Warning: Pre-Alpha

This game is currently in pre-alpha, and at this time, I do not recommend running a game in it yet. Every single game mechanic and piece of lore is subject to potentially breaking changes.

Thank you for your interest in this game! You can follow its development at https://www.youtube.com/@trekiros

-Trek

Designing a Roll

Here is how the Plot Twister should design an attribute roll:

1. Which attribute to use?

Firstly, the Plot Twister should consider which Attribute would be the closest match to what the player character is trying to accomplish.

2. Determining the check's difficulty

The Plot Twister should then consider how hard the task should be. Depending on this, the target number the player should meet or beat with their roll should be:

Easy: 8
Medium: 10
Hard: 12

Skipping trivial & impossible rolls

If a task is so trivial that its difficulty would be below 8, it is usually not worth making the player roll. Similarly, if a task is so impossibly difficult that the player character would never be able to succeed, the Plot Twister should simply skip the roll.

3. Coming up with possible outcomes

The Plot Twister should come up with at least 2 different possible outcomes to the roll. "Nothing happens and you can just try again" should never be one of the outcomes: for example, if a player fails to pick a lock, it's not just that they couldn't do it this turn, and can try again next turn. Instead, the consequence for failing the check could be either:

You couldn't understand how the lock is built, and no amount of re-tries will change that. That door is staying shut and you will need to find another way in.
You opened the lock, but took so long that an enemy patrol stumbled upon you!
You accidentally jammed the lock. You can still kick the door open, but that will make noise.
You triggered an alarm - the security robots are coming for you!
You triggered a trap - you take some damage!
Your tools broke! You can't lock-pick anything until the next rest.
etc...

If the Plot Twister can't come up with at least 2 narratively distinct outcomes, they should skip the roll altogether.

4. Optional: Degrees of Success

If the Plot Twister can come up with more than just 2 outcomes, those additional outcomes should be mapped to other difficulty levels, or to critical successes or failures. Adventures use the following terminology:

Easy success: any result of 8 or higher
Medium success: any result of 10 or higher
Hard success: any result of 12 or higher

Coming up with additional degrees of success in this way can be difficult and should only be done if the Plot Twister can think of interesting additional outcomes. Usually, this happens for especially important rolls with a lot of relevance to the story or to the characters, as those rolls have more material for the Plot Twister to be inspired by.

For example, if a player is trying to hack a computer to retrieve some information, the Plot Twister could think up the following results:

Result	Interpretation	Outcome
Critical Failure	"No, and"	An alarm is raised: some security robots are unleashed on the players
Failure	"No"	The computer's firewall activates and wipes the data
Easy Success	"No, but"	The player character learns some of the details before the data is wiped
Medium Success	"Yes, but"	The player character learns more details
Hard Success	"Yes"	The player character downloads all of the relevant information before the data is wiped
Critical Success	"Yes, and"	The player character also downloads a blueprint of a useful tech 3 item, that happened to be on the computer as well. They can now craft this item, even without a perk.

5. Optional: Group Checks

If a task is particularly complex, so much so that a single die roll shouldn't be enough to accomplish it, the Plot Twister might decide to turn it into a group check.

In a group check, multiple successes must be accumulated: typically, one success per player character who is present in the scene (for example, if 5 characters are present, the group check would need 5 successes). Critical successes count as 2 successes, and critical failures count as 2 failures.

A group check is usually not tied to just one attribute, and different player characters might end up rolling different attributes. But every roll made as part of a group check uses the same difficulty.

A single player character can make multiple rolls as part of a group check, but they can't make two checks in a row. If a player has made a roll, there must be at least 2 other players who make a roll before that player is allowed to roll again.

Obstacles. To help players come up with ideas for how they can contribute to the group check, the Plot Twister should come up with a number of "obstacles" equal to the number of successes required to succeed on the group check. The Plot Twister can reveal these obstacles one by one, two by two, or all at the same time, depending on the nature of the task.

For example, let's say 3 player characters are sailing a dinghy down some rapids. The three obstacles could be:

A 3 meters high waterfall is rapidly approaching!
Some rocks are protruding from the water, and your boat is headed towards them!
One plank from the hull of your boat comes loose, and the boat starts taking water!

Handling Failures. The Plot Twister can handle failures in one of two ways, depending on the situation:

Immediate Consequences. The Plot Twister determines a detrimental consequence which happens to the players for each failure they have. For example:
- While navigating a tight canyon at top speeds, for each failure, the players' truck, and everyone on it, takes 3d6 damage.
- While sneaking into a high security lab, for each failure, the next combat encounter will have an additional security robots.
Counting Failures. The Plot Twister chooses a number of failures. If the players fail that number of times, the overall group check is failed. For example:
- While negotiating with raiders, if the players fail 3 times, the raiders turn hostile.
- While trying to save a wounded scav, if the players fail 3 times, the scav dies.

Degrees of success in group checks. If a group check has additional degrees of success, as described above, the higher difficulty outcomes are only reached if every single success beat the number for that higher difficulty.

For example, if the players are trying to build fortifications for their base, the Plot Twister might decide that if everyone gets an easy success, these fortifications will have an armor of 10. But if everyone gets a medium success, the fortifications will have an armor of 15 instead.

Example Group Checks

1) Finding supplies in a ruined city

Difficulty: Medium (DC 10)

Obstacles: As they explore an abandoned medical research facility, the players encounter these 5 obstacles:

Ground Floor:
- Chemical Leak. In the lab, there is a pool of dangerous chemicals that can dissolve any metal or organic material. Success: gain 2d4 stims. Failure: take 3d6 damage.
- Trapped Access. The door to the cafeteria is blocked by fallen debris on the other side. Success: gain 4d6 biomass.
Basement:
- Electrical Hazards. In the generator's room, there are live wires hanging from the ceiling and covering the floor. Success: gain 4d6 energy. Failure: take 3d6 damage.
- Phytozoid eggs. The generator room is also filled with phytozoid egg clusters. Any disturbance might cause hostility from the swarm. Failure: +2 phyto-ant ergates in the next encounter.
3rd floor:
- Unstable building. The floor of the workshop has large fissures, and risks collapsing the moment someone steps on them. Success: gain 4d6 scrap. Failure: take 4d6 damage.

Consequences for failure. On top of the failures listed in the obstacles themselves, after 3 failure, the players take so much time that day breaks before they're able to leave. The Phytozoid ants who live here come back from their hunt for the day.

2) Escaping a self-destructing laboratory!

Difficulty: Easy (DC 8)

Obstacles: The players encounter these 5 obstacles in sequence:

Malfunctioning doors. The facility's automatic doors aren't opening anymore, trapping the players inside!
Power Failure. The lab is plunged into darkness, making navigation hazardous.
Collapsing tunnels. The tunnel the party took on their way in has caved in!
EMP. The lab's power core explodes, temporarily turning off all electronic devices the PCs have
Flooding. The lab's vats burst open as their hardlight containment fades out of existence. Entire sections of the lab are flooded.

Consequences for failure. After 4 failures, the party is too slow to escape. Everyone dies.

6. Giving players an out

If the Plot Twister is the one who asked the player to make the check, skip this step. But if a player is the one who asked to roll, the Plot Twister should take a moment to communicate with their players. Without spoiling any big reveal that the characters shouldn't be aware of, the Plot Twister should tell the player how difficult their character would think the task is, and what their character would risk by attempting the task.

The player should then be given a choice: either they can try the roll, or they can decide not to do it after all.