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Message: <blockquote data-quote="RangerWickett" data-source="post: 7997808" data-attributes="member: 63">When I directed the adventure path ZEITGEIST: The Gears of Revolution, the PCs were law enforcement officers who later acted as secret agents. I tried to make sure each adventure had at least one encounter that was something out of the ordinary for D&D, like maintaining security at a royal visit, battling during a carriage chase, or going undercover on a train to figure out who among the other passengers were members of a conspiracy.It's always possible (and often preferable) to just handle these scenes by role-playing and a bit of dramatic narration. Mechanics can bog things down if they're too complicated. I certainly remember complaints about 4e's skill challenge system (and tons of articles on how to make good skill challenges).I've taken a crack at some new rules for three common types of encounters that I think could benefit from light-touch game mechanics. All of them using a guideline of Peril Before Failure. You'll often need to succeed a small number of checks to win the encounter, but one failed die roll doesn't cause you to lose. Instead, a failure increases the risk, and gives you an incentive to bail out and try again later. If you fail a second time, you get the actual bad result: the suspect refuses to talk, the overwhelming force of bad guys catch up to you, or your cover is blown which puts the whole mission at risk.I'd be thrilled if you'd take a moment out of your pandemic to take a look and offer some feedback. Are they a total waste of time, and better handled without rules? Are they too rules-light, calling for dice rolls that don't feel tethered to the narrative of the game? Do you have any suggestions for improving them? Am I too wordy and need to be more concise? Do I need some examples to make it clearer how to use them?Inquiries. The PCs need to get information out of a suspect or out of a crowd. This requires two successful efforts. First they establish rapport, then they extract the information.Pursuits. The GM comes up with three 'stages' for the chase to pass through. In each stage, the quarry does something to try to create a challenge, which the pursuer must overcome. Then the PCs try to outpace the other side (either getting away if they're quarry, or closing the distance if they're pursued). The PCs need to outpace twice to win.Secret Missions. This is where we get complicated. The GM comes up with a number of obstacles (usually 2 to 5). The PCs each can make one effort before the mission to prepare, and then during the mission the party as a whole can make one check to try to overcome each obstacle. (And if they fail a check, that's peril first; they can try again if they want, but usually with dire consequences.)Thanks!</blockquote>

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