This chapter summarizes the core Exodus NDS rules as they apply at the Void Drifters table. It is not a reprint of the Exodus NDS Core Rules. It covers the procedures you will use every session: building a dice pool, reading results, spending symbols, and managing structured play. For the complete ruleset, including designer notes and full mechanical detail, refer to the Exodus NDS Core Rules.
Void Drifters does not modify the core mechanics. The skill list changes (three new skills, one rename) are covered in Chapter Seven. Everything else in this chapter applies as written.
The Dice
Void Drifters uses a custom set of polyhedral dice. Each face shows one or more symbols rather than numbers. You roll a pool of dice and read all the symbols together to determine what happened.
The Six Symbols
There are three opposing pairs. Symbols within a pair cancel each other out.
| Symbol | Opposes | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Success | Failure | Determines whether the action succeeds. You need at least one net Success to succeed. |
| Failure | Success | Contributes to failure. A check with zero net Successes fails. |
| Boon | Bane | Secondary positive effect. Can appear on a failed check. |
| Bane | Boon | Secondary complication. Can appear on a successful check. |
| Breakthrough | — | Exceptional positive. Adds one Success to the pool. Its special effect triggers regardless of whether the check succeeds or fails. |
| Calamity | — | Exceptional negative. Adds one Failure to the pool. Its special effect triggers regardless of whether the check succeeds or fails. |
Breakthroughs and Calamities do not cancel each other. Both effects occur when both appear in the same roll.
The Six Dice
| Die | Type | Shape | Role |
|---|---|---|---|
| Boon Die | Positive | d6 | Situational advantage |
| Bane Die | Negative | d6 | Situational disadvantage |
| Ability Die | Positive | d8 | Base characteristic pool |
| Trial Die | Negative | d8 | Base difficulty |
| Mastery Die | Positive | d12 | Trained skill pool |
| Crisis Die | Negative | d12 | Upgraded difficulty |
Positive dice build your pool. Negative dice represent difficulty and opposition. You roll them all together.
Building a Dice Pool
Every check starts by assembling a pool of positive and negative dice.
The Positive Pool
The GM identifies which characteristic and skill apply. Use whichever rating is higher as the total number of positive dice, then upgrade a number of those dice equal to whichever rating is lower.
Upgrading means replacing an Ability Die with a Mastery Die .
Pool Construction Examples
Characteristic higher: Agility 3, Pilot 2. Start with 3 Ability Dice, upgrade 2. Final pool:
Skill higher: Intellect 2, Craft 4. Start with 4 Ability Dice (skill is higher), upgrade 2 (characteristic). Final pool:
Untrained: Savvy 3, Survival 0. Start with 3 Ability Dice, no upgrades. Final pool:
The Negative Pool (Difficulty)
The GM adds Trial Dice to represent how hard the task is. For especially dangerous or volatile situations, Trial Dice may be upgraded to Crisis Dice .
| Difficulty | Dice | When |
|---|---|---|
| Simple | None | Success is automatic; no roll needed |
| Easy | Routine tasks under mild pressure | |
| Average | Standard challenges | |
| Hard | Demanding tasks requiring real skill | |
| Severe | Expert-level challenges | |
| Extreme | Near-impossible feats |
Situational Dice
Beyond the base pool, circumstances add Boon or Bane Dice:
- Boon Dice for favorable conditions: good equipment, assistance, environmental advantage, momentum.
- Bane Dice for unfavorable conditions: poor visibility, injury, bad tools, environmental hazard.
Both can appear in the same pool. Aiming (+1 Boon Die) while a defender has cover (+1 Bane Die) means both dice are in the pool.
Resolving Checks
Roll all positive and negative dice together. Then resolve in this order:
Step 1 — Handle Breakthroughs and Calamities. Each adds one to the pool. Each adds one . Set the Breakthroughs and Calamities aside; their special effects will apply in Step 5 regardless of the final result.
Step 2 — Cancel opposing symbols. Each cancels one . Each cancels one .
Step 3 — Determine success or failure. If at least one remains, the check succeeds. If none remain, it fails. A check with zero net Successes and zero net Failures still fails.
Step 4 — Count net Boons or Banes. Remaining are Boons. Remaining are Banes. These create secondary effects on top of the primary result.
Step 5 — Apply Breakthrough and Calamity effects. These trigger regardless of whether the check succeeded or failed. The GM and players determine what exceptional thing occurred.
Reading Results
Every roll produces up to three layers of information. Resolve them in order:
- Did the action succeed or fail? This answers the main question.
- What secondary effects landed? Net Boons or Banes describe what else happened.
- Did anything exceptional occur? Breakthroughs and Calamities change the shape of the scene.
What Extra Successes Do
The first net Success means the task succeeded. Each additional Success above the first scales the primary effect: more damage on an attack, more Wounds healed with Medicine, faster completion of a complex task. Additional Successes stay on the same axis as the action itself.
What to Do with Boons and Banes
Boons and Banes describe secondary effects separate from whether the action worked. Use this scale:
| Net Result | Scope |
|---|---|
| 1 | Minor benefit: recover 1 Strain, small positional advantage, brief useful detail |
| 2 | Named effect: inflict a condition, assist an ally, gain useful information |
| 3+ | Scene-shifting: alter the environment, bypass a complication, create a lasting benefit |
| 1 | Minor setback: lose position, suffer 1 Strain, small delay |
| 2 | Complication: expose a vulnerability, lose a resource, give an enemy advantage |
| 3+ | Major complication: introduce a new threat, escalate danger, worsen conditions |
| Exceptional positive, stronger than any Boon spend | |
| Exceptional negative, stronger than any Bane consequence |
Players propose positive spends. Boons and Breakthroughs belong to the player who rolled them. Suggest how to spend them; the GM approves or adjusts.
The GM applies negative spends. Banes and Calamities are the GM's tool to shape what went wrong. Players may suggest; the GM decides.
Unspent Boons: If you have a Boon and no obvious use for it, spend 1 Boon to recover 1 Strain. This is always available.
Types of Checks
Simple Checks
One character attempts a task against a fixed difficulty set by the GM. The standard check type. Roll the pool, read the result.
Opposed Checks
Two characters directly contest each other. Both build dice pools normally but neither adds difficulty dice for the other's opposition. Compare net Successes; the higher count wins. On a tie, the initiating character loses.
Assisted Checks
One character is the primary actor; up to two others help. Helpers must describe a concrete contribution. Each meaningful assist adds 1 Boon Die to the primary pool. If a helper has more ranks in the relevant skill than the primary character, their assist adds 1 Ability Die instead. Maximum two assisting dice per check.
Group Checks
All characters share one outcome. The best-positioned character rolls. Compare the roller's skill rank to the lowest skill rank among necessary participants; add Bane Dice equal to the difference. Used when everyone's participation is required and failure for one means failure for all.
Extended Checks
Some tasks require multiple rolls over time. The GM sets a difficulty, a success threshold (total net Successes needed), and a time unit per roll. Net Successes accumulate across rolls. When the threshold is reached, the task is complete. Boons, Banes, Breakthroughs, and Calamities can alter the situation between rolls. Used for investigations, long cons, chases, and complex technical work.
Story Points: Fortune and Peril
Story Points are a shared resource that flows between players and GM, representing momentum, fortune, and dramatic pressure.
Starting the Pool
At the start of each session: 1 Fortune Point per player, 1 Peril Point for the GM.
Fortune Points (Players)
A player may spend a Fortune Point to:
- Upgrade one Ability Die in their pool to a Mastery Die, before rolling
- Activate a Breakthrough effect after rolling, in addition to any rolled
- Introduce a minor narrative detail favorable to the players (GM approves)
When a Fortune Point is spent, it becomes a Peril Point and flips to the GM.
Peril Points (GM)
The GM may spend a Peril Point to:
- Upgrade one Trial Die in the difficulty pool to a Crisis Die
- Activate a Calamity effect after a player rolls, in addition to any rolled
- Introduce a complication into the scene
When a Peril Point is spent, it becomes a Fortune Point and flips to the players.
A character may spend only one Story Point per check unless the GM explicitly allows otherwise. Upgrades to the pool must be declared before rolling. Narrative effects and Breakthrough or Calamity activations may occur after results are known.
Structured Play
The GM calls for structured play when timing and sequence matter: combat, chases, and high-stakes situations where failure to act in time has consequences.
Rounds and Turns
Structured play proceeds in rounds. Each round, every participant takes a turn. On your turn:
- Take one Action: a significant activity requiring a check or meaningful effort
- Take up to two Maneuvers: minor activities that support or set up an action
A character takes one Maneuver freely. A second Maneuver costs either the character's Action or 2 Strain. You may never take more than two Maneuvers in one turn.
Quick Actions (brief speech, dropping an item, glancing around) cost nothing. The GM has final authority on what qualifies.
Initiative
At the start of structured play, each participant makes an Initiative check.
- On watch or prepared: Savvy + Perception
- Surprised or reacting under sudden pressure: Willpower + Readiness
Results are ranked by net Successes. Initiative slots alternate between player slots and GM slots. Within each round, players and GM alternate claiming slots in ranked order. Players choose which character acts in each player slot; the GM chooses for each GM slot. Ties between a player slot and a GM slot favor the players.
Initiative order stays fixed between rounds unless a specific ability changes it.
Range Bands
Void Drifters uses an abstract range band system.
| Band | Description | Move Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Engaged | Within immediate reach; melee contact | — |
| Short | Across a room or small area | 1 Maneuver |
| Medium | Across a battlefield | 1 Maneuver |
| Long | Distant but visible | 2 Maneuvers |
| Extreme | At the limits of perception or capability | 2 Maneuvers |
Moving one band costs one Maneuver (Engaged to Short, Short to Medium). Moving between Medium and Long, or Long and Extreme, costs two Maneuvers.
Attack Difficulty
| Attack | Default Difficulty |
|---|---|
| Melee or Unarmed at Engaged | Average |
| Ranged at Engaged | Easy + 1 Bane Die |
| Ranged at Short | Easy |
| Ranged at Medium | Average |
| Ranged at Long | Hard |
| Ranged at Extreme | Severe |
Cover
Light cover adds 1 Ranged Defense. Heavy cover adds 2 Ranged Defense. Cover requires a character to remain behind it to benefit.
Damage, Wounds, and Strain
Two Tracks
Wound Points represent physical injury. When accumulated Wounds meet or exceed your Wound Points, you are incapacitated.
Strain Points represent mental and physical exertion. When accumulated Strain meets or exceeds your Strain Points, you are also incapacitated. Characters may voluntarily suffer Strain to take a second Maneuver (cost: 2 Strain).
| Value | Calculation |
|---|---|
| Wound Points | 10 + Might |
| Strain Points | 10 + Willpower |
| Resistance | Half Might (rounded up) + armor bonus |
Damage from Attacks
A successful hit deals the weapon's base damage. Each additional Success beyond the first adds 1 damage. Apply Resistance:
Wounds suffered = Damage − Resistance (minimum 0)
Critical Injuries
Triggered by: suffering a hit while already incapacitated; an attacker spending a Breakthrough on the attack; or spending net Boons equal to or exceeding the weapon's Critical rating.
To resolve: roll d100, add +10 for each existing Critical Injury. Consult the Void Drifters Critical Injury table in the GM Guide.
Recovery
Strain Recovery
- End of any structured encounter: recover Strain equal to Willpower
- Full night's rest: recover all Strain (unless incapacitated by Strain)
- Catch Breath Maneuver (once per encounter): recover 1 Strain
- Spend 1 Boon with no stronger use: recover 1 Strain
Wound Recovery
- Full night's rest: recover Wounds equal to Might
- Medical care: the caregiver makes a Medicine check; each net Success restores 1 additional Wound; 2 Boons may restore 1 extra Wound, preserve supplies, or reduce recovery time
Recovering from Incapacitation
A character incapacitated by Wounds is out of the encounter. After the encounter ends, they stabilize unless stated otherwise.
A character incapacitated by Strain does not recover all Strain from full rest. Instead, after a full rest, reduce current Strain to half their Strain Points (rounded down).
Critical Injury Treatment
Critical Injuries require active care. Difficulty depends on severity.
| Severity | Treatment |
|---|---|
| Minor | Easy Medicine check; full rest or simple care |
| Moderate | Average Medicine check; proper supplies and time |
| Severe | Hard Medicine check; extended care and proper tools |
| Deadly | Severe Medicine check; specialist care, rare resources, or surgery |
Each existing Critical Injury adds +10 to future Critical Injury rolls until it is removed.
Common Conditions
| Condition | Effect |
|---|---|
| Staggered | Cannot take Actions this turn; may still take Maneuvers. Ends at the start of your next turn. |
| Disoriented | Add 1 Bane Die to all checks. Duration defined by the effect that caused it. |
| Immobilized | Cannot take Maneuvers involving movement. |
| Prone | Ranged attacks against you add 1 Bane Die; melee attacks add 1 Boon Die. Standing up costs 1 Maneuver. |
| Restrained | Immobilized and add 1 Bane Die to checks requiring free movement until escape or release. |
| Silenced | Cannot communicate vocally. Checks requiring communication automatically fail. |
| Bleeding | Suffer 1 Wound at the start of each turn until an Average Medicine check ends it (or another source specifies the rate). |
| Burning | Suffer ongoing Wounds from fire or similar effect. The character or an Engaged ally may spend an Action to end it. |
| Hidden | Not currently detected. Attacks against you add 1 Bane Die; your first attack or escape check from concealment adds 1 Boon Die. Ends when you reveal yourself, attack, or are discovered. |
Conditions do not stack unless stated. Applying the same condition again extends its duration rather than increasing its effect.
This Chapter Covers the Essentials
This primer gives you what you need at the table. The full mechanics, with designer notes, worked examples, and complete edge-case rules, live in the Exodus NDS Core Rules. If a situation at the table is not covered here, check Chapter Five through Chapter Twelve of the Core Rules.