Mixed Success

Mixed Success is an alternative to failure, meant to be more interesting. A mixed success is a result where the PC who otherwise would have failed an action, save, or check is instead able to achieve the most important effect they intended, but at a cost at least equal to--if not greater than--the effect they achieved.

With this variant, anyone rolling a skill check can experience mixed success--in addition to perfect success or failure--based on the die result.

• If the die result is 5 or more points above the DC, or a natural 20, the result is Perfect Success.
• If the die result is 5 or more points below the DC, or a natural 1, the result is Failure.
• Otherwise, the result is Mixed Success

(DMs: Note that this does not obviate the need to determine realistic DCs. If a skill check cannot possibly succeed, then do not set a DC for it, then complain that a 20 shouldn't have passed. Etc.)

Mixed Success means that the primary intention of the action succeeds, but there is a side effect, a price to pay, unwanted attention, a cost, etc. This is highly subjective and ultimately up to DM interpretation. This interpretation can--depending on the preferences of the table--incorporate the degree of mixed success (where DC +4 is "almost perfect" and DC -4 is "almost total failure"). Either way, once the price/side effect/etc is determined, the PC rolling the check has the final call: they can accept the terms, or simply revert to normal failure, if preferable.