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casachiap@gmail.com24 days ago(+1)

Hi! I really like the Deathrace system, but while implementing it for actual play I found a few points where I’m not completely sure how the rules are intended to work. Could you please clarify these?

  1. Rival position on the racetrack
    The rules say Rival Racers are represented abstractly by their Speed Dice on the racetrack. Are those dice supposed to be physically moved from checkpoint to checkpoint during the race?
    If so, what determines when a Rival advances to the next checkpoint?
  2. Do Rival positions affect Checkpoint Rolls?
    If one or more Rivals are at the same checkpoint as a PC, does that have any mechanical effect on the PC’s Checkpoint Roll, or is their position purely narrative and useful for determining who can interact/attack whom?
  3. PC position during the race
    The different Checkpoint Roll outcomes describe keeping pace, falling behind, encountering Hazards, etc., but they do not seem to specify exact movement on the racetrack.
    Should a successful Checkpoint Roll always move a PC to the next checkpoint, while a failure leaves them at the current one? Or is the actual position intended to remain mostly narrative until the Finish Line?
  4. Rivals and Checkpoint Rolls
    Do Rival Racers make any equivalent of a Checkpoint Roll during the race?
    The rules clearly explain their 1d20 + Speed Die roll at the Finish Line, but I could not find an equivalent procedure for moving them through earlier checkpoints.
  5. What is the main purpose of eliminating Rivals?
    Am I correct that reducing a Rival’s Speed Die or causing them to Crash mainly makes them less dangerous - or removes them entirely - from the final ranking at the Finish Line?
    Or should eliminating Rivals also provide some immediate benefit to the party during earlier checkpoints?
  6. Crash & Burn and “the lowest Speed Die among the Rivals”
    This wording confused me a little. When a specific Rival is successfully damaged or impeded, the rule says to roll the lowest Speed Die among the Rivals.
    Does this really mean the lowest die belonging to any remaining Rival, rather than the Speed Die of the Rival that was actually targeted?

For example, if I successfully hit a d12 Rival while another d4 Rival is still racing, do I roll the d4 to determine whether the d12 Rival crashes/degrades?

  1. Which Rival is affected by Crash & Burn?
    If the Crash & Burn roll is based on the lowest Speed Die in the whole Rival group, is the Rival who was originally attacked still the one who crashes or loses a die step? Or does the result affect the Rival associated with that lowest Speed Die?
  2. Burn Rubber vs abstract Rival damage
    The d12 Boost Burn Rubber says it deals Severe damage to all d12 Rivals in Close range.
    However, Rival Racers seem to be tracked only through Speed Dice rather than HP and damage thresholds.

How should Severe damage be resolved against a Rival during a Deathrace?
Does Burn Rubber simply trigger Crash & Burn for every affected d12 Rival?

  1. Multiple targets and Crash & Burn
    Related to Burn Rubber: if an effect damages or impedes several Rivals at once, do you make one Crash & Burn roll for each affected Rival, or only one roll for the entire group?

Thanks!

Stefano

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DNGNCLUB24 days ago (1 edit)

Great Questions! Happy to clarify!

  1. You don't need to track anyone on the racetrack – it's all meant to be abstract. The racing mini-game isn't meant to be a racing simulator, but rather a framework for telling narratives while racing. (You could put them on the track for visual tracking and to add granularity if desired – I just keep the rivals' dice in view of the players.)
  2. No, the idea is that the rivals (and the players) are all moving too quickly to track – once again thinking more in terms of a sports movie than a sporting event, unless the narrative has them way ahead of the players or something else that arises during the game.
  3. PC positions are also maintained abstractly. The most common hazard they will encounter is an attack from a rival. That being said, if it makes sense in the narrative to have the players fall behind, you definitely can have them separate from the pack.
  4. It is assumed the rivals are making their checkpoints – the idea here is to eliminate GM rolling as much as possible to keep the focus on the players and the quick pace of the race. The only check that actually affects the outcome of the race is the final one that everyone makes as a group.
  5. Since teams win collectively, eliminating rivals is a surefire way to win the race. Also, the bingo cards give them rewards that include hurting/humiliating rivals for gold.
  6. Once again, this is meant to be abstract to minimize cognitive load for the GM. But if you have zoomed in on a specific rival and want to apply the crash and burn to them – go for it. The last thing I wanted was to make a race feel slower by adding more bookkeeping for the GM (it was WAY more granular in my first few drafts, and this just helps keep things moving).

Abstract damage and boost – if you are using the DEATHRACE environment, any level of damage – just use the BURN RUBBER rules. But if a player specifically is dealing SEVERE damage, feel free to rule that the dice range could increase from 1–2 for minor damage, 1–3 for major, or 1–4 for severe (increasing it by 1 for each threshold).

But if your players are using RIGS outside of a race, they still use their SPEED DIE when making attacks against normal adversary stat blocks. (Basically, this was a have-your-cake-and-eat-it-too situation, where the lack of space in the zine prohibited me from giving a more detailed explanation.)

As far as multiple targets, I leave that to you and your discretion. A single dice roll keeps things moving, but multiple allows for randomized results. I would say you could switch between methods to match the moment – if things are dragging, you might want to roll less, but if things are tense, you might want to roll each.

The overall philosophy is: keep it simple and quick – until the narrative needs you to zoom in more.

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casachiap@gmail.com24 days ago

Thanks! and again, great job!

Reply
DNGNCLUB24 days ago

Thank you! be sure to let me know when you post the AP so i can watch it!

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