Threat is the driver of each adventure – it is a pacing mechanism. For each player, calculate a Threat Rating equal to 10 + level of Skills + level of Traits. Since each level can be 5, that’s a range of 10-20.
When Extras are in use, use the highest rank of Traits and Extras – the range is still 10-20.
While Threat remains, the GM can spend Threat to convert any Decision Roll into a Conflict Roll, or to introduce new Threats which must be dealt with or whatever they threaten becomes true.
Conflict Roll – the Basic Procedure
Making a Conflict roll is a lot like a Decision Roll – you get a Miss, Weak Hit, or Strong Hit – but what each level means is different.
- Decisive Miss: Mark a Condition (you choose which one, see next post),and you’re somehow removed from the Conflict – perhaps by the Threat, or your Condition. You can make no further rolls. Any Threats created are still in the scene, and can threaten the other characters.
- Contested Hit: You suffer a Condition, but also remove one Threat. Freely narrate how this happens. If it is your first Conflicted roll this turn, you have the option of making a follow up roll but it must be a different skill. If you chose the first roll, the GM chooses the following roll and vice-versa.
- Decisive Hit: Remove a Threat at no cost to you.
Traits can be used to bump your outcome by one level, and it is estimated that they’ll be used a lot here. They should be used a lot here – this is what they are for!
Creating Threats, and Disposing Of Them
Whenever Threat is used, it makes the situation considerably more important and maybe even menacing. A Threat can be placed before the player’s intended action, which also becomes a Threat. The GM can continue to create new Threats. For example:
- Player: I try to convince the Magistrate I had a good reason for being in the Princess’s bedchamber.
- GM: On your way to talk to the Magistrate and appeal to him, a squad of the prince’s men declare you have defiled the Princess and will pay with your life, and attack.
- Player: Make a Ferocity roll, and gets a Conflicted Hit. He uses his Dashing Swashbuckler trait to bump it up to a Decisive Hit, and describes how he handily defeats them without getting a scratch on him, and enters the Magistrates chamber.
- The GM spends another Threat and declares the Magistrate takes issue with his drawn sword, so our hero attempts a Flair roll to explain his recent duel, and gets another Conflicted Hit. The GM declares it is a continuation of the same scene so our hero cannot use the same trait, Instead, he uses the Trait, Babyface Charm, to also bump this up to a Decisive Hit, and describes how it applies (easy enough). With a handy explanation, that absolves our hero of any wrong-doing, he is able to continue with the original challenge,
- Had our hero suffered a Condition there it is hard to imagine how he could continue to persuade the Magistrate of anything – he’d be driven into more conflict rolls as he attempted to escape while the Magistrate called guards to subdue him, or simply accepted being thrown in cells.
This exchange shows how rolls can naturally lead to other rolls. As GM, you shouldn’t spend more than 1/5th total Threat on any single incident. So, in the above example, the GM could probably have spent anther Threat or two describing how the prince’s guards rallied or new guards arrive. They might not al have been Ferocity rolls.
The GM does not have to call attention to the Threat counter. They can just describe what the Threat is. If at the end of a scene any created Threat is still in play, the GM reclaims it, and new Threat can be created at any time, and the same threat might be changed to fit.
- Player: I try to convince the Magistrate I had a good reason for being in the Princess’s bedchamber.
- GM: On your way to talk to the Magistrate and appeal to him, a squad of the prince’s men declare you have defiled the Princess and will pay with your life, and attack.
- Player: I abandon my attempt to talk to the Magistrate, and flee the corridor.
- GM: The guards try to stop you, shouting “You will not escape justice, you cur” Make a Daring roll.
- Player: gets a Conflicted Hit. He thinks about suffering some damage. He succeeds, and escapes anyway, removing that Threat, but decides to use his Dashing Swashbuckler to describe how he leaps through the corridor, and bounds from one wall to another. He doesn’t harm any guards, but has still removed the Threat.
Temporary Threats
It makes sense that some threats have a limited life span, like, say, a boulder rolling across the battlefield. If any players remove a threat, they remove that Threat counter for them, but if a player suffers constant misses, when that Threat reaches its conclusion, the GM takes back the Threat counter and adds it to their pile.
Adventure Climax and Threat
An adventure cannot be concluded while there is Threat still in play. Once it is all gone, the players can move into the climax, and win with a single successful relevant Decision Roll. If the GM is familiar with the kid of game being played, they might smoothly transition into the climax in the same scene the last Threat is spent.
It’s fine for players to see how much Threat remains, but their characters are unaware of it. The GM might have a bowl of Threat tokens and make a big deal of spending them – to add tension to a scene.
The Adventure Climax
Adventures are usually about something. Exactly what they are about will depend on the game being run. Players cannot roll to resolve this climax when Threat remains, but should get the opportunity to do that very. very soon after all Threat is expended.
This may be a situation where all players have to succeed at something, or maybe just one success is needed.
The idea of an Adventure climax smacks of pre-planned plots, but in these adventures, there is usually some intended objective. Players are not required to have their characters participate in that climax. But it will probably have ramifications on the game. Something will happen.
