In most popular roll play games, players fight monsters or humanoid enemies simply because they exist. In Satisfiction, you are encouraged to handle that differently. Remember the first thing you read about fights here?
(Duplicated from the Rolling for Fun & Fortune chapter)
Your enemies are Characters controlled by the GM. Their agendas directly oppose the ones of your Characters. That means they will work against you, but does not mean they will attack on sight. As a GM, pay some thought to a convincing display of aggression before escalating a situation into a fight. As a player, try to:
- Sneak around your enemies, or create a distraction to divert their attention
- Resolve a fight while it brews up: Use intimidation [PWR], deceit [FIN], authority [VOL], reason [WIS], or bribery
- Use magic to change the situation drastically
So before engaging openly, think of another way. Maybe you can lure the hungry monster away or scare it off. Maybe you can talk to your adversary.
These are the main concepts that regulate how fighting works in Satisfiction.
Fights happen in turns. In every turn, each player takes an Action, then the next turn starts. After each player Action, the GM will act with an enemy (preferably one that has been directly affected by that Action).
The turn order isn’t fixed. Players plan ahead to find out who goes first. Just make sure that everyone has acted once, and only once, before starting the next turn.
Hey GM: it’s okay to lose track of enemies that are currently not important to the fight. Focus on the story - not the rules.
<aside> 🪶 Generally, fight is not to be played by the book. Interesting situations arise when players jump on the back of trolls, try to climb up a rock face to throw down a boulder or hide in the shadow of an exceptionally big orc.
Always allow for creative solutions and glorious things will happen.
</aside>
An Action consists of a Free Action and a roll that is based on an Attribute of the GM’s choosing. A Free Action can be spent to use an item of your inventory, switch weapons or to do any other small task that your GM allows.
In a fight, circumstances that make it harder to attack certain enemies or to reach other goals will be represented as Obstacles. An Obstacle is defined by a Risk value (that is 3 or higher) and a trigger phrase. As an example, let’s take a beast that is protected by thick scaling:
If you attempt something that is hindered by an Obstacle (if the trigger applies), then the Risk for your roll rises. Unhindered attacks have a Risk of 2.
<aside> 🪶
A beast with thick scales will pose a challenge to a direct approach using power or volition. Using finesse, however, will allow our adventurers to strike at weak spots. The trick with Obstacles is finding a loophole in their trigger.
</aside>
Obstacles are a tool the GM can use to make combat more tactical and interesting. She creates Obstacles at the beginning of combat or in appropriate situations. She either tells players openly about the new Obstacles’ Risk and trigger, or hints at their existence through clear descriptions.
Players can create Obstacles, too. They can use their turn to create an Obstacle by describing their approach and rolling with an Attribute the GM chooses. The Obstacles’ Risk is determined by the number of Successes. This way, they can lay traps for their enemies, block their way, demoralise them, protect someone or something, prepare to dodge attacks or let arrows rain down on anyone that tries to cross a certain area.
In combat, every player can only have one Obstacle active at a time. If a player wishes to keep their Obstacle active on their following turn, they have to spend a Success to do so. Otherwise the Obstacle vanishes after the roll.
Players Obstacles
GM Obstacles
Rules