Rules question

[Kraken]

I've got a question I could swear I put up, but guess I'm wrong.

In opposed rolls, for instance, if I'm smacking someone in the face with something and they're already bad at getting out of the way, and I roll a total of +3 and they roll truly abysmally, and can't get out of it with fate points, so they end up with like a -2, because they were unskilled AND rolled a -2...

are the shifts generated 5 or 3?

I've heard argument that for 5, you can duck INTO the swing, for 3, there's only so much you can screw it up so a defense roll isn't lower than 0.

I lean towards the first, but wanted to know if there's just a place I'm not grokking the rule.

[EdgeOfDreams]

Officially, the answer is 5.  Their effort is -2 ("Terrible") and your effort is +3 ("Good"), difference of 5.  Since an effort/skill of +0 is "Average", it's always possible to screw up and do worse than "Average".  Otherwise, +0 would have been named "Minimum".

[Kraken]

Makes sense. It's the difference between being chopped by a sword and stumbling into the good cut "Helping".

Course with casting, it won't improve the weapon part of the roll for the damage, but you'll still accidentally jump at the fireball instead of sideways.

Got it. Thanks much!