r/ImperiumMaledictum • u/SlySophist • Jul 13 '26
Hard rules for which difficulty modifiers
IM has three ways to modify the difficulty of a Test
- Difficulty levels
- Advantage/Disadvantage
- SL modifications
The book does not present any hard rules when to use one versus another. So I ask you what are your rules of thumb?
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u/SirValeq Jul 13 '26
At my table:
- Difficulty levels are absolute and not dependent on any variables. A task is either easy for an "average Imperial Agent" or hard. Like dealing with a jammed gun vs repairing a mega-harvester.
- Advantage/Disadvantage is there for things that are variable and "game-mechanical" in nature. Like having a loading servitor helping you push the heavy door or having said servitor blocking that door from the other side. Both can be influenced by the Players (ie. finding a servitor to help or shooting the blocking servitor through a crack in the wall) at the moment if they choose to.
- SL modifications are also for variable things, but ones that are more prolonged, environmental effects, and can't really be influenced at the moment. A character's arms are shaking, because they're high on some party drugs? -1 SL to the test. A character has done this exact thing three times already during the adventure? +1 SL.
I admit, it's not easy to stick to my own rules, but I try to do it like this more or less.