If a character fails to make his/her climbing safely dice roll by five points or less, he/she has lost a hand-hold and is hanging on by his/her other hand. He/she must make a dice roll using his/her ST + Climbing (including Hanging on specialism) at a difficulty value equal to the difficulty of the climb (see Climbing safely) to avoid falling. If he/she succeeds, he/she will be able to hold on long enough to grab the surface. If he/she fails, his/her grip will fail and he/she will fall. A falling character will suffer falling damage on impact.
For example, Urlik has a Climbing skill of 3 and 1 point of specialism in holding on (which is a broad specialism so gives him a +1/2 bonus), and a ST of +1. When climbing a cliff face (difficulty 7), he has lost his hand-hold. To stop himself falling, he must take a risk since his basic value of 4 1/2 (3+1/2+1) is not enough to guarantee a dice roll result of 7. He risks two dice, and rolls 2D-1 1/2. He rolls a 4 and a 5, giving a dice roll result of 7 1/2, a success. Urlik resumes his climb, chastened.
A character who is climbing with another person who is hanging on, can grab them and pull them to safety if he/she makes a dice roll using his/her Climbing (including Hanging on specialism) at a difficulty value equal to the difficulty of the climb. There is a penalty on the dice roll of one point per 10 kilograms the other person weighs (including any equipment carried). If the character makes the dice roll, he/she will pull the other character back. If the character fails the dice roll by five points or less, he/she fails to pull the other character back, but doesn't lose his/her own grip. If the character fails by more than five points, he/she falls with the other character.
Urlik's friend Ariana is climbing a rope ladder (difficulty zero) with him. She loses her hand-hold and is about to fall. Urlik reaches out to pull her back. Because Ariana weighs (including her equipment) 70 kg, Urlik has a penalty of -7 on his dice roll. His basic value is, therefore, 3+1/2+1-7 = -2 1/2, giving a guaranteed result of -3. Urlik needs to take a risk, and so he risks two dice, giving him 2D-8 1/2. He rolls a 3 and a 2, leaving him with a dice roll result of -4, not enough to pull Ariana up, but not bad enough to make him fall. He looks down, hoping Ariana lands well.