Greetings all,
I am just on-boarding into the 2d20 world via the Fallout Beta (which I will not discuss, don’t worry Modiphius), but I do have a general question about the 2d20 system:
Other than Players buying d20s and Complications being postponed, are there other ways for the GM to generate their meta-currency (Doom, Threat, Etc)?
For instance, unused “momentum” (or whatever) when rolling for an NPC test and exceeding the success threshold.
In a quick scan of the quick start rules for the other systems, only Star Trek adventures mentions this as a source of GM meta-currency. Does it vary system to system?
In the example above, this makes sense if the NPC is hostile to the PCs, but what if they are an allied NPC? Does it make narrative sense for their success to add to the building threat and tension stacking up against the PCs? Would it go to the Players’ pool?
So, Mutant Chronicles doesn’t have NPC Momentum as a default way of generating Dark Symmetry Points… but numerous Dark Legion creatures have the Slave to Symmetry special rule that lets them spend their Momentum in this way (in different ratios - the weakest ones spend 3 Momentum for +1DSP, the most powerful it’s a 1:1 exchange).
Conan and Infinity both allow any NPC to add to Threat with their surplus Momentum.
Star Trek Adventures, in the core rulebook, clarifies that this applies primarily to Adversaries (NPCs working against the player characters); allied NPCs reverse their interactions with Threat (they add to Threat when an enemy NPC would spend), and can be allowed to add to the PCs Momentum pool at GM discretion.
Thanks @Modiphius-Nathan!
Just the answer I came to find. I like the Star Trek Adventures take and the reversed Threat economy for allied NPCs. Reducing threat versus adding to the players momentum resonates with me… but maybe that’s because I don’t like giving my players things.
Ooh, I like using excess Momentum to reduce/increase Threat for NPCs. Using this.
Works well for neutral characters that sometimes help the characters or not, because you can do it dynamically in a scene. NPC does something to further their own interests by helping characters, Threat is reduced by unspent Momentum; scene progresses and the NPC acts to oppose the characters Threat is increased by unspent Momentum.
It also works well with NPC complications that you don’t have a good immediate effect for.
Finally, it also works if you’re running Per Character Momentum, because it resolves the question of who you’d give allied NPC Momentum to.
