15.1 General Guidance

15.1.1 Consequences of Failure

In most circumstances, failure has no specific detrimental effects defined in the core rules. This makes some narratively appropriate consequences of failure impossible in practice. For example, the core rules do not provide a way for a character to incorrectly identify a real item as a forgery, or to believe that an undisguised character is wearing a disguise. Although those can be interesting developments, and should narratively be possible, it’s cumbersome to write rules to make that sort of failure possible without making it overly common. Giving completely false information to players should be done sparingly, since it can send them down wild goose chases that take time and effort to resolve for little payoff.

As a GM, you should feel free to decide that failure in particular circumstances causes additional complications. You have the best understanding of whether mistakes or complications will improve the narrative of your game instead of derailing it.

15.1.2 Rushing Skills

Many skill tasks are vague about exactly how much time they take to perform. This is usually because the time required can vary widely depending on the circumstances. For example, throwing on a wig, ashy makeup, and rags to imitate a beggar would take much less time than applying layers of beautifying makeup and donning a formal ball gown, but both may be similarly effective disguises for their intended purpose.

In most situations, the precise time required to complete tasks isn’t critical, and it’s reasonable to communicate that explicitly. Most players don’t mind being fuzzy with the details as long as they know their characters won’t suffer negative consequences for being too slow or fast. When time is critical, a character can try to rush their task by accepting a penalty of -5 or so to their check result. As a GM, you will have to use your best judgment about what seems reasonable.