S.P.E.C.I.A.L. & Dice
Quick Reference
To make a S.P.E.C.I.A.L. Test:
- Create the Pool — Gather Luck Dice up to your Luck stat, fill remaining slots with Standard Dice to match Pool Size.
- Roll the Pool and Remove Duds — Any die ≤ Test Statistic = Hit; any die > Test Statistic (or a 10) = Dud. If all dice are Duds → Test Failed.
- Fortune Smiles — For each Luck Die remaining, roll one Standard Die; add new Hits, discard Duds. (Skipped for Unlucky Tests.)
- Trigger Critical Effect — Attack Tests only: if at least one Luck Die remains, trigger the weapon's Critical Effects. (Skipped for Unlucky Tests.)
- Determine the Outcome — Resolve Pass/Fail per the calling rule; outcome may depend on total Hit count.
Key values: Rolling low is better. A 10 is always a Dud. Unlucky Tests skip steps 3–4 and cannot gain Bonus Dice.
Fail Forward XP: First failed Test per crew per game = 1 XP.
Dice
Whenever an outcome is uncertain, it is resolved by rolling dice. [Rulebook pg. 16]
Fallout: Factions uses two types of dice: Standard Dice and Luck Dice. The two types should be visibly distinct from each other, but both are normal ten-sided dice, marked from 1 to 10. [Rulebook pg. 16]
The two types should be kept separate during the game. Standard Dice are used for most situations, while Luck Dice are only required when making a S.P.E.C.I.A.L. Test (as described below). [Rulebook pg. 16]
Rolling low is usually better than rolling high, so a 1 is the best result and a 10 is the worst. [Rulebook pg. 16]
Designer's Note: On Dice
On most commercially available ten-sided dice (often referred to as D10s), the "10" face is marked with a "0". [Rulebook pg. 16]
You can purchase sets of dice from the Modiphius website or gather your own D10s. At a bare minimum, you'll want eight Standard Dice and four Luck Dice, but more is always better! [Rulebook pg. 16]
If you ever find yourself in a situation where you don't have enough dice for a Test, roll as many as you have, note the result, then roll the rest. [Rulebook pg. 16]
Making a S.P.E.C.I.A.L. Test
The most common reason dice are rolled is as part of a S.P.E.C.I.A.L. Test. This is called for whenever a model attempts to do something with an uncertain outcome, such as firing a pistol, swinging a baseball bat, or trying to hack a computer terminal. [Rulebook pg. 16]
The player making the Test rolls a number of dice and compares the result to one of the model's S.P.E.C.I.A.L. statistics to determine the outcome. [Rulebook pg. 16]
A S.P.E.C.I.A.L. Test always has a name – for example, an Attack Test or a Confusion Test. This allows other rules to refer to that specific type of Test. The Test's name is followed by a number showing the Pool Size (the number of dice that are rolled) and a letter showing the Test Statistic (the S.P.E.C.I.A.L. statistic used). [Rulebook pg. 16]
For example, when the rules say, "Make an Evade Test (3A)," the player rolls three dice and compares them to the model's Agility. [Rulebook pg. 16]
Sometimes, the rules show an X in parentheses after a Test's name, as in, "Make an Attack Test (X)." This means that the Pool Size and Test Statistics are variable and the rules explain how to determine them. [Rulebook pg. 16]
To make a S.P.E.C.I.A.L. Test, follow this sequence:
Step 1 — Create the Pool
Create the Dice Pool by gathering a number of dice equal to the Pool Size. [Rulebook pg. 16]
First, gather a number of Luck Dice equal to the model's Luck statistic.
Then, add Standard Dice until the number of dice in the Pool equals the Pool Size. If the Pool Size is lower than the model's Luck statistic, remove Luck Dice instead of adding Standard Dice to the Pool Size. [Rulebook pg. 16]
Small Pools and Luck Dice
As noted above, sometimes you will have more Luck than a Test will call for. In this case, you only gather enough dice to perform the Test, rather than the model's Luck statistic. [Rulebook pg. 16]
For example, Sophie is about to make a Meltdown Test with Bottle and Cappy, All Fizzed Up, which is a (2E) Test. Bottle and Cappy have a Luck of 4, so when Sophie is building the Pool for the Test, she only gathers enough Luck Dice to meet the test requirement of 2, rather than using all 4 of the Luck Dice Bottle and Cappy would normally use. [Rulebook pg. 16]
Bonus Dice
Some rules grant Bonus Dice to a Test. Each Bonus Die increases the Pool Size by 1 for the purpose of that specific Test. [Rulebook pg. 16]
Step 2 — Roll the Pool and Remove Duds
Roll all of the dice in the Pool. [Rulebook pg. 16]
Any die that scores equal to or lower than the model's Test Statistic value is a Hit. All other dice are Duds and removed from the Pool. [Rulebook pg. 16]
Dice that score a 10 always count as Duds, regardless of the Test Statistic value. [Rulebook pg. 16]
- If all of the dice are removed as Duds, the Test is Failed – skip to step 5.
- If there is at least one Hit, the Test is Passed.
Experience: Failing Forward
In each game, the first time a player Fails a S.P.E.C.I.A.L. Test, their crew earns 1 XP. Each crew can only benefit from this rule once per game. [Rulebook pg. 16]
Step 3 — Fortune Smiles
For each Luck Die remaining in the Pool, roll a Standard Die. [Rulebook pg. 17]
Each die that scores equal to or lower than the model's Test Statistic value is added to the Pool as an additional Hit. Any Duds are ignored. [Rulebook pg. 17]
Step 4 — Trigger Critical Effect
This step is only used when making an Attack Test. When making any other kind of Test, skip this step. [Rulebook pg. 17]
If there is at least one Luck Die remaining in the Pool, the weapon's Critical Effects (if any) is triggered. The player making the Test resolves that Critical Effect, following the rules listed on pg. 101. [Rulebook pg. 17]
If a weapon does not have a Critical Effect, skip this step. If a weapon has more than one Critical Effect, the player chooses one to resolve. [Rulebook pg. 17]
Step 5 — Determine the Outcome
The rules that called for the Test explain what happens if the Test is Passed or Failed. Resolve this now. [Rulebook pg. 17]
Sometimes, this resolution is enough to know if a model has Passed. Other times, the outcome is determined by the number of Hits in the Pool. [Rulebook pg. 17]
Unlucky Tests
Some S.P.E.C.I.A.L. Tests are noted as being Unlucky. [Rulebook pg. 17]
Unlucky Tests can never benefit from Bonus Dice, so their Pool Size cannot be increased beyond the default value for the Test. [Rulebook pg. 17]
They also skip the Fortune Smiles and Trigger Critical Effect steps of the sequence – in effect, Luck Dice are treated as Standard Dice for an Unlucky Test. [Rulebook pg. 17]
Rolling Off
Sometimes, the rules instruct players to Roll Off. To do this, each player rolls a single die and the player with the lowest score wins the Roll Off. In the case of a tie, roll again. [Rulebook pg. 17]
Most ten-sided dice use a 0 on the tenth face, but this game treats it as a 10. [Rulebook pg. 17]
Re-Rolls
Sometimes players will be able to Re-roll dice. This lets them pick up any number of dice they have just rolled and roll them again. The new result replaces the old one. [Rulebook pg. 17]
Once a die has been Re-rolled, it cannot be Re-rolled again for the same Test, unless a rule says otherwise. When a player Re-rolls dice that are part of a Pool, they must decide how many dice they will Re-roll before they Re-roll any of them. [Rulebook pg. 17]
Examples
Example One — Melee Attack Test
Alex's Master, Brick, is swinging a Super Sledge at Sam's Good Boy, Fidus. The rules tell him to "make an Attack Test (6S)" for Brick. This means the Pool Size is 4 dice, and the Test will use Brick's Strength of 6. [Rulebook pg. 17]
First, Alex creates the Pool. Brick has a Luck of 3, so he gathers 3 Luck Dice; he then adds 3 Standard Dice to bring the total Pool Size to 6.
He rolls the Pool, scoring a 1, 7, and 8 on the Luck Dice, and a 2, 3, and 10 on the Standard Dice. The 7, 8, and 10 are Duds, as they are higher than Brick's Strength, so Alex removes them. This leaves 3 Hits — 1 Luck Die and 2 Standard Dice.
Brick has Passed the Test, so the attack works and Alex continues to step 3 to see how effective the attack is.
As there's one Luck Die left in the Pool, Alex rolls another Standard Die, scoring a 4. If he'd rolled higher than Brick's Strength, he would discard the die, but instead he adds it to the Pool, giving him a total of 4 Hits. (As he rolled at least one additional die, he also triggers the Super Sledge's Critical Effects, but we won't worry about this for now.)
Now, Alex resolves the attack's Damage – which we will cover later.
Example Two — Ranged Attack Test (Unlucky)
It's Sam's Turn, and she's planning to return the favor. Her Security Guard, Double-Joe, opens fire at Brick with his rapid-firing Combat Rifle. The rules say that the Test is Unlucky, as Smiles is outside the weapon's Effective Range, but Sam decides it's still worth a shot. [Rulebook pg. 17]
This is an Attack Test (4P), so the Pool Size is 4 and the Test uses Double-Joe's Perception of 4. As the Test is Unlucky, Sam can't do anything clever to gain Bonus Dice.
She gathers 2 Luck Die (Double-Joe has a Luck of 2) and 2 Standard Dice, then rolls them.
She scores a 2 and 8 on the Luck Dice and a 4 and 5 on the Standard Dice. The 2 and 4 are Hits but the 5 and 8 are Duds, so Sam removes them. The attack Passes, though it's not as effective as she was hoping!
Because the Test is Unlucky, Sam skips straight to the last step of the sequence.
Even though there's a Luck Die left in the Pool, the attack sequence ends with 2 Hits and no Critical Effect.