When we create characters, part of that process is assigning Dots to specific Attributes and Skills that we want our character to have some knowledge of. Whether they have a passing familiarity or are experts is dependent on how many dots they have. Typically to determine how good you are at something you combine an Attribute, a Skill and any relevant Disciplines, and Equipment, and roll a d10. We're all pretty familiar with that at this point.

However, the question has recently occurred to me, what do the Dots on my sheet actually mean? What's the real difference between being a Novice at something (1 Dot in a Skill) and being an Expert (4 Dots)? The simple answer is you get a better pool of dice to roll, but that doesn't really tell you much other than you need to roll better if you have a low rating in a skill.

The more interesting answer has more to do with your perception of your character. What expectations should you have if you are trying to heal someone's wounds, but only have a 1 in Medicine? If you're lucky and you have ideal conditions (re: not in the middle of a fight) and a high Intelligence (the Attribute associated with Medicine) you might have a Pool of 5-7. If you have a pool of 5, that means that every time you roll, you have a 50% of getting 1 success. To give some perspective, Healing Wounds is an extended roll that requires five successes to heal one point of lethal damage. So, if you're dealing with a serious medical issue and have a Medicine of 1, you can likely assume the patient is going to die. You will probably try everything you can to save them, but odds are against you.

In contrast, let's assume you are trying to investigate a crime scene and have a Wits of 3, Investigation of 4 and a Specialty in Crime Scenes. This means you are an expert in Investigation and you're particularly skilled in investigating crime scenes, resulting in a pool of 8. In order to get 1 success on a roll, you need a 2 or higher. With crime scenes, there are usually a few levels of information to find based on how many successes you get. It is reasonable to assume that if you have a pool of 8, you can find all of the clues unless you are hurried, or there are other external problems. So, if you go to a crime scene and find out "blah blah blah", you can assume that either you got all the information there was to get, or that your roll was failed (though your character might not know that and should be roleplayed accordingly).

It's that difference in perception that is key to roleplaying. In the first example, because of the Dots on your sheet, you assume that you are having to put everything you've got into saving the patient's life, because you know the odds are against you. If you pull it off, it's a miracle and you've accomplished something that someone of your skill couldn't normally do. In the second scenario, you have an expectation of success. Your character likely spends a lot of time taking in the crime scene and examining information, but you know they'll turn up all the clues eventually, it's only a matter of time. That difference should come through in the way you play your character, because it may all come down to a few rolls of the dice, but those Dots are more than just a dice pool, they're who your character is.