This is one of three methods the game system uses to determine the Outcome of Actions. The other two are Automatically, and Manually. This is the default Action Resolution Method for any Action with an Unknown Difficulty, and most Combat Actions.

The GM should call for this Action Resolution Method whenever success of the current Action the Actor is attempting is in question and the Action Difficulty is Unknown. If a player is Role Playing and describing some Action they are attempting, where there is an opposing NPC Actor trying to cause that action to fail, this Action Resolution Method should also be chosen. If the GM is describing the Action of an NPC Actor against a PC Actor, he must also use this method to determine if the NPC succeeds in doing whatever Action the GM is describing.

It is possible to Resolve Action Sequences using DBCs. In that case, the Outcome Score of the each Action in the Sequence is modified by the Outcome Score of the Action immediately preceding it. For example, a player announces that his character will leap from the wall upon his enemy below using the momentum of his fall to run him through. The GM would first call for a DBC to determine if the PC can land on the NPC Actor successfully, and then apply that Outcome Score, positive or negative, as a Complication Points to the PC Actor's Action Point Score.

The DBC resolution method is the slowest of the three and should only be used to resolve Actions when the outcome poses a danger to the PC(s) or where failure would result in lasting Complications for them. If this is not the case, the GM should call for an Automatic or Manually resolved Action instead. This is to speed play and avoid bogging down the game pace with cumbersome game mechanics where there is no meaningful risk involved.

To resolve an Action using a DBC, the GM first determines the Action Difficulty Score of the NPC Actor opposing the PC Actor by totaling the NPC Actor's Relevant Ability Score plus their Influential Stat plus any Complication Points that are meaningful to success or failure.

The DBC Formula:
Initiating Actor: Action Score = (Relevant Ability Score) + (Influential Stat) + (Complication Points)
Opposing Actor: Action Difficulty = (Opposing Ability Score) + (Opposing Stat) + (Complication Points)
(* note that the the Relevant Ability and the Opposing ability are not always the same, for example, Perception opposes Stealth. Similarly the GM may determine that the PC should use Agility to wriggle free of the NPC's Strength to escape a Grapple.)

Meanwhile, the player should assume what Relevant Ability they will use to Initiate or Oppose the Action, and lookup what Stat Influences that Ability. If applicable, this is also when the Player should ask the GM if any Complications apply to his Action Score in this DBC. Note that Complication Points are always a positive number and add to the Action Score if any apply. For example, if the NPC opponent has the Prone Complication, Complication Points should be awarded to the PC who is attacking him, whereas if the NPC is Invisible, Complication Points should be awarded to the NPC to increase the Action Difficulty of the PC hitting him with a weapon in combat.

Once the GM and Player have both indicated to each other that they have calculated their Action Score (in the case of whoever is the Initiating Actor), an the Action Difficulty (in the case of whichever of them is the Opposing Actor), no further changes to the formula calculations are allowed, and both Actors simultaneously reveal their Total Action Score and Action Difficulty. Subtract one from the other. Whichever is greater is the winner of the DBC, and the difference between the two is the Outcome Score. At this time the GM should also check that the Player has only added points from allowed Stats or Abilities. If he has not, for example trying to block a sword thrust with a witty Persuasion Ability and high Intuition Stat, the GM should subtract the Persuasion Ability Points from the Player's Action Difficulty, although he might allow the Intuition Stat points to remain to realize before it is too late that he can't talk his way out of this one.

In the case of a tie, the Outcome Score will be zero. The Initiating Actor always wins ties, and the Opposing Actor always loses ties. Although note that as per the Outcome rules, whenever the outcome is zero, the Initiating Actor must accept a Complication.

Simple Combat Example: Joe the smiley-faced trader is caught swindling a customer. Unfortunately that customer happens to be an off-duty constable who attempts to arrest Joe. Joe resists and Combat Round 1 begins and the GM calls for a DBC telling the Player that guard looks hostile and about to take action, but not what the Action is, since the Action has an Unknown Difficulty. The Player is left to try and figure out what the guard is about to attempt, and thereby what Action would best oppose it. Secretly, the GM has determined that the Guard is going to try and Grapple Joe and that his Action Score equals 5 (Unarmed Combat Ability Score 1, plus Strength 4, with no Complications). Joe's player decides to try and Dodge whatever attack the guard intends to mount and runaway on his next Action Point. He calculates his Action Difficulty as 5 (Acrobatics Ability 1, plus Agility Stat of 4). The GM and the Player nod at each other that they are ready to reveal their scores and both shout as they realize it is a tie. Since the guard was the Initiating Actor, he succeeds in grabbing Joe, who was the Opposing Actor, but because it is a tie, the GM decides that the complication is that he only has him by the cloths, and so Joe will get a +1 Circumstance Complication on his next Action.“

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