HEX uses only d6s. Build a dice pool, roll it, and count each 6 as one success. Every uncontested Test has fixed Difficulty 1, so one natural 6 is enough. The pool is built from AEGIS: Attribute, Environment, Gear, Ingenuity, and Skill. A relevant Specialty may add further dice as described below. Designated Hazard Dice within the pool identify Mishaps on qualifying failed Tests (see Adventuring > Hazard Dice and Mishaps).

Hazard Dice and Mishaps

Finish calculating the pool before designating Hazard Dice. Ordinary Tests use two yellow-and-black Hazard Dice, or all available dice if only one or two remain. They are existing dice and count toward successes normally. Magical casting instead uses one blue-and-black Affinity Hazard Die and red-and-black Control Hazard Dice according to Risk; a one-die casting uses Control. See Magic for the full casting procedure.

On an ordinary Test, a failed roll produces a Mishap when the entire roll contains no successes and every Hazard Die rolled shows 1. At least one die must have been rolled. The Game Master determines an additional adverse consequence beyond ordinary failure. In a Contest, an opposing roll with equal or fewer successes fails and can produce a Mishap if it meets these conditions.

Initiative, fixed random rolls such as Hit Location, Injury and healing time, passive Armor Rolls, no-roll results and Tests granted automatic success do not produce Mishaps. Any natural 6 in the pool prevents a Mishap. Magical casting checks hazards only on a failed zero-success roll: any Control skull causes one loss-of-control consequence; an Affinity skull without a Control skull means a harmless fizzle. This applies at every Risk rating, including 0. Successful casts and failed Contest rolls containing successes have no magical Hazard consequence.

Attributes

All characters have six Attributes:

Strength (STR)

Agility (AGI)

Endurance (END)

Charisma (CHA)

Intelligence (INT)

Willpower (WIL)

Human Attribute values typically scale from 1 to 6. Some nonhuman species have natural Attribute caps above or below the human range.

1 = Sub-par

2 = Standard

3 = Exceptional

4 = Remarkable

5 = Masterful

6 = Peak Human Potential

7+ = Beyond Human Potential (Species-Specific or Supernatural)

Skills

HEX uses 20 discrete Skills. When a roll is required, the Game Master chooses the Attribute that represents how the character is approaching the task, then adds the relevant Skill. The same Skill may pair with different Attributes in different circumstances.

Untrained Skills: A character may attempt a task even with a rating of 0 in the relevant Skill, provided the task itself is possible without specialized training. The Skill contributes no dice to the pool, so the S in AEGIS is 0. At base, an untrained attempt therefore rolls only the chosen Attribute. Any otherwise applicable Environment, Gear, or Ingenuity dice can still modify the pool.

The five categories below organize the Skill list for ease of reference. Categories do not determine which Attribute is paired with a Skill.

Specialties

Once a Skill is rated at least 1, the character may purchase Specialties under it. A Specialty is a narrower field within the parent Skill. When it applies, add its rating to the dice pool along with the chosen Attribute and parent Skill. A Specialty may never exceed its parent Skill. Examples include Gunnery under Marksmanship, Riding under Animal Handling, Tracking under Survival, and Engineering under Academics. Seamanship, Investigation, and other focused fields may be assigned to an appropriate parent Skill.

Gear & Environment

Gear contributes +1 die when it provides a tangible advantage on a test. Some tasks require a particular tool merely to be possible; possessing the necessary tool does not automatically grant the bonus. Superior or purpose-built equipment may provide +1 die when it materially improves the attempt.

Environment works the same way. Covering noise, favorable terrain, good light, stable footing, and similar conditions may provide +1 die when they give a real advantage. Neutral conditions add nothing.

Ingenuity

Ingenuity is usually a +1 die bonus when a player gains a real advantage by using the situation in a clever, unexpected, or unusually effective way. It is awarded by the Game Master and is not automatic from an Attribute, Skill, Specialty, piece of equipment, Knowledge Area, or Background. Simply possessing relevant knowledge is not Ingenuity. Exploiting a specific detail, combining ordinary resources in a useful way, or finding a plausible approach that the obvious procedure would miss may qualify.

Difficulty

Difficulty is fixed at 1 for every uncontested Test. One natural 6 on any die in the pool passes; no sixes means failure unless automatic success has been declared by spending an Advancement before the roll. Each distinct complication that materially affects the task removes 1 die from the pool, unless a specific rule lists a different penalty. Poor visibility, range, unstable footing, time pressure, severe weather, and similar factors count only when they affect the task. Applicable penalties are cumulative; do not count the same underlying complication twice. Add all permitted bonus dice, then subtract all applicable penalty dice. The final pool can be 0 or negative. If 0 or fewer dice remain, the roll is nullified: do not roll. A voluntary action cannot be attempted; a required Test, such as one imposed by an Injury or environmental exposure, automatically fails. There is no guaranteed minimum of one die. This also applies to either side of a Contest: a nullified roll cannot win; if both rolls are nullified, neither side succeeds. A player may still spend one banked Advancement to guarantee success on an otherwise possible action, declaring it before the roll is made or, if no dice remain, before the Test is resolved (see Player Characters > Character Advancement). For a Contest, identify the acting side and the opposing side before rolling. The opposing side must exceed the acting side’s success total. Equal or fewer successes means the opposition fails; there is no tied result.

Margin of Success

On a successful uncontested Test, Margin of Success (MoS) = total successes − 1. In a Contest, MoS = winning total − losing total. Apply MoS normally wherever a rule uses it, including Damage = DV + MoS. Dice penalties have already reduced the pool; do not subtract them again from successes or MoS.