Action Rolls 
When a player character does something challenging, we make an action roll to see how it turns out. An action is challenging if there’s an obstacle to the PC’s goal that’s dangerous or troublesome in some way. We don’t make an action roll unless the PC is put to the test. If their action is something that we’d expect them to simply accomplish, then we don’t make an action roll.
Each game group will have their own ideas about what “challenging” means. This is good! It’s something that establishes the tone and style of your series.
To make an action roll, we go through six steps. In play, they flow together somewhat, but let’s break each one down here for clarity.
The player states their goal for the action.
The player chooses the action rating.
The GM sets the position for the roll.
The GM sets the effect level for the action.
Add bonus dice.
The player rolls the dice and we judge the result.
1. The Player States Their Goal
Your goal is the concrete outcome your character will achieve when they overcome the obstacle at hand. Usually the character’s goal is pretty obvious in context, but it’s the GM’s job to ask and clarify the goal when necessary.
“You’re punching him in the face, right? Okay… what do want to get out of this? Do you want to take him out, or just rough him up so he’ll do what you want?”
2. The Player Chooses the Action Rating
The player chooses which action rating to roll, following from what their character is doing on-screen. If you want to roll your Skirmish action, then get in a fight. If you want to roll your Command action, then order someone around. You can’t roll a given action rating unless your character is presently performing that action in the fiction.
3. The GM Sets the Position
Once the player chooses their action, the GM sets the position for the roll. The position represents how dangerous or troublesome the action might be. There are three positions: controlled, risky, and desperate. To choose a position, the GM looks at the profiles for the positions below and picks one that most closely matches the situation at hand.
By default, an action roll is risky. You wouldn’t be rolling if there was no risk involved. If the situation seems more dangerous, make it desperate. If it seems less dangerous, make it controlled.
4. The GM Sets the Effect Level
The GM assesses the likely effect level of this action, given the factors of the situation. Essentially, the effect level tells us “how much” this action can accomplish: will it have limited, standard, or great effect?
The GM’s choices for effect level and position can be strongly influenced by the player’s choice of action rating. If a player wants to try to make a new friend by Wrecking something—well… maybe that’s possible, but the GM wouldn’t be crazy to say it’s a desperate roll and probably limited effect. Seems like Consorting would be a lot better for that. The players are always free to choose the action they perform, but that doesn’t mean all actions should be equally risky or potent.
5. Add Bonus Dice
You can normally get two bonus dice for your action roll (some special abilities might give you additional bonus dice).
For one bonus die, you can get assistance from a teammate. They take 1 stress, say how they help you, and give you +1d.
For another bonus die, you can either push yourself (take 2 stress) or you can accept a Devil’s Bargain (you can’t get dice for both, it’s one or the other).
The Devil’s Bargain
PCs in Buried Secrets are single-minded investigators under constant stress—they don’t always act in their own best interests. To reflect this, the GM or any other player can offer you a bonus die if you accept a Devil’s Bargain. Common Devil’s Bargains include:
- Collateral damage, unintended harm.
- Sacrifice intel or an item.
- Betray a friend or loved one.
- Offend or anger a faction.
- Start and/or tick a troublesome clock.
- Add heat to the crew from evidence or witnesses.
- Suffer harm.
The Devil’s Bargain occurs regardless of the outcome of the roll. You make the deal, pay the price, and get the bonus die.
The Devil’s Bargain is always a free choice. If you don’t like one, just reject it (or suggest how to alter it so you might consider taking it). You can always just push yourself for that bonus die instead.
If it’s ever needed, the GM has final say over which Devil’s Bargains are valid.
6. Roll the Dice and Judge the Result
Once the goal, action rating, position, and effect have been established, add any bonus dice and roll the dice pool to determine the outcome. (See the sets of possible outcomes, by position, on the next page.)
The action roll does a lot of work for you. It tells you how well the character performs as well as how serious the consequences are for them. They might succeed at their action without any consequences (on a 6), or they might succeed but suffer consequences (on a 4/5), or it might just all go wrong (on a 1-3).
On a 1-3, it’s up to the GM to decide if the PC’s action has any effect or not, or if it even happens at all. Usually, the action just fails completely, but in some circumstances, it might make sense or be more interesting for the action to have some effect even on a 1-3 result.
Each 4/5 and 1-3 outcome lists suggested consequences for the character. The worse your position, the worse the consequences are. The GM can inflict one or more of these consequences, depending on the circumstances of the action roll. PCs have the ability to avoid or reduce the severity of consequences that they suffer by resisting them.
When you narrate the action after the roll, the GM and player collaborate together to say what happens on-screen. Tell us how you vault across to the other rooftop. Tell us what you say to the Inspector to convince her. The GM will tell us how she reacts. When you face the Red Sash duelist, what’s your fighting style like? Etc.
Action Roll Summary
- A player or GM calls for a roll. Make an action roll when the character performs a dangerous or troublesome action.
- The player chooses the action rating to roll. Choose the action that matches what the character is doing in the fiction.
- The GM establishes the position and effect level of the action. The choice of position and effect is influenced strongly by the player’s choice of action.
- Add up to two bonus dice. 1) Assistance from a teammate. 2) Push yourself (take 2 stress) or accept a Devil’s Bargain.
- Roll the dice pool and judge the outcome. The players and GM narrate the action together. The GM has final say over what happens and inflicts consequences as called for by the position and the result of the roll.
Action Roll
- 1d for each Action rating dot.
- +1d if you have Assistance.
- +1d if you Push yourself -or- you accept a Devil’s Bargain.
Controlled—You act on your terms. You exploit a dominant advantage.
- Critical: You do it with increased effect.
- 6: You do it.
- 4/5: You hesitate. Withdraw and try a different approach, or else do it with a minor consequence: a minor complication occurs, you have reduced effect, you suffer lesser harm, you end up in a risky position.
- 1-3: You falter. Press on by seizing a risky opportunity, or withdraw and try a different approach.
Risky—You go head to head. You act under fire. You take a chance.
- Critical: You do it with increased effect.
- 6: You do it.
- 4/5: You do it, but there’s a consequence: you suffer harm, a complication occurs, you have reduced effect, you end up in a desperate position.
- 1-3: Things go badly. You suffer harm, a complication occurs, you end up in a desperate position, you lose this opportunity.
Desperate—You overreach your capabilities. You’re in serious trouble.
- Critical: You do it with increased effect.
- 6: You do it.
- 4/5: You do it, but there’s a consequence: you suffer severe harm, a serious complication occurs, you have reduced effect.
- 1-3: It’s the worst outcome. You suffer severe harm, a serious complication occurs, you lose this opportunity for action.
Double-duty Rolls
Since NPCs don’t roll for their actions, an action roll does double-duty: it resolves the action of the PC as well as any NPCs that are involved. The single roll tells us how those actions interact and which consequences result. On a 6, the PC wins and has their effect. On a 4/5, it’s a mix—both the PC and the NPC have their effect. On a 1-3, the NPC wins and has their effect as a consequence on the PC.
Effect
In Buried Secrets, you achieve goals by taking actions and facing consequences. But how many actions does it take to achieve a particular goal? That depends on the effect level of your actions. The GM judges the effect level using the profiles below. Which one best matches the action at hand—great, standard, or limited? Each effect level indicates the questions that should be answered for that effect, as well as how many segments to tick if you’re using a progress clock.
| Effects | Ticks | |
|---|---|---|
| Great | You achieve more than usual. How does the extra effort manifest? What additional benefit do you enjoy? | 3 |
| Standard | You achieve what we’d expect as “normal” with this action. Is that enough, or is there more left to do? | 2 |
| Limited | You achieve a partial or weak effect. How is your impact diminished? What effort remains to achieve your goal? | 1 |
Assessing Factors
To assess effect level, first start with your gut feeling, given this situation. Then, if needed, assess three factors that may modify the effect level: potency, scale, and quality. If the PC has an advantage in a given factor, consider a higher effect level. If they have a disadvantage, consider a reduced effect level.
Potency
The potency factor considers particular weaknesses, taking extra time or a bigger risk, or the influence of arcane powers. An infiltrator is more potent if all the lights are extinguished and they move about in the dark.
Quality
Quality represents the effectiveness of tools, weapons, or other resources. Fine items boost your effect, while exceptional items may hav extra uses or special features of their own.
Thorn is picking the lock to a safehouse run of the local mafia. She has fine lockpicks—so she would normally expect to have great effect. The local mafia however has invested in exceptional quality locks. Thorn is outclassed in quality, so her effect will be limited on the lock.
Scale
Scale represents the number of opponents, size of an area covered, scope of influence, etc. Larger scale can be an advantage or disadvantage depending on the situation. In battle, more people are better. When infiltrating, more people are a hindrance.
When considering factors, effect level might be reduced below limited, resulting in zero effect—or increased beyond great, resulting in an extreme effect.
If a PC special ability gives “+1 effect,” it comes into play after the GM has assessed the effect level. For example, if you ended up with zero effect, the +1 effect bonus from your Soldier’s Bodyguard ability would bump them up to limited effect.
Also, remember that a PC can push themselves (take 2 stress) to get +1 effect on their action.
Every factor won’t always apply to every situation. You don’t have to do an exact accounting every time, either. Use the factors to help you make a stronger judgment call—don’t feel beholden to them.
Trading Position for Effect
After factors are considered and the GM has announced the effect level, a player might want to trade position for effect, or vice versa. For instance, if they’re going to make a risky roll with standard effect (the most common scenario, generally), they might instead want to push their luck and make a desperate roll but with great effect.
This kind of trade-off isn’t included in the effect factors because it’s not an element the GM should assess when setting the effect level. Once the level is set, though, you can always offer the trade-off to the player if it makes sense in the situation.
“I Prowl across the courtyard and vault over the wall, hiding in the shadows by the canal dock and gondola.”
“I don’t think you can make it across in one quick dash. The scale of the courtyard is a factor here, so your effect will be limited. Let’s say you can get halfway across with this action, then you’ll have to Prowl through the other half of the space (and the rest of the guards there) to reach the other side.”
“I didn’t realize it was that far. Hmmm. Okay, what if I just go as fast as I can. Can I get all the way across if I make a desperate roll?”
“Yep, sounds good to me!”
Consequences
When a PC suffers an effect from an enemy or a dangerous situation, it’s called a consequence. Consequences are the companion to effects. PCs have effect on the world around them and they suffer consequences in return from the risks they face.
Setting Position & Effect
The GM sets position and effect for an action roll at the same time, after the player says what they’re doing and chooses their action. Usually, Risky / Standard is the default combination, modified by the action being used, the strength of the opposition, and the effect factors.
The ability to set position and effect as independent variables gives you nine combinations to choose from, to help you convey a wide array of fictional circumstances.
For example, if a character is facing off alone against a small gang of ruffians, the situation might be:
- She fights the gang straight up, rushing into their midst, firing away in a wild Skirmish . In this case, being threatened by the larger force lowers her position to indicate greater risk, and the scale of the gang reduces her effect (Desperate / Limited).
- She fights the gang from a choke-point, like a narrow alleyway where their numbers can’t overwhelm her at once. She’s not threatened by several at once, so her risk is similar to a one-on-one fight, but there’s still a lot of enemies to deal with, so her effect is reduced (Risky / Limited).
- She doesn’t fight the gang, instead trying to maneuver her way past them and escape. She’s still under threat from many enemy attacks, so her position is worse, but if the ground is open and the gang can’t easily corral her, then her effect for escaping isn’t reduced (Desperate / Standard). If she had some immediate means of escape (like leaping onto a passing car), then her effect might even be increased (Desperate / Great).
- The gang isn’t aware of her yet—she’s set up in a sniper position on a nearby roof. She takes a shot against one of them. Their greater numbers aren’t a factor, so her effect isn’t reduced, and she’s not immediately in any danger (Controlled / Great). Maybe instead she wants to fire off a salvo of suppressing fire against the whole gang, in which case their scale applies (Controlled / Limited). If the gang is on guard for potential trouble, her position is more dangerous (Risky / Great). If the gang is alerted to a sniper, then the effect may be reduced further, as they scatter and take cover (Risky / Limited). If the gang is able to muster covering fire while they fall back to a safe position, then things are even worse for our agent (Desperate / Limited).