This series follows the trials, tribulations, successes, and failures of a fairly inexperienced GM who has recently picked up the hobby after a long time away. It aims to assist new GM’s by examining what worked, didn’t work, and what failed miserably as he spins up new campaigns, modules, encounters, and adventures for his friends and family in Fantasy Flight Games’ Edge of the Empire/Age of Rebellion/Force and Destiny system.
Ever since my first read through of the dice mechanics around the Star Wars RPG lines from Fantasy Flight Games (and now Genesys), I realized how powerful the narrative dice system was going to be in regards to story telling. I truly believe that Jay Little and FFG changed the game and that we’ll see a lot of non-d20 RPGs coming out. Star Trek Adventures, beautifully reviewed by our own Linda Whitson (also designed by Jay Little), is one example. There really is nothing like it. The dice just about force your players to roleplay more, and to roleplay better. They offer creativity where, in a d20 game, it might not exist. RPG’s with d6 or d20 mechanics lean on the GM and the players quite heavily to provide the narrative, whereas the narrative dice system from Star Wars literally pulls it out of you. It’s fantastic and it’s the reason I dove into this system with both feet and came back to the hobby.
However, there is one tip that the core rulebooks also mention, and one that the game designers suggest, that I have to be honest… I don’t do enough. That is to allow the dice to not just tell you if something good or bad happens, but why it happens. The idea is to pay attention to the narrative dice, and which symbols appear on which dice, and that will inform what you can say about the result. This is something I think most players are aware of, but I wonder how many actually, consistently, do this. I must admit, I am horrible at this. I need to do this much, much more often. I’m just fine making up all sorts of advantage, threat, triumph, and despair, but I don’t add the “why” factor. So to help remind myself, and hopefully some readers, let’s look at what the narrative dice can do.
With this column I’ll examine two situations you might be in during your games, and how all the symbols and all the dice might inform the situation, and what you might narrate.
1) Shootout with Stormtroopers
Situation: You are pinned down by a group of stormtroopers. You stand up and fire at them with a volley of blaster fire. They are taking some cover behind some large barrels.
Successes on the Ability Dice: Your natural agility kicks in and the shot is much easier than you think as several stormtroopers pop up from cover right when you go to fire.
Successes on the Proficiency Dice: Your training in how to fire the blaster pays off, and despite the cover that the troops have, you find cracks in their cover and hit them as they try to hide.
Successes on a Boost Die: Just as you go to fire, the stormtroopers are distracted by your teammate and turn, leaving you an opening. You fire at just the right time, hitting the group of enemies.
Advantages on the Ability Dice: As you fire just as the troopers stand, you knock them back and away from their cover, and they’ll lose the Setback Dice they get for being behind cover.
Advantages on the Proficiency Dice: As you hit the troopers through the gaps in their cover, your volley of blaster fire acts as cover fire, making any combat check the stormtroopers make harder (Setback Dice).
Advantages on the Boost Dice: As the troopers are distracted, you hit them. Because they are focused on your teammate, their next action will be hindered (with Setback Dice) while their attention is turned.
Failures on the Difficulty Dice: The shot is simply too difficult. The stormtroopers are too far away and at a bad angle. No matter how agile you are, the shots are too hard to place in the moment.
Failures on the Challenge Dice: The placement of the troopers and their training make your shots go wide. They knew just how to conceal themselves and present a small target, making you miss.
Failures on the Setback Dice: Despite your best efforts, your blasts strike the barrels they’re hiding behind. The barrels are too many, and you can’t shoot through them.
Threat on the Difficulty Dice: The troopers are simply too well covered. Your shots go astray somewhat and you end up knocking more barrels over in front of the stormtroopers, giving them more cover.
Threat on the Challenge Dice: The troopers are well trained. They wait for a perfect gap in your shots and stand up to return fire while you’re exposed. Their next check will be boosted.
Threat on the Setback Dice: As your shots strike the barrels the stromtroopers are hiding behind, the cover is thick with them and they get pushed into a different configuration, making subsequent shots even more difficult.
2) Sneaking Through a Star Destroyer
Situation: You are hiding in a Star Destroyer, trying to sneak through corridors to reach a computer core to download the latest TIE Fighter specifications.
Successes on the Ability Dice: As you step silently through the halls, your natural ability to keep your feet light makes you almost undetectable. You sneak past two patrols with ease as you reach the core.
Successes on the Proficiency Dice: Staying quiet behind enemy lines such as this is only for the daring and the expert. With your training, you know when to duck into halls and when to move past patrols. You make it to the core safely, leaving all Imperials unknowing in your wake.
Successes on a Boost Die: Thanks to a ruckus caused by your teammates on the other side of the hall as you proceed, you’re able to slip by a patrol that normally should have been right in your path.
Advantages on the Ability Dice: Your agility allows you to slip past everyone unscathed. When you do, you find a break in the patrols and radio back to your teammates… they’ll have a boost to follow you up and into the computer core.
Advantages on the Proficiency Dice: Your skill and training as a Rebel operative pays off. You study the movements of the troops and memorize the patrol patterns as you sneak around. You radio back and give your team a tip on when and how to move about the level.
Advantages on the Boost Dice: Your teammates’ distraction is not only enough to pull troops out of your path, but off the entire floor. Your whole team can move unfettered around the floor for a couple of rounds.
Failures on the Difficulty Dice: As you move through the floor on your way to the computer core, a patrol wanders onto your position.
Failures on the Challenge Dice: There are simply too many troops on the floor of the Star Destroyer to get a clean path to the computer core, as a result, you find the core full of two minion groups of stormtroopers.
Failures on the Setback Dice: It was already difficult sneaking through a Star Destroyer, but the fact you chose a moment just after shift change made it worse. A patrol finds you just as you slip into the computer core.
Threat on the Difficulty Dice: The Star Destroyer was simply too populated with patrols and security. It was only a matter of time until you were spotted. A security camera just outside the core catches you and you have three rounds to act before you’re overrun by troops.
Threat on the Challenge Dice: The Star Destroyer is home of several squadrons of special forces stormtroopers. A couple of them, due to their training, spot you, noticing something out of the ordinary. They immediately sound the alarm.
Threat on the Setback Dice: You make it to the computer core unscathed, however, just as you slice into the core for the first time, you set off an intruder signal to the bridge. In moments troops will be in the room with you.
Of course, there are hundreds of combinations of these narrative choices. The narrative dice are so powerful in that way and really fill your stories with amazing detail and flair. As you can see above, if you’ll just let them work for you, your adventures will sing. This is something that I really need to do more of, more often.
Scott Alden
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