Heist in The Heights [OOC]

Huh for some reason I thought unchecking "minor edit" would show the edited post as an update. That would be some good functionality for it to have. For the roll, I have exactly 0 dice in both of those so how does that work?

It does not seem to, though. We can look into it, but creating a new post always works.
When you roll with zero dice you roll 2 and take the lowest. Meaning you can still do the thing, and have a chance, but that it is a very low chance, and you can't Crit (since even two sixes is still just the one that is 'lowest').

If you can make the argument for some other Approach and Skill, we can talk about it.

You do always have the ability to get more dice:
• You can Push yourself. Pushing costs 2 Stress. You tell us what you do to make the extra effort.
• A party member could Assist you. Assisting costs them 1 Stress, and they are caught up in the situation and the complications/costs of the outcome. I don't think you have any party members with you (they would need to be part of the flashback and pay the Stress cost), would Winston have brought along help for this?
Either of these would bring you up to rolling with 1 Die. (Both would be 2.)

You might still have an Edge in a situation where you have no dice, and that can help in the usual ways.
While the act of convincing them you are entitled to the secret codes for the backdoor admin (they don't admit such a thing exists, but the fact that you know about it means you must be legit, right?) is unlikely, I don't think that means that they have an Edge on you.

This is not a clock, so one roll decides it.

From a GP Dice Roller perspective:
If you go with Empathy and Influence:
You would click (below the Add button) to add Empathy then Influence, then either the zero dice, push, or assist options.
Your Reason would look something like `Empathy + Influence + zero dice`; and the Roll field would be `0d6 + 0d6 + 2d6l1` which knows how to deal with that (I think... let me try it here and make sure, this roll does not count).

OK sounds good. Winston would do any recon alone so no assistance. I will push though since getting the password is a crucial part of the plan. We can say that impersonating a new member of the security firm required a lot of research, redirecting the contact phone number to my phone, making copying the target's speech pattern to pull off the lie and was very stressful lol. I edited just to add the roll. Result was a 4.

That was the impression I got, but did not want to assume.
Possibly wise, since any other route would come with its own set of risks, so seizing some control here can be valid.
Excellent.
As discussed, a 4 is a partial success. The consequence is that these passcodes are only good enough to get you through one layer of the security (ticking the clock to .

You are now at 3 Stress, but you can choose to Resist the 'reduced effect' consequence, which would bring the Quality to 2, which would complete the clock and allow the doors to open. There is a small chance that these codes will be useful again later, in which case having them be a Quality-2 Asset will benefit you again, but there is no promise they will come up again.

Resisting a consequence could cost you up to another 3 Stress (but also could clear 2 of the Stress you already have if you Crit). If you choose to Resist, I would suggest the --completely appropriate in this situation-- Smartness Approach.

Sorry guys, I have to opt out of the game. I'm preparing to showcase my game at a local fair, and the management's disorganisation drained my attention lately, making me fell behind with preparations, meaning I won't probably be able to focus on the game until end of May.

Thanks for the game thus far, and I hope I won't mess things too much by leaving.

We were forewarned. We already separated your character from the rest. Absenting them will not cause difficulties.

Good luck with your showcase. Maybe you will be able to jump back in end of May.

@nezzeraj: Reminder that we are awaiting a decision from you about whether you want to accept the diminished Quality passcodes, get 1 Tick on the Clock, and be forced to do more work on these locks; or want to Resist that consequence, guarantee yourself Quality 2 codes and complete the job here, unlocking the barrier.

If you have questions (about costs, or how Resist rolls work, or anything) ask.

I think I will change the consequence so we don't have to wait for an answer before proceeding.

Instead of reducing the Effect, it will instead tick a clock towards your intrusion being noticed. The player can later choose to resist this, or to let it stand.

Oh, sorry, super busy week with Children's Day and Parent's Day over here. I'll resist! Do I just roll an attribute?

Yes, you pick the Approach you use (I suggest Smartness here), tell us, in the fiction, how you resist (presumably they tried to fob off some lower grade admin code and you knew enough to insist on the real deal?).
I am not seeing any Special Armor that would help in this situation --and that would be single use-- but I am open to discussion.

@CESN: Streetwise can help with understanding their lingo. Unfortunately this is not directly 'underground', but I am willing to be convinced about how that applies (I can see some interpretations where it does:).

What you want to do will affect the rest of this conversation (including conversations about what to do).

yeah, underground depends a bit on their vibe I guess. I'm guessing even insular communities will share basic body language, and it would be fair to assume most teenager punks would have similar goals (one of which is not being caught in no go zones). I guess his "underground experience" did involve a lot of teenagers and clubs so he would have a good feeling for this age range?
i'm assuming that was a very clear and recognizable noise even to the teenagers xD

Works for me. Let's say it applies.

You get to choose whether you want to take a 3rd die or an Edge from it.
None of them have ever heard it before, so they may guess as to what it means in this place, but there is ample space for you to try pass it off as something else.

Blank is nearby, Miles may be arriving soon to help if you need --and can stall-- and Solovei has eyes on the situation.

so the roll would be something like D.: Caution + D.: Streetwise? I think I can try taking the edge just to see how that works in practice.
true. probably need the roll result to have a better feeling for how to go.

I'm thinking about inviting them to join us. teenagers looking for trouble may be keen on being the first ones to pass the barrier. But maybe I can try to convince them there is noting to see here (though once we're gone, they may suspect where...)

Sounds like it.

It could also have been Aggression + Streetwise if you were leaning more into the intimidation angle and trying to scare them off, but that is less Cautious and more likely to result in them telling someone.
Can do. It will depend on what you are trying to achieve, once we know we can hash out the details and decide.
Yes, it is a constant cycle of fiction, then rolls to clarify, then fiction, then rolls ....
Definitely an option. And a clear solution to your immediate problem. That approach would boost your Effect since they would be keen.

It might (I say 'might' but we all know what 'might' means:) cause you complications later, but that is a problem for future you. :)
Also a solution. Not as easy and will definitely come back to bite you later... but that is a problem for later. :)

yeah, the unlocking changed everything, so cautions looks the best now :D
This roll is the initial "reading them" right? Trying to figure how their attitude and what the girl said? so that will be my aim. It's kind of an D&D insight check I guess :D I'll edit the post to add the roll in the mean time, so it's there

We can decide how broad the roll is, that will affect its Effect and Threat levels.

It could range from, 'do you understand what they are saying', through, 'can you communicate', to 'can you communicate and convince them'. If you roll for the easiest one, you can end up failing and blocking yourself off from the harder ones, success would mean you still need to roll the harder ones (though they are easier) and there are more chances for failure.

One harder roll moves things along faster and you can Resist the negative outcomes. Resisting large (hard) outcomes is not as effective as Resisting smaller ones, but you only have to Resist once (maybe, the consequences may be split up and you can Resist each separately).

Thinking too much about consequences and Resists gets complicated, it is usually best to think about what you want to do, and then rolling to do that.

One roll to convince them to join, or flee, or flee and keep quite (we need to know which before the roll) could account for all the variables, a hard miss could mean you can't understand them well enough, thus subsuming the need to roll for that.

yeah, I'm curious why they are there. Probably just teenagers, but maybe they are also trying something with the barrier? Or there's some gang stuff going about? So one roll to communicate and figure out their goal? Need a bit more info to decide how to handle them. Scaring them or getting them to join depends on that information I guess (and how they react to the noise)

Ah, I see you added a roll already. Don't do that till we have worked out the details, we can't now adjust the Effect or Threat or reassess the intent and task or approach. This also probably just slows things down since we now have to work out how to deal with the rules violation and broken mechanics.

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Since it looks like we are merely trying to establish communicate --that is all that was indicated in the OOC and nothing else is substantiated in the fiction-- we will assume the defaults of 2 Threat (there is real risk of them sounding the alarm) and 2 Effect which is 'basic communication' (You can not adjust these numbers now, since the dice are rolled).

I think the obvious consequence for the 5 is either Reduced Effect (hard to communicate with them (have you tried speaking to a teen?)) and/or Complication (they reach for comms to sound the alarm). Threat level 2 means two consequences (which can be Resisted independently).

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Since you did not roll the third dice and said you were interested in an Edge, we can assume you have Edge on them, which makes sense.

We should have worked out what your Edge would do before the roll, since the outcome can lean us towards favouring one over the other (no point reducing Threat if you rolled a 6, and no point increasing Effect if you rolled a 1-3, after all).

Knowing that it is a 5 --meaning both Threat and Effect apply-- you can choose if you want your underground Edge to increase your Effect (making you better at communicating) or reduce their Threat (making them more receptive to you).

Both strategies have merit:
Reducing the Threat to 1 means only one of the above consequence happen, and you only need to think about Resisting one.
Increasing the Effect to 3 seems like it would merely 'counteract the Reduced Effect', but remember that you Resist that consequence meaning your end result would be something more like 'adequate communication'.

This choice might flavour the ongoing relationship/attitudes... if there is one.

What do you want to do?

Well, we can always re-roll :D

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I'd got for the Reducing the Threat normally, but want to see that Increasing the Effect working. So maybe his edge does come into play by him having a more cool/rebel vibe? teenagers probably like that, making them more open to communication?