Climbing covers everything from swinging up into a tree to working a sheer rock face on fingertips. What separates the two is not effort but resolution: an easy climb is folded into ordinary movement, while a hard one is fought a minute at a time.
Easy climbs — a low wall, a ledge, a branch overhead — are a Climbing test made as part of the Move action.
| Level | Result |
|---|---|
| CF | The climb fails, costs a full round, and forces a Stumble Test. |
| MF | The climb fails at the cost of a turn; or, at the climber’s option, succeeds after a full round and a successful Strength test. |
| MS | Succeeds as difficult movement, to a half-Move ceiling. |
| CS | Succeeds, to a half-Move ceiling. |
Difficult climbs are a Climbing (Endurance SR) Success Value test made once per minute. The climber makes headway only when the Success Value at least meets what the face demands; every test accrues windedness Personal Fatigue, reduced by five when the Endurance SR succeeds.
| SV | The face the climber can hold |
|---|---|
| 1–2 | Steep — at least 20° and under 40°. |
| 3–4 | Very steep — at least 40° and under 60°. |
| 5 | Sheer — 60° or more, with large and plentiful holds: ledges, protrusions, cracks. |
| 6 | Sheer, with holds that are small, or few. |
| 7 | Sheer, with occasional overhangs. |
| 8 | Sheer, with frequent overhangs. |
| 9+ | Sheer and holdless — passable only with aid. |
A Critical Failure forces a Fumble Test on a units digit of 0 or a Stumble Test on a 5; failing either starts a fall.
Rate. A Success Value exactly meeting the requirement carries the climber, over that minute, a distance set by the incline: double Move on a steep slope, full Move on a very steep one, half Move on a sheer face. Every point of Success Value above the minimum adds that same distance again.
Aid. Pitons take ten minutes to set per thirty feet, after which the setter makes a Survival (Climbing) Success Value test; each Value Diamond grants a +1 SV bonus to everyone who follows. A fixed rope is worth +2 SV. Climbing a bare rope is its own problem — a Strength (Climbing) Success Value test needing at least SV 4 if the rope is knotted, SV 6 if it is not.
Falling. A fall from anything less than sheer is softened. On a steep incline a Marginal or Critical Success on the fall test means no impact at all, and otherwise the strike impact is halved before armour; on a very steep incline the impact is halved regardless.