through practice and experience! Skill improvement is tracked using Skill Checks.

• Earning Skill Checks: You gain Skill Checks for a specific skill when your actions represent meaningful practice or learning related to that skill. These are often awarded for:
• Choosing specific actions during Class Time Blocks (e.g., "Focus on Studies").
• Engaging in focused Hobby Time or Part-Time Job activities related to a skill.
• Successfully using a skill under challenging circumstances during gameplay (GM discretion).
• Completing specific training actions (e.g., "Physical Training," "Late Night Research").
• (Most actions specify if they grant +1 or +2 Skill Checks towards a relevant skill).
• Tracking Checks: On your character sheet, make a mark (like a tick or dot) next to the skill each time you earn a Skill Check for it.
• Ranking Up: When you accumulate THREE (3) Skill Checks for a single specific skill:
• Erase the three check marks for that skill.
• Increase that skill's Rank by one step on the Mythic Rank scale (e.g., Average → Above Average, or High → Exceptional).
• Important:
• Skill Checks are specific to each skill. Checks earned for Research do not help improve Athletics.
• You must earn 3 checks for the same skill to increase its Rank.
• Once a skill Rank increases, you start accumulating checks for the next Rank from zero again.

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Example of Play: Researching at the Library

• Situation: Miyuki needs to find information about a local legend possibly related to a Malfested sighting. She goes to the school library (#gakuen-library) during the After School Block.
• Step 1 (Skill & Rank): The relevant skill is Research. Miyuki's Research Rank is Average.
• Step 2 (Difficulty): The information is somewhat obscure, mentioned only in older town records. The GM sets the Difficulty Rank to Above Average.
• Step 3 (Shifts): Miyuki is feeling Anxious (+1 Emotional Resilience / -1 Mental). This gives her a -1 Rank Shift to her Research check. Her Final Acting Rank becomes Below Average.
• Step 4 (Fate Chart): The player checks the Fate Chart where Below Average (Acting) intersects with Above Average (Difficulty). The target number is ≤ 35. The Exceptional Yes range is low (e.g., 1-7), Exceptional No high (e.g., 96-100).
• Step 5 (Roll): The player rolls a d100 and gets 28. This is less than or equal to 35, so it's a Success. It's not low enough for an Exceptional Yes.
• Step 6 (Describe): "Okay, Miyuki, after nervously searching through dusty volumes for almost an hour, nearly knocking over a stack of books, you find it! A footnote in an old town history mentions the 'Weeping Willow of Sorrow' near the old shrine, rumored to appear only during intense rainfall..."
• Skill Improvement: Because this was a challenging use of the skill and she spent a dedicated block doing it, the GM might award her +1 Skill Check towards improving her Research skill. She marks this on her sheet.

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