Complications & Dangers Chart

image from ArtBreeder

filed under soloing on 15 Dec 2016
tagged solo, solo gaming, tool, emulator, random chart, and solo frameworks

I love Lady Blackbird and I am having a passionate thing with Ghost/Echo and I am fondly affectionate towards Otherkind.

But thinking up complications and dangers in play is hard and I feel like I wimp out a lot, going for the easy, Mary Sue complications over the more painful, interesting ones. And I tend to lack variety in my complications because there’s no GM to push and pull against creatively.

In 6 Hours to Midnight one of the Complications for any given roll is already defined for you; you roll or choose from a list. In Ghost/Echo you have a selection of moves that indicate when you’ll roll and there’s an inherent Danger spelled out for each.

So what if there were a nice big 30 element chart you could roll on to pick reasonably sensible complications so you couldn’t wimp out?

Simple Otherkind mechanic you can ignore if you’re just here for the complications

Your hero has a goal, or you wouldn’t be rolling. That’s the Goal. Roll twice on the Dangers & Complications chart, rerolling duplicates, and interpret each result as a complication or danger that might come to pass in the context of the current situation.

Once you have established a Goal and two or more Complications, roll a d6 for each goal and complication and assign the results as you please.

On a 1 - 2, the goal is failed, the way is closed. The complication or danger comes to pass.

On a 3 - 4, the goal is a partial success, the way is still open, or there’s still hope of progress. The complication or danger is only partly realized.

On a 5 - 6, the goal is a complete success. The complication or danger is averted.

Interpreting Results

When interpreting the Dangers & Complications results, ground the result as much as you can in the existing situation; if you can’t think of a way to make it fit, reroll if you must, or delay the complication a bit until you see an opportunity to enact it.

You can always hold a complication or danger for the right moment. And sometimes the danger or complication is just out of left field, didn’t see that coming, totally never would have guessed that land. Maybe an NPC’s plans just succeeded behind the scenes or maybe it’s just really bad luck.

Be as specific as you can. “A broken leg” is better than “I’m hurt” or “I take damage” for “suffer harm”. “I fall madly in love” or “I’m so angry I can’t see straight” is better than “I’m upset” for “suffer an emotion”.

Dangers & Complications (d30)

       
1 You suffer harm. 2 You are slowed down.
3 Someone learns something you’d rather they didn’t. 4 One of your worst qualities hinders you.
5 One of your best qualities is used against you. 6 You are caught in the act.
7 You attract unwanted attention. 8 You are put in a bad position.
9 Something goes out of control. 10 Something malfunctions and is no longer usable.
11 Someone taunts you or reveals your failings. 12 You look foolish.
13 You take a physical condition. 14 You suffer an emotion.
15 You are made emotionally vulnerable. 16 You are made physically vulnerable.
17 You discover something you’d rather not. 18 Someone’s feelings toward you deepen or change.
19 A trauma from your past hinders you. 20 Something you did in the past comes back to bite you.
21 One of your long-term goals is set back significantly. 22 One of your cherished dreams or illusions is shattered.
23 Someone you don’t want to will suffer harm. 24 Someone’s regard for you changes.
25 A part of you you cherish will be tarnished or lost. 26 Something you did yesterday comes back to bite you.
27 One of your weakness will be revealed. 28 One of your secrets will be revealed.
29 The environment changes for the worse. 30 You are forced to compromise.