Interludes
A fast way to summarize lengthy or complex endeavors — mass battles, running battles, chases, stalking duels, ransacking, and carousing — through ordered skill checks.
An interlude is a fast way to summarize lengthy endeavors that the players and Storyteller wish to avoid role-playing in detail.
To conduct an interlude, first identify the overall objective. Then, identify 3–9 skill checks required for success and assign separate difficulties to each, along with the consequences for failure. Put all the checks in order and have the players decide who will make which rolls. Run down the list, make the necessary rolls, and determine the result. If most of the rolls were successful — including those necessary for success — the party succeeds. Otherwise, they fail and are forced to quit, withdraw, get captured, etc.
Potentially deadly undertakings should not be resolved using interludes, though heists or raids against lower-level threats could be resolved this way. Treasure should always be minimal, and experience should not be rewarded for interludes; they are meant to move the plot along, not to substitute for active adventuring.
When resolving large-scale military engagements, Storytellers can either run a series of crucial mini-encounters or use the Summarization Roll rules below to resolve the entire battle swiftly.
1. Calculate Party Battle Score
Determine the party’s base combat effectiveness, then modify it based on their chosen posture:
Base Score: Average Party Proficiency Bonus (rounded up) + 1 per party member.
| Posture | Modifier | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Light Risk | −1d4 | Lurking on the fringes, providing support, archery, and utility spells. |
| Moderate Risk | +0 | Engaging in crucial standard combat actions while avoiding suicide pushes. |
| Heavy Risk | +1d6 | Charging into the thickest, deadliest fighting to turn the tide. |
2. Establish Target Difficulty (DC)
The Storyteller sets the base DC based on enemy force, morale, and fortifications.
| Difficulty | DC | Conditions |
|---|---|---|
| Easy | 10 | Superior allies, weak enemies, impregnable defenses. |
| Moderate | 15 | Favorable conditions, strong morale, weaker enemy. |
| Tough | 20 | Even numbers, solid enemy preparation, adequate defenses. |
| Deadly | 25 | Outnumbered/outmatched, shaky morale, compromised defenses. |
| Overwhelming | 30 | Overpowering enemy, poor morale, breached defenses. |
| Hopeless | 35 | Massive enemy superiority, morale on the brink, hostile terrain. |
3. Tactics & Command Roll
If a character with the Tactics skill authors the battle plan, make an opposed Tactics check against the enemy commander. The difference between the two rolls directly increases or decreases the final Battle DC.
4. Battle Resolution & Damage
Roll d20 + Party Battle Score against the modified Battle DC. Compare the outcome to the table below to determine the battle’s result and incoming character damage.
| Outcome | Light Risk Damage | Moderate Risk Damage | Heavy Risk Damage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Failure by 10+ | 8d6 − (Defense + Soak) | 10d6 − (Defense + Soak) | Death / Total Defeat |
| Failure by 5–9 | 6d6 − (Defense + Soak) | 8d6 − (Defense + Soak) | 10d6 − (Defense + Soak) |
| Defeat (Fail by 1–4) | 4d6 − (Defense + Soak) | 6d6 − (Defense + Soak) | 8d6 − (Defense + Soak) |
| Victory (Pass by 0–4) | 4d6 − (Defense + Soak) | 6d6 − (Defense + Soak) | 8d6 − (Defense + Soak) |
| Success by 5–9 | 2d6 − (Defense + Soak) | 4d6 − (Defense + Soak) | 6d6 − (Defense + Soak) |
| Success by 10+ | No Damage | 2d6 − (Defense + Soak) | 4d6 − (Defense + Soak) |
Individual damage is reduced by each character’s Defense Bonus and Soak Pool. These rules assume characters fight alongside allied forces; solo characters attempting to fight an army single-handedly must use Horde rules.
A running battle is a high-speed interlude where the party blitzes through hostile territory under a strict time limit—escaping a siege, raiding a fortress, or fleeing through enemy-controlled wilderness. The goal is to accumulate enough Victory Points (VP) to reach the final objective before the party is overwhelmed.
1. Structure & Setup
Total Target VP. Establish a total VP threshold required to complete the interlude, such as 15 VP total.
Route Areas. Divide the sequence into 3–6 distinct areas, such as the Breach, the Courtyard, the Armory, and the Gate.
Area VP Pool. Assign a target VP value to each area. The total number of available skill opportunities in an area equals X, while the area’s required VP equals X+1.
Set X with party size in mind. A party of two can attempt up to 4 checks per area, and a party of three can attempt up to 6. If the party should be able to attempt every opportunity, keep X within that limit. The two-check limit applies to each character, not to the party’s total checks.
2. Skill Checks & Creative Magic
Opportunity Limit. Each character may attempt up to 2 skill checks per area. Set the difficulty of each check between 10–20.
Permitted Actions. Checks can represent Athletics for smashing gates, Perceive for spotting shortcuts, Stealth for bypassing patrols, or Subterfuge and Intimidate for demoralizing or confusing foes.
Spellcasters. Casters may use spells creatively—for example, blasting obstacles or creating magical barriers—and roll arete to determine whether the spell earns a Victory Point. Casting the spell still consumes its normal mana cost. Healing or enhancement spells used only to bolster later checks or recover between combats also consume their normal mana cost, but do not themselves earn VP.
Victory Points. Each successful check yields 1 VP toward the area’s goal.
3. Resolving Remaining Resistance
After all skill checks for an area are resolved, any remaining unearned VP for that area must be cleared through direct combat. The area’s combat difficulty depends on how many successful checks the party made first.
Combat Conversion. Treat each unearned VP as one discrete combat resistance unit: an incoming wave of foes or an elite threat. The exact form may be a single minion group, a squad, or an elite foe appropriate to the route and the party’s strength. One VP represents one meaningful combat obstacle, not a fixed hit point threshold.
Guaranteed Skirmish. Because an area requires X+1 VP and offers X skill opportunities, the party will always face at least 1 VP worth of combat resistance before advancing.
Grace Period. Once the area’s VP goal is met, the party gets a brief window of a few rounds to heal or apply buffs before entering the next area.
When the party clears the final area and reaches the total target VP, it reaches the final objective and the running battle ends.
Chase scenes—whether pursuing a fleeing target or escaping pursuers—are resolved cleanly with a single group skill check to maintain high session momentum.
1. Core Mechanics
Player-Facing Roll. Players always make the skill check, regardless of whether they are the pursuers or the quarry.
Target DC. Set the difficulty to 10 + Opposing Party’s Primary Skill Bonus.
Group Check. If the entire party is involved, at least half of the team must succeed for the party to win the chase. This keeps the group unified rather than splitting players up based on movement stats.
2. Skill & Terrain Categories
Select the primary skill check based on the environment and method of travel:
| Terrain / Environment | Relevant Skill | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Open Setting | Athletics | Open plains, straight corridors, clear roads |
| Obstructed / Broken Terrain | Acrobatics | Rooftops, crowded market streets, dense ruins |
| Mounted / Vehicular | Wrangling or Land Vehicle Toolset | Horseback chases, wagon pursuits, chariot races |
3. Situational Modifiers
Speed & Obstacles. Modify the target DC by ±2 to ±5 if one side holds a significant movement speed advantage or actively drops physical barriers, such as collapsing crates or locking gates.
Visibility & Interception. Grant Advantage or Disadvantage to the roll when navigating heavy fog, nighttime darkness, dense alleyways, or when allied forces step in to intercept.
4. Resolution
Success. The pursuers corner or catch the target, or the quarry completely breaks line of sight and escapes safely.
Failure. The quarry is overtaken, triggering a combat encounter, or the pursuers lose the trail entirely.
A stalking duel is a high-stakes contest of stealth, agility, and hunting instincts where two adversaries (or groups) hunt each other through treacherous terrain. The goal is to track, stalk, and ambush the opponent before being spotted.
1. Setup & Alertness Threshold
High Alert. Both sides are actively hunting and cannot be caught completely unaware without this process.
Passive Target (Alertness). A target’s Alertness score equals Perception + 10. This sets the fixed DC required for Stealth checks made against them.
Group Duels. When groups participate, each side designates a Lead Tracker to roll the check, or uses the lowest Stealth modifier in the party to determine group success.
2. The Stalking Check Loop
Each round, hunters roll Stealth against the opponent’s Alertness score (Perception + 10).
Consecutive Success Track. To achieve a total ambush, a hunter must achieve two consecutive successful Stealth checks before the opponent achieves theirs.
Breaking the Streak. If a hunter fails a Stealth check, their success streak resets to 0.
3. Resolution Outcomes
Full Ambush. A hunter achieves 2 consecutive successes. They gain a full Surprise Round against their target.
Mutual Discovery. If both hunters achieve their second success in the same round—or both fail to maintain a streak before closing distance—both spot each other simultaneously. Roll standard initiative with no surprise.
Trap Lure. Instead of a direct surprise attack, the victor may lure the target into a pre-set trap or hazard. The target receives a final Perception check, with a DC equal to the trap’s difficulty, to spot the danger just before triggering it.
Abandoned Duel. Either party may choose to slip away and disengage completely by forfeiting its streak and making a single successful Stealth check against the target’s Alertness to break line of sight.
Ransacking provides a streamlined way to resolve searching and exploring non-critical areas—such as empty dungeon chambers, abandoned houses, or wilderness campsites—without devolving into slow, repetitive declarations.
1. Establishing the Ransack Routine
Before exploring, each player defines their character’s permanent passive role during a search. Common roles include:
- Point Guard / Sentry. Watches doorways and approaches (Perceive).
- Area Searcher. Methodically checks chests, furniture, and walls ( Search / Investigation).
- Trap & Lock Specialist. Disarms mechanisms and inspects doors ( Tools / Mechanics).
- Arcane Scanner. Detects magical auras or unusual phenomena ( Arete / Arcana).
Once assigned, the party leader simply declares, “We ransack the area.”
2. Secret Rolls & Finality
Secret Execution. The Storyteller makes all relevant skill checks in secret based on the established roles.
Binding Results. Outcomes are final. Players cannot request re-rolls or declare retroactive checks if they suspect a roll failed.
3. Time Cost & Interruption
Standard Duration. Each ransack attempt consumes a fixed block of time, typically 10 minutes per area or room. This burns through resource durations, such as torches or temporary buffs, and ticks random encounter checks.
4. Storyteller Fair Play Contract
Assumed Competence. Summarizing exploration is not an invitation to penalize players for unstated actions. Characters are assumed to act with baseline professional caution.
Justified Consequences. All traps, hazards, or missed clues must stem directly from a failed check or saving throw—never from a player forgetting to explicitly state a basic action.
Carousing allows adventurers to spend their hard-earned plunder on revelry, vice, and social networking during downtime, converting silver into narrative opportunities and local renown.
1. The Cost of Revelry
Weekly Expense. Each week a character spends carousing, they lose silver equal to 3 × Experience Level to fund their heroic appetites.
Optional Opt-In. Carousing is voluntary, allowing players to choose whether their characters indulge in urban downtime or maintain a quiet lifestyle.
2. The Carousing Table
At the end of each carousing week, roll 1d8 to determine the outcome:
| d8 | Result | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Business | Offered a lucrative venture, investment opportunity, or mercenary contract. |
| 2 | Contact | Make a favorable impression on a useful local figure (informant, merchant, official). |
| 3 | Enmity | Insult or cross someone in power, gaining a petty rival or local enemy. |
| 4 | Gossip | Overhear a valuable rumor, dungeon hook, or secret regarding local factions. |
| 5 | Heroism | Stumble into a local crisis or chance to perform a good deed, gaining goodwill. |
| 6 | Indiscretion | Get caught breaking local laws or social taboos; spend a night in jail or pay a fine. |
| 7 | Renown | The party’s recent exploits become the talk of the town, boosting local reputation. |
| 8 | Windfall | Win a gamble, inherit a small token, or acquire a useful material gain. |