Ah, yes, that little bit of randomness that makes the world work. Will I be able to climb the ladder in time? Will I be able to duck out of the way of the soldier's fist? Will I spot my friend waving to get my attention on the horizon at this distance? All of this is determined by the dice.
THE DICE: Generally, you will have two ten-sided dice. One die for the 10's and one for the 1's. Everything is on a percentage system. So, if I have a 25% change of hitting that guy and I roll a 4 and a 7, that is 47 and I missed. But, if I rolled a 1 and a 2, that is 12% and I hit. Very simple. All skills are on a base 100 system. In most cases, you roll your skill and know right away if you succeeded or not.
MODIFIERS: I might give you bonuses or penalties based on the situation. You might be trying to climb a rope while someone is trying to kick you in the shins and I decide that because of the distraction, it is harder than normal. So, your base chance for Climb might be 42%. I'll say, "Roll climb + 10%". You roll 38%, which would normally succeed, but, when you add the ten percent, you fail, having ended up with a 48. It also might be really easy, like climbing a ladder. So, the roll will be Climb - 25%. You subtract 25% from your roll and see if you succeed. I'll then tell you the result of your actions based on your roll and the situation of the world around you.
CRITICALS, SPECIALS, and FUMBLES: It is also possible to do something REALLY well or do it REALLY poorly. A critical success is when you do something amazingly exceptional. A special success is something you accomplish in an above average fashion. And a fumble is an attempt at something you just botch. The first 6% (rounding down) of your skill is your critical success range. So, if you have a 50% chance of singing a song well for the king and you roll 02%, you will perform the tune like no one ever has and get a standing ovation. For 50% skills, 1-3% are critical successes. For 70% skills, 1-4%. You do the math. The first 20% of your skill is your Special Success zone. You will have an above average performance if you roll anything from 4%-10% when singing for the king. This gives you a little extra oomf, but nothing to write home about. Fumbles work the exact opposite of Crits. If I rolled a 99% while trying to sing, I would not only be off key, but be the laughing stock of the kingdom. This might all be a little confusing, but you don't really need to worry about it. If you roll really well or really poorly, let me know and I'll sort out the gorey details.
DAMAGE: Damage is the only dice system that isn't a base 10 system. It uses a bunch of different dice to figure out how much you get hurt or are hurt by someone. Different weapons get different ranges. A hatchet does 1d6+1 for a range of damage from 2-7. A troll war maul does 2d8, for a range from 2-16. I'll roll most of the damage, so you don't need to worry about it much, but it is good to know which weapons do which damage so you know that, if you can, picking up that sword will hurt more than that pocket knife. There are different types of damage: bashing, crushing, impaling, slashing, etc.. Armor "absorbs" or "soaks" damage depending on the type of armor. Various armors are more effective against various types of damage. All armor impedes movement. Obviously, the more you have on, the harder it is to get around but, generally, the more it soaks. For example, let's say you have a chainmail vest on, which has 7 armor points. You get hit for 9 points of damage. You'd only take two points (and probably some bruising damage, but I'll explain that below) of damage.
DAMAGE AND YOU: You have a total number of hit points. Once you reach your total number of hit points in damage, you are "out". There is too much pain for you to go on and you collapse. The body can only take so much punishment. Your total hit points is the average of your Size and Constitution. It is then divided among your various body parts. For the sake of an example, let's say I have 15 hit points total. I would then have 5 in each leg, my abdomen, and my head. I'd have 4 hit points in each arm and 6 in my chest. (For those who've played, think Gladiator here.) I get in a fight with Big Bully. Bully cuts me deeply in my shoulder with a dagger and does 5 points of damage. I'm not wearing any armor, so my arm is "out". It has been mangled up too much for me to use it. It only has 4 hit points after all. We keep fighting and he stabs me in the gut. This only does 1 point of damage. Just a scratch. I'm bleeding, but I'll be fine. My total damage is now 6. Whipping around, that damn bully hamstrings me for 7 points of damage to my left leg. I drop to one knee as the blood gushes out. I'm in really bad shape. I have 13 points of damage. That's 2 away from "going out". He slices me in my other arm for 3 points of damage. My arm is hurt, but still usable. However, my total damage is now 16, more than my 15 hit points, and I collapse in a bloody mess. If my head takes more damage than it has hit points, I am knocked out even if that is the only damage I have. The same goes for my chest, though I might just be awake and unable to move because of those ribs puncturing my lung. All of this is considered "real" damage and heals very slowly. Wounds take time to get better. There is also "bruising" damage. This is damage from things like punches and kicks. They hurt a lot at the time, but heal quickly. You have a number of bruising points in any body part equal to the total number of real damage in that body part before you gather enough for it to be real damage. To explain that confusing sentence, let's say I miraculously heal and fight Big Bully again with fists this time. He punches me in the nose for 2 bruising to the head. He then kicks me in the ear for 6 bruising to the head. This translates into 1 real and 2 bruising to my head. If you have any questions about things, just ask me. I'd gladly clarify while we're playing. Please keep good track of your own damage.
Outside of those basics, I can readily answer the rest of your questions as we are playing.