Hello!
This is a neat little system! I’m creating new adventures for my characters and I’m wondering how I could handle non-perilous encounters. For example, if the adventure called for the hero to try and persuade a non-hostile NPC to give them passage on their ship, how could I handle that? Losing resolve/getting injured doesn’t seem right, in the event the hero failed his rolls! I realize that is beyond the scope of the core rules, but it would be a cool addition to implement!
Thanks!
Well, the intent was that "resolve" wouldn't just mean "hit points". It means "ability to continue on continuing on," of which things like injury would be a part, but I was intending it to be more of a measure of how close you are to failure at your quest so that it could explicitly be used for non-combat situations or scenarios. That way, you can imagine the story consequences of a failed roll to be whatever makes sense for your character, the test, and the story.
For example, suppose your rogue is trying to sneak into a tyrant's palace and you fail a check from d8 Armed sentries. What does the resolve loss represent? You might imagine having had to take a few sentries down in a quick fight, and getting injured in the process. But you might instead imagine that you lost precious time because you had to stay hidden in the shadows until they passed. You might imagine them having seen you trying to sneak in and raising the alarm. You might imagine the sentries guarding the easy path and having to find another way in. Any of these would be a valid interpretation for resolve loss, and only one of them represents injuries.
In the case you mentioned, failing to persuade an NPC to give you passage on a ship would certainly seem like a valid setback in the scenario's goals, so it seems in line with how I envisioned resolve to work.
But if you're looking to introduce a test that doesn't run the risk of a resolve setback, say for story purposes, the mechanics of the game as written can handle that – simply ask the player in a lock paragaph to make a check and instead of losing resolve on failure, they just get a different story consequence.
For example:
🔒 The dowager duchess angrily demands an explanation for why you have magically appeared in her chambers carrying a chicken. Make a check against d8 Suspicious circumstances and d8 Better explain yourself quick! If you succeed, she laughs at your predicament and allows you to leave peacefully; skip ahead to the next lock paragraph. If you fail, do not lose any resolve, but she shouts, "Guards!" and you have to leap out the window to escape; advance 1.
