Describing Outcomes

In Quest of Destiny, the game mechanics serve to determine the outcome of player actions, but part of the telling of a good story requires you to interpret those results into a description of what happens in the story. When a PC makes an attack on an opponent, what does that hit or miss look like? When a PC succeeds or fails on a skill check, what happens? Often it is up to the Gamemaster or the players to interpret these results into descriptions of what happens in the story.

Describing what Happens

It's easy to say an attack hits or misses, but it's far more interesting to describe how the attack is made. For example, a Glancing Hit may be described thus, "You swing your sword in a quick arc, cutting under your opponent's guard and striking him across the ribs. His breast plate absorbed much of the blow, but it knocks the wind out of him." This becomes even more interesting when injuries come into play, "You bring down your blade, opening a wound on your opponent's arm. He snarls in pain and looks at you with contempt." A miss can be described in much the same way, "Your arrow aims true, but at the last moment he raises his shield and deflects the shot." This concept also applies to the results of Skill Checks, Brawn & Wits Checks, and more. This description can be left to the Gamemaster or the Players, but the idea is that the die determines the result, and the storytellers describe what that result looks like.

Degrees of Success

When a PCs succeeds at a task, you want to be able to describe what that success looks like. Does the character climb the wall effortlessly, or is it a struggle all the way to the top? Use the players die roll to help determine how well someone succeeds. If they exceed the DC of the task by a lot, then the task was completed easily and it should be described as such. For example, "You climb the wall with ease and finesse. You climb to the top and stand to look down at your comrades still at the bottom with a smirk." Alternatively, if the die roll just barely meets or exceeds the DC, the task was more challenging and the description should reflect that. For example, "You climb is slow and exhausting. As you near the top, your arms begin to shake from the effort, but you hold on. Finally, your fingertips curl over the edge, and you slowly push yourself up onto your stomach. Once your lift your ledge onto the ledge, you lay there for a moment panting in exhaustion. You made it, but barely." Both descriptions are of success, but the result of the die helps to determine how that success is described.

Degrees of Failure

Interpreting failure works in much the same way. Failure by a small amount can simply represent a lack of progress, while failure by a large amount can lead to a severe complication or consequence. For example, when a PC just fails to pick a lock, typically it would signify that they just didn't quite get it. However, if the PC fails the check by a significant amount, it could cause the lock to jam (making the next attempt harder) or the PC could break his lock pick.

For some tasks, there exists a concept of Critical Failure, which occurs when there is some dire consequence to failing the task, such as falling from a climb or springing a trap. In these cases, Critical Failure signifies that the bad consequence occurs, whereas simple Failure (without Critical Failure) signifies a lack of progress or an impediment to the task, without dangerous or dire consequences. For example, when climbing the wall, Failure may represent losing your grip for a moment, but then grabbing hold again. Or Failure could mean a complication, such as losing a crampon or having a piton fall out. Critical Failure, on the other hand, typically signifies falling and suffering damage from that fall.