Example test of fate

GM: The black dragon seems to be asleep. A rattling snore issues from its nose, as if it’s congested. Its eyes are closed, and occasionally it licks its lips with a long, forked tongue.

Phynn: And you said that my cup is under it?

GM: Yeah, like, not right under it—but on its bed of gold, which is all spread out around the dragon. So it’s near it. You can reach the cup if you’re careful.

Phynn: OK, I want to sneak up to the bed of gold and steal my ancestral cup.

GM: OK, that will be a test of fate. Test Pentacles.

Phynn draws from the minor arcana deck and gets an 8 of Swords. He realizes that the odds are good since he needs a total of 14.

Phynn: That’s an 8 of Swords plus my Pentacles score of 2. That’s a 10 total. I’m gonna push fate.

Phynn draws again and gets a 10 of Wands.

Phynn: Awesome. That’s 20 total. That’s a success.

GM: Awesome. You sneak closer and closer to the dragon. At one point, the snoring stops and becomes a choking cough. A little cloud of acid fog smokes out of the dragon’s nostrils, but then the snoring begins again. You reach out and grab your cup. Now you have your ancestral cup in your hands, and you’re still sitting in a room with a sleeping dragon. What do you do now?