The Wheel of Time RPG uses a variety of dice to generate random results. The lowest is a d2 (coin flip), followed by d4, d6, d8, d10, d12, and d20. These dice represent attributes, physical and mental characteristics of the individual. Each skill the character knows is given a rank; the rank is the number of dice the character rolls above the first. So a character with a rank 4 Lore and a d8 Intelligence will roll 5d8 for his Lore check. When making a check, if you roll the highest result possible for that die (an 8 on a d8, for example), the die surges, allowing you to reroll and add the total. So that 8 would allow a reroll; if the reroll was a 5, you add the total, so you actually rolled a 13 on that d8. This process is open-ended.
Whenever making a test, if you roll a 1 on the majority of your dice (so, 3 out of 4, for example), the test automatically fails. However, each surge of a die cancels one of your 1's for this purpose. So even if you roll five 1's out of six dice, if that last die surges twice, you can still succeed. If you roll all 1's, you botch. In this case, you not only fail, but cause or suffer some negative effect beyond failure. For example, a botch while trying to cheat at a game of cards reveals your attempt to the other players.
Time in the game is broken down for convienence in play.
This is quite different from the way the inhabitants of the world measure time. For the game,
the smallest regular unit is the round, used mostly in combat. The round is a flexible
unit of about 10 seconds; essentially, it is enough time for everyone involved in a
battle to perform their allowed actions. During each round, a character receives
a main action (normally just called an action), which may allow multiple attacks.
Each character can also engage in certain free actions. A character can always make a
short announcement or battle cry. In addition, a character can do one of the following:
Each character has a Movement rate. This is based upon their Movement trait, derived from the Endurance and Quickness attributes. In combat, a normal move is equal to a character's Movement. Characters can force march at twice their normal Movement for a number of hours equal to their Endurance die type; after this, they should make Running skill rolls to continue against the additional hours. For long marches, a character's Movement is the number of miles that character can travel in a normal 8 hour march. Beyond this, they should make Running skill rolls against the number of additional hours they continue to march. For shorter distances, characters can sprint by using a full action. They can run at three times their Movement for a number of rounds equal to their Endurance die type plus their Sprinting skill level. After this, the Fatigue rules (see Combat) come into effect. The character can also attempt to increase their rate per round by a Sprinting roll; however, a botch indicates that they must begin counting all successive rounds as Fatigue rounds. Finally, a character can sprint at five times their Movement, but Fatigue rules take effect immediately. In this case, the character can add twice their Sprinting roll to their total Movement; a botch in this case requires the character to stop immediately.