This chapter contains tips, tricks, and resources to help Adventure Guides run amazing Open Adventure games. It is not a step-by-step guide to running adventures, but rather a toolbox filled with advice for both experienced and aspiring Adventure Guides. Topics covered include guidance for running Session Zero, tips for setting Challenge Points and Difficulty Scores, and a deeper dive into adjudicating spells and magic.
Session Zero #
In RPG lingo, Session Zero refers to the first gathering of a group of players before the start of the game. During this initial gathering, the group discusses their expectations for the game, which rulebooks they will use, the intended style of play, and the types of characters that will best fit the coming adventure. Even more importantly, Session Zero is an opportunity for everyone involved to lay out some guidelines for what type of play they are comfortable with and which things should be avoided.
Comfort and Consent #
Just like the Action adventure stories in books and movies, roleplaying games may include some intense situations, topics, and experiences. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing. A little intensity, fear, and discomfort are key ingredients of compelling stories, and confronting the evils of the world is an integral part of heroic fantasy. At the same time, everyone has lines they’re not comfortable crossing. Whether these lines are the result of personal beliefs, past experiences, or simple preference, it’s important to respect the boundaries of your fellow players.
During Session Zero, talk to the players about the sort of game you plan to run and the types of things the characters are likely to Encounter. If the planned adventure contains extreme violence, torture, enslavement, abuse, or other emotionally intense situations, let the players know. You don’t need to reveal the whole story, but you do need to make sure the other players are okay with the kind of game you have planned.
Session Zero also allows the players to let you and the other players know if there are things they’d rather not deal with or see in the game. When someone raises something they’re not comfortable with, the goal is not to convince the person to go along with your plans despite their concerns or to try to tell them why they shouldn’t worry. It also is not appropriate to joke about the things they shared or even to probe them to explain why. It’s enough to know the person would like to avoid it.
Typically, groups of friends are happy to accommodate one another to create a fun, safe space for gaming. If these conversations lead to intractable disagreements, or if the other players aren’t willing to respect another player’s wishes, it’s always okay to walk away. The group you are with might not be the right fit for you. That’s the entire point of Session Zero – to make sure everyone has the same expectations before any dice are rolled.
More Session Zero Guidance #
There are a lot of great publications about how to create a welcoming and comfortable game space, and many of these cover the topic in more depth than we have here. Some resources include pre-game checklists to avoid uncomfortable conversations, describe ways to ensure consent, and offer general guidelines about what makes a game safe and fun for everyone involved. One of our favorites is Consent in Gaming from Monte Cook Games. You can download a free PDF copy at montecookgames.com.
Set the Stage #
During Session Zero, another important job for the Adventure Guide is to Set the Stage for the coming game. Let the players know the type of game you plan to run. Will it be a serious, gritty fantasy story in a land overrun by evil? An epic tale of stalwart heroes fighting for the future of their world? A semi-comedic misadventure filled with over-the-top NPCs and wild scenarios that are just AS likely to be hilarious AS they are heroic? Or a down-to-earth story about a group of nobodies who set out to make a name for themselves in a land of wonder and mystery?
Setting expectations up front avoids misunderstandings that detract from the fun of the game. You don’t want a player to come in expecting a bright, heroic adventure but end up in a gritty, dark fantasy world. Also, if the players aren’t into the type of game you have planned, it’s better to know this up front. Discovering this during Session Zero lets the players and the Adventure Guide work together to come up with something that’s better for everyone.
Introduce the Setting #
The setting is the world where your adventures take place. It will determine things like appropriate MOs, available lineages, types of equipment, and how magic is handled. You should let the players know which setting you plan to use. If the Adventure takes place in a published setting, provide a list of books or resources the players can review to familiarize themselves with the setting before the game begins. If it is a setting of the Adventure Guide’s own creation, the Adventure Guide should share whatever materials they can to help introduce the players to the world.
Identify Game Materials #
Let the players know which Open Adventure game materials are appropriate for the game they’re about to play. One of the great things about Open Adventure is that anyone may make and share new content for use with the game. It is up to the Adventure Guide to identify which of those rules, books, and shared content are appropriate for use in the coming game. This also includes identifying any setting books the players should use before and during the game.
Character Creation Guidelines #
Finally, in Session Zero you should provide the players with guidelines for creating characters. What Chapter of experience are the characters at the start of the Adventure? Are there any special rules for acquiring equipment? What types of characters, MOs, and lineages are appropriate? Is anything forbidden? Can the characters know one another when the game starts? Or are the characters meeting for the first time in the first game session?
Once the players have this information, they can set about making their characters. Ideally, they will do this AS a group, so they know what sort of characters their fellow players are creating. It’s fine to play a game where all the characters are Wizards, for example, but it’s best if this is done purposefully and not something you discover when everyone shows up at the table for the first game session.
The Rule of Common Sense #
The Rule of Common Sense dictates that when you are reading and interpreting these rules, if something isn’t explicitly spelled out or if the rules don’t fit with the situation you are facing, you should use common sense to decide how to proceed. For instance, when describing how to use an Attack Action, the rules do not say, “You must be able to Reach your enemy to hit them with your sword.” Common sense dictates that of course you need to be able to Reach someone to hit them with a sword. We trust you and the people you play with to make these calls on your own. In the case of a disagreement, the Adventure Guide makes the final call.
This rule also applies when the rules in this book don’t make sense within context of your game. If a rule creates a situation that is silly or illogical, ignore it. Alternatively, you can make up a new rule to cover the unique situation you and the players are facing. Open Adventure is a framework for playing fun Action-adventure games, and you should change the game AS much AS you like to create the type of game you and the players want to play.
Challenges #
The information provided in Chapter 11: Challenges describes the mechanics for creating and adjudicating Challenges. Those rules include everything you need to know to handle Challenges in your games, but there are a few areas that deserve special attention.
Assigning Challenge Points #
When assigning Challenge Points to a Challenge, the most important thing to remember is:
Close enough is good enough.
If you assign too many or too few points to a Challenge, it won’t make a huge difference in the big picture. Maybe an Encounter goes a little quicker than you intended or perhaps the Adversary proves more difficult to defeat. That’s okay. The ease or difficulty of the moment simply becomes part of the story, or perhaps it takes the story in an interesting new direction. Surprises like these often make for some of the most memorable moments in the game. In the end, it’s more important to keep the game moving than it is to assign the perfect number of Challenge Points to every Challenge.
The Adventure Guide Wanted to make the corrupt forest warden a tougher than normal opponent, so they gave the warden 30 Challenge Points. Combined with his armor and abilities, however, the warden turns out to be a much more challenging opponent than the Adventure Guide intended. The players, of course, don’t know this. In fact, when they are finally forced to withdraw from combat, they decide the warden is so powerful, he must be the true mastermind behind the plot to kill the Duke. This isn’t the direction the Adventure Guide intended the story to go, but this one Encounter turned a throw-away side character into one of the heroes’ greatest nemeses! The quest to defeat the deadly forest warden turns into an epic tale of heroism and courage, and by the adventure’s end, it is one of the players’ favorite moments in the game.Keeping Challenge Points Secret #
Sometimes it is good to tell the players how many Challenge Points a Challenge has, but there are other times when it is better to keep the number a secret. You might keep the Challenge Points a secret because there aren’t any indicators to tell the players how close they are to overcoming the Challenge, or perhaps they aren’t even sure if the task they’ve undertaken is the Challenge.
The characters are searching an old house for a secret door into the smugglers’ lair. The Adventure Guide knows the door is there, and the Find Secret Doors Challenge has 10 Challenge Points. If the characters reduce the Challenge Points to 0, they discover the secret door in the basement.The players, however, don’t even know for sure there is a secret door in the house. They suspect it, but they are not certain. After the first two Rounds of searching, they get a combined Effect of 8 on their Action Checks, reducing the Challenge Points to 2. The players, however, do not know this, and after talking it over they decide Effect 8 should have been good enough to find it, so the door must not be there. They leave the house and the adventure moves in a new direction.Another instance where the Adventure Guide might want to keep the Challenge Points a secret is during combat. Adversaries in the game world do not have a ticker over their heads showing their current Challenge Points. Instead, the characters must assess their foe’s appearance and decide how close the Adversary is to defeat. AS the Adventure Guide, try to convey the enemy’s status in a creative and descriptive manner.
The goblin chieftain only has 1 Challenge Point left thanks to the characters’ brutal attacks. Rather than telling the players this information, the Adventure Guide says, “The goblin chieftain is bleeding from multiple wounds and seems unsteady. He clearly intends to fight to the death, but it doesn’t look like he has much fight left in him. In fact, it’s a testament to his determination that he’s still standing.”Ad Hoc Challenges #
Many Challenges in the game are the result of the choices the players make rather than Challenges the Adventure Guide prepared in advance. These ad hoc Challenges are those the players create for themselves AS they describe their characters’ Actions.
It’s okay if these Challenges don’t have pre-determined traits or well-defined rewards and consequences. Challenges like these are the connecting tissue of the Adventure, the little moments and creative undertakings that tie the rest of the Challenges and Encounters together. The key to adjudicating these Challenges is to make a quick call and keep the Adventure moving. Again, there is no perfect answer. Use your best judgement, make a call, and watch the Adventure unfold.
While the heroes are sitting around the campfire in the evening, Jeff says his character Drayac is whittling a little toy horse to give to the princess when they meet her in the morning. Drayac is a decent woodcarver, but the Adventure Guide isn’t certain how Long it will take. To resolve this, the Adventure Guide declares this is a 6 Challenge Point Challenge with 1-hour Rounds. At the end of each hour, Drayac makes a Woodcarving Check with Difficulty Score 4. When he reduces the Challenge Points to 0, the carving is finished.AS it turns out, Jeff makes some really bad rolls, and it takes Drayac five hours to finish the carving. He could have quit but was determined to finish the gift for the princess. Unfortunately, this means he only got half a night’s sleep, and the Adventure Guide rules Drayac’s Difficulty Scores the next day have a Drawback due to his sleepiness. Drayac doesn’t mind being tired. It was more than worth it to finish the gift.Later that day, Drayac presents the horse to the princess and tells her he was up all night working on it. The princess is so touched, she invites the heroes to stay at the palace for the remainder of their time in the city, and an unplanned ad hoc Challenge becomes a key moment in the Adventure.Actions #
It only takes a couple games to really get the hang of coming up with Actions, describing them, and understanding how to use the rules to bring them to life at the table. This section provides additional guidance to help you get everyone comfortable with choosing their Actions and advice for adjudicating those Actions.
Action First, Rules Second #
Open Adventure is an “Action First, Rules Second” game. This means the game is designed around the idea that players should imagine a fantastic, exciting Action for their character and then determine which rules are needed to make it happen. Open Adventure works best when the players and Adventure Guide take this approach, and the Adventure Guide should do their best to encourage this way of thinking during the game.
What, How, and Why #
The more detail a player provides when describing their Action, the easier it is for the Adventure Guide to adjudicate it and decide which rules to use. One way to help the players provide the information the Adventure Guide needs is by encouraging them to articulate what the character is doing, how they are doing it, and why they are doing it.
What is the Character is Doing?
The “what” of the Action includes things like running to the far side of the room, diving behind a wall, or moving into the royal audience chamber. This is the Action at its most basic level, and it is key to adjudicating whether the described Action is possible. For instance, if the audience chamber is locked, entering isn’t an option, there is need to go further.
How is the Character Doing It?
This is where the player has a chance to get creative! “I walk into the royal audience chamber,” is pretty dull and doesn’t make for much of an adventure story. On the other hand, throwing open the doors to the royal audience chamber, flourishing one’s cloak, and performing an exaggerated bow, all while announcing oneself in a loud, proud voice is much more fun and makes for a far more interesting moment in the game.
Why is the Character Doing It?
The “why” is key to identifying which rules to use when resolving the character’s Action. It also helps the Adventure Guide to better set the Difficulty Score. When players describe their Actions, encourage them to tell you the Benefit, change, outcome, or game Effect they want the Action to accomplish.
Melanie states that her character Laria will race Across the Room AS fast AS she can. On the surface, it sounds like a simple move to a new location Across the Room. But is it?Melanie already described “what” her character is doing (crossing the room) and how (at full speed). The Adventure Guide prods Melanie to explain why the character is crossing the room. Melanie states she wants Laria to get a better view of the enemy so she can see what they’re planning. In that case, the Adventure Guide also asks her why Laria is “racing” Across the Room. Melanie notes that she wants to make sure the enemy doesn’t spot Laria.With this new information, the Adventure Guide now knows this is a Stealth Check to avoid being seen by moving fast and the outcome of a successful Action is a clear view of the enemy without alerting anyone.Actions and the Rules #
Another job of the Adventure Guide is to determine which rules will best bring the Action the player described to life. The most important thing to consider when choosing rules is the “why” of the Action, AS discussed above. Note that if you just applied rules for the “what” of the Action (that is, based on what the character is doing), you might not get the desired outcome. The “why” is the key to determining how to resolve the Action in a way that creates the appropriate result.
The player wants his character, Amicus, to charge Across the Room toward the orc commander. Based on this information alone, the Adventure Guide might assume the goal is to just get Amicus up to the enemy quickly. If that is the case, they might call for a Strength Check or a Coordination Check.But when the Adventure Guide asks the player why Amicus is charging, the player explains he wants to shatter the morale of the orc commander with her terrifying charge, in order to make them easier to defeat. Seen like this, it is more likely this is either an Attack to lower the enemy’s Challenge Points or perhaps an Obstruct that shakes the enemy’s confidence and adds a Drawback to the enemy’s Attack Check Difficulty Scores. After the Adventure Guide has the player clarify, they agree that the charge Across the Room is an Attack Check to lower the commander’s Challenge Points using Presence against the orc’s Spirit Defense.Action Types #
The Action Library found includes more than 50 example Actions. Those examples cover most of the situations that come up in a typical Open Adventure game. If none of these work for the Action the player wants their character to perform or the outcome they want to achieve, use the list of Action Types below to guide you on how to use the rules to achieve different outcomes. The “why” of almost all the Actions players come up with will match one of these types.
| Action TYPES | ||
| Type | Game Effect | Base Difficulty Score* |
| Aid | Add a Benefit to Action Scores for anyone performing a specific Action. | Based on Action. |
| Attack | Reduce a target’s Challenge Points by the Effect in combat. | Appropriate Defense Score (Body, Mind, or Spirit). |
| Control | Control the position, movement, or behavior of another character. | Opposed Action Check. |
| Increase | Improve an Action Score, Effect, Difficulty Score, or other numeric value for a single target by the Effect. Maximum Effect = Primary Attribute used. | The current total (including Benefits or Drawbacks) Action Score, Effect, Difficulty Score, or value. |
| Obstruct | Add a Drawback to the Difficulty Score for anyone performing a specific Action Check. | Based on Action. |
| Overcome | Overcome an obstacle. (Example: jumping a pit to Reach the other side.) | Based on Action. |
| Reduce CP | Reduce a non-combat Challenge’s Challenge Points by the Effect. | Based on Action. |
| Remove Drawback | Eliminate a specific Drawback. | Based on Action. |
| Slow | Make the target’s movement require a Major Action. | Based on Action. |
| * A Base Difficulty Score of “Based on Action” means the Adventure Guide sets an appropriate Action Score for the Action the character is using to achieve the Effect. See Chapter 10: Actions for more on setting Difficulty Scores. | ||
This is not a comprehensive list of every possible game Effect, but it covers most situations and outcomes encountered during Open Adventure games. Even more importantly, these Action Types and all the rules in this book are only a starting point. Open Adventure is a living framework for engaging in fantastic adventures. You and the players can and should expand, adapt, and adjust the rules to fit your game and style of play.
Difficulty Scores #
An important part of the Adventure Guide’s job is setting Difficulty Scores for the Actions the players describe. This section touches on some key aspects of that responsibility, including guidance for setting Difficulty Scores and applying Drawbacks.
| Action DIFFICULTY | ||
| Difficulty | DS | Who Could Do This? |
| Very Easy | 3 | Any unskilled person |
| Easy | 6 | A novice |
| Moderate | 9 | A professional |
| Hard | 12 | An expert |
| Very Hard | 15 | A master |
| Nearly Impossible | 20+ | A legendary master |
Setting the Base Difficulty #
Here is the easiest way to set a Difficulty Score.
- Listen to the player describe their Action.
- Ensure the player tells you the What, How, and Why of the Action.
- Decide what level of skill is required to succeed at the base task under normal circumstances.
- Select the appropriate Difficulty Score from the table.
The next sections provide additional information about these four steps.
Level of Skill Required #
Anyone with any level of skill can attempt an Action, but if you Wanted a decent chance of success, who would you give the job to? Use the Who Could Do This? Column of the Action Difficulty table and decide how much training is necessary to get the job done under normal circumstances.
Normal Circumstances #
A key consideration when selecting the base Difficulty Score is the “under normal circumstances” part. The base Difficulty Score should not include all the things going on around the character. Distractions, poor tools, bad lightning, and the rest are represented by Drawbacks. The base Difficulty Score is just how tough the task is normally.
Spyder is picking the lock on the cell door to get his companions out of the prison. He is using a set of makeshift lockpicks, the building is on fire, and Warheart is behind Spyder screaming, “Hurry, you idiot!” while fighting off a squad of prison guards. When it’s time to set the base Difficulty Score for picking the lock, the Adventure Guide only thinks about the lock itself. If the guards lost the key and the Duke called in a locksmith to open the lock on a normal day, and the locksmith is using his full set of tools, how skilled must the locksmith be to unlock this door? It is a prison, so it won’t be easy, but the Duke is fairly cheap, so it probably isn’t the highest quality lock. The Adventure Guide rules this Action requires a professional lockpick to get this lock open under normal circumstances. After referencing the Action Difficulty Table, the Adventure Guide sets the base Difficulty Score to 9. Now…about those Drawbacks.Drawbacks #
Every complication or obstacle that makes an Action harder than normal adds +1 to the Difficulty Score. The reason Drawbacks always add +1 is it allows the Adventure Guide to simply count all the things working against the character and then add the total to the Difficulty Score. This lets the Adventure Guide quickly apply modifiers for adverse conditions without slowing down the game.
If players feel like the Drawbacks make a task too difficult, remind them they should look for ways to mitigate the impact of the Drawbacks. Finding ways around problems is part of the puzzle the players must solve when facing Challenges and performing Actions.
Close Enough is Good Enough #
When it comes to setting the Difficulty Score, close enough is good enough. The Difficulty Score is there to give the player a rough idea about how hard it is to pull something off. It’s not a precise measurement of all the factors in play. Assigning a Difficulty Score allows the player to compare their character’s Action Score to the Action’s complexity and quickly assess how likely the character is to succeed.
AS with the assignment of Challenge Points, it’s more important to quickly assign a Difficulty Score and keep the game moving than it is to determine the perfect score for the Action. If you find out later you made something too difficult or too easy, you can always adjust the next time around. When in the thick of the game, roll with the story that emerges from the call you made and move on to the next Encounter.
Stunts #
Stunts exist to support creative, exciting gameplay in your Open Adventure games. When a player comes up with a fantastic Action that will add to the fun of the game, but it doesn’t really work using the rules AS written, you don’t want to shut the player down. Saying no to these kind of ideas takes away from the fun of the game and discourages creative play. Instead, the Adventure Guide can allow the Action AS a Stunt. Making the Action a Stunt injects additional risk to balance the Stunt’s benefits, and it allows the Adventure Guide to say “Yes” to players’ crazy schemes. This encourages creative play and makes the game more fun for everyone.
Is It a Stunt? #
It is up to the Adventure Guide to determine if an Action is a Stunt. AS explained in detail in Chapter 10: Actions, an Action is a Stunt if one or more of the following are true:
- The Action is improbable, but not impossible.
- The Action produces more than one game Effect.
- The Action impacts more than one target.
There is a fourth reason the Adventure Guide may rule an Action is a Stunt not discussed in the earlier chapters.
- The Adventure Guide thinks the player’s idea is fantastic and it will make the game more fun, but it breaks the game’s rules in a mostly inconsequential way.
This final type of Action is a way for the Adventure Guide to approve a great idea by adding just a bit of risk. It’s a catch-all type that lets the Adventure Guide can say, “Yeah, normally that wouldn’t be possible, but I’ll let you try it AS a Stunt, because it’s pretty a fantastic idea.”
Multiple Actions or Effects #
When a player wants their character to achieve more than one game Effect with a single Action, or they wish to perform more than one Action Check using a single Major Action, the Adventure Guide may allow it AS a Stunt. Generally, the Adventure Guide should limit these types of Stunts to two game effects or two Actions. More than this gives the player performing the Stunt an unfair advantage over other players.
If the two effects or Actions are related, like attempting a Grab Check and a Restrain Check during the same Major Action, the Adventure Guide may allow a single Action Check. On the other hand, if the Actions are only tangentially related, or if the two Actions are related but based on different Primary Attributes, the Adventure Guide may call for two Action Checks. If the player wants the character to achieve two completely unrelated game effects or perform two unrelated Actions, it is typically better to resolve the two Actions on different Turns.
The player wants their character to both pick the lock on the door and fire their bow AS a single Action. If these two Actions were related, the Adventure Guide might allow this AS a Stunt. Since they are so different and require such different tools and Actions, however, the Adventure Guide rules the character will have to perform each Action separately, one on this Turn and one on their next Turn.Spells and Spellcasting #
The most important thing to remember for adjudicating spells in Open Adventure games is:
Spells are just standard Actions performed using magic.
For all its mysticism and wonder, in game terms, magic is just another way to perform Actions. Magic has its benefits and tradeoffs (described in detail in Chapter 14: Spellcasting), but at its core, Spellcasting Checks are just standard Action Checks (Stunts, to be precise) performed using magic. This means the base rules for Spellcasting Checks are the same AS for other Actions.
This section expands on the guidance found in Chapter 14: Spellcasting and offers additional tips to help the Adventure Guide adjudicate spells and magic.
Understand the Why #
The previous section about Actions emphasized the importance of understanding the “why” of an Action. This is doubly important for magic. The complex forms of spells may mask simple outcomes. It is the desired outcome that determines the Spellcasting Difficulty Score, regardless of the perceived complexity of the spell.
Ezarel is going to cast a spell to animate a pile of twigs to create a little servant. On the surface, bringing a twig creature to life seems quite complex, but before setting the Difficulty Score, the Adventure Guide asks the player about the desired outcome—the “why.” The player explains they want to make sure they get the camp set up before the sun sets, so they’d like the servant to gather wood, speeding up the process. Although bringing a pile of twigs to life is miraculous, from a rules perspective, this is just a Remove Drawback Action to remove the Drawback applied for performing the work in less time than it typically requires.Spellcasting Difficulty Scores #
Spellcasting Difficulty Scores are higher than Difficulty Scores for comparable mundane Action Checks due to the Range and Reality Modifiers applied to spells (AS described in Chapter 14: Spellcasting.) This is by design to offset the advantages granted by Spellcasting. Specifically, Spellcasters Benefit from their use of the same Spellcasting tools and Spellcaster training to achieve any sort of outcome.
Set With Care
When setting Difficulty Scores for Spellcasting Checks, if you set the Difficulty Scores too high, Spellcasters will revert to mundane solutions. When Spellcasters abandon their magic, they sacrifice the very thing that makes them a fun and interesting part of the game. This is especially true when setting the Difficulty Scores for simple spells, like a Light spell.
If a Light spell is prohibitively difficult to cast, the Spellcaster will just use a torch. When that happens, why play a Spellcaster at all? Yes, there should always be some risk, since in the Light example it means the Spellcaster never needs to carry torches or flint and steel, but not so much that it discourages Spellcasters from casting spells. It’s important to find the right balance for you and your players.
Drawbacks #
Drawbacks are only applied to the Spellcasting Difficulty Score if they disrupt the process of Spellcasting or if they have the potential to disrupt the outcome. In some cases, Drawbacks affect mundane efforts and Spellcasting checks equally, but in others, a Drawback might only apply to one approach or the other.
Ezarel is casting a firebolt spell at the crawling mound. Unfortunately, Ezarel left their talisman back on the wagon, so they suffer a Drawback to the Spellcasting Check’s Difficulty Score. Drayac, meanwhile, is firing his bow at the crawling mound. Drayac’s bow does not require any special talisman to use, so the Drawback is not applied to his Difficulty Score.Later, Ezarel and Drayac are ascending a cliff. Ezarel is using their Spider Climb spell and Drayac is making a standard Climb Check. It is pouring rain and the wind is howling. This adds two Drawbacks for both Ezarel and Drayac, since these conditions make it harder to both climb and cast spells.The next day, the pair is forced to pick a lock by candlelight. The Adventure Guide adds a Drawback to Drayac’s Difficulty Score to pick the lock due to poor lighting. If Ezarel attempts to pick the lock using magic, however, the Drawback for dim Light does not apply. Spellcasting merely requires Line of Sight, and the dim Light doesn’t block Ezarel’s Line of Sight to the lock.Range Modifiers #
Standard use of Range modifiers, including the additional modifiers for Area of Effect, are explained in Chapter 14: Spellcasting. Range modifiers are also useful in situations such AS:
- Setting how far from the Spellcaster an animated twig servant can travel to gather firewood.
- Defining the maximum Range of a detection spell.
- Determining the length of a magically formed Rope.
Reality Modifiers #
The primary purpose of reality modifiers is to apply a cost to unquantifiable spell benefits. Sometimes there are situations where the beneficial outcome of a spell is not easily defined or adjudicated by any of the existing Spellcasting rules. If the oddities in question do not provide any game Benefit, there is no reason to add a modifier. Just consider the Effect part of the wonder of magic. If the oddity does provide a measurable game Benefit, however, the Reality Modifier gives the Adventure Guide a means of keeping the game fair for everyone at the table.
Reality modifiers have a secondary Benefit: it encourages players to get creative with their spells to avoid the Reality Modifier. Forcing the player to come up with appropriate physical components, to draw on their environment to create an Effect, or to lean into their Specializations to overcome the modifiers creates a richer and more interesting game for everyone involved.
Setting reality modifiers is an art, not a science, and the right sized modifier depends on the setting and the style of game you and your friends want to play. And AS stated multiple times in this chapter, close enough is good enough. If you don’t get the modifier perfect, just keep the game moving and roll with it. You can always tweak it the next time around, and the more you play, the better you’ll get at choosing the right level of difficulty for spells in your games.
Casting Time #
The base time required to cast most spells is 6 seconds. If achieving the same outcome by a mundane approach requires significantly more time, however, the base casting time should be adjusted to that same amount of time. A common example is using magic to Treat Wounds. AS described in Chapter 13: Injury, Wounds, and Healing, the base time to treat a Wound is 1 hour. This means the base time to treat a Wound using magic is also 1 hour.
Another example are spells that make permanent changes to the physical world. For instance, a spell that builds a permanent bridge over a river using available materials would take AS Long to cast AS the time to build the bridge by mundane methods. The Spellcaster may complete the work more quickly by adding one or more Drawbacks to the Difficulty Score (AS explained in Chapter 14: Spellcasting,) although if the final build time is truly miraculous, the Adventure Guide may also want to consider the addition of a Reality Modifier.
The longest base time for casting a spell is 1 month. If a spell requires more time than this, the player must break the process up into multiple steps of 1 month or less. During the casting time, the Spellcaster may do nothing other than cast the spell and see to their bodily needs. Spellcasting Checks are made at the end of the casting time.
The rule about casting time only applies to permanent structures. A spell that extrudes stairsteps from a stone wall that only exist while the spell is maintained is fine AS a 6-second spell. For outcomes like the extruded steps, the Adventure Guide may want to apply a Reality Modifier, especially if it allows multiple characters to pass without making additional Action Checks, but that decision depends on the style of game and the situation.
Interruptions #
Interrupting a spell mid-cast causes the spell to automatically fail and consumes any materials in use. Only spells that take a minute or more to cast may be interrupted. Situations that interrupt Spellcasting include:
- Falling unconscious or becoming Incapacitated.
- Losing Body Points, Mind Points, or Spirit Points.
- The disruption or destruction of any element providing a Benefit to the Spellcasting Check’s Action Score. (Breaking the chalked spell circle, destroying the book the Spellcaster is referencing, etc.)
- Extremely disruptive environmental conditions (a crowd of people enter the casting area, a storm rolls in, etc.)
In some cases, the Adventure Guide may allow a Willpower Check or Resilience Check to ignore a disruption, with a Difficulty Score based on the intensity of the disruption. When Spellcasting is interrupted, treat the Spellcasting Check AS a Critical Failure only for determining the amount of Mind Point or Spirit Point loss. If the character still wishes to cast the spell, they must start again.
DS 0 Spells #
If the outcome of a spell does not provide a significant game Effect or if a mundane alternative would not require an Action Check to succeed, the Adventure Guide should give the spell a base Difficulty Score of 0. Depending on the Range and nature of the spell Effect, the Adventure Guide may still wish to apply Range modifiers or reality modifiers.
Ezarel is casting a spell that causes a book to float over to their hands from Across the Room. Carrying a book across a room is a trivial task for anyone, so the Adventure Guide sets the base Difficulty Score to 0. The Adventure Guide still applies a +3 Range modifier since the magic must Reach Across the Room to get the book.Magic vs Mundane #
Here are some examples of some classic spells and the Action a non-Spellcaster could take to achieve the same outcome.
| Spell | Why? | Mundane Action |
| Dancing Lights | Add a Drawback to enemy Attack Check DS | Presence Check to distract the foe |
| Disintegrate | Disintegrate the lock to open the chest | Pick Locks Check or Smash the lock |
| Fireball | Reduce the CP of everyone in the Area of Effect | Attack Check with Greek Fire |
| Firebolt | Reduce the target’s CP from a Distance | Attack Check with a bow |
| Healing Touch | Recover companion’s Body Points | Recovery Check |
| Levitate | Ascend to the top of a wall | Climb Check |
| Light | Create a Light that fills the room | Light a torch |
| Mage Lock | Add to the Difficulty Score to get through the door | Barricade the door |
| Mystic Blade | Reduce the target’s CP | Attack Check with a blade |
| Summon Wolf | Reduce the target’s CP from a Distance | Attack Check with a bow |
| Telepathic Message | Send a message to another player others can’t hear | Write a note and give it to the target |