Rules Are Guidelines
By nature of the open-ended format for creating characters, you get to break the rules. Rules in Ilisara Character Creation should always be viewed as guidelines. They are specifically created to add structure to the roleplay elements that the authors love and enjoy. They are not meant to hamper creativity or limit your possibilities. Exceptions to the rules can be made on a per-character basis with approval by the DM.
Critical Successes and Critical Fails
Every action you take in Ilisara has a chance of success or failure. When you want your character to do something, tell the Dungeon Master. The DM comes up with a DC (Dice Check) for the task. The DC is a number corresponding to the task’s difficulty. The DM doesn’t have to share that number with you. Once a DC has been set, you roll a twenty-sided die (d20), add some numbers, and try to meet or beat the DC determined by the DM.
If you succeed, you or the DM determines the outcome. For example, if you rolled an attack, it will hit. If you tried climbing a wall, you will reach the top.
The special part of this dice-rolling, DC-meeting game is the Critical Success and Critical Fail system. If you roll a 20 on your twenty-sided die, it is called a “Natural 20” or “Critical Success”. It means that you automatically succeed on out-of-combat checks (within reason) or automatically hit and deal maximum damage with an attack. If you roll a 1 on your twenty-sided die, it is a “Natural 1” or “Critical Fail”. It means that you automatically fail on an out-of-combat check, or automatically miss with an attack. Sometimes there are extra bad things that occur as a result of a Critical Fail, like dropping your weapon.
Always Round Down
Sometimes, things just don’t add up to whole numbers. If you ever find yourself with a check result of 6.5 or something like that, round down. This goes for any partial-numbers in the entire game — hit points, armor values, anything. Always round down. It keeps things simple.