Complex Tasks: Projects & Crafting #

Tasks involving multiple steps, long-term work, or multiple collaborating characters can be resolved as a Project, at the referee’s discretion. The referee sets a project’s Complexity and Interval.

Complexity is a measure of the required cumulative effort to complete the project, on a scale of 1-10. Interval is the time scale on which the project progresses. An Interval can be as short as a skirmish round, or as long as a year.

A character can make one Task Throw to work on a project each time the interval passes, adding a relevant skill rank, as usual. The target of a project Throw is always 8. Reduce the complexity of the project by 1 + the Throw’s Impact. When the project’s complexity reaches 0, the project is complete.

Example 1: Three player characters are on the bridge of a derelict science vessel. One of them is trying to access secret research data. The other two are in a gunfight with a black-clad death squad. The referee decides that finding the files on the computer is a project with complexity 5 and an interval of 1 skirmish round. The PC may use the Computer skill.

Example 2: A player character has installed themselves as god-emperor on a lost world with pre-industrial technology. They demand a grand palace be built in their honor. The palace is a project with a complexity of 10, and an interval of 1 year. Their court administrator can apply their skill (Administration 1) to oversee the project.

Crafting #

Characters can use skills to craft items. Crafted items have a Quality, which is the DM applied to a Task Throw when that item is used. Crafting an item is a project with an appropriate Interval and a complexity equal to the intended quality of the item, at a minimum. The referee may adjust complexity up or down for particularly large or difficult-to-craft items.

A player character wants to use their Forgery 3 skill to craft a false cargo manifest of Quality 2. The referee rules it will be complexity 2 and a 1-week interval. The player rolls well and creates the manifest in one week. A month later, the PCs are accosted by law enforcement while smuggling illegal waterfowl. They present the false manifest. The forger throws 2D+2 (the quality of the manifest) to see if it passes inspection.