For many actions during a game session, players will simply describe what they are doing and the GM will narrate the outcome of the action.
However, when an action is uncertain and there is a risk, the outcome is instead determined with an Action Roll, consisting of the eight steps described below. These steps blend together once you are familiar with the system and can take up very little time in actual play, but for the sake of clarity, here are the steps, each explained in more detail further below:
This list slightly deviates from the one in the Blades in the Dark SRD but ultimately contains the same steps.
An action roll should be made only when the action challenges the character so that he could succeed or fail, and there are meaningful consequences riding on the outcome. In all other cases, play should continue in narrative form and if needed the GM simply decides upon success or failure.
Action rolls are a complete action resolution. They do not represent an individual swing with a sword, a single twist of a knob or one argument in a discussion. An action roll is an entire exchange of blows in a combat, or an entire attempt at picking a lock or the entire line of arguments convincing someone.
As such, an action roll typically either resolves the situation (one way or the other) or considerably changes the situation in which action then continues.
Action rolls can not typically be simply repeated if the outcome is not suitable. Something has to change in the fiction first.
If the character was attempting to pick a lock and failed, it means his skills or tools are insufficient and if he simply goes at it again, no second roll is made and the outcome is the same.
Note that most of the time, only players roll dice. The actions of NPCs are either resolved during a players roll, for example in combat where a bad outcome on the players action roll means his enemy has hit him, or simply narrated by the GM and the players can resist any consequences using Resistance Rolls.
The player states the concrete outcome that the character is trying to achieve. While this is often clear from the preceding fiction, it is often helpful to clearly state it.
Note that the goal is an outcome. "I attack him" is not a goal. "I want to kill the bastard." is, just like "I want to draw some blood to show I can beat him, then pull back so he can surrender if he wants to.". Both of these goals will result in the same basic action - a melee attack with a weapon - and the same dice being rolled, but can result in different narrative outcomes.
Having a goal to an action is the main difference to many other RPGs, where you as a player state the action you are taking, and a roll resolves that action. In Forged in the Dark systems, the action roll resolves the conflict - all of it. With an action roll, you find out not if you jumped over the wall or spotted the mark, but whether or not you have reached your goal. That means all your obstacles and opposition are figured into the roll, as well as re-tries, different approaches and other complications.
Action rolls are made using the most appropriate ability of the character who is acting. If it is not immediately obvious which ability is most appropriate, the description of the player on how his character is doing the action will inform about it, or the player can be explicitly asked about his approach.
This is also the moment to understand what the threat to the player's goal is. Keep in mind that you only roll the dice if the outcome is in doubt, so by definition there must be something that could go wrong. Understanding what that is helps player and GM figure out what the character is doing and how he is approaching the situation, which leads naturally to understanding which ability is appropriate.
Also check if any details apply and add the bonus die or dice they grant.
In written adventures, you will often find rolls described as "physical (strength)". Read this as rolling on the physical ability and applying the bonus from the strength detail if the character has it.
Many goals can be accomplished in different ways, resulting in a different ability being used and different positions and effects (see below).
For example, to get past a guard you could try pushing him out of the way or intimidating him, rolling physical. Or you can convince, fast-talk or trick him using social. You may even be able to cite the specific law by which he must let you pass rolling mental.
Obviously, whatever approach the player chooses has to make sense both in the fiction and in relation to the ability chosen. The GM can refuse an ability roll that is obviously impossible, or (see below) give it a zero effect.
Now figure out if any characters wants to assist, if the character wants to push himself, if there are dice penalties due to Harm or any other factors influencing the number of dice for the roll and adjust the dice pool accordingly.
Position is determined by how much in control of the situation the acting character is considering his goal and approach, and it determines how bad things can get if he fails. The worse the position, the more serious consequences await the character if he fails. Position can be one of the following:
| Position | Description |
|---|---|
| Controlled | You act on your terms. You exploit a dominant advantage. |
| Risky | You go head to head. You act under fire. You take a chance. |
| Desperate | You overreach your capabilities. You’re in serious trouble. |
Unless circumstances suggest otherwise, risky is the default position.
The GM determines the position and outlines what the consequences of a bad outcome would be. Typically, these consequences can be that the character:
See Consequences for more details.
Effect is determined by what the character is bringing to the action and how much he can influence the outcome of the situation. It describes how well things can get if he succeeds, or in other words: How much progress the chosen action can make towards the stated goal. For things that fill Progress Bars, effect determines how many boxes are marked. Effect can be one of the following:
| Effect | Description | Boxes |
|---|---|---|
| Zero | No matter what, your action won't make a difference. | 0 |
| Limited | You can at best achieve a partial or weak effect. | 1 |
| Standard | You can achieve what would be "normal" within the stated action. | 2 |
| Great | You can achieve more than usual. | 3 |
| Extreme | You have a shot at ending this, right here. | 4 |
Unless circumstances suggest otherwise, standard is (obviously) the default effect.
The GM determines the effect and outlines what the consequences of a success would be, especially taking into consideration the goal the player has stated earlier, the ability and approach used and the circumstances in the fiction. If not obvious, he can also outline what increased effect the player can hope for if he rolls a critical success and what reduced effect he would accomplish on a partial success.
The zero effect is very rarely the initial effect given to an action roll and more likely the result when a limited effect roll is a partial success with reduced effect. However, the GM can give an obviously outlandish and nonsensical approach ("I insult him until he has a heart attack so that I can roll social to kill a guy") a zero effect if he wants to. After all, the player could roll a critical success and gain at least a limited effect out of it.
Check one more time if anything else would affect the roll and if goal, position and effect are clear.
This is also the last opportunity for players to back out and try something else, if they are unhappy with the position, effect, dice pool or whatever.
Note that until the dice are rolled, everything is still open for discussion. That includes reconsidering and not doing the action at all, or spending stress to invoke a flashback to improve the situation, or asking for assistance from other characters, etc. etc.
But once the dice are rolled, there is no "actually..." anymore.
Now the player rolls a number of six-sided dice (or d6 for short) as determined above and looks for the highest number. Only the highest number matters, all other dice are ignored.
When a character must make a roll but his dice available are reduced to zero or less, such as having a -1 dice penalty due to harm on a 1 score ability, you roll 2 dice and take the lower one for the outcome.
Taking into consideration the position, the effect and the result of the action roll, the GM narrates what ultimately happens with the characters action and any effects such as harm and consequences are applied.
| Highest Die | Outcome | Description |
|---|---|---|
| multiple 6s | critical success | Things went as good as they possibly could and you succeed beyond your own expectations. |
| 6 | full success | Things went well. You achieve your intended outcome. Only good things happen. |
| 4-5 | partial success | Things went ok. Some of the intended result was reached, or it was reached at a cost. Good and bad things happen. |
| 2-3 | bad outcome | Things went poorly. Certainly a failure, possibly with negative consequences. |
| 1 | terrible outcome | Everything went wrong. This was not only a total failure, it went about as badly as it possibly could. You suffer serious consequences. |
Unlike many other roleplaying systems, the outcome of a roll is typically determined in some detail before the dice are rolled. When rolling dice first and then deciding the result, situations such as a player going "in that case I would have ..." can occur. In Fallen Empire (and other Forged in the Dark systems in general), both players and GM know the stakes and possible outcomes before dice are rolled, and players have plenty of opportunities to invest Stress or Tension if they don't like the odds, ask other characters to assist or even change their mind entirely and try a different action.
The roll of the dice essentially selects which of the possible outcomes occurs, with the possibilities being clear to players and GM before the dice are rolled.
The "terrible outcome" is an addition to the system. In the Blades in the Dark SRD, 1-3 is a bad outcome and nothing special happens on a 1. Fallen Empire adds the possibility of a critical failure or fumble.
Note that since you only ever count the highest die, a 1 as a result of the action roll can only occur when all your dice are a 1. The probability for that is about 3% if you roll 2 dice and half a percent when you roll 3 dice and less than a tenth of a percent with more than that, so these outcomes are very rare.
Also note that "terrible outcome" is often omitted and included in "bad outcome" in most tables, to simplify things. On a "terrible outcome" the GM may add additional complications, if he wants to.
If due to a partial success or worse you suffer consequences, you can choose to resist them by spending Stress and making a resistance roll or using another option to resist.
After resolving the action roll, play continues as normal.
Some more information on how action rolls are intended to be used by the author of Blades in the Dark can be found at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OAl85kYCWro