The Campaign Builder's Guild

Challenges

Skill use involves a Skill Challenge, combat a Combat Challenge. In both cases, the player rolls the dice to get a Bonus Number, then adds or subtracts that number from the appropriate rating (Skill Rating or Attack Rating) to get a total.

This total is compared to a Challenge Rating to get the Result. The higher the Result, the better the character did.

Declarations

A Declaration is a short, vivid, in-character description of a desired action. "I whip the horses to get the carriage to go faster." "I leap from the car to the truck." "I try and clear the jam."

If the player describes their action in terms of a Declaration, rather than rules-speak, they gain a +1 bonus to a Skill or Combat Challenge.

Rolling the Dice

The game uses 2 10-sided dice of different colors, typically numbered 0-9 (0 representing "10"). One color dice is the Hot dice, the other the Cold dice.

The player rolls the dice and discards the larger of the two. If the remaining dice is Hot, he adds the number to his Skill or Combat Rating. If it is Cold, he subtracts it.

If the dice are tied, nothing is added or subtracted. This result, rolling doubles, means that some kind of good or bad luck has happened, in addition to the outcome of the Challenge. (Rolling doubles causes double the outcome: Doubles Double-up.)

Example: If the Hot die is a 5, and the Cold die a 1, the Hot die is discarded; the Bonus is a -1. If the Hot die is a 3, and the Cold a 4, the Cold is discarded; the Bonus is +3. If both roll 10, use neither; the Bonus is +0.

The number rolled (the Bonus) will vary from +9 to 0 to -9, depending. A skill of 8 (Average) can produce results from -1 (Bonus of -9) to 17 (Bonus of +9.)

Doubles Double Up

When you roll Doubles on a Challenge, you determine the outcome normally. Then you look at the dice, to see which doubles you rolled:

Low Doubles (1-5): Mishap, something bad happens. A key piece of equipment is dropped (or broken), the character trips and falls, their ammo runs out, etc.

High Doubles (6-10): Breakthrough, something good happens. The character notices a clue they weren't looking for, they get a bonus to the next Challenge of that skill, unexpected help arrives.

In general, Mishaps are worse if you Failed, and Breakthroughs are better if you Succeeded, but both are entirely unrelated to the Challenge.

If you're shooting, and roll Double 7′s, you don't shoot better. Instead, something nice happens (whether you Succeed or Fail).

This mechanic means you can Fail, and still have something good happen. It means you can Succeed and have something go wrong. Both can occur in the real world and action movies, so both can occur in the game.

RPG's are a game. As a designer and gamemaster you want people to love the experience of play so much, they come back and back and back. As a designer or GM, you win when the players have fun.

How to do that?

RPG's are most compelling when you have (a) characters who (b) have goals, who (c) face obstacles to achieving those goals and (d) eventually overcome.

Buy-in to the character. Buy-in to the goal. Buy-in to being determined in the face of setbacks. Vividly experiencing the world (at times). Immersion in the character (at times).

But the most important part is buy-in to the goal and overcoming challenges. The first makes the game compelling, the second makes it memorable.

Compelling play. Memorable victories. That's how you "win" RPG's.

And compelling play comes from many different things. Vivd depictions of the world. Mechanics that are fun to play with. Challenges that are novel, not "another damn orc." Worlds that are intriguing and which offer mysteries.

Make the in-game play exciting, so they are motivated to participate. Make the victory sweet, so they will remember how much fun they had and want to do it again.

That's an awesome RPG.

Infinity aspires to aid GM's in doing that.

Challenge Rating

Here are the Challenge ratings for Skill use, and what they mean.

CR	Description
0	Routine
5	Easy
8	Moderate
10	Difficult
15	Formidable
20	Grueling
25	Monumental
30	Nearly Impossible

Routine: "Don't even think about it." A task so easy, you barely notice performing it. Even rank amateurs and raw recruits usually succeed at Routine tasks.

Easy: "That seems pretty easy." A relatively simple task, something amateurs find too complex, and entry-level workers find challenging, but competent professionals almost always succeed at. Ex.: Taking off or landing an airplane in clear weather. Diagnosing a common disease. Swimming a mile.

Moderate: "That's complicated." This sort of task is the bread-and-butter of veterans (who usually succeed), but the untried and inexperienced find them daunting. Ex.: A reporter writing a newspaper column or story.

Difficult: "This isn't a job for greenies." Veterans often succeed at these sorts of tasks, and standout members of a profession nearly always succeed, but entry level employees usually fail.

Formidable: "We need a specialist." Something seasoned characters struggle to achieve, but luminaries usually succeed at.

Grueling: "Only 6 people in the world understand this theory." A task one of the best in the world fails at, more often than not.

Monumental: "There's only one man for the job." Tasks the foremost expert fails at most times.

Nearly Impossible: "No one could make that shot." Even a DaVinci or Napoleon finds these tasks difficult, failing more than half the time.

(Note: Obviously, I need to fill in more examples. As I work on defining individual skills, and what Challenge Ratings mean in those skills, I will fill in the chart.)

Determining Success

To determine success, the Challenge Rating is subtracted from the Skill Total to get a Result. For most Skill Challenges, the Result is read as a Success Rating. Each higher Success Rating represents a better and better outcome for the character.

Result	Success Rating	Description
-1 or Less	0 SR	Failure
0	0 SR	Complication
1-4	1 SR	Success
5-9	2 SR	Solid Success
10+	3 SR	Spectacular Success
+5	+1 SR	Spectacular Success +

-1 Result Rating or lower is a Failure. The character failed at the Challenge.

0 Result Rating is a Complication. The character has neither succeeded nor failed at the task. (More details on Complications later.)

1 Success Rating is a Success. The character barely succeeded at the task.

2 SR is a Solid Success. They did well at the task. Not outstanding, but well.

3 SR is a Spectacular Success. The character did remarkably well, enough to earn compliments or admiration for their accomplishment.

Every 5 Result higher than 10 (15, 20, 25, etc.) is an additional SR. For normal skill use, these results aren't used, treat them like a Spectacular Success. Some rules will refer to higher Success Ratings. See those rules for details.

Design Notes: Picking CR's

Each Challenge Rating is associated with a label and a catchphrase. The label and phrase are designed to give gamemasters a feel for how difficult something is.

"Driving in snow? That's not a walk in the park, but most drivers can do it. CR 5."

"Driving 60 MPH in a heavy blizzard? That's pretty hard. CR 10."

"Driving 60 MPH in a whiteout blizzard, on a winding mountain trail, while being shot at? I think that's incredibly difficult to do. CR 30."

With a little experience, GM's are expected to eyeball CR's, rather than referring to a static list every time. I rely on their judgment to make the call.

And, if a GM isn't comfortable with that, they can always fall back on the CR charts in the skill descriptions.



Design Notes: Describing Success

There are four main outcomes: you failed, you barely made it, you did it, and "That was a great shot, kid!" There is a limited selection of clearly distinct outcomes, meaning gamemasters should be able to describe them to players clearly.

"You miss the rope ladder and fall on your face."

"You grab the ladder, just barely, and climb aboard as the helicopter is pulling away."

"You grab the ladder and climb towards the door. One of the goons leans out and begins shooting."

"You grab the ladder and scale it quickly. You get to the door just as the goon is beginning to lean out."

Meaningful feedback that translates easily into vivid descriptions. That's the goal.

Complications

In order to defeat a Challenge, you must beat the Challenge. This means at least 1 Result Rating.

A Result Rating of 0 doesn't succeed, but it doesn't fail either. Instead, it causes a Complication.

The character can still succeed at the Challenge, but further effort is required. They can use the same skill at a -3, or they can try and approach the problem from a new angle, using a different skill to attempt the Challenge.

Example: The party needs to jump over a wide gorge. Most of the party made the leap, but one got 0 Result Rating, a Complication.

The GM rules that he can't try jumping again, so he can either climb to the top (with a climbing total) or the rest of the party can try and pull him up (with a lifting total).

The GM has final say on which is appropriate, or what other skills can be used. Different skills might have higher or lower Challenge Rating, depending on the skill.

When to Roll

Challenges are intended to be challenging; they don't occur in everyday circumstances. You don't roll when it's a sunny day and you're chatting with the mailman... But rather when it's a dark and stormy night, and some ugly thug is shooting at you, and your car is freaking ON FIRE! You roll, you only ever roll, when:

1.) The outcome is important to the adventure.
2.) The CR is equal or greater than the character's skill.
3.) The player chooses to.

Or, most importantly, when...

4.) Significant adverse conditions apply. ("I must shoot this thing now!" or "There's no light in here, and the grues are getting closer. Where's my damn dagger?")

And that's not everyday life. That's complicated, difficult... Challenging. (Hence the term.)

When the stress is on, when there's something riding on the outcome, when the stuff is hitting the fan, that's when you roll a Challenge. The rest of the time, assume Success and move on.

Tell Them the CR

Players, to understand the game world, need the GM to describe it. Descriptions can sometimes be enhanced by just telling them the CR they are rolling against.

They want to pick a lock. The character should know approximately how difficult that should be. The easiest and clearest way to let the player know the same thing their character should, is just to tell them.

"What kind of lock is it?"
"It's a thick padlock, probably CR 15."

Some caveats:

• Don't skimp on the description. Just because you're giving the CR straight out, doesn't mean you are absolved of the need to describe the world. Tell them what things look like, smell like, feel like, then give them the CR. It's your job.
  

• If they lack the skill, tell them squat. They haven't earned the knowledge, the character wouldn't have that information, so the player doesn't get it.
  

• Always give yourself some wriggle room. Sometimes, circumstances are different than they appear. In such cases, things are more difficult than they seem. Instead of giving the players the true CR (information they can't know) or lying to them, just say something like "You think it's a CR 15." "It appears to be pretty standard, CR 8." "It should be pretty easy, CR 5." Do this all the time, so they don't know when you're giving them the straight CR or when you're hiding something unpleasant.
  

Infinity is all about in-character immersion and vivid description. CR's, used right, can be a critical part of that.

When it comes to CR's, don't be coy. Tell them, and a lot of potential misunderstandings will be cleared up or avoided entirely.

Coordination

Characters are capable of working together to achieve a task. This is called Coordinating on a Challenge. Whatever the circumstances, the core rules for Coordinating on a Challenge are the same.

All characters generate Skill Totals. The highest Skill Total is the base Total. Every other Skill Total that beats a CR 0 (Routine) adds +1 to this base Total to get the final Skill Total.

Example: Three characters are scrutinizing a crime scene. They all generate search totals: a 14, a 10, and a -1. The final search total for the group is 15 (highest 14 + 1 coordinating). Had the third character gotten a 1 or better instead of a -1, the group's search total would have been a 16.

There are a few caveats.

In order to adjudicate the characters' action, the GM needs to know what they are attempting. A Declaration is highly encouraged (and worth a +1 to the base Total).

"We want to talk the judge into letting us go." "We want to make the mob think a giant is coming." "We need to fix this car."

This Declaration lets the GM know which skill is appropriate. This is the primary skill, and is used to adjudicate any Success Ratings or Result Ratings.

By default, all characters generate totals with the identified primary skill. If they lack points in the skill, they roll Untrained.

Coordinating with Multiple Skills

Sometimes, characters will lack points in the skill being used. With the GM's permission, they can use a different, but related skill in the Coordination attempt.

Example: If the characters are attempting to fix a car, that's a mechanic Challenge. A character without the mechanic skill can attempt to coordinate, if they have a skill the GM agrees can aid the attempt. Knowledge (electrical engineering) could be appropriate, for example.

In such cases, the original skill is the primary skill. This represents what the group is attempting to achieve. The highest primary Skill Total is the base Total. Even if a related Skill Total is higher, it only adds a +1.

Example: While fixing the car, the mechanic rolls a Skill Total of 12, and the electrical engineer a Total of 16. The base Total is 12, because that's the primary skill. This is increased by +1, because the knowledge (electrical engineering) total beat a CR 0. The final total is 13 (12 + 1).

The GM has final say on what skills are related to a specific Coordination Challenge. Take the car example. In one case, knowledge (electrical engineering) and persuasion could both be considered related skills (the persuading character talking a garage owner into aiding them some way). In other circumstances, even knowledge (electrical engineering) might not be related (if the car had a broken axle, for example).

In general, the more distantly related a related skill is, the higher the Coordination CR would be. In the case of the persuasion skill check aiding a mechanic total, the GM could require the player to actually roll (and perhaps role-play) a persuasion attempt (at a much higher CR). The GM should decide based on what makes sense to him and whatever makes the game more interesting.

Quote from: Daddy WarpigIn addition to the inherent uses, each Attribute gives a bonus to associated skills.

Attribute Rating	Skill Bonus
4-5	+1
6-10	+2
11-12	+3

This bonus is added to the Skill Points to get a Skill Rating.

There is no cap no the Attribute scale, so this pattern repeats itself indefinitely. An attribute of 50 gives a +10 bonus to associated skills, for example. This is especially important for superhero settings.

Using the Infinity scale, the Earth itself has a Toughness of (roughly) 136 and the Death Star's main cannon has a Damage of about 170. That is, enough to vaporize a planet the size of Earth.

Volley Attack

The Volley Attack is a maneuver common to cinema and real life. It represents a multitude of characters all attacking the same target at once, combining their attacks to deal more damage than any could by themselves. (And, though it's called a Volley, it applies to any situation in which multiple attackers are assaulting a single target, not just arrow fire.)

Volley Attacks are a special use of the Coordination Challenge rules. Because it deals with both Skill and Combat Challenges, it is slightly more complicated than regular Coordination, though the basic rule is unchanged.

The primary skill in a Volley Attack is whichever combat skill rolls highest, no matter what it is. Related skills include any other skills the gamemaster agrees are relevant. (A maneuver, for example, might cause the target to turn, exposing a weak spot.)

All characters generate Skill Totals. The highest combat Skill Total becomes the base Total. Every other Skill Total adds +1 to this base Total.

As this is an attack, the Damage Rating of the weapon used by the highest combat Skill Total is added to the final Skill Total to get the group Attack Total. This is compared to the Defense Rating of the target, with the Result Rating read as Damage. (See "Combat", later.)

Example: A group of characters breaking into a lab are attacked by a security robot. After a couple of futile rounds of attack, it becomes clear that individually, none of them can meaningfully damage the robot. So they volley their fire.

One shoots with a gun (firearms total 13), one throws a grenade (thrown weapons total 12), and another uses a trick to lead the robot off, exposing a weak spot (trick total 20).

The highest combat Skill Total is a 13. This becomes the base Skill Total. Both of the other skill totals beat a 0 CR, so Coordinate. Each adds a +1 to the firearms Skill Total, for a final Skill Total of 15 (13 + 1 + 1).

To this 15, the firearms player adds his pistol damage of 16, for an Attack Total of 31. This Attack Total of 31 is compared to the robot's Defense Rating. (Had the character throwing grenades rolled higher, his total would be the base Total, and he would add his grenade damage of 18 to the final Skill Total).

Using this method, characters can work together to bring down a single, tough target with coordinated attacks.