Here are some principles behind the Sorcerer dice system, at least as far as I can derive them:

1. Your odds of winning a conflict approach the ratio of dice involved. If you're rolling 4 dice, and your opponent rolls 3, your odds are roughly 4-to-7 (4 dice out of 7 total) of having the highest die in the bunch. (It's not quite identical to the dice ratios, because of ties, but it's a good estimate.)

2. In an important conflict--one where your opponent's got an appreciable number of dice--you're never going to be comfortable. (When failure's not an option, having a 33% chance of failure really sucks.)

3. The only way to feel more comfortable is to scramble like a fool for modifiers. When you're in an important conflict--and if the GM's doing his job, every conflict in Sorcerer is important--you've got to play like a complete madman if you want to survive. This is entirely by design. If you're in a pickle, make it an epic pickle and you just might survive.

4. One of the easiest ways to get bonus dice, is by "rolling over" the successes from tightly connected actions, either from the previous round or from a helper-roll this round. (You can also come up with sneaky tactics, funny jokes, or whatever, but it's not easy to do so under pressure. The rollover trick, however, is always at hand.)

What this means:

In order to use the rollover trick, break your goals down into smaller chunks. Prepare! Lay your ground work! As each action succeeds, you get to roll your successes into the next action, creating a snowball effect. If you've ever done martial arts, it's a little bit like succeeding in the first part of a technique, then doing the middle part, then following through to the decisive part. Note, too, that this slower pace gives you a little more time to think of those other bonuses, for great details or bold tactics.

From a drama point of view, what's happening here is that you're giving the Big Climax Scene the weight and gravity it deserves, by preparing for it, slowing things down, taking time to savor it. (It's a little bit like Bringing Down the Pain in the game Shadow of Yesterday--the really big outcomes require a slower, zoomed-in pace.)