Editing Xia: Skill Tests (section)

==Deduct Task Difficulty==

The difficulty of a task is called by the GM. and expressed as a negative modifier.

* '''Difficulty 0'''
This is the minimum for a "challenging" task - something an ordinary man would find hard but which are easy for most Xia. Even with absolute minimum stats, a Xia would have a 1 in 3 chance of pulling this task off, and likely most Xia will breeze through such challenges. '''Examples:''' ''Doing a series of elegant cartwheels and backflips; Pulling a wooden door off its hinges; Composing an on-the-spot poem of decent quality; Stirring a crowd with a fine speech; Creeping past a half-asleep guard dog;''

* '''Difficulty -1 to -3'''
At this level, we're beyond the skills of ordinary men and into tasks that some Xia will find difficult, and others relatively straightforward, depending on their skill sets. Bear in mind that an average Xia will have a rating of 5-6 in their average tasks, so -1 to -3 is a good bar for the GM to set if he wants a reasonable level of drama and doubt, but also a fair chance of someone succeeding. '''Examples:''' ''Identifying a ghost as being a little known historical poet from a single line that he quotes; Hefting a fully loaded cart over your head; Smashing down a stone wall; Working out someone's sword style from the way they write calligraphy;''

* '''Difficulty -4 to -6'''
We're now looking at serious challenges that most starting Xia will struggle with. Say a Xia has 4 in a strong Trigram and a Trait of 3 - he'll still have 50% chance or less of succeeding. -4 to -6 is a good difficulty for the GM to set if he wants the players to regard this as a hard task, which some Xia might not be able to do at all, and which even the naturally talented may struggle with. '''Examples:''' ''Eavesdropping on a whispered conversation from the far side of a crowded marketplace; Dancing leaps with your eyes closed while on a tightrope;''

* '''Difficulty -7 or more'''
These are the sort of challenges that starting Xia ''cannot succeed in.'' So why mention them? Well, first off, Xia with a little XP might be able to pull off feats that were once impossible to them. Secondly, some cowardly GMs (myself included) hate to say an outright ''"no you can't"'' to players. In these circumstances, its often easiest to hide behind the numbers! At least then the players can look forward to the time when such tasks ARE within their reach. '''Examples:''' ''Dodging raindrops in a storm; Hefting a fully loaded ship over your head; Working out someone's sword style from the way they scratch their balls;''
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