Proficiency is a generic way of showing how skilled a character is at a specific skill. A character with a certain skill at first degree is less proficient than a character with that same skill at second or third degree. At a character with a certain skill at first degree is more proficient than a character who doesn't have that skill at all. We call that character non-proficient. So can a non-proficient character perform a skill they aren't proficient in? Sometimes. It depends on the skill. Magic must be done by a proficient character, but first aid or climbing a rock wall could be attempted by someone who isn't proficient, if required.

Here is how the dice for almost all skills are added up. Everybody, proficient or non-proficient, has a chance of performing most skills. (See the non-proficient skills section below for more explanation). We call this “two for trying”. In other words, every character always starts off with two dice. If combinations of skills are added together for multiple benefits, there is still only one “two for trying”.

If a character is proficient in a skill, like swordfighting or hiding in shadows, they have a degree of proficiency starting at first degree and moving up as they increase in degrees. For most skills, a character gets two additional dice for each degree of proficiency, so they would move up to whatever their skill degree is at, two at a time, until they reach their skill degree. For example, at second degree a character with a certain skill would roll six dice (“two for trying” + two times two dice). Third degree would roll eight dice. And so forth.

Defense works exactly the same. A first degree defensive proficiency against fire would be worth four dice whereas no proficiency would only be two dice.

Exceptions: Although Dice Mob tries to adhere to this principle as much as possible, there are exceptions to this “two for trying” plus “two per degree” stepping. These skills are non-standard and for many of these skills, there is no “two for trying” at all nor is there any way a non-proficient character can perform these skills. They are just straight numbers of dice affected per degree. Good examples of these are regeneration and luck, where there is only one die per degree, or healing where there are five dice per degree. These are rare, but be aware that not all skills can fit into this standard.

Note: In case it wasn’t obvious, proficiency ONLY applies to skills a character has learned or knows instinctually. It doesn’t apply to items of any sort. A sword isn’t “proficient” in and of itself unless it’s some sort of sentient blade that wields itself.

Sometimes a skill could technically be performed by someone who hasn’t practiced much or at all with performing this. Examples of non-proficient skills include swimming, climbing, running, throwing, tracking, etc. Even someone not at all practiced with these skills would be able to attempt it and often succeed at it. A character non-proficient at a task generally rolls two dice. (Two for trying, as we say.) And sometimes the GM doesn't require a roll at all if performed under ideal circumstances.

Example: Jane, a degree five swordswoman would have nine dice, “two for trying”, “two for proficiency”, and five for her degree of swordsmanship, when using her trusty longsword. And that doesn’t even count her longsword’s effectiveness against whatever she was attacking. If she has her longsword knocked from her hand and had to pick up a fallen branch to fight with, she would do so with only two dice since she isn’t proficient with branches.

Example: If our swordswoman Jane, also happened to be a degree one staff wielder, the GM could determine that the branch is close enough to a staff and thus she is proficient with it, even though it is an improvised weapon and not really a properly hardened and balanced staff, thus giving her five dice for the attack.

For anything that a person wouldn’t be expected to accomplish unless they were practiced — magic being a good example — they would roll zero dice. The skill cannot be performed by the non-proficient, no matter how much they might wish to do so.