Extra Effort

Through sheer force of will, you can push your body past its usual limits when you perform physical tasks. This is called “extra effort.”

Note that if you have the Machine meta-trait, you cannot use extra effort!

You can use extra effort to increase Basic Lift (but not ST itself) when digging or lifting; daily mileage when hiking; Move when running or swimming; distance (but not Basic Move itself) when jumping; and ST for the purposes of throwing, making a single ST roll, or drawing or cocking a bow or crossbow that’s too strong for you. You cannot use extra effort to increase the time you can hold your breath – that would be self-defeating!

To apply extra effort, make a Will roll.

Modifiers:
-1 per 5% increase in capabilities (e.g., to add 10% to ST, roll at -2).
If you are fatigued, apply a penalty equal to the missing FP.
Roll at +5 if you are motivated by fear, anger, or concern for a loved one (GM’s decision).

Extra effort costs FP whether you succeed or fail. 

Instantaneous feats (e.g., jumps and throws) cost a flat 1 FP per attempt.
Ongoing tasks (digging, running, swimming, etc.) require repeated extra effort rolls, and cost 1 FP per roll. Hiking works differently –see below. Pay the FP cost for extra effort immediately after you attempt your Will roll. Note that the FP spent on extra effort does not penalize this attempt, but give a penalty to future attempts until you recover the FP. 

• Critical Success:
  You do not have to pay FP for your extra effort.

• Success:
  You gain the desired increase in your physical capabilities. This does not guarantee success at the task at hand – you could still fail the DX roll for an extra-effort jump, for instance. 

• Failure:
  You achieve only what you would have accomplished without extra effort.

• Critical Failure:
  You lose HP equal to the FP spent on the attempt – including any FP the task would have cost without extra effort – and the task fails automatically! 

• Natural 18:
  You must also make an immediate HT roll to avoid acquiring a temporary disadvantage appropriate to the task (see below for examples). Handle recovery as described in Duration of Crippling Injuries (p. 422). A sufficiently bad HT roll can result in a permanent disadvantage!

Specific Physical Tasks
Instead of rolling against Will to use extra effort, you may make a Will-based roll against a relevant skill (Hiking, Jumping, Lifting, Running, Swimming, or Throwing, as applicable), if that would be better.

• Digging:
  For every hour of digging, make an extra-effort roll and pay 1 FP. This adds to the usual FP cost. On a critical failure, the injury is to your back, and will heal only with rest (not First Aid); on an 18, you temporarily acquire the Bad Back disadvantage (p. 123).

• Hiking:
  Make one extra-effort roll per day. Extra effort increases the FP you suffer by two when you stop on the march (see Fatigue, p. 426). Assess injury due to critical failure at the end of the day, and base it on the modified FP penalty. For instance, if you would normally be missing 5 FP when you stopped, you would be missing 7 FP if you used extra effort – and if you critically failed, you would end the day with 7 HP of injury! When using Hiking skill, make a single Will-based Hiking roll at -1 per 5% extra mileage beyond the basic +20% for a successful Hiking roll (-1 for +25%, -2 for+30%, and so on).

• Jumping:
  On a critical failure, apply the injury to the foot or leg (GM’s option, or roll randomly); on an 18, you temporarily acquire the Crippled Leg disadvantage. 

• Lifting and Moving Things:
  For every minute of continuing effort, make an extra-effort roll and pay 1 FP. (This cost adds to the 1 FP per second for carrying encumbrance over 10 x BL, if applicable.) Handle critical failures as described for digging. When using Lifting skill, make a single Will-based Lifting roll, at -1 per 10% extra Basic Lift. This is instead of the usual 5% bonus per point of success. 

• Running:
  For every 15 seconds of sprinting or minute of paced running, make an extra-effort roll and pay 1 FP. This adds to the FP cost for failed HT rolls while running! On a critical failure, apply the injury to one of your legs; on an 18, you temporarily acquire the Crippled Leg disadvantage (see Lame, p. 141).

• Swimming:
  For every minute of swimming, make an extra effort roll and pay 1 FP. This adds to the FP cost for failed HT rolls while swimming.

• Throwing:
  Increases to ST affect both damage and distance, but not Basic Lift for the purpose of what you can throw in the first place. For that, make a separate extra-effort lifting attempt! Add bonuses for Throwing or Throwing Art skill after those for extra effort. 

Optional Rule: Extra Effort in Combat

At the GM’s option, fighters can use extra effort in combat. These rules work differently from those above –mainly to avoid bogging down combat with extra die rolls and calculations. You must declare that you are using extra effort and spend the required FP before you make your attack or defense roll. A critical failure on the roll causes 1 HP of injury to the arm (if blocking, parrying, or attacking with a shield, weapon, or hand) or leg (if dodging or kicking) in addition to the usual critical miss results. DR does not protect you from this damage! 

• Feverish Defense:
  If you take any maneuver other than All-Out Attack, you can spend 1 FP to get +2 to a single active defense roll. (You can use this bonus to offset the penalty for parrying multiple times with one hand)

• Flurry of Blows:
  If you take an Attack maneuver, you can halve the penalty for Rapid Strike by spending 1 FP per attack.

• Mighty Blows:
  If you take an Attack maneuver in melee combat, you can spend FP to gain the damage bonus of an All-Out Attack (Strong) without sacrificing your defenses. This costs 1 FP per attack. 

You cannot use Flurry of Blows and Mighty Blows at the same time!