Fantasy Flight Games have announced a new Roleplaying Game featuring their Narrative Dice System, the system used to power their Star Wars range of RPGs. The Genesys Core Rulebook will include all the core mechanics of the game, advice for Game Masters on adventure creation and play, and an overview of FIVE different settings which you could use for campaigns.
Each of the settings will also provide character templates, equipment and foes specific to each. The five settings in the core book will be Fantasy, Steampunk, Weird War, Modern Day and Science Fiction. Some of these are further broken down within their relevant section – for instance in the Science Fiction section looks at both hard science fiction as well as space operas.
A Dynamic Dice System
Genesys utilizes the Narrative Dice System which allows for creative storytelling that goes beyond success and failure, and allows every dice roll to impact the story in dramatic ways.
Every challenge your character faces will have them rolling some combination of Ability and Difficulty dice, known as a dice pool, to determine the results. Ability dice come from your character’s unique skills and characteristics, and provide Success and Advantage symbols. Difficulty dice come from the difficulty of the task your character is trying to achieve, and provide Failure and Threat symbols. Lockpicking an old, rusty door may only provide one Difficulty die, while hacking through a hi-tech firewall designed by a master codesmith may provide many more Difficulty dice. To succeed in whatever task your character is trying to accomplish, a player simply must roll more Success symbols than Failure symbols.
While this may seem simple, the addition of the Advantage and Threat symbols make the results far from binary. Rolling more Advantage symbols yields some positive side effect, regardless of success or failure of the task. This can include things like finding unexpected cover in a firefight or remaining unnoticed while hacking a computer. Meanwhile, rolling Threat means some negative side effect has occurred. Maybe your character drops their weapon after a successful attack or takes longer than expected to track their quarry through the wilderness.
When your character is an expert in the field, or when a task is truly difficult, Ability dice and Difficulty dice can be upgraded to Proficiency and Challenge dice, respectively. Proficiency dice, like Ability dice, feature Success and Advantage symbols, but also include the Triumph symbol. The Triumph symbol not only represents a Success, but also provides a massive side benefit to your action. This might be inflicting a critical injury on a foe or triggering a powerful ability on a weapon. Inversely, the Challenge die features Failure and Threat symbols, but also includes the powerful Despair symbol. Rolling this icon not only counts as a Failure, but indicates a significant bane or side effect to your action. Your character may fall off the rope they are trying to climb, or run out of ammo in the middle of a gunfight. These effects can drastically impact the course of your game, and make every dice roll an exciting event.
Your dice pool can further be modified by Boost and Setback dice. Boost dice feature Success and Advantage symbols, and are added to your roll when the circumstances around the task you are trying to achieve are beneficial. Maybe your character has hacked a computer like this before, or they have ample time to complete the task; your GM will likely add Boost dice to your pool. Setback dice, on the other hand, feature Failure and Threat symbols, and represent complications to the task at hand. Maybe your character is trying to act in the dark, or they don’t have the resources they need.
With the variance provided by these clever Advantage and Threat icons, the possibilities of results are limited only by you and your GM’s creativity.
More information can be found out about Genesys on the Fantasy Flight Games website.
Each of the settings will also provide character templates, equipment and foes specific to each. The five settings in the core book will be Fantasy, Steampunk, Weird War, Modern Day and Science Fiction. Some of these are further broken down within their relevant section – for instance in the Science Fiction section looks at both hard science fiction as well as space operas.
A Dynamic Dice System
Genesys utilizes the Narrative Dice System which allows for creative storytelling that goes beyond success and failure, and allows every dice roll to impact the story in dramatic ways.
Every challenge your character faces will have them rolling some combination of Ability and Difficulty dice, known as a dice pool, to determine the results. Ability dice come from your character’s unique skills and characteristics, and provide Success and Advantage symbols. Difficulty dice come from the difficulty of the task your character is trying to achieve, and provide Failure and Threat symbols. Lockpicking an old, rusty door may only provide one Difficulty die, while hacking through a hi-tech firewall designed by a master codesmith may provide many more Difficulty dice. To succeed in whatever task your character is trying to accomplish, a player simply must roll more Success symbols than Failure symbols.
While this may seem simple, the addition of the Advantage and Threat symbols make the results far from binary. Rolling more Advantage symbols yields some positive side effect, regardless of success or failure of the task. This can include things like finding unexpected cover in a firefight or remaining unnoticed while hacking a computer. Meanwhile, rolling Threat means some negative side effect has occurred. Maybe your character drops their weapon after a successful attack or takes longer than expected to track their quarry through the wilderness.
When your character is an expert in the field, or when a task is truly difficult, Ability dice and Difficulty dice can be upgraded to Proficiency and Challenge dice, respectively. Proficiency dice, like Ability dice, feature Success and Advantage symbols, but also include the Triumph symbol. The Triumph symbol not only represents a Success, but also provides a massive side benefit to your action. This might be inflicting a critical injury on a foe or triggering a powerful ability on a weapon. Inversely, the Challenge die features Failure and Threat symbols, but also includes the powerful Despair symbol. Rolling this icon not only counts as a Failure, but indicates a significant bane or side effect to your action. Your character may fall off the rope they are trying to climb, or run out of ammo in the middle of a gunfight. These effects can drastically impact the course of your game, and make every dice roll an exciting event.
Your dice pool can further be modified by Boost and Setback dice. Boost dice feature Success and Advantage symbols, and are added to your roll when the circumstances around the task you are trying to achieve are beneficial. Maybe your character has hacked a computer like this before, or they have ample time to complete the task; your GM will likely add Boost dice to your pool. Setback dice, on the other hand, feature Failure and Threat symbols, and represent complications to the task at hand. Maybe your character is trying to act in the dark, or they don’t have the resources they need.
With the variance provided by these clever Advantage and Threat icons, the possibilities of results are limited only by you and your GM’s creativity.
More information can be found out about Genesys on the Fantasy Flight Games website.
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