Project Rolls

The following is a rephrasing of the project rules found on pp. 417-420 of the Core book.

The project system is designed to simulate the time a player character would need to accomplish a long-term goal, or to highlight the riskiness that comes with rushing into something that you really shouldn't have.

Projects are only needed for Backgrounds rated 3 dots or higher.

Figuring Out the Basics

The best way to begin is to describe to your Storyteller what you'd like to accomplish. Figure out the best way to represent your character's goal in mechanical terms and decide which Background or potentially Merit dot would best suit their endeavours. The number of dots that your character will obtain if their project is successful is called the Scope. For instance, if you are increasing a 1-dot Retainer to a 3-dot, your Scope will be 2. This is also a base for the Launch roll Difficulty later on.

Project Increments

Once you've settled on everything above, you will then figure out the increment times table. Discuss with your Storyteller how long the project should take in-character. Once that has been decided, you will divide that timeframe up into roughly 10 increments. For example, if your character's project would take a year in-character, the project would have 10 increments, 1 for every month.

The Launch Roll

The next step is to do a launch roll for your character's project. Launch rolls typically follow a pairing of Skill + Background. Other things may help to boost your total pool, such as Boons, Teamwork, Coterie Backgrounds, and very rarely Disciplines. Make sure to get the okay to use any or all of these things from your Storyteller instead of assuming that anything extra will apply. Once your pool is assembled and approved, you will roll it against a Difficulty of your Scope + 2. You cannot spend Willpower or use Blood Surge on your launch roll.

If your character succeeds, you must stake a number of Background dots equal to your project's Scope + 1 minus your success margin on the launch roll, at a minimum of 1. Backgrounds that are committed to a project may not be used until the project is either accomplished or completely abandoned. Staked dots must be relevant to the project's goal.

If they fail, you may reroll the launch roll at the original Difficulty + 1.

Should they suffer a total failure, your character might either gain a new Flaw or lose a relevant Background dot until the project is seen to completion. You may still reroll at a higher Difficulty, as above.

On a critical win, a player does not have to commit any Backgrounds to the project.

The Goal Roll

A Goal roll is a shortcut. You can always wait for the 10 decided increments to tick down to succeed automatically, but if you want things to resolve more quickly, you can try your hand at succeeding this opposed roll. Your Storyteller will build a relevant pool for you, which may or may not be the same as your original launch roll. This pool has the same restrictions and allowances as the launch roll. Once your pool is assembled, you will roll it, and the Storyteller will roll a number of dice equal to the number of increments remaining on your character's project. As with the launch roll, you may not use Willpower or Blood Surge on this roll.

Should you succeed, you decrease the project's remaining increments by the margin of successes on this contest. This may lower the number of increments below 1, which completes the project immediately.

On a failure, your character will lose access to Background dots, starting with those you chose to stake. Should the stake be reduced to 0, the project collapses, and you must restart from the beginning. If you scored a critical success on the launch roll, you are able to keep the project going even if the number of staked Backgrounds drops to 0.

Projects From the Past

If your character would have started a project months or years ago, you will need to play out a launch roll in a Memoriam scene. The basic rules are the same as above, but the only Backgrounds that may be paired with your character's chosen Skill must also be earned in that Memoriam. Once those Backgrounds are earned, you may make the launch roll with them. The Memoriam Backgrounds are immediately staked.

You may also lower your project increment by the number of Background dots you earn in Memoriam. This lowered increment will be where your project starts in the current in-character time. Any damaged Backgrounds affect your character's current Backgrounds, not the ones gained in Memoriam.