Challenges, Threats, and Goals

Challenges, Threats, and Goals #

The baseline “what do you do” in a Total//Effect game is going to come down to something here. More detailed applications of these are in Conflict.

Simple Challengess #

I’m defining a challenge here as some adverse thing that is intended to be overcome. A simple challenge is something that can be overcome by one action: a spent resource, a roll, or just a smart way of approaching it.

Valiant Horizon #

Challenges are typically overcome by spending an Asset, or by not spending an Asset and taking a Burden (a downside) in particular.

NULL_SPACE #

Challenges are typically overcome by taking a Steady Action or Risky Action, which are two kinds of rolls a player can make depending on the degree of risk involved.

Complex Challenges #

Sometimes a challenge requires a little more consideration than a single roll. If so, you can add complications. These are secondary concerns that need to be satisfied or overcome, or just a statement that one standard type of resolution can only satisfy part of a problem.

Sometimes these complications can by using a tool or skill or approach that negates the extra complication.

NULL_SPACE #

Complex challenges are a core feature: non-trivial challenges are expected to come with them. The same actions and rolls can remove them; however, in a lot of cases equipment can have features (which are keywords like “high-voltage” and “magnifying”) that can be used specifically to leverage against complications to bypass them.

Valiant Horizon #

This is a little more implicit in most cases. However, the concept of Exhausting Assets exists: this lets you use an Asset for some far stronger effect in exchange for not having it available until the next time you gain a Level. This implies that there are two tiers of effects.

Goals #

Goals are similar to complex challenges, but instead of being broken out discretely, they’re broken out numerically. In other systems, Clocks and HP could be examples.

When thinking about Goals vs Complex Challenges, consider which makes sense. Sometimes a problem isn’t multifaceted, it’s just going to take time or multiple instances of effort.

Outcome and Conditions #

You need to know what the outcome of a Threat/Goal is, at least in a nebulous sense. When you define one, write it as the name of the Threat or Goal. If the Outcome becomes more clear, update it.

Generally speaking, this is the kind of thing that goes out front and center. Tension over surprise, for good things or bad, is generally more interesting. (If it IS a surprise, you can track it the same way if it helps you to do so, but it’s not strictly necessary - that precludes players from interacting with it.)

Conditions are the stated or unstated reason that the Threat or Goal might move forward. This can be as simple as time passing or as complicated as very specific actions. The more frequent a Condition comes up, the shorter-term a Threat or Goal is.

NULL_SPACE #

Ellen is looking at a backup power generator’s terminal. The Narrator says that initiating a reset of it is a Goal: the Outcome is that the generator starts up, while the Condition is that it taking an action to actively try to figure out the reset advances it.

Progress, Threshold, and Recurrence #

Progress is the degree to which a Threat or Goal moves forward, whenever the Conditions are met. Typical Progress towards an outcome is Mid Die or Inverse Mid Die on a roll. The Threshold is the amount of Progress at which the Threat or Goal’s Outcome is realized.

Thresholds are usually at multiples of 5. Given that Mid Die Progress is typical and a standard Mid Die result is 3.5, a Threshold of 10 is about 3 increments of Progress, a Threshold of 15 is about 5, and a Threshold of 20 is about 6. This can fluctuate up and down pretty strongly based on rolls and adjustments, though! The goal is largely clear, but the trajectory often isn’t.

Sometimes a Threat/Goal can be Recurring: meaning something happens when the Threshold is passed, but the Threat/Goal re-establishes itself at 0 Progress after the Threshold is passed, with the promise that something similar will happen. Recurring Threats/Goals can set a limit to how many times they recur, with the last Threshold achieved being more final than the previous. Unlike most things here, recurrence (or lack thereof, or when recurrence ends) can be more implied than stated.

NULL_SPACE #

The Threshold for this Goal of resetting backup power is 10: it’s not a terribly hard task, but the OS is arcane if you don’t know it and the challenge comes more from a tight timeline and risks of being locked out. Given that it’s a concrete goal with an ending, recurrence isn’t present, but if this needed to be repeated every time it ran out of power then that might make sense.

Threats #

Threats are very similar to Goals, but in reverse: they’re things the players do not want to happen, and are often advanced by doing undesirable things for the scenario (like spending too much time or taking certain actions). The Outcome here is the bad thing that they don’t want to happen.

NULL_SPACE #

The station CICP-1 is undergoing an attack by marauders. Two Threats are written down: one with the outcome “Station Invaded”, and a shorter one with the outcome “Station Loses Integrity”. The Conditions set are simply time passing: the invasion isn’t being particularly well repelled, so unless it’s been actively stopped, the hangar level of the station will be occupied.

When “Station Loses Integrity” fills for the first time, Escalation is increased by 1 and something goes wrong with the station. Players start to hear alerts warning of an incoming reactor meltdown: the Outcome changes to “Reactor Meltdown Progresses”. The stakes have changed!

“Station Loses Integrity”/“Reactor Meltdown Progresses” has a Threshold of 15. This means that about every 5 instances of time passing fills the Threat, but if someone rolls poorly and Inverse Mid Die comes up 5-6 three times, it could be as few as 3.

This threat is recurring. When it’s met, Escalation rises and something else on the station breaks down. If it happens 6 times, however, the reactor melts down and the station is fully destroyed.