Touch of Fate / Sense Danger

By verdantsf, in Game Mechanics

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I always assumed Touch of Fate was strictly for the character with the ability. Then, my character got Sense Danger, which just from the name, made me think, "wait a minute, does this also apply to checks allies make?" So I double checked the entry in the Talent section.


"Sense Danger: Once per game session, the character may remove 2 setback dice from any one skill check."


That also made me take another look at Touch of Fate, which reads, "once per game session, the character may add 2 boost dice to any one skill check."


I wish that the book had added either "by the character" or "including checks by allies," as I can see different groups wrestling with RAW/RAI. For those of you who have had either of these abilities pop up in your games, how have you ruled this?





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I think the ally checks are pretty well called out in the rules, so the fact that it's not for these suggests it's only for the character. That's how I'd rule it for my games.

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Good point!

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This particularly discussion has come up before, and there's pretty decent arguments on both sides for it being applied to an ally's check or just the individual character who has the talent.

Personally, my line of thinking on this is along the same lines as whafrogs. Talents that can be used on other people are generally pretty clear about it, and that both of these talents don't call out they can be used on other characters, allied or otherwise, indicates they only benefit the person who actually purchased them.

Now, that being said, if a PC with Sense Danger or Touch of Fate was assisting in a skill check, I'd let those apply to the roll, even if the PC wasn't the one actively rolling the dice, much as I'd allow talents that remove setback dice such as Gearhead, Street Smarts, or Convincing Demeanor apply if the assisting character had them. There's nothing in the rules that says that's the case, but it helps make those talents more valuable for the PC that's got them even if there's other characters in the group with a better dice pool.

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Now, that being said, if a PC with Sense Danger or Touch of Fate was assisting in a skill check, I'd let those apply to the roll, even if the PC wasn't the one actively rolling the dice, much as I'd allow talents that remove setback dice such as Gearhead, Street Smarts, or Convincing Demeanor apply if the assisting character had them. There's nothing in the rules that says that's the case, but it helps make those talents more valuable for the PC that's got them even if there's other characters in the group with a better dice pool.

This, absolutely. It could just be a case of, "Wait! Don't cut the red wire...I've got a real good feeling about that blue wire there." Don't ask me why. Just a hunch.

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My only contribution is that, in order to use one of these talents on another, you would need some way to affect them. Since no mechanisms are described for how one of these talents could affect another...