Challenges

A framework to represent tasks, obstacles, enemies, and scenarios that have greater tenacity and complexity than a single action can accomplish. Challenges allow you to track progress towards them, but also proactively oppose the PCs. Each has 2 bonus suspense to be spent on moves relating to it, and a task pool to represent its tenacity or complexity. They can also have:

Interpret these short, evocative phrases as fit the situation. Keep your own created challenges similarly brief and flexible. Some uses:

Building Challenges

  1. Assign a task pool (4d, 6d, 8d) for its tenacity.
  2. Add traits (1 or 2) that shape the situation. Skip the obvious (storm is windy) and highlight what matters (strong winds are blinding). Keep them brief and evocative.
  3. List short, punchy moves (2 or 3) with flexible interpretations. These are examples, not limits. You can spend bonus suspense on other moves, or trigger these when an impact move is prompted by something else.
  4. Define a fail state, a specific trigger that prevents that challenge from being accomplished. Avoid obvious outcomes (dying in a fight) and focus on what creates tension (breaking a code of honor). Players should know the fail state unless mystery is part of the fun — and even then, make it clear one is in play.

Note: Not all of these parts are needed for a challenge.

Using Challenges

Challenges are for moments of narrative importance. They make whatever you assign them to a proactive element in the story. Use them to spotlight what’s happening — not because it’s harder, but because it deserves proper screen time and presence. Introduce challenges at times like:

Linked Challenges

Linked challenges are greater, more complex interactions, like epically powerful enemies or unbelievably tense social situations. Each part of the whole has its own proactive presence in the scene. Give them traits that prompt impact moves, triggered by the fiction for dynamic interactions.

Examples