Risk Assessment

Reasoning

Presence

Boldness

Short Description

You analyze a high-risk situation and provide a critical bonus to an extremely difficult skill check—yours or an ally’s.

Success Criteria

Roll d100 versus DR 100

Effects

On success, you add +10 to the declared skill check + 5 per any 10 success rate.

Modifiers and Restrictions

Target action must be a Very Hard skill check (e.g. DR ≥130 or penalty of +30 to DR or worse)

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Skill check cannot be an attack by any means.

Action Examples

An engineer attempts to stabilize a collapsing power core to buy time. The GM gives a DR of 140 to the engineer. You call Risk Assessment and roll a 120 which provides the engineer with a bonus of +15 on their skill check.

Long Description

Risk Assessment is the skill of experienced tacticians, analysts, and field leaders who can see the battlefield—or the internal logic of a problem—in slow motion. By observing conditions, recognizing critical variables, and conveying strategic insight, you make the impossible seem merely difficult.
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Unlike other support skills, this one is targeted exclusively at extremely high-risk skill checks, not attacks. It shines in clutch scenarios: disabling bombs, resisting mind-wipe spells, piloting through gravitational maelstroms, etc.
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When paired with Focus, Foresight, or Rallying Cry, this skill is part of a high-level tactical toolkit. Used wisely, it can ensure your group’s most crucial actions succeed when failure would be catastrophic.

Sequencing

Sequence with skills that can enhance your chance of success

Potential Counters

No direct counters.

How to use this page

All the information above is intended as a guide to help you navigate the many situations that can arise during your game. Since it's both impossible—and frankly uninspiring—to plan for every possible outcome, players are encouraged to think creatively when using their skills. Game Masters, in turn, are encouraged to embrace and support that creativity.

Whenever possible, aim to resolve situations through narrative choices, logical thinking and role playing. If that’s not feasible, agree on a Difficulty Rating (DR) using the provided Success Criteria and Modifiers. These are not rigid rules, but suggestions - starting points to help you find the right level of challenge. The player describes their intended action, and the Game Master proposes a DR. This should be open to brief discussion at the table, ideally resulting in consensus. If not, the Game Master has the final say.

It’s important to emphasize that all suggested effects, modifiers, and action examples are exactly that: suggestions. If you’re unsure how to resolve something, they offer a reliable fallback—but wherever possible, we encourage you to push boundaries. That’s where some of the most memorable and exciting moments in play are born.

Sequencing and Potential Counters are far from exhaustive. With hundreds of skills, spells, and tech modules in the game, the possibilities are too vast to list. You’re encouraged to explore combinations that make sense in your story and setting and in the situations that arise in your game. Sequencing and countering are core to Cosmic Odyssey - they’re where strategic depth meets dramatic flair, and where legendary moments often take shape. Even if no sequencing and counters are mentioned, some certainly exists and can be smartly utilized.

So explore boldly, improvise wisely, and enjoy the game as it unfolds around your choices.