Effects In The Fiction

Effects aren’t simply a matter of a level name or ticking clock segments. After the action roll, when you narrate the outcome, answer the effect questions by describing what happens “on screen”. The answers to the questions will tell the group what the new situation is like, creating a natural bridge to further actions.

For a simple action, the effect level determines the end result. Do you achieve your goal partially, fully, or with great effect? For a more complex obstacle, the GM creates a progress clock to track the effort made to overcome it. You tick a number of segments on the clock depending on the effect level of your action and the factors involved. When you fill the clock, the obstacle is overcome. See Progress Clocks.

For example, if the player says “I shove him and run away,” that might be a simple action. It will have limited, standard, or great effect on the enemy, resulting in a new situation. The enemy might be slowed down (limited), knocked off their feet and delayed in the chase (standard), or even injured by a powerful throw (great), depending on the assessment of the factors at hand.

If the player says, “I engage this guy in a knife fight to the death,” that might be a more complex obstacle. The GM creates a clock for the thug’s level of threat, then there are several action rolls to resolve the fight, each ticking the clock according to the effect level (and risking consequences from the outcome of each).

Go with your gut and use simple or complex obstacles as you like, moment to moment in play. There’s no hard and fast rule for what’s “simple” or “complex.”