2d10 Seven Circles - 2021

Systems
Core System
- advanced tag, magic tag

Action Tests: Basic System: roll pool

What and When to test
- Player facing
- relatively rolls light
- Action test represent things that are already challenging (is difficulty). Don’t roll for ‘easy’ or
‘normal’ tasks under regular circumstances.
- tests are taken when something meaningful is at stake.

Rolling the Dice

- roll pool: d6 dice equal to stat + skill (+ modifiers)
- roll pool: looking to generate ‘hits’
- ‘hits’ are generated on a certain number on the dice, depending on difficulty. As standard 4+
- amount of ‘hits’ gained = degree of success

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- roll dice pool: 2d10 (+ modifiers/penalties) Vs Target Number (TN.)

- Target Number (TN.): attribute (+ modifiers/bonuses)
- equal or under skill = 1 success.
- additional success: equal or under skill threshold, succeed or fail.

- amount of hits gained = degree of success.

i.e. Daud (PC) is trying to climb over a wall. He has a brawn of 11 and is practised in the Athletics
skill. Daud’s player rolls the dice and gets 3 and 8, for a total of 11. Daud has 2 hits (full success),
one for rolling equal or under their attribute and one for rolling equal or under their skill threshold
on one of the dice. He gets over the wall with no cost.

Degrees of Success
- outcome table: Degree of Success
--- resounding failure (failure + 2 costs)
--- failure (failure + cost)
--- mixed success (success + cost)
--- success (success)
--- resounding success (success + boon)

Critical (Resounding) Failure (No Hits, at least one 1 on dice)

- Oh dear
- 2 costs
- +1 XP
Failure (No Hits),
- the action isn’t successful
- take a cost (or more, dependant on threat)

Weak (Qualified) Success (1 Hit)

A qualified success or success at some sort of cost or twist.
Often the most difficult but fun, interesting and rewarding test result to judge.

- Choose to fail (side box, optional rule): If a character really doesn’t want the cost as the price for
success, a player can choose to fail. The action doesn’t succeed but the cost isn’t incurred.

Full Success (2 Hits)

- Yay, it worked. Exactly as planned…...of course.
- no cost or boon

Strong (Resounding) Success (3 Hits)

In many ways, the opposite of qualified success. Many of the same guideline still apply.
The actions succeeds and gains an additional boon.

Critical rolls: Double 1’s and 10’s

- always succeed / fail
- rare that they wouldn’t already have succeeded / failed anyway.

Costs and Boons

--- costs
--- boons

Guidelines:
- the action is still successful, at least in intent by-enlarge (see limited success below).
- the cost(s) should be driven by the narrative and what makes sense.
- get players involved by giving them a choice. (give them a choice, don’t let them straight choose
the one they want)

Example costs:
- health damage
- stress damage
- gear wear
- resource roll
- expend (additional) resource
- negative momentum
- takes more time
- drop/loose something / leave evidence
- limited success (close distance but don’t catch them etc.)

Examples boons:
- recover stress
- positive momentum
- takes less time
- expends less resources
- gain an extra (piece of info, more distance etc.)
- ‘buy off’ cost

Action Test Modifiers

Not all actions are equal. There may be times when you want to be able to represent particularly
difficult or dangerous actions. Equally, there may be moments when the circumstances are in a
characters favour or they are receiving a useful boost or help. In Gateway Knights, these are all
dealt with by applying modifiers to the Action Test when it is being taken. There are three types of
modifier in Gateway Knights; Situational, Threat and Dice Pool. What they are, and how and when
to use them, is described below.

Difficulty, Modifiers and Action Tags

This section explains how Difficulty (Dv.) works in the game. Every test you make will have an
associated Difficulty Value. It also goes in to detail about the different ways you can affect how the
core Action Test operates, to help mechanically represent the varying situations of your fiction.

Difficulty
- A measure of the challenge or complexity posed by a task or opponent.
- Difficulty Values (Dv.): range from 0 to 5
- 0) easy
- 1) straightforward
- 2) challenging
- 3)
- 4)
- 5) Heroic

Modifiers: Help and Hindrance

‘Static’ Modifiers
- simplified
- +/- 1 bonus or penalty
- bonus: + add to dice pool, penalty: - take from dice pool
- bonuses and penalties stack, unless stated otherwise (equipment bonus from armour, multiple
weapons etc.)
- common occurrences: equipment, wounds and injuries, conditions, combat
--- equipment (+1d6 for useful equipment)
--- focus spend (+1d6 per point of focus spent)
--- combat (range, 2 weapon)
--- injuries and conditions

Action Tags

Advantage and Disadvantage: Situational Modifiers

- situational complexity or easing
- advantage and disadvantage
- advantage: roll 3 d10, take 2 lowest
- disadvantage: roll 3 d10, take 2 highest
--- going forward and momentum

Situational modifiers are used to represent the difficulty of an action, how complex or challenging it
may be for the character taking it. Situational modifiers are character and action specific. This
means that it could be the case that multiple PC’s talk to the same NPC at the same time, but
different situational modifiers. It’s also possible that a PC could talk to the same NPC on different
occasions and have different situational modifiers on each occasion etc.

In Gateway Knights, Situational Modifiers are simplified to concepts of advantage and

disadvantage. When something is easier or in the characters favour it’s advantageous, so they have
Advantage. When an action is challenging or complex, or things aren’t in the characters favour, it’s
disadvantageous, so the character has Disadvantage. It’s as simple as that. The GM will let you
know if one or the other applies to the test you are making.

When a character takes an action test with advantage, they ‘hit’ with any dice that rolls 3+,
instead of 4+. When a character takes an action test with disadvantage, they ‘hit’ with any
dice that rolls 5+, instead of 4+.

Whilst it is common for advantage and disadvantage to be applied to a test by the GM, they may
also come from other sources, such as equipment, talents or injuries and conditions. The individual
entries for these will let you know what to apply and when. Below is a very quick example of
situational modifiers being applied to a test.

- offset and don’t stack

i.e. We’ll use the same example as earlier. Daud (PC) is trying to climb over a wall. He has a
brawn of 1 and is seasoned (+2 dice) in the Athletics skill. Daud’s player rolls three dice (1+2) and
gets 3, 4 and 5, for a total of 2 hits (full success). He gets over the wall with no cost. If he were
rolling at Advantage (3+ hits) he would have 3 hits, a resounding success and he’s flown over the
wall, gaining a boon. If he were rolling at disadvantage (5+ hits) he would have 1 hit, a qualified
success. The climb was tricky, he’s made it over but he has to take a cost.

going forward and momentum

Threat: Action at a Danger and Cost

- Situations that are particularly dangerous or costly
- +1 cost on any result apart from a resounding success
- Critical Threat: +1 cost on any result

Sometimes you know it’s just going to hurt, it doesn’t really matter what you do. Where as
situational modifiers are concerned with challenge and complexity, Threat represents actions that
are dangerous or likely to be costly in some way. You’re unlikely to get away with it ‘scot-free’.

When Threat is applied to an action test, an additional cost is incurred on every outcome
apart from a resounding success. This means a total of; 3 costs for resounding failure, 2 costs
for failure or qualified success and 1 cost for full success. As with all costs, the cost incurred
from Threat can be ‘bought off’ by spending Focus Points or using a boon (see pg. xxx)

Threat and situational modifiers are independent of each other. This means that an action can be
threatening but not advantageous/disadvantageous and visa versa. They can also stack with each
other (in any combination) if appropriate. If an action is threatening and disadvantageous it’s not a
situation any PC should want to be in, but it does pick out that action (and test) as particularly tense
or meaningful.

‘Critical’ Threat
Critical Threat is there to represent the most dangerous and costly situations. It operates just like
Threat, only worse. When an action is critically threatening, there is +1 cost applied to any result of
the test, including resounding success. The cost incurred by critical threat can be ‘bought off’ as
normal.

Game Structure – Scenes: Structuring the Game

- generally just flow, like a good book or film
- tries to support the fiction and narrative by providing some structural guidance.
- limits, and helps to define, time and some actions
- PC’s in different scene types at the same time

Running Scenes
Scenes are a way for the game to provide some structure to play. They help to split up and define
time and activities in game. Scenes also serve to help define and limit some of the abilities (Talents)
in the game, some may only be available in certain types of scene, a limited amount of times per
scene, or both. Scenes will generally just flow naturally from the fiction you’ve created and the
needs of gameplay, but always feel free to ask the GM if you need clarification. A simple example
of how they might flow and come up in the fiction is below:

e.g. You’ve made your way to the disused warehouse at the spaceport (exploration scene) and the
team are investigating it for clues (exploration scene). During the investigation, you’re ambushed
by local ‘thugs’ (action scene).

A quick outline of the different types of scene is provided below and more in-depth detail is given
in the Scenes chapter later in this book (pg. xxx).

Multiple Scenes
PC’s don’t have to be in the same scenes, particularly if they are not all in the same place at the
same time. This is fine and not to be worried about or avoided. They could be in different
exploration scenes; some checking out an abandoned grav-van while others are sitting in a local bar,
chatting to a contact. They also don’t have to be in the same types of scene; some could be in an
action scene (escaping the police that have also turned up to check out the van) while the others are
in an exploration scene (having a chat with the contact). As with scenes normally, these situations
will just come about naturally from the flow of the fiction and shouldn’t be any more difficult to run
or manage (outside the usual issues for a GM running the game when the party has split).

‘Dropping in’ Scenes

You can also insert, or ‘drop in’, scenes into other scenes. This is most common, but not always, if
you want to focus in on a particular activity or interaction during a downtime scene or switch
between scenes that are happening concurrently. e.g. ‘Dropping in’ on a round (or more) of a
combat while the rest of the party is in an exploration scene can be a really effective way of keeping
players engaged and the party and fiction feeling more cohesive. As with PC’s in different scenes
above, this is absolutely fine, just be guided by the fiction, how it seems to be naturally flowing and
the needs of your game.

Exploration Scenes
Exploration scenes are essentially the ‘base state’ of the game and the most common type of scene.
Any situation or activity that isn’t covered by a need for action or downtime is an exploration scene.
‘Exploration’ in this context is very broad. They can cover all investigation, more focussed travel
scenes (tracking, choosing which way to go etc.), social interaction, puzzle solving, stealth and
avoidance etc. These are just a few of the sorts of activities that can come up during a game.

Exploration scenes can also be used to cover all of the activities of Action or Downtime scenes if
needed. You may want a chase scene to be over quickly or not as much of a focus. Making it an
action scene can sometimes slow down the game. In this case you just ask the PC’s what they are
doing and then treat it as a skill based action test (or linked set of them) with no need to worry about
initiative, specific actions on specific turns etc. Alternatively, you may want to give more focus to a
certain shopping scene as the PC’s are looking for a particular item, or a particular social interaction
when a character is networking. These can just be played out in more detail as needed with
exploration scenes.
Action Scenes (inc. combat)
Action scenes are used on any occasion where you seem to need a more granular approach to time,
or to know which actions take place in what order. Common examples include combat encounters,
intense chase and escape scenes, races etc. They are formed of rounds, that represent about 5 to 10
seconds of time, in which each character can take their turn to perform actions. Which order
characters act in (take their turn) is determined by their initiative.

Action scenes are probably the most complex types of scenes with by far the most additional rules
governing them. Due to their extra rules they can be really good for tense periods of short lived but
intense activity. They can, however, slow down play at times. For this reason, some GM’s may wish
to avoid them where possible (see exploration scenes above) and only use them when they really
want to focus on something. The full outline and rules for Action Scenes and Combat can be found
on pg. xxx.

Downtime Scenes
Downtime scenes, in some ways, are the opposite to Action Scenes. They represent extended
periods of time, covered with less detail and focus than may usually be the case. The exact relations
of actions may also not be as important, ‘X does Y, A does B during the evening / your week off’
etc. who acts first or second is not as relevant. They are the montage in a movie or the connecting
and travelling chapters in a novel etc. They help to tie off loose ends or get jobs done quickly in
game, so you can get back to the sort of action you want to spend the game time focussing on.

As a general rule, Downtime scenes tend to use less action tests and more narrative description to
resolve their activities, especially when compared to the in game time being covered by the scene.
Its more than possible that a player would just describe what their character has been up to for their
downtime. The GM may ask for one test to represent an entire months worth of the character’s
social networking, if they ask for one at all. Below is a list of common ‘downtime’ activities:

---- Rest and Recovery

---- Research
---- Crafting or Building
---- Travelling
---- Training
---- Shopping
---- Social Networking
---- General work and progress

Running Scenes
- generally just flows, like a good book or film
- tries to support the fiction and narrative by providing some structural guidance.
- limits, and helps to define, time and some actions
- PC’s in different scene types at the same time

Exploration Scenes
-
-
Action Scenes (inc. combat)
----- initiative: narrative or roll for it, both can be useful and used as needed/appropriate.

----- 1 Movement (move, simple interaction, take cover, take aim, recovery)
Movements are activities that mainly involve positioning, preparation/recovery or quick
interactions. They are rarely the main focus of a characters narrative action and often support the
activity the character is performing, taking aim before firing, moving to engage an enemy so they
can attack, recovering so that they can act etc.

----- 1 Action (any movement, complex interaction, attack, use talent/spell, disengage, misc.)
most involved or complex activities are actions.

----- 1 Interruption (block/dodge, opportunity attack, use held)

Interruptions are activities that are done in response to other actions, blocking an attack, taking a
swipe at someone as they try to move away from you etc.

----- Free Actions (drop prone, one simple interaction, say something simple, extras from talents)
Free actions cover activities that are either very quick, easy or subconscious to perform. They are
also the sorts of activity that might be performable whilst taking other actions, e.g. a simple
interaction (drawing a weapon etc.) while moving or ‘as part of’ the attack the character makes.

----- misc. (use which ever feels best to represent, usually an action. Use above options as guide.)

Combat
- two weapon (+1 penalty, light only, +half damage of second weapon. can use the special
properties of either weapon, but not both)
- range (+1 penalty beyond standard range)
- cover (+1 or 2 penalty, light and heavy cover)
- mounted (+1 penalty???)
- height (adv./dis., as needed)

Downtime Scenes
---- research
---- crafting/building
---- rest and recovery
---- general work

- state

(activities during those scenes)

links
-little bits of description between scenes, like quick resets or linking sentences.
Other Systems
Focus Points
- player specific pool
- pool of spendable points
(- points equal to 1 + the characters Will.)

- extra d6
- buy off costs
- buy a boon (inc. advantage)
- second wind
- extra action
- use talent

Story Points
- collective group pool
- part of replacing inspiration.
- group pool of spendable points.

- most basic use is to introduce additional costs and boons into the narrative. This is most
commonly done when tests aren’t called for or being taken, but could also be to supplement any test
that are taken.

- the other use is for narrative obstacles and/or opportunities.

Condition Tags
- Wounded

Non-Standard (Complex) Tests

- Extended Tests
-PvP
Extended Tests
- use fronts and clocks

Communal Tests
- help, +1d6
- help, advantage
- group actions
--- front and clock

Fronts and Clocks

- move to be with this stuff rather than the GM’s Bit

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npc’s
- tiers and levels set base ‘statistics’ for the npc
- tiers: grunt/regular, elite/veteran, captain/boss
- levels: 1 to 5

- difficulty: grunt = standard, elite = hard, captain = devilish

- hp: grunt = 5 x level, elite = 10 x level, captain = 20 x level
- damage: grunt = 1 x level, elite = 2 x level, captain = 3 x level
- dice: grunt = 2, elite = 4, captain = 6
- strengths and weaknesses: advantage and disadvantage. More open areas than PC skills.
- traits: features and talents they have
- equipment: if necessary. weapon damage replaces base. Dice bonuses are usually ignored. If
profile given, equipment effects included in profile

Ganger (Grunt 2)
Diff.: Standard Hp: 10 Damage: 2
Strengths:
Weaknesses: discipline
Traits: none
Equipment: light armour (dr 1), knife (melee, light), tough clothing

story points
- narrative complications or opportunities
- chance for GM to screw with regular (easy/normal) actions by adding cost etc.