One of the things I want to include in this project are rules and guidelines that actually teach players and Keepers how to play the game. That might seem like a no-brainer, but it’s amazing to me how many professional tabletop roleplaying games out there don’t actually do this. You’ll probably find plenty of detailed, case-by-case rules and a hoard of great setting material. You might have a brief overview of roleplaying game concepts, but a lot of the details of how to really play the game are often summed up as “find someone that already knows how to play and learn from them.”

There are a few reasons I think this is a real problem within the tabletop gaming community in general, but one of the big reasons is that there are a lot of different styles of games and play at the table. When you don’t clearly describe the style of game you’re going for and align your rules to match, how do you expect players and GMs to play the game the way you intended?

So I plan to include reasonably comprehensive rules and guidance for both players and Keepers. And with that in mind, one of the most important parts of any roleplaying game is how to resolve the actions of the characters. Action resolution is the core gameplay loop, so it seems logical to focus on providing solid guidance for this first.

Note that while OTF borrows a lot from more narrative games, it still places the primary narrative responsibility (and authority) on the GM/Keeper. In other words, the Keeper is the one narrating the results most of the time. The reason for this is simple: It works best for an investigative horror game.

So here are draft versions of both an overview and a more detailed breakdown of Action Resolution in OTF. If you have comments or questions, please post them in this thread on our SubReddit.

Action Resolution Overview

I. Present the Situation

1. Keeper Sets the Scene (Describe the Scene and present Choices, Sources of Opposition, and Obstacles)

II. What Do You Do?

2. Players provide Intent and Approach.

III. Yes, No, or Roll?

3. Yes, No, or Maybe? – Are all possible outcomes interesting? Is this a possible branch in the story?

IV. Here’s How We’re Going to Play This Out…

4. Set the Stakes
5. Single Roll, Single Roll with Help, or Pacing Mechanism?
6. Obstacles and Opposition
7. Core Action and Skill(s)

V. Roll Some Dice

8. Roll Dice, Invoke Aspects, Use Boosts
9. Determine Outcome

VI. Here’s What Happened…

10. Narrate outcome. Apply changes to Aspects, free invokes, boosts, etc.
11. Scene Complete?

Action Resolution Breakdown

I. Present the Situation

1. Keeper Sets (or Resets) the Scene.

a. Keeper presents situation – a choice the Investigators must make or immediate problem to deal with.

b. Describe scene visually (Aspect), add a detail (Aspect), add goals and points of interest (Aspect), add exits, finish with any obvious Sources of Opposition or Obstacles.

c. Consider if the situation appears the same to all characters

i. Differences in Skills, Sanity, Mythos can all impact how Investigators perceive the world.

II. What Do You Do?

2. Players imagine their Investigators in that situation and decide how the character acts in response.

a. Investigators react to Sources of Opposition, attempt to overcome Obstacles, or make a Choice.

b. Keeper and players discuss the action until a clear Intent and Approach are identified.

c. Who is participating in the action? Who is taking the lead? What are other characters doing during the action?

III. Yes, No, or Roll?

3. Keeper determines if action succeeds, fails, or should be randomly determined

a. Keeper determines if the action is even possible.

i. Is the action possible within the fiction? Can the approach actually work?
If the answer to both questions is No, then the action fails; go to step 9. (Say No)

b. Keeper determines whether the outcome needs to be randomly determined.

i. Can the action plausibly fail? Does failure carry risk or cost? Is failure interesting?
If the answer to all questions is No, then the action succeeds; go to step 9. (Say Yes)

ii. [Possibly consider if possibility of failure is appropriate to pacing.]

c. If the action is possible, and the opposition or possibility of failure is interesting, then Roll.

IV. Here’s How We’re Going to Play This Out…

4. Set the Stakes

a. What are the possible outcomes? What interesting thing will happen if the action succeeds? What interesting thing will happen if the action fails?

b. Always consider Success at a Cost, especially if the action involves a Core Clue. Consider what kind of opposition is involved and how things could go badly.

c. Both the Keeper and the players should have a basic idea of the Stakes before moving on, but the precise details will be determined in Steps 9 & 10. Occasionally, the Keeper might leave the players in the dark about the Stakes for failure.

5. Keeper determines how to randomly determine the outcome.
(Single roll, Teamwork, or Pacing Mechanism?)

a. Emphasis and Pacing?

b. Single character or multiple characters working together?
If multiple characters, are they using the same Approach (same skills or different skills?) (Help vs. Challenge)

c. Opposition and Obstacles? What is the Opposition’s Intent? (Contest vs. Conflict)

6. Keeper sets Opposition/Difficulty

a. Active Opposition or passive Difficulty?

b. Set Opposition or Difficulty relative to Investigator skill?

c. Consider Aspects in play

7. Keeper determines which skill and core action are being used.

a. Keeper uses the Investigator’s Intent to determine which core action or pacing mechanism applies.

b. Sometimes the player is simply rolling to Oppose an action by an NPC or the environment.

c. Keeper uses the Investigator’s Approach to determine which skill applies to each roll.

V. Roll Some Dice

8. Dice are rolled or pacing mechanism is played out, Aspects are invoked, Boosts are used.

9. Keeper determines the mechanical Outcome of the roll or pacing mechanism (success, tie, failure, or success with style), and determines appropriate outcome (short-term) and repercussions (long-term), including any costs (success at minor/major cost).

a. If action is automatically successful (Step 3.b.) consider which Investigator succeeds based on skills.

VI. Here’s What Happened…

10. Keeper describes (narrates) the results of the action of the players, which results in a new situation. Make any appropriate changes to the Aspects in play, free invokes, boosts, etc.

11. Keeper determines if the Scene is complete.

a. If the Scene is not complete, reset the Scene (go to Step 1).

b. If the Scene is complete, Transition to next Scene.