Two Short Personae (vAny) Mechanics Bits

Obstacles on the fly

Since anything in Personae can be modeled as an identity mechanically speaking, with attributes and traits just like player- and chorus-controlled characters, you can use this model to cook up opponents, enemies, confrontations et. al. at the table in case you need to pivot or improv in the middle of gameplay.

Give the obstacle:

1. A name, a brief description, objective and stakes involved to overcome the obstacle

2. A complexity: how intricate or complicated overcoming the obstacle might entail, representing the number of dice the chorus would roll to challenge or respond with the obstacle (examples below):

   1. 2 dice, straightforward

   2. 3 dice, elaborate

   3. 4 dice, complicated

   4. 5 dice, labyrinthine

3. A difficulty: How much exertion might be involved in overcoming the obstacle, representing the “modifying attribute” added to the die result of the challenge or response rolled (examples below):

   1. +1, tough

   2. +2, demanding

   3. +3, formidable

   4. +4, arduous

   5. +5, grueling

      • this shouldn’t be any more than one(1) greater than the average Potential Threshold of the player characters in the group

4. A risk, how substantial the fallout of failing to overcome the obstacle might be, representing a yield imposed on a player- or other chorus-controlled character responding to a challenge from the obstacle (examples below):

   1. Opponent must yield 1, risky

   2. Opponent must yield 2, threatening

   3. Opponent must yield 3, perilous

5. A vitality, what extent the player-controlled characters must reach in their efforts to overcome the obstacle, effectively the same as a character’s vitality (examples below):

   1. Minion: 2 vitality, no separate containers like player-controlled characters have, no shock before forfeit

   2. Minor: 3 vitality, no separate containers like player-controlled characters have, 2 shock levels only (rattled and distressed) before forfeit

   3. Moderate: 4 vitality, no separate containers like player-controlled characters have, 3 shock levels only (rattled, distressed, stunned) before forfeit

   4. Major: Full vitality suite the same as a player- or chorus-controlled character, 4 full shock levels before forfeit

      • This aligns with the guidelines for allies and adversaries

Concerted Effort

(I’m not thoroughly convinced I’m content with the assisting rules as they stand, so this can either be in addition to them, an alternative or a full replacement thereof.)

Once per scene or encounter, two or more player-controlled characters may challenge by working together instead of challenging individually.

In this instance, the concerted effort is less about the skill and more about a common attribute shared by the type of effort being concerted.

One player-controlled character acts as the coordinator, rolling their skill and acting as the leader of the concerted effort. The other characters that contribute combine their rating in the skill with the coordinator’s, however this can’t take the total # of dice they roll beyond two(2) more than their average Potential Threshold. This applies even if the contributing characters don’t have a skill unlocked so long as the modifying attribute is the same. The coordinator adds their modifying attribute as usual, as if they were challenging individually.

Once the total # of dice is determined, then the challenge is issued the same way individual challenges are issued.

If the challenge inflicts injury successfully, then it delivers a number of hits equal to the total number of characters involved in the concerted effort.