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orcus

Reactive challenges

The heroes might explore a vast, perilous swamp; piece together clues to catch a serial killer; or try over days to negotiate a complex peace settlement between two implacable foes.

These challenges are too important and intricate to be resolved with a single skill check. For these, the GM should outline a “reactive challenge”.

Background

I’ve never been happy with skill challenges (or extended challenges as they are called in Orcus). They seem very artificial, mostly a chance for each hero to roll skill checks and feel like they’ve “contributed”, rather than pose a puzzle or genuine challenge, or reflect what is going on in the story.

When I read YUM/DM write about the clever three-stage reaction roll chart from the 1983 Mentzer Basic Set, it switched on a lightbulb for me. It is broadly applicable to any kind of challenge, and roughly breaks down into: positioning, resolution and an optional “Hail Mary” if resolution fails. What I particularly like about it is that it is dynamic: after each roll, the PCs get feedback on how they have performed that they can usefully incorporate into their next effort.

Reactive challenges are a replacement for extended challenges that borrow that old reaction roll structure. In a nice bit of parallel evolution, they also work a lot like moves in Powered by the Apocalypse games. There are also bits of Strange Flight’s challenge crawls in the mix.

Example reactive challenges

The Duke’s intervention

Setup: The Duke needs to be convinced to send his soldiers to search for villagers that have been abducted by bandits.

Obstacles:

Time pressure: The villain arrives at the bandits’ camp in three days, and it will take about two days for the Duke’s soldiers to find the camp – leaving just one day to convince the Duke (each PC may make one attempt every eight hours).

Win time by delaying the villain’s arrival, like setting up a distraction or booby trap, or blazing a trail to the bandit camp so the soldiers do not need to waste time searching for it.

Escape the Kingport guards

Setup: The the city guard are in hot pursuit.

General perils: The guards catch sight of one of the heroes; a merchant is incensed at damage to his stall; a loose roof tile slips, causing a climber to slide towards the edge; the guards call out to citizens to stop the heroes.

Obstacles:

Alternative obstacles: If the heroes decide to disguise themselves, seek refuge or hide instead of running, they may have to bluff their way through, convince others to help them or find good hiding places.

The heroes may use their knowledge of the city to identify shortcuts or alternative routes, such as through the sewers.

Time pressure: A second group of guards arrives at the city gate after three minutes, closing off the escape route and lending more eyes to the search (each PC may make one attempt every minute).

Win time by delaying one or both groups of guards, like setting up a distraction or booby trap.

The burning building

Setup: The heroes come across a burning building, and are told by the crowd that there are three children still trapped inside.

Obstacles:

Time pressure: The building will burn down within about three minutes (each PC may make one attempt every minute).

Win time by fighting the fire.

Individual tests

Heroes overcome the challenge by defeating each obstacle. Usually, different heroes can work on different obstacles: one can look for leverage over the Duke while another tries to line up a meeting with him. Or one hero finds one child and climbs out of the building with them while another peers through the smoke looking for another.

However, to be overcome an obstacle usually needs two successful skill checks: one to get into a favorable position to overcome the obstacle and the next to actually overcome it.

In the dynamic challenge rules, this is the difference between being in a good position and success.

Implicit in each of these actions is a cost. At the very least, this is time – which could have been spent doing something else. But it can involve other resources too.

When you maneuver into position, make a skill check and compare it to the DCs for your level.

Result Outcome
Beat Hard DC by 5 or more Success. The hero does so well, they get into position and overcome the obstacle all in one.
Beat Hard DC In a good position. The hero is well-placed to overcome the obstacle.
Beat Moderate DC Try a different way. The hero failed but may attempt something different.
Beat Easy DC In peril. The hero must escape the peril or suffer some kind of loss or damage.
Fail Peril realized. The hero suffers some kind of loss or damage.

When you are in a good position and you exploit your position, make a skill check and compare it to the moderate DC for your level.

Result Outcome
Beat Moderate DC Success. You overcome the obstacle.
Fail Lose your good position.

Generally, once the obstacle is overcome a hero returns to a neutral position for the next obstacle. But follow the fiction here – if they are well-placed for the next step of their plan, then they are in a good position.

Losing your good position does not literally mean you always return to the same place. If you got into a good position by climbing through a second-story window, you probably don’t fall out the window if you lose your good position. But you may lose your bearings within the house, or take so long searching that the smoke grows thick and muffling.

When you attempt to escape peril, make a skill check and compare it to the hard DC for your level.

Result Outcome
Beat Hard DC You escape peril.
Fail The danger is realized, and you suffer harm or damage.

Heroes will also want to help each other out. When you help someone in a worse position than you (they are in peril and you are not, or you are in a good position and they are not), make a skill check and compare it to the Moderate and Hard DCs for your level.

Result Outcome
Beat Hard DC Their position improves by one step (in peril => neutral => good position)
Beat Moderate DC You cannot help them in this way.
Fail Your position worsens by one step.

This may seem too generous, but consider that the helper is also spending time – time that they could spend overcoming obstacles instead.

Identifying and describing reactive challenges

A reactive challenge involves three things:

The setup

Why a challenge exists.

The obstacles

Each thing that stands in the way of the heroes or needs to be addressed to overcome the challenge.

If only one thing stands in the heroes’ way, then this situation is probably too simple to be a reactive challenge. Conversely, if there are more obstacles than there are heroes, this should probably be broken into two or more reactive challenges. A good rule of thumb is one obstacle per two heroes.

Changing obstacles

The GM should adjust if the heroes change their strategy. For example, “Escape the Newport guards” is set up as a chase - but the heroes may decide to steal clothes drying on the line and disguise themselves as washerwomen instead. The GM should feel free to pause the game for a few minutes to think through a different challenge, if indeed one is required at all.

Blocks and turnstiles

A turnstile is an obstacle that each hero must be overcome before other obstacles can be overcome. In a chase through Kingport, every hero has to make it down Sturgeon Street before they get to the Twisting Bazaar.

A block is an obstacle that the party must overcome before other obstacles can be overcome. In a chase through Kingport, a single hero can guide the rest of the party through the Twisting Bazaar to get to Crown Plaza. Some blocks only need to be overcome once: once pushed out of the way, a boulder no longer blocks the pass. Others need to be overcome once per group: if the party splits up before they reach the Twisting Bazaar, each group must separately overcome this obstacle (unless the first group thought to leave markings for their fellows).

Spoilers

Sometimes, there is a force acting against the characters that makes their lives harder, but does not have to be overcome. For example, if the Duke’s bishop despises the heroes, he may make convincing the Duke harder, but not impossible. The heroes can overcome this obstacle (perhaps by winning the bishop over, perhaps by silencing him), but they do not need to do so in order to prevail.

You can model spoilers in several ways:

The time pressure

What happens if the heroes take a long time to overcome the challenge.

Final and non-final time pressures

Sometimes, the time pressure is final: if you take more than three minutes to rescue the kids, the building collapses and it’s too late.

A good rule of thumb for final time pressures is each hero should get about three skill checks per reactive challenge before the time pressure eventuates. If the building will burn down in three minutes, each “round” is about a minute. If there is one day to convince the Duke, each “round” is about six hours (leaving six hours for sleep).

Other times, the time pressure is a bad thing that happens, but the heroes can press on - maybe indefinitely. For an exploration challenge, the heroes consume food and water every day. They can give up after a few days, or when they are half out of food, or press on even though they may starve if they do not reach their destination before the rest of the food is consumed.

Of course, even if there is a final time pressure you can add other bad things that happen along the way.

Winning more time

The heroes may be able to win more time, for example arranging a bucket chain or summoning a water elemental to fight the fire consuming the burning building. Treat this as an additional, optional obstacle, which delays the time pressure if it is overcome.

Advice for GMs

Position: Sometimes, heroes will begin the challenge already in a good position:

If your heroes do not need to maneuver into position, do not make them. Start them (or some of them) in good position.

Peril: Even seemingly safe tasks can have peril. Imagine someone in a dusty university library researching a ritual to reduce the Dark Lord’s power. Perils could include:

That said, you should not contort to find peril where none exists. At worst, losing time is a cost in itself, and is enough to increase tension.

Rather than give a penalty to the dice roll when a hero tries a dubious or risky approach to overcoming an obstacle, you can leave the modifiers the same but have a more serious peril if the hero fails.

Try a different way: Succeed or fail, each test can generally only be attempted once – either once by each hero or once as a group. If the thief attempts to use their lockpicks to open the door, they either succeed or they fail. Maybe the pick broke off in the lock, or the lock is beyond their abilities. They must try a different way – asking the berserker to smash the door in, for example, or laboriously unscrewing the door from its hinges.

This principle makes things more interesting, and it also makes it more likely that the rest of the party gets to participate. Maybe the silver-tongued bard does always take the lead in negotiations – but when he puts his foot in it, it’s up to the berserker to scare the tax collector away.

Multiple challenges: There’s no problem with heroes facing multiple challenges, or each pursuing different challenges, provided that the time pressures work out (catch the serial killer in a week, fight off the orc invasion in a year, etc.)

Turn order: Let the heroes go in whichever turn order they like. Technically that does let them see how their party members have performed before they get their go, but the rules are balanced around this.

Morale

Background

Sometimes fights in Orcus drag on, even when it’s clear who has the upper hand. Morale rules add a new tactical dimension to the game as well as encouraging battles to wrap up when the odds become overwhelming.

Morale saving throws

Morale is a fear effect, so creatures with a bonus or penalty to saving throws against fear effects also apply that modifier to morale saving throws.

A creature makes a saving throw the first time in each combat that each of the following occurs:

If a creature fails its morale saving throw, it surrenders, cowers (takes the Total Defense action and does nothing else) or flees (uses all of its actions to move away from enemies or hide), as the GM considers appropriate for the circumstance. If a monster cowers or flees, make a saving throw at the end of each of its turn. On a success, it regains morale and may act again as normal.

The GM may apply morale rules only to enemies and retainers, or to the heroes as well. Heroes get a +2 feat bonus to morale saving throws, and they only count heroes towards whether their side is overcome or not.

To calculate the XP value before a side is broken, divide the total XP for the encounter in half. This means that a boss will not test morale just because its mooks are slain.

Monster morale bonuses

Boss and elite monsters receive a +5 and +2 bonus to all saving throws, respectively, including morale saving throws. GMs may wish to give morale saving throw bonuses to monsters based on their psychology.

Multiple attacks and scaling critical hits

Background

I would like to do without mooks, elites and bosses if possible, relying on the mathematical rigor of the game to account for higher and lower level monsters instead.

Two design elements from PF2e - the ability to make an attack with any action and the way higher attack bonuses lead to more critical hits - may well make this possible by effectively letting higher-level creatures make more attacks and do more damage on those attacks.

Early tests suggest these rules work pretty well, although they probably need some changes to conditions to really shine.

Secondary Attack action

All creatures gain access to the Secondary Attack action, described below.

Secondary Attack (swift action)

Secondary Attack

At-Will Attack Feature (Swift Action)
Effect You make a basic attack with a -5 penalty to the attack roll. Special You can only take this action once per round.

Critical hits

Instead of a critical hit occurring on a natural 20, a critical hit occurs any time an attack roll exceeds the target number by 10 or more.

Combat maneuvers and condition levels

Background

These rules replace at-will and encounter attack powers with a robust condition system.

Condition levels

Conditions have different levels. The symbol “>” means, “give a creature the lowest level of that condition or, if it already has that condition, move it to the next highest level of that condition.”

Instead of conditions being disconnected from one another, in this variant they are arranged into trees. A creature that is hit by an attack reading “> stunned” moves one step towards the stunned condition; if they are not flat-footed, they become flat-footed. If they are flat-footed, they become dazed. If they are dazed, they become stunned.

By default, conditions end at the end of the affected character’s turn. The attacker can choose to flip the condition from “end of turn” to “save ends” in lieu of moving the condition one step. For example, instead of making a flat-footed character dazed, you can instead make it flat-footed (save ends). If it is then subject to another > stunned effect, it becomes dazed (save ends).

New and modified conditions

A few of the conditions change under these rules.

Dazed: Unchanged except you can give up either your standard action or your move and swift actions.

Dazzled: All creatures have concealment against you.

Flat-footed: You grant combat advantage to your attackers.

Frightened:

Panicked:

Suggestible: While you are suggestible:

Dominated: As the controlled condition, except you are not dazed as well.

Potency

Potency represents the additional effects that you can add to an attack. For example, if an attack has 2 Potency then an attacker can add two effects (or one more powerful effect) to their attack. For shorthand, Potency is represented with a diamond (◆). For example, “◆◆: If you hit, » stunned.” means that it costs 2 Potency to add that effect to your attack.

Replacement powers and features

Heroes that forego their at-will and encounter powers gain the following powers and features instead:

Focused Attack

Encounter Attack 1 (Standard Action)
Effect You make a basic attack. You can spend 2 Potency on this attack. If you hit, you do an additional 1dW damage. Level 7, 2dW. Level 13, 3dW. Level 17, 4dW. Level 23, 5dW. Level 27, 5dW. Special At level 3, you can use this power twice per encounter. At level 7, you can use this power three times per encounter.

Potent Critical: If you score a critical hit, you gain 1 Potency to spend on the attack (the extra Potency applies to the target or targets that were critically hit only).

Characters that are not proficient in any focuses know specialized attack. Characters that are proficient in one or more focuses either learn two invocations and know basic invocation attack or learn one invocation and know both specialized attack and basic invocation attack.

Specialized Attack

At-Will Attack 1 (Standard Action)
Effect You make a basic weapon attack. You can spend 1 Potency on this attack.

Basic Invocation Attack

At-Will Attack 1 (Standard Action) * Focus
Range Based on the focus used to make this attack. Attack Int, WIs or Cha (whichever is highest) vs a defense (see below) Effect Choose an invocation the attacker knows. This determines the attack’s tags and which defense is targeted. The attack has Potency 1. Hit 1dW+Int, Wis or Cha (whichever is highest).
Level 21: 2dW+Int, Wis or Cha instead.

Invocations

Flamespell

You can produce, manipulate and quell fire by invoking and cajoling fire spirits. This includes singing something, heating a meal, moving a small fire from place to place, conjuring fire with a click of your fingers and so on.

When you make a basic invocation attack, you can choose flamespell. If you do so, it has the fiery tag.

Fearspell

You can invoke negative emotions in those you interact with, like fear, anger and hate, and read the feelings of those you observe.

When you make a basic invocation attack, you can choose fearspell. If you do so, it has the terrifying tag.

Charmspell

You can influence the disposition of those you interact with, communicate feelings or flashes of images (but not full sentences) and detect a creature’s surface emotions. You cannot create fear, which is the domain of the fearspell.

When you make a basic invocation attack, you can choose charmspell. If you do so, it has the beguiling tag.

Lightspell

You can create light and shadow.

When you make a basic invocation attack, you can choose lightspell. If you do so, it has the illuminating tag.

Tags

Attacks have tags, mostly based on the weapon or invocation that is used to make the attack.

Characters making attacks with weapons or invocations can spend Potency selecting options from any tag that the weapon or invocation has. Tags are sorted into three categories - physical, mind-affecting and elemental - for ease of reference, but there are no strict rules about which tags can appy to what types of attacks.

PHYSICAL

Forceful

◆: If you hit, the target is pushed 1 square (+◆: +2 squares or knocked prone instead).
◆: If you hit, target is flat-footed (falls prone if already flat-footed) (+◆: falls prone regardless).
◆: If you miss, the target takes 5 damage (7 at level 11, 10 at level 21) (+◆: double damage).
◆◆: Your basic melee attack’s range becomes Near burst 1, or your basic ranged attack’s range becomes Far blast 2.
◆◆: If you hit, » stunned.

Grasping

◆: If you hit, the target is grappled if you do not have a creature already grappled (+◆: they are grappled even if you already have a creature grappled).
◆: If you hit a grappled target, they are pulled 1 square (+◆: +2 squares or knocked prone instead).
◆: If you hit, the target cannot move further away from you than it already is.
◆: If you hit, knock an already grappled target prone (+◆: knock them prone regardless).

Hindering

◆: Regardless of whether you hit or miss, > immobilized
◆: If you hit, target becomes flat-footed (falls prone if already flat-footed) (+◆. Falls prone regardless).
◆: Your basic melee attack’s range becomes Near burst 1, or your basic ranged attack’s range becomes Far blast 2.
◆◆: Squares within the area of effect become difficult terrain until the end of the encounter.
◆◆: If you hit, » immobilized.

Messy

◆: If you hit, > stunned (+◆: > stunned).
◆: If you hit, an enemy adjacent to the target takes 5 damage (7 at level 11, 10 at level 21) (+◆: double that damage).
◆◆: If you hit, the target takes persistent damage 5 (stacks up to 15).
◆◆: If you hit, make a basic attack against an enemy adjacent to the target.

Precise

◆: Target Reflex instead of Armor with your attack if the target is flat-footed.
◆: If you hit, the target is shunted 1 square (upgrade: +2 squares).
◆◆: Target Reflex instead of Armor with your attack.
◆◆: If you hit, the target takes persistent damage 5 (stacks up to 15).
◆◆: If you hit a flat-footed target, it takes an additional 10 damage (15 at level 11, 20 at level 21) (+◆: double that damage).

PSYCHOLOGICAL

Beguiling

Does psychic damage. You can choose to do no damage. If so, attack gets +◆.
If you make a beguiling attack with an implement, it targets Will.

◆: On a hit, > stunned.
◆: On a hit, > dominated.
◆: On a hit, the target is charmed (cannot target you with attacks; effect ends if you attack it).
◆: If a weapon attack, target Will instead of AC.
◆: On a hit, you become invisible to the target.
◆◆: On a hit, you become invisible to everyone but the target.

Inspiring

You can choose to do no damage. If so, attack gets +◆.

◆: If you hit, an ally in near burst 5 gains 5 temporary HP (7 at level 11, 10 at level 21) (+◆: double temporary HP).
◆: If you hit, an ally in near burst 5 gains a +2 bonus to saving throws until the end of their next turn.
◆: Regardless of whether you hit, an ally in near burst 5 can shift 1 square (+2 squares if you hit).
◆: If you hit, the next attack to hit that creature before the end of its next turn does 5 extra damage (7 at level 11, 10 at level 21) and gets +◆.
◆: If you hit, the target cannot shift until the end of its next turn.
◆◆: Regardless of whether you hit, an ally within near burst 5 may make a basic attack.
◆◆: Regardless of whether you hit, an ally within near burst 5 can spend a recovery and heal equal to their recovery value.

Terrifying

Does psychic damage. You can choose to do no damage. If so, attack gets +◆.
If you make a terrifying attack with an implement, it targets Will.

◆: On a hit, > dazed.
◆: On a hit, > panicked (+◆: > panicked).
◆: If a weapon attack, target Will instead of AC.
◆: On a hit, > suggestible if the target is frightened or panicked.

ELEMENTAL

Acidic

Does acid damage.
If you make an acidic attack with an implement, it targets Fortitude.

◆: If you hit, > immobilized.
◆: If you hit, > blinded.
◆: The target gains vulnerable all 5 (7 at level 11, 10 at level 21).
◆: If you hit, the target cannot see further than 4 squares until the end of their next turn (+◆: save ends).
◆: Targeted spaces become difficult terrain until the end of the encounter.

Buffeting

If you make a buffeting attack with an implement, it targets Fortitude.

◆: If you hit, pull the target 1 square (+◆: +2 squares or knocked prone instead).
◆: If you hit, push the target 1 square (+◆: +2 squares or knocked prone instead).
◆: The reach of your melee attack increases by 1 square (+◆: +1 square).
◆: The range of your ranged or far attack increases by 5 squares (+◆: +5 squares).
◆◆: Targeted spaces give concealment until the end of the encounter.

Corrupted

Does necrotic damage.
If you make a corrupted attack with an implement, it targets Will.

◆: If you hit, do an extra 5 damage (7 at level 11, 10 at level 21) but if you miss, you take 1d6 damage (+◆: double that damage).
◆: If you hit, the target takes a -2 penalty on saving throws until the end of their next turn.
◆◆: If you hit, the target loses a recovery.

Flaming

Does fire damage.
If you make a flaming attack with an implement, it targets Reflex.

◆: If you hit, the target takes persistent fire damage 5 (can choose multiple times, stacks). ◆: If you hit, an enemy adjacent to the target takes 5 damage (7 at level 11, 10 at level 21) (+◆: double that damage).

Freezing

Does cold damage.
If you make a freezing attack with an implement, it targets Fortitude.

◆: If a weapon attack, target Fortitude instead of AC.
◆: If you hit, > immobilized (+◆: > immobilized).
◆: Targeted spaces become slippery until the end of the encounter (move at half speed across or make Acrobatics DC 15 to avoid falling prone).

Illuminated

Does radiant damage.
If you make an illuminated attack with an implement, it targets Will.

◆: If you hit, > blinded (+◆: > blinded).
◆: If you hit, the target cannot benefit from concealment or cover until the end of its next turn.
◆: If you hit, one ally adjacent to you or the target gets resist all 5 against their next attack (7 at level 11, 10 at level 21).
◆◆: Regardless of whether you hit, » blinded.
◆◆: Regardless of whether you hit, allies while adjacent to you receive a +2 bonus to defenses until the end of your next turn.

Poisonous

Does poison damage.
If you make a poisonous attack with an implement, it targets Fortitude.

◆: If a weapon attack, target Fortitude instead of AC.
◆: If you hit, > blinded (+◆: > blinded).
◆: If you hit, > weakened (+◆: > weakened).
◆: If you hit, > immobilized (+◆: > immobilized).
◆: If you hit, the target takes persistent poison damage 5 (can choose multiple times, stacks).

Shocking

Does lightning damage.
If you make a shocking attack with an implement, it targets Reflex.

◆: If you hit, an enemy adjacent to the target takes 5 damage (7 at level 11, 10 at level 21) (+◆: double that damage).
◆: If you hit, the target also takes 5 thunder damage (7 at level 11, 10 at level 21) (+◆: double that damage).
◆: If you hit, > blinded (+◆: > blinded).
◆: If you hit, the next time a creature hits you with an attack before the end of your next turn, it takes 5 lightning damage (7 at level 11, 10 at level 21) (+◆: double that damage).

Thundering

Does thunder damage.
If you make a thundering attack with an implement, it targets Fortitude.

◆: If you hit, the target is deafened.
◆: If you hit, > stunned (+◆: > stunned).
◆: If you hit, the target is pushed 1 square (+◆: +2 squares or knocked prone instead).
◆◆: If you hit, all enemies in Near 1 of the target are rattled.
◆◆: On a miss, do half damage.