this is the impact system for handling the consequences of conflicts of all kinds. true love, slander, getting stabbed, etc. more importantly it's a primer for making that shit matter.
If this roll succeeds, you may immediately take ANY other action, which automatically succeeds.
If this roll fails, then you receive the impact you were rolling to avoid as well as an additional impact.
Once you have 0 HP left the only way to avoid Impact is to go spend HP you don't have to roll, going into negative HP and always risking death on failure. Unless you choose to do this, you cannot die, only accumulate Impact.
If the NPC has HP to spend, the GM may spend it to roll a d6, trying to beat 3.
If the roll succeeds, the NPC immediately take an action which players must roll to avoid.
FKRish MOSAIC Strict if u care about buzzwords.
Impact puts emphasis on determining if something is a problem now or will be a problem later, and the amount of effort and decision making needed to solve that problem.
if something isn't important enough to create a decision point for a player it's probably not important enough to include in your game.
the HP part makes use of a stunt mechanic i've been using for a pulpy-but-resource focused system i'm running currently (taking actions costs stat points) where succeeding well enough at something enables you to take an unrelated successful action as a stunt.
this has created some kinda sick moments like players hacky-sacking grenades to one another before sending them back at the poison-frog-blade-wielding canoe raiders who tossed them, or scaring a foreign emissary so badly they don't notice being robbed blind.
i really like the idea of taking actions that risk HP loss being a reliable way to get impossible shit done.
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| Artyom Tucović kinda unreal with it |
IMPACT
NOTE: Impact and HP is NOT to be used only for combat and if you do this, I'll spit on you a little bit and not in a sexy way either
to resolve the consequences of actions (not the success/failure of the action itself) roll a d10 on the following table.
if the situation is escalatory, add 1 more to the roll each time you make it until the situation resolves.
1.¹ Winded: effect later² recoverable³
2-4. Off Balance: effect now, recoverable in conflict
getting disarmed, surrounded, knocked down/back, grabbed, made vulnerable, stunned, needing to
take extra time/effort on a project, pissing someone off and needing to smooth things over, missing
the jump and dangling by one hand, etc.
getting disarmed, surrounded, knocked down/back, grabbed, made vulnerable, stunned, needing to
take extra time/effort on a project, pissing someone off and needing to smooth things over, missing
the jump and dangling by one hand, etc.
5 - 7. Vulnerable: effect now, recoverable out of conflict
intense shock, broken bones, falling down a well, getting kicked out of a bar, finishing something
with a flaw you don't notice till after, getting hogtied and captured
8-9. Insidious: effect later, questable⁴
with a flaw you don't notice till after, getting hogtied and captured
8-9. Insidious: effect later, questable⁴
trauma, disease, infection, deep wounds you didn't notice at first, emotion that takes hold after the
fact
10. Devastating: effect now, questable
fact
10. Devastating: effect now, questable
your gory wounds, your deep enchantments, your transformations, declarations of war, thrown in
prison, true undying love, etc.
prison, true undying love, etc.
1. the distribution of the results is entirely due to my preference; most of the time, I want stuff happening right now that can be resolved with immediate action, with getting lucky and getting fucked both being equally rare and "ongoing passive thing that can become a plot point" slightly more common than that.
2. for "effect later" entries, either wait till the conflict ends or roll a d6 and use the result as a countdown clock.
3. recoverable means there's direct, relatively straightforward action you can take to get rid of the effect, or it's otherwise fleeting
4. questable here means something that can only be removed through lengthy, difficult, risky endeavors.
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| Patrick Woodroffe is like no other |
HP (yeah man, they got HP here. Like 6 HP per character)
After hearing the effect of the Impact, if you don't want your character to suffer it, you spend 1 HP and roll 1d6 to avoid the effect, trying to beat 3.
If this roll succeeds, you may immediately take ANY other action, which automatically succeeds.
If this roll fails, then you receive the impact you were rolling to avoid as well as an additional impact.
Once you have 0 HP left the only way to avoid Impact is to go spend HP you don't have to roll, going into negative HP and always risking death on failure. Unless you choose to do this, you cannot die, only accumulate Impact.
can you restore HP? can anyone? I can't.
NPCs (can have HP, but most don't)
The players roll Impact for all actions taken against any NPCs, and may determine the effects they inflict provided they adhere to the table.
If the NPC has HP to spend, the GM may spend it to roll a d6, trying to beat 3.
If the roll succeeds, the NPC immediately take an action which players must roll to avoid.
Ooooh, interesting!
ReplyDeleteWill steal that for Electric Bastionland. Maybe I'll change the cost for avoiding the consequence to taking d4 CHA damage or being deprived for the rest of the day. Will see how that works out.
The focus more on the consequence of your action and less on the success/failure of an action also reminds me a bit of the system "Houses of the Blooded" by John Wick, where the roll only determines whether you or the GM can decide if an action succeeds of fails. It's al about the impact ...
Ahh, Hakaider! That beauty!
It's been a while. I should put that on again soon! Maybe i will complete the experience by adding Tetsuo and Tokyo Gore Police to that movie night. Impactful films indeed ...