Complication Add-ons
Some optional rules that change the way the Complications are handled.
Dice Can Only be
Added to Dice Pools
Submitted by Roy
Penrod
The core rules allow dice to be added or subtracted from
dice pools. This rule prevents dice from being subtracted from a
pool. Any event that would logically be justified as subtracting
dice from a pool is instead added to an opposing pool..
NOTES
I use this Rules Gimmick to make sure we never end
up with an empty dice pool (no dice to roll).
For example: A named character only has 1 die to contribute to a
Complication (e.g. his name). He does, however, have a Trait that can be
used against him (e.g. Cowardice). Using the standard rules, the character
would end up with an empty dice pool. Using this Rules Gimmick, the
character still contributes 1 die to his dice pool while the opposing dice
pool is also given 1 die for the character's negative Trait.
Multiple Targets in
Complications
Submitted by Ralph
Mazza
These
Add-ons illustrate several different variations on the
standard Dice Pool for Complications which players may find more
accurately reflect a given situation.
Nested Complications
Submitted by Ralph
Mazza
A nested Complication is nothing more than a
new Complication that is Originated before an existing
Complication has been completely resolved. This sort of
Complication can either be internal to the current Complication or
external to it.
An internal Nested Complication is one where
the source of the new Complication was generated within the
current Complication. For an example inspired by Ron Edward's Sorcerer,
imagine a Complication which involves a party of sorcerers
fighting an enemy deep in an underground stronghold. One of the
players seeks to draw upon Traits from a powerful demon that a
character is bound to. This demon has not had its Needs met
in a while and so is likely to resist its master's commands.
Another player begins a new Complication pitting the character
against his demon in a battle of will to see if the demon will
obey or not.
An external Nested Complication is one where
the two Complications are entirely separate and running parallel
to each other, but where the outcome of one Complication can
influence the outcome of the other. The classic example of this is
where one group of characters is responsible for establishing a
"diversion" while another group proceeds with the
mission. These Complications could be going on separately within
the same scene or actually simultaneously in two different scenes.
Both types of Nested Complications are handled
the same way. One of the Complications must be resolved first and
has the capability to impact the Dice Pools of the other. In the
case of multiple Nested Complications going on simultaneously,
they all might impact the same primary Complication, or they may
all impact the next Complication up daisy-chain style. A word of
caution: multiple Nested Complications are an advanced technique
that, while they can be extraordinary fun, requires lots of dice,
lots of table space, and careful organization. Which Complication
is resolved first is up to the player Originating the new
Complication. Almost always it will be the new Complication being
resolved first.
Each Nested Complication will have its own set
of Dice Pools, and are separate Complications for purposes of
Drawing upon Traits. Resolving the Nested Complication is handled
just as any other. Common uses of the bonus Coins generated
by a Nested Complication include: purchasing a new Trait attached
to the scene which can then be Drawn upon to provide dice to
another Complication; describing Events and Facts related to the
Nested Complication that can be used to provide justification for
Drawing upon Traits in another Complication that otherwise
couldn't be used; to Introduce or Create new Components that can
be used in another Complication; or to damage or even
eliminate Components that could be useful to another Complication
before they're Drawn on.
Using
d6s Instead of d10s
submitted by Jonathan
Nichol & Wilhelm Fitzpatrick
When resolving
Complications one normally rolls d10s with 1-5 being successes and
the sum of the numbers rolled being the bonus Coins
received. In a thread in our discussion
forum, Jonathan and Wilhelm described using d6s instead. Simply
treat odd results as successes (which maintains the same 50%
chance of success) and add the numbers normally. In this
case the numbers 1, 3, and 5 have the exact same average sum as
the numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 when using d10s. As
Wilhelm said, "the simple elegance of that approach is
astounding"; which leaves me a little embarrassed that I
hadn't seen that myself. --- Ralph
Extended
Complications
submitted by Christopher Bradley
After dice pools are assembled for a Complication
but before the dice are rolled, a player can make the complication
"extended." This means that rather than
resolving the complication with one roll of the dice, the dice pools are divided and each is rolled
separately.
The person who pays to extend the complication gets to decide how many
sub-pools the complication will be divided into. The dice in
each side's pool are then divided as evenly as possible into that
number of sub-pools.
The smallest sub-pools on either side are rolled first.
Edge dice are accumulated in the sub-pool that rolled them.
The winner narrates the victory as usual. Then proceed to
roll and narrate each of the other sub-pool pairs in the same way.
The purpose of this
Gimmick is take a complication and convert it into a number of separate
stages allowing the full complication to be narrated back and
forth in multiple steps rather than resolved all at once.
This is especially useful for climactic battle scenes with arch
villains and other similar scenes where players might want the
action to trade back and forth.
Using
Cards Instead of Dice
submitted by Jonathan
Nichol
Instead of coins,
each player gets a deck of cards to use as their
"coins". Another deck is used for the
Complications placed face down to the side. Shuffle the
decks and draw your starting Wealth in Cards into your hand.
When you use a coin, play the card of your choice from your
hand face-up into a discard pile. When you refresh draw new
cards from your own deck. For Complications play cards face
down secretly, to be revealed during the resolution. Only
cards 1-5 count as successes. When drawing upon existing
Traits draw the top card from the Trait Deck and play it to the
Complication. Cards are reshuffled only when that deck is
exhausted. Be sure to discard cards into their appropriate discard
pile.
Complications would be resolved a lot faster since the coin
spending and die rolling is combined into one card-playing action.
Also, there is a little resource management going on as you
play the higher cards for traits and such but save the lower cards
for complications. Quirk
#1: Drawing from the Bank Deck in Complications won't
have the same 50% chance of success. Ignoring the fact that
cards mess with probabilities as they become "used"
there are 13 different cards in a suit, making a success as
defined above 5 out 13 (somewhat less than 40%) rather than 5 out
of 10. You'd need to discard out of play the face cards (or
find some cool new Gimmick where they represent something special
other than a normal "coin") to keep the odds the same
Quirk #2: The current rules reward developing permanent
Traits for Components and then reusing those Components throughout
the game (so you can keep getting free Dice out of your initial
investment). You lose some of this when you go to a hand of
Cards that you can choose from. Calling on an existing Trait
may give you a free draw from the Deck, but its a random draw.
Inventing a new Trait or environmental feature on the spur
of the moment, however, lets you play a card from your
hand...where you can select intentionally the card you want to use;
guaranteeing success if you have the right cards.
VARIANT
submitted by Ralph Mazza
Play as above but keep each player's Wealth in a face down stack
in front of them. When ever a "Coin" is spent draw
the top card off of the Wealth stack. When additional Wealth
is earned add the new cards to the bottom of the stack. When
Bonus Coins are kept following a Complication shuffle the kept
cards into the Wealth Stack. As an alternative rule have
players discard the kept cards and draw fresh cards from their
deck to add to the bottom of the stack to maintain randomness.
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