Challenges

During the game there will be times when the heroes face a risky situation and the players must choose how they want to try and overcome it. Other times the Facilitator may introduce a situation that could cause problems for the heroes if they do nothing to stop it. These are called Challenges

When a hero faces a challenge the Facilitator will ask the player: “What do you do?” and this is the indicator that an action roll is about to happen. The Facilitator will describe the situation and the challenge they face and the player involved will need to say their goal and how they plan to do it. Their goal is a short description of what they would like to happen and the ‘how’ is which Approach they will use. We will cover Actions in more detail in the Actions section. 

CHALLENGE TYPE

The Facilitator will decide what kind of challenge the hero or heroes are facing. There are three types of challenges and they are used based on the type of scene you want to play out. 

Simple Challenge

This type of challenge is meant for a single hero to roll a single success to overcome it. This means that all they need to do is meet the CL to succeed. This would be for quick challenges that are not overly complex, like a single obstacle or opponent.

Complex Challenge

This type of challenge is meant for one or more heroes to roll multiple successes to overcome it. This means that after a hero rolls, even if they succeeded, the challenge may still remain. This would be for longer scenes where there are more moving parts or multiple obstacles or opponents to overcome. The Facilitator will determine how many successes are required to overcome the challenge based on how many elements the challenge has and how long they want the scene to potentially last. Typically this will be between two and ten successes to overcome it. Remember that a single player can achieve multiple successes on a roll.

Group Challenges

This type of challenge is meant for multiple heroes playing out a montage style scene. This means that players will take turns making action rolls and as a group they must reach a predetermined number of successes before that same number of misses to succeed as a group. Players will each state their goal and roll, but don’t narrate until the challenge is complete. The Facilitator summarizes the outcome and players narrate their part.

Group challenges are meant to run like montage scenes, where the camera will cut from hero to hero, so the setup and dice rolls should go more quickly. When setting the CL for group challenges, the Facilitator sets a single number for all heroes. Each hero, before rolling, will declare if they are adjusting the roll with story elements or Surges and there are no assists during these challenges. Once the group succeeds or fails, the Facilitator will summarize the outcome and control the spotlight by shining it on each player, where they will narrate their part. These scenes flow best if players include each other’s actions as they narrate their outcomes.

CHALLENGE LEVELS

30+ Impossible

25-29 Epic 

20-24 Extreme 

15-19 Daunting 

10-14 Difficult 

5-9 Moderate 

2-4 Minor 

Impossible - This should be impossible for the hero

Epic - The hero would find this nearly impossible

Extreme - The hero is not likely to succeed at

Daunting - The hero would struggle greatly with.

Difficult - The hero would have a tough time with

Moderate - The hero is well suited to succeed at

Minor - The hero should have little to no problem with

SETTING THE CHALLENGE LEVEL

The most important part of any challenge is determining the Challenge Level. This is the numeric range that a player must meet on their action roll in order to succeed in their action. Facilitators will need to get comfortable with this in order to run the game, but don’t worry, it’s pretty intuitive. 

Step 1: Set the Challenge Level

Think about the situation and the challenge itself and how difficult it would be to overcome it, then listen to the player describe their goal and approach and think about how hard that would be to succeed, then consider their hero. Is this their area of expertise? Are they prepared for this? This will help you determine the CL for this challenge. This will be unique based on the situation, the hero and their action.

Step 2: Adjust the Challenge Level

Step 3: Say the CL

Once you have adjusted the CL you will say it out loud and then call for the hero to make their action roll. In some cases you will determine that the approach a hero is making will result in indirect strain, regardless of the outcome. In this case you should say this out loud too so the player has a chance to accept the risk or rethink their approach. Remember it’s not you against them and not everyone always visualizes the situation the same.

CHALLENGE LEVEL FACTORS

The facilitator determines the challenge level by considering the following factors:

• The SITUATION - What’s going on around them?
• The hero’s GOAL - What do they want to accomplish?
•  The hero’s APPROACH - How are they attempting this?

POSITIVE FACTORS

• The situation favors the hero’s approach
• Their heroic quality positively applies to the action (-1 CL max)
• The hero surges on their roll (-1 CL Max)
• Another hero surges to assist them (-1 CL Max)

NEGATIVE FACTORS

• The situation is unfavorable to their action
• They do not have the appropriate gear for the action
• Their action is impeded by another hero in some way
• Their position is made worse by a previous Facilitator Setback
• The Hero has Struggles that hinder their approach (+1 CL each)
• The Hero has a Condition that affects their chosen approach (+2 CL)

Facilitator Tips for setting challenges

• Setting the CL is a conversation. Be upfront with the CL and your reasons for setting it.
• Do not call for an Action Roll if the Challenge isn’t very challenging. Just let them do the thing.
• Don’t be afraid to set high CLs, the players have tools to buy them down.
• We suggest starting most challenges at Difficult or higher before players buy them down.