Gearing up for our first session tonight, I'm about 60% winging it But I did want to start a bit of discussion on dice pools, specifically for reading them, and how other GMs are approaching it.

1. Do you always use advantage/threat? Or are they generally incidental outside of specific rules that call for them?

2. The dice pool section says that the meaning of an icon is different based on the die that has it. That makes sense, and I like it, but it seems to depend on which icons are left on which dice. How do you order what cancels what? Do you bother with this?

3. How much do you as a GM handle interpretation vs. leaving it to your players?

It seems like it could be a cool system once you get your head wrapped around it, but there's a lot of wrap your head around.

1. Sure. Players should get first-crack at interpretting their positive riders based on what they're trying to accomplish. GM's need only give in to their natural sadistic impulses to hose them on threat/despair.

2. Not sure where that comes from. Seems like something to ignore.

3. See 1.

1. Almost always. If there isn't a specific rule, somebody usually has a good idea. If not, skip that roll and move on. Keeping the game moving is never a bad thing to do.

2. I tend to cancel bonus/setback dice first. Then Ability/Difficulty. Then Advantage/Threat. (Triumph/Despair never cancel and always take effect.) My reasoning in order is that skill and natural ability trump luck.

3. See Lorne's post.

Item 2 is best explained by example:

If I have 1 blue, 1 green, 1 yellow, and only get successes on the blue, it wasn't my actions that enabled me to succeed; it was the help or conditions that got me the blue.

If instead, I got the success on the yellow, it was training and experience combined with raw natural ability.

If I got it on the green, it depends on how I got the green; if skill exceeds attribute,, then it was solely training and experience, not raw talent. If attribute exceeds skill, it was raw natural talent, not experience.

1. There are few reasons not to. Some instances, like initiative, spend it in specific ways like tiebreakers, but yeah, always.

2. I only do it when it makes a lot of sense, or when one of the results was by a very very close margin.

3. Honestly, it is kinda a free for all. If I have an idea, I suggest it. If they have an idea, I go with that, but might also suggest something extra or restrict what they want to do.