The Challenge Roll

Players are central to every point of interaction that exists in a session. The Players at the table help progress the story by telling us what they want and how they try to achieve it. When the environment shifts around them, Players respond by telling us how they adapt to it. The Dice are the equal counterpart to the Players. Dice tell us if a Player's character can adapt to the environment, and to what degree. The Players inform us of the opportunity – what they want and how they want to achieve it. The Dice inform us of the consequence – what is the result and if they achieved it.

Echelon requires a 7-dice set of RPG dice to play. Each die is necessary for the game.It is recommended that each Player provides their own set(s), though a game can be played with a single set. A 7-dice set contains all of the standard polyhedral dice, specifically:

●     4-sided die

●     6-sided die

●     8-sided die

●     10-sided die

●     10-sided percentile die

●     12-sided die

●     20-sided die

How Challenges Work

The execution of a Challenge is a collaborative effort between the Player(s)included in the Challenge and the Game Master. Every player may have a say in what goes in and what comes out of a Challenge but the final say is determined by the individuals rolling a Challenge Die and what they’re rolling for. Below are the elements for performing a Challenge. Once the die hit the table and the results are totaled, it’s too late to say you want to help a friend or change the skills you use in a Challenge. 

1. The Challenger states a desired outcome -Tell us what you hope to achieve

When a Player Character meets resistance they have a choice. A) Let go of the situation. B) Charge through it and achieve your goal.If a Player Character chooses the latter, they must state the desired result of their success in the Challenge. This also helps to inform what’s at stake in later steps and what the consequences are for failure. The initiator of this Challenge has final say as to what the desired outcome is. In addition, that Player Character has to frame how they attempt to do so. 

2. Assisting - Who can help make that happen

Whether a Player is Challenging or being issued a Challenge, players that are around to make an immediate impact on the desired outcome may choose to do so by Assisting in the Challenge Roll. Assisting in a Challenge Roll is not mandatory, but does offer your ally a greater chance of success. To assist in a Challenge Roll a Player Character must be in the immediate vicinity or have tangible impact on achieving the desired result.When a Player chooses to assist in this way, they must determine how they do so,narratively, and select a Skill relevant to the narrative description. A Game Master has the final say in what skills may be applicable in Assisting based on the situation at hand.

3. Determine Difficulty Rating and Stakes - How likely is this to go wrong and what might go wrong

After the participants of a Challenge have been established, the Game Master determines the Difficulty Rating and uses the Die Tier associated with it. There are a number of factors that may influence the Difficulty Rating and multiple may apply at once. The largest factor in determining the Difficulty Rating is what’s at Stake. A Stake is something that poses value to the Challenger. In a Challenge, nothing is off the table,relationships, possessions, information, even lives may be at stake. The only thing that’s important here is that whatever it is at stake, it must pose value to the Challenger. The GM has final say in Difficulty Rating and Stakes

4. Narrating the Challenge - How do we apply game mechanics

Once Difficulty and Stakes have been determined each player involved in the Challenge roll must narrate the action(s) they perform in the Challenge and select a Skill that is relevant to that narrative.

5. The Challenge Roll - Time to lay it on the line

To perform the Challenge Roll, all previous aspects must be determined. The order in which they are established is not important,what is important is that they are established before dice hit the table. Once a die is rolled there’s no going back. In this phase each Player/Character who contributes to the Challenge rolls their die and adds their modifiers to determine the sum of their contributions to the Challenge.

6. Results - Did we win?

Once all the dice are rolled, tally the totals for each side; the Challengers and the Targets. The highest result determines the winner of the Challenge. In the instance of a tied result, the Challengers are the prevailers. The difference in the values determines the effectiveness of the success and may pose additional outcomes which are detailed in the‘Results’ section.

7. Narrating the Scene - How cool did it look

The last step in the Challenge is for the winner(s) to describe what the full scene of the Challenge looks like. This is a wrap up of the cumulative efforts of all parties during the Challenge process. This part is central to the storytelling requirements of Echelon. At the table each Player wears the hat of ‘Character,’ ‘Narrator,’ ‘Director,’ and ‘Audience’ all at once. Narrating the Scene is a gratuitous reminder of the exploits of the group or ferocity of your enemy. Once this step is done a challenge is considered completed.

Challenge Types

Challenges can occur in any number of situations that a character may find themself in.Challenges can be issued to either an opposing character(s), object(s) in the surroundings, or the environment itself. Targets for a Challenge are defined in three ways; PCs, NPCs and Environment.

Player Challenges

When a Player is included in a Challenge it is because the situation at hand is at direct opposition with the Player. Typically, a Player Challenge comes about when there is a potential to cause physical harm or mental strain against a player.

An example could be resisting the effects of a spell or evading the dangers of a sprung trap.However, it is not uncommon that a Player may be issued a Challenge as a consequence of their immediate actions. Say in the instance a Player has pushed an NPC too far and might need to salvage the relationship to bar further consequence and/or avoid damaging relationships.

NPC Challenges

When an NPC is the target of a Challenge it is because the Player is attempting to influence the target NPC(s) to produce a desired result in favor of the Player. Challenges against Characters happen in two forms, Social and Competition Challenges. The difficulty of the Challenge is derived from two factors; 1. The target NPC’s ability to produce the desired result. 2. The target NPC’s applicable Stats.

Social Challenges

A Social Challenge is when a Player attempts to appeal to one or more NPCs to convince them to perform or accept a specific action.This can take the shape of bartering prices or items, deceiving or misdirecting, even posturing or intimidating to name a short few.

In a Social Challenge the Base Tier of that character’s Challenge Die is determined by the target NPC’s relevant Skill Tier. In addition, there are a few factors which may provide bonuses that inform the difficulty of succeeding the Challenge:

●     How connected is the target to the desired result?

●     Does this NPC have a positive or negative relationship with the player(s)?

●     Have the Players exploited any of the NPCs weaknesses?

●     Have the Players played into any of the NPCs strengths?

●     Does the NPC feel threatened by being outnumbered?

For each circumstantial parameter the GM increases or decreases the bonus of that NPC’s relevant Skill Tier to effect the difficulty of achieving success. The GM has final say in what parameters are relevant to this Challenge and is not required to share any detail outside of the final result of the die rolled and circumstantial bonuses in the Challenge Roll.

Opposition Challenges

Opposition Challenges are when a Player attempts to directly oppose one or more NPCs to achieve a specific outcome. A few examples could be a match of cards or physical strength, disguising or downplaying your presence, and possibly picking out a target from a crowd. 

In an Opposition Challenge the NPC’s Skill Tier determines the Challenge Die that is used in the roll. Any relevant bonuses,(equipment, situation, environment) are added to the result of the die when determining successes and failures. Some factors that may provide bonuses to the situation may include but are not exclusive to:

●     Visibility or weather conditions

●     Proximity

●     Density or cover

●     Speed

For each circumstantial parameter the Game Master increases or decreases the bonus applied to the total sum of the resulting Challenge Roll.

Environment Challenges

These targets seldom posses opposing stats to determine a Challenge Difficulty. In these cases, Challenge Difficulty is determined by the difficulty of achieving a desired result and is determined bythe Game Master. The Challenge Difficulty of non-character targets are generally classified into Six Tiers:

1.    Simple / Tier 1 = d4

An easy task that is commonly performed by the average citizen. Rarely presents a challenge, though does require minimal skill to complete.

2.    Moderate / Tier 2 = d6

A moderate task that can be performed with ease by those skilled or trained in the proper aspect. Could present a challenge for the average skilled.

3.    Advanced / Tier 3 = d8

An advanced task that is commonly encountered in which success is likely certain but failure is unsurprising. Seen as common for masters of a subject.

4.    Difficult / Tier 4 = d10

A difficult task that may require multiple hands to complete due to complexity or process. Seen as difficult for those who are masters within their craft.

5.    Intricate / Tier 5 = d12

An intricate task that requires few skilled individuals to perform. Often overseen by a master of great skill supported by a team.

6.    Impossible / Tier 6 = d20

A nigh impossible task for an individual to complete alone. Requires the aid of numerous skilled individuals to manage the difficulty of the processes required.