Chrome & Covenant uses one core mechanic for everything: roll 2d10, add your modifiers, and try to meet or beat a Target Number. Combat, hacking, social encounters, crafting — it all resolves the same way.
The Core Roll
2d10 + Stat Modifier + Skill Rank + Situational Modifiers vs Target Number (TN)
Meet or exceed the TN: Success.
Exceed the TN by 5 or more: Critical Success — enhanced outcome, something extra goes right.
Miss the TN by 5 or more: Critical Failure — not just failure, but a complication beyond what you expected.
Roll doubles on the 2d10: Trigger a Critical Effect — something unpredictable happens regardless of success or failure.
The Target Number Scale
GMs set the TN based on difficulty. The scale:
TN 5 — Trivial. Unlocking a standard door. Anyone can do this.
TN 8 — Routine. Fixing a minor malfunction. Trained characters rarely fail.
TN 11 — Moderate. Picking a corporate lock. Requires some skill.
TN 14 — Challenging. Hacking a guarded Mesh node. Specialists succeed; amateurs struggle.
TN 17 — Hard. Performing surgery in a combat zone. Even experts need luck.
TN 20 — Extreme. Diving the Wake without preparation. Possible but dangerous.
TN 23+ — Legendary. Outrunning a Silverhound. The kind of thing that becomes a story.
GM Note: With 2d10, the average roll is 11. A character with a +3 stat and +2 skill hits TN 14 about half the time and TN 17 about a quarter. The bell curve makes moderate tasks reliable and extreme tasks genuinely risky — unlike d20 systems where everything feels equally random.
The Three Stats
Mind — Intelligence, perception, technical skill, willpower. Used for hacking, investigation, medicine, crafting, and resisting mental influence.
Body — Strength, endurance, reflexes, physical resilience. Used for combat, athletics, stealth, and surviving damage.
Soul — Charisma, empathy, intuition, spiritual awareness. Used for persuasion, deception, Conduit abilities, and navigating the deeper layers of the Mesh.
Karma Points
Three types of expendable resources that let characters push beyond normal limits:
Luck — Reroll dice, avoid consequences, survive what should have killed you. The most versatile resource.
Canticle — Powers Conduit Protocol abilities and fuels interactions with the AIs. Conduit characters burn through these.
CCP (Chrome Compensation Points) — Offset the Humanity cost of cyberware. Spent during installation to reduce the toll on your soul.
Currency
Three types of Coin circulate, each with different acceptance and stability:
State Coin (SC) — Government-backed. Limited acceptance in corporate zones. Stable but restricted.
Corp Coin (CC) — Corporate scrip. Dominant in Aurora-9 and corporate territories. Powerful but tracked.
Grid Coin (GC) — Decentralized cryptocurrency. Universal but volatile. The currency of the underground economy.
Progression
Characters earn Progression Points (PP) through missions — 5 PP for primary objectives, 2 PP for secondary. PP improve stats, skills, and role abilities. Progression is gradual and meaningful — you don’t level up overnight.
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