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Montage Tests
🕑 Added 2024-04-05 17:32:05 +0000 UTCA few of you noticed that in last week’s post that the tests document I posted made reference to montage tests. A bunch of folks on our Discord have been asking what the rules for montage tests look like, so I figured we should show them off.
It’s me—the James. Back in November, I showed off the rules for complex tests. Things have evolved quite a bit since then and not just because we introduced the power roll. In fact, before the power roll came to our game, I had already made a few tweaks based on testing feedback.
One of the biggest complaints with the November version was that complex tests felt too long, and that the hard difficulty tests didn’t feel any harder than easier ones, they just felt even longer. They’re not wrong. The math was such that you needed more successes to succeed byt also more failures to fail, so the odds of success or failure were about the same. I thought, “Ah, arduousness will make the test feel tougher!” and “More tests and not being able to reuse skills will also be part of the challenge with these longer tests.” I was wrong there. It didn’t make things feel harder. It just made it a slog. In hindsight, I probably should have seen that coming. Honestly, such is any creative project. If you’ve got the time, you should try out your ideas, even if you’re not sure they’ll work. It’s the only way to be sure. Trying something lets you move forward with confidence or leave the idea in the dust with confidence. That’s the point of playtesting.
To fix this issue, I’ve shortened the amount of time a test can take. Every montage test is only two rounds. That means each hero has a maximum of two chances to contribute to the test before we determine the outcome. Each roll counts more! That’s more dramatic.
Also, the higher the difficulty of the test, the more successes you need AND the fewer failures you can have. I was a little worried this would be too harsh, but so far it’s been pretty good. If anything, it might still be too easy! Behold the difficulty table:
New Assist Rules
I realized that the latest and greatest rules for montage tests reference some new rules for assisting a test that we’re currently trying out. If these work, they’ll replace what I wrote in the previous post about tests.
You can attempt to assist another creature with a test that they make, provided that you have a skill that applies to the test, the other creature isn’t using that skill on the test, and you can describe how you help to the Director’s satisfaction. In other words, your attempt to help has to make sense, and you have to bring some useful expertise to the table. Helping another creature sneak by shouting encouragement at them isn’t going to make them stealthier.
When you attempt to assist another creature, make a challenging test with the skill you wish to use and a characteristic chosen by the Director and based on the action you take to help. The outcome of that dest determines the bonus applied to the test you’re assisting:
7 or lower: You fail to assist in any meaningful way.
8-10: Your help gives the other creature a +1 on their test.
11+: Your help gives the other creature a +2 on their test.
For example, if you want to use Flirt to help another hero pick a jailor’s pocket, the Director will ask you to make a Presence test using the Flirt skill. The outcome of that test determines the bonus you provide to the other hero’s Agility test to pick the pocket.
Montage Test in PDF
The rules for montage tests as they stand as of this post are attached below. Please keep in mind that while I have gone over this document a few times, it’s still playtesting and hasn’t been edited yet. This thing will be a lot more refined in the end. Quick reminder, we’re not looking for suggestions here or on Discord. If this doesn’t work, we got more ideas ready to try.
FYI, one reason I’ve started posting these previews as attached PDFs is because Patreon’s formatting options have slimmed down, and even in our preview docs, we like to have a few levels of headers and whatnot.
Keep on rolling!
—James
Comments
william white
I really like this i kind of house rule this into most games i GM, though i never thought of 3 levels of success nor really defined the rules. this is simple yet complex enough to not only cover many scenarios but help inspire the GM to be creative.
MShin
Having three levels of success instead of a binary success/fail + crit is pretty good for the director. Other systems have kind of multiple successes, but that tends to become very hard for the Director to use. In his head he always puts together 3 tiers most of the time anyway.
Robin Baggett
Hell yeah! I love the new name. I can 100% see myself as a Director in a game saying, "All right, it's time for a montage!" And I already have a bunch of ideas in my head for how I could call for a montage. Preparing for an ambush, chasing a thief in the crowded city streets, gathering intel for the meetup between the thieving guilds and underworld crime bosses.
Arash - Game Narrative 101
The new assist rule seems to me like a much better fit. It felt, in the previous post, like replacing the number you roll would just be identical to "someone else do this thing" but this version is both useful and engaging for both people involved in the test! Loving the new numbers for Montage tests too. The previous version did seem too easy. With the new limitations, this can make the table sweat!
AndruC
Lots has changed since the last test! See the Power Roll article!
Lindsay
Montages are such a useful tool to have as a DM/director. I like these rules, might plonk them into my game next session to see how they go! As someone who is also a lover of subheadings, I appreciate the PDF's lol
itsLDN
No one needs to know, you can claim you inspired MCDM (unless the system gets another name change).
Alisa Heletka
I like this approach :) Though after reading through I'm a bit confused. Did you change target numbers for success/failure from last test? Or there's just wron difficulty in examples? In two of the examples characters succeed on 10 for Severe test, but I believe for Severe tests 10 is still a failure, and you need 11 for success?
Kyman201
Honestly I think that would discourage people from trying. Maybe as an optional rule for if you roll snake eyes on your dice.
SneakySly
Neat stuff, liking the direction of things overall! One improvement to the aid rules IMO would be if the 7- result actually gave a -1 penalty to the roll to give it some proper stakes.
Caleb Fasnacht
I love the idea of putting things between rounds like a puzzle or a monster. That's inspired. 1 Victory for the team!
Caleb Fasnacht
Love the new help mechanic. That feels amazing
Aphrodyte
So it would be interesting that let's say for a Montage you are 1 away from a succession or fail and for that round when it comes to you that if a player has a better chance to succeed that goes after you, you instead to use your action to assist their Montage roll.
Samhain
Director Pro Tip: Always fade out in a montage.
Jesse
In my experience with other RPGs, players are always actively looking for ways they can apply their best skills, and they get really creative with it. I haven't played this specific mechanic, but I doubt most folks will struggle overmuch with finding ways to apply whatever should they have in a given situation.
NAC
i am brought again to the breadth of skills in the current versions of the game. to me, getting the chance to assist another character as part of a diverse party seems like an incredibly rare opportunity, mostly because of how specific skills are. the chances that you happen to have a skill that applies to the test that the tester *doesnt* and they actually need your help seems quite rare to me. maybe i'm wrong, but it just seems far too specific. to be clear, i enjoy the system itself, i'm merely resistant to the sheer number of skills.
Montage
I am so honored to have such a subsystem named after me. Fill me with such pride, and an overwhelming sense of- what’s that? It’s not? Oh… well then…. System is great. Honestly.
