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Gambles

Most of the things character do during a story require no mechanical adjudication. For these tasks, the desired result is achieved with no meaningful risk of negative consequences. For these sorts of activities, the player indicates what their character wishes to undertake or achieve and they work with the GM to describe the results. If the distinction between failure and success is not interesting - for example, a situation where a character might simply retry until they succeed - no mechanical resolution is needed.

For some tasks, however, the GM may indicate that success for the character is sufficiently uncertain, and the consequences of failure sufficiently meaningful, that undertaking the task is a gamble. For these situations, a mechanical method of generating a result is used, as outlined below.

Step 1: Initiation

The player outlines a desired result for the character. This involves indicating the character's goal, determining which of the character's resources (e.g. stats, skills, powers, and equipment) are relevant, and describing, in general, how those resources might be used by the character to achieve the desired result.

Step 2: Clarification

GM Describes Difficulty and Potential Consequences

Difficulty

Common

Using a piece of equipment or supernatural ability to do what it was designed to do is typically a common task. A common task is one that might regularly be performed by someone with the equipment and training of the character with a moderate chance of failure.

Examples:

• Speeding through traffic in a police car with sirens blaring.
• Seriously injuring someone with a gun.

Step 3: Going for It

The player decides whether they wish to go forward with the gamble or to accept a failure condition so as to not risk a critical failure.

Step 4: Resolution

Success

Critical Success

A critical success is one in which the rolled effect is at least two greater than the required effect. The character gains a point of WP and, if possible, the GM provides them with a minor bonus to their action

Extras

Extras influence actions, either by making them easier, or by making something possible. An extra might be a skill or talent you possess, it might be a piece of equipment, or it might be a magical ability. Using an extra simply requires including it in the description of your action. The GM should take this into account when figuring out if the action is possible and what the difficulty of the action is.

An extra is typically given a name and described in a few words or sentences, depending on the complexity of the extra. The more powerful the extra, the longer the description should probably be.

Types

Extras come in three types: minor, significant, and major. This type indicates the expected influence of the extra on the game. Extras can often have limitations associated with them, which should be taken into account when deciding how powerful they are. The importance of a limitation depends on how frequently the limitation can realistically be expected to occur in the campaign.

A minor extra is one which provides only slight assistance, or which provides substantial assistance in very limited circumstances.

A significant extra is one which frequently provides meaningful assistance, or which provides a decisive advantage in the right, very limited circumstances. The ability to look like someone else, the ability to hide in shadows, the ability to craft magical artifacts, powerful firearms, the ability to monitor someone's emotions, the ability to bind a contract, a disintegration gun, absorbing skin, human strength telekinesis.

A major extra is one which frequently provides a decisive advantage or powerful assistance, or an overwhelming advantage in limited circumstances. The ability to read someone's thoughts, the ability to read someone's memories, the ability to teleport yourself,

Cost

Players are given charges in return for completing in-game objectives, as a source of magical power, to represent new wealth, or anything else the GM desires. A minor charge can be used to purchase a minor extra. A significant charge can be used to purchase a significant extra. A major charge can be used to purchase a major extra. Five minor charges can be combined to make a significant charge. Five significant charges can be combined to make a major charge.

Moving the target number by one for a stat uses a significant charge.

Extra Cafeteria

Extras can represent anything: equipment, skills, magical powers, professions, social contacts, financial resources, etc.

Telekinesis

Minor

• The ability to move and manipulate up to five pounds within your line of sight.
• Having a telekinetic arm that's as strong and long as an actual arm.

Perception

Minor

• Equipment: High-Quality Binoculars. These have excellent optics, allowing good vision from far away.
• Skill: Tracking. You know how to follow a trail.
• Profession: Computer Programmer.

Significant

• Power: Eye for Talent. You have the ability to sense when someone else is a talent, though not always what it is (this might be the benefit for a critical success). This power is opposed by social resistance and can be applied to your passive perception.