Example: Kara has already picked up the complication

‘Intoxicated’ that has been adding to the Difficulty of

her tests. As this is a social scene, further complications

would relate to that. She might make a fool of herself

in some way (such as spilling something on the wrong

person) or fail to remember a point of etiquette and

gain further complications like ‘Clumsy’ or ‘Rude’.

If the situation with Marcus becomes physical, she

might gain complications representing wounds, or even

that she has been poisoned.

C o M P L I C aT I o n R a n g E

Some situations can make a skill test uncertain, rather

than more difficult. These factors make it more likely

that complications occur, by increasing the range of

numbers which cause complications. A character has

a complication range of 1 normally, so complications

occur on any die that rolls a 20 (only a 1 in 20 chance

per die). The complication range can never be increased

to more than five, and the effect of changing the com-

plication range is explained on the table below:

S u C C E S S aT a C o S T

Some skill tests can’t really be failed outright.

Sometimes an action will inevitably succeed, but

there might be problems or consequences along the

way. In these situations, the gamemaster may allow a

skill test to succeed at a cost, either before the dice

have rolled, or after the result is known. If a skill test

succeeds at a cost, then a character who fails a skill

test still achieves their goal in some form, but they also
suffer one or more automatic complications, in addition

to any they’re suffering because of the roll. The

gamemaster determines how many extra complications

are suffered.

Although the failed skill test has produced a successful

outcome, Momentum cannot be spent to improve the

result of a skill test that succeeded at a cost: Momen-

tum can only be spent if a skill test was passed.

The gamemaster may declare that an action succeeds

at a cost, or they may give a player a choice to suc-

ceed at a cost. This choice can and should be made on

a case-by-case basis according to the situation.

Example: Kara attempts to make another test to

learn more from the gathering before confronting

Marcus. However, she fails to get the required suc-

cesses. The gamemaster allows her to succeed at a

cost. For succeeding at the test she learns the spice

merchant is indeed Marcus' target. However, the

cost is that Marcus becomes aware Kara is asking

questions about him and now knows his plan.COMP.

RANGE DESCRIPTION COMP.

OCCUR ON…

1 Normal 20

2 Risky 19 or 20

3 Perilous 18–20

4 Precarious 17–20

5 Treacherous 16–20

154

T h R E aT
As player characters generate and spend Momentum,

the gamemaster generates and spends their own

resource: Threat. The gamemaster makes use of Threat

to alter scenes, empower non-player characters, and

generally make things challenging, perilous, or unpre-

dictable for the player characters. Threat is a method by

which the game, and the gamemaster, builds tension:

the larger the Threat pool, the greater the likelihood

that something endangers or threatens the player char-

acters. In this way, Threat mimics the rise and fall of ten-

sion that builds throughout a story, eventually culminat-

ing in a high-tension finale. Strictly speaking, characters

don’t know about Threat, but they have a sense of the

stakes of their current situation, and the potential for

things to go wrong.

The gamemaster typically begins each adventure with

two points of Threat for each player present at the start

of the adventure, though this can be adjusted based

on the tone and underlying tension of a given adven-

ture: if the stakes are high, the gamemaster may begin

with more Threat, while a calmer, quieter situation may

reduce the gamemaster’s starting Threat. Part of this is

defined by the size of the player characters’ House: a

powerful House invites challenge and breeds enemies

and rivalries, and this is represented by larger amounts

of starting Threat.

a D D I n g T o T h R E aT

Player characters can add to the Threat pool in the

following ways:
@ Buying d20s: As noted earlier in this chapter,

characters may buy bonus d20s for skill tests

by adding points to Threat instead of spending

Momentum. As normal, no more than three dice

can be bought, and the cost increases for each

dice: the first costs 1, the second costs 2, and the

third costs 3.

@ Complications: Whenever a player character suffers

one or more complications on a skill test, they or the

gamemaster may choose to add two points to the

Threat pool to ignore a complication. This may be

done for as many or as few complications as desired.

@ Escalation: At times, the gamemaster (or the rules)

may state that a specific action or decision risks

escalating the situation, making it more dangerous or

unpredictable. If a character performs an action that

risks escalation, they immediately add one point of

Threat to the pool.

The gamemaster may add to Threat in the following ways:

@ Threatening Circumstances: The environment or

circumstances of a new scene may be threatening or

perilous enough to warrant adding one or two points

of Threat to the pool automatically. Similarly, some

non-player characters may generate Threat simply by

arriving, in response to changes in the situation, or by

taking certain actions. This also includes activities that

escalate the tensions of the scene, such as non-player

characters raising an alarm.

@ Non-player Character Momentum: Non-player

as player characters can, as they don’t have a group

Momentum pool. Instead, a non-player character

may add to Threat, adding one point of Threat for

every Momentum they have remaining.

Example: Realizing the stakes have increased, Kara’s

player decides to shake off the Intoxicated complica-

tion, adding 2 points of Threat to the gamemaster’s

Where you and the other players have Momentum, the gamemaster has Threat. Threat works much the

same as Momentum, but for your opponents and enemies. Threat can be used for the same things as

Momentum, but the gamemaster can also use Threat to alter situations or the story in a few special
ways.

Threat represents perils, unforeseen dangers, and the potential for drama and excitement, and it rises

and falls during play. In addition to this, if you’re low on Momentum, you can buy extra dice by adding
to

Threat, essentially taking risks to get an advantage.D U N E | A DV E N T U R E S I N T H E I M P E R I U M

155

pool. The gamemaster also decides to add another

point of Threat to their pool, given that Marcus is now

looking to either silence Kara or at least ensure she

doesn’t interfere.

S P E n D I n g T h R E aT

The gamemaster can spend Threat in several common

ways:

@ Buying d20s: The gamemaster can purchase d20s

for a skill test attempted by one of their non-player

characters. The cost of this increases for each die

purchased: the first die costs 1 point of Momentum,

the second costs 2 Momentum, and the third costs 3.

single skill test, regardless of the source.

@ Increase Difficulty: The gamemaster can choose to

make things more difficult for a character, increasing

the Difficulty of a single skill test by one for every 2

points of Threat spent. The decision to increase a skill

test’s Difficulty must be made before any dice are

bought or rolled on that skill test.

@ Non-player Character Threat Spends: When a

player character’s action would normally add points

to Threat, a non-player character performing that

same action, or making the same choice, must spend

an equivalent number of points of Threat.

@ Non-player Character Complications: If a non-

player character suffers a complication, the

gamemaster may buy off that complication by

spending two points of Threat.

@ Traits: The gamemaster may change, remove, or

create a trait by spending two points of Threat. This

must come naturally from some part of the current

situation.

@ Environmental Effects and Narrative Changes: The

gamemaster may trigger or cause problems with the

scene or environment by spending Threat.

@ Rival House Action: The gamemaster may spend a

Threat point to introduce a known enemy House to

the situation. It may be one of their agents simply

taking an opportunity to attack the player characters,

or it may turn out that they have an alliance with

Either way, the House makes an appearance in

some way to complicate the situation for the player

characters.

Example: As the situation is heating up, the gamemas-

ter decides to spend some of their Threat. They decide

that Marcus has a lot of friends at the party who have

become irked at Kara’s questioning. The gamemaster

spends a point of Threat to add the environmental

effect ‘Hostile Room’.

D E T E R M I n aT I o n

A character’s drives are a vital part of their successes

and their failures. Conviction and clarity of purpose, and

a potent sense of self, are key parts of why a charac-

ter takes the actions they do. To this end, all player

characters, and many non-player characters, have drive

statements which reflect the character’s personal values

and guiding principles. When a character’s actions align

with these principles, they can be spurred on to greater

heights of success, but when a character attempts

actions which clash with their values, it can cause them

considerable problems.

At the start of each adventure, you have a single

point of Determination for your character, but you

may gain more during play. You may never have

more than three Determination at once.

When you attempt a skill test, and the drive you are

using has a drive statement, both you and the gam-

emaster should consider whether the statement and the

ports the action—that is, if the statement would be an

advantage to the action being attempted—then you can

use that drive freely for that action, and you may spend

a point of Determination to gain one of the following

benefits. Some talents or other character abilities may

grant them additional ways to use Determination.

@ Automatic 1: Before rolling, choose one of the

d20s in your dice pool: that die is considered to

have rolled a 1, and does not need to be rolled. It

thus scores a critical success automatically.

@ Re-roll: After rolling, re-roll any number of d20s in

your dice pool.

@ Declaration: Before or after rolling, create a new

trait, or change or remove an existing one; this

must relate to your character, but it may represent

something which was always true, but which has

only now been revealed or become important. You

may retroactively describe how this trait came to be.

@ Extra Action: In a conflict, immediately take an

additional action after this one, even if you have

already kept the initiative.

However, if the statement would conflict with the

action—it may impair your character’s judgment, make

them biased, blind them to possibilities, or it may be

that the action goes against your character’s morals,

spiritual drives, or sense of honor—then the gamemas-

ter can offer you a point of Determination to give you a

choice: comply or challenge.

suffer a complication (which may often make the

action harder or prevent you from even attempting the

action). The character’s drives are too strong to allow

them to carry out this action freely, causing a problem.

@ If you challenge your drive, then you may act freely,

but you must cross out that drive statement, and you

may not use that drive score again until it has been

recovered (see below). The character’s need to act

has outweighed their strongly held drives, and in the

process, their worldview has been shaken.

You may refuse to accept the offered Determination

to avoid making the choice, but if you do so, you must

choose a different drive to use for the skill test. You may

also suggest to the gamemaster moments where your

drives may conflict with your actions, though both you

and the gamemaster must agree for this to happen.

Determination is a special, scarce resource which you can spend on skill tests which align with your

character’s drives. It is earned when a character’s drives impede or hinder their actions. You can spend

Determination before rolling to set a die so that it counts as having rolled a 1, or after rolling to re-roll
an

entire dice pool, or to create, destroy, or change a trait, or to take extra actions in a conflict.T h aT ’ s a L
oTof

DifferenTPoinTs

Momentum, Threat, and Determination have a

variety of different effects, and it might seem like

a lot of points to keep track of as you make rolls.

But in the 2d20 system, how you spend these

points is often far more important than what dice

ter a lot of control over their dice and represent

the characters marshalling their resources before

making their play. This makes knowing what to

spend on which test an important skill to master.

Do you put everything into the current test or save

something for later? How important is it to suc-

ceed, and can you afford the cost? All these factors

must be decided before you roll anything. This

means any roll of the dice is a carefully considered

plan of action, never just the whim of fate.