This document covers how to resolve exploration encounters and challenges.
← Back to: Exploration Phase Mechanics
Rolling for Outcomes
→ See Character Mechanics for complete resolution system
When a card requires a challenge, players roll d20 + stat bonus.
Three exploration stats:
- Foraging - Finding and gathering ingredients
- Combat - Fighting creatures and defending (uses standard resolution, no special combat rules)
- Social - Negotiating, charming, persuading
→ See Character Mechanics for combat resolution details
Basic resolution:
- Group discusses and decides who rolls based on narrative
- Roll d20 + relevant stat bonus
- Compare result to success tiers (see below)
- Everyone can attempt everything
Success Tiers (d20 + stat bonus)
All exploration rolls use the same success tier system:
| d20 Result | Outcome | Yield Bonus | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Natural 1 | Critical Fail | No roll | Fail + roll complication table |
| 2-5 | No and | No roll | Complete failure, something goes wrong |
| 6-10 | No but | No roll | Fail, but gain small advantage or upside |
| 11-15 | Yes but | +0 | Success with base yield, minor cost |
| 16-19 | Yes and | +2 | Great success with bonus yield |
| Natural 20 | Critical Success | +4 | Success + max bonus + roll reward table |
Multi-stat opportunities: When you fail (2-10), you can try a different approach if the situation allows it (see Multi-Stat Opportunities below).
Natural 1 Handling (Tier Milestone)
→ See Job System - Natural 1 Handling for complete rules
1★-2★ Jobs (Beginner):
- Natural 1 = auto-fail regardless of bonuses
- Roll on complication table
3★-5★ Jobs (Experienced Chef):
- Natural 1 = complication only if total succeeds
- Your expertise prevents complete failure
- Maintains comedy without punishing skilled players
Character Stats and Specialties
→ See Character Mechanics for character creation details
Specialists:
- Automatic +2 in their specialty stat (Foraging, Combat, or Social)
- Plus 2 points to distribute across other stats
- Total stat value: 4
Current specialist mappings:
- Forager → Foraging specialty
- Butcher → Combat specialty
- Host → Social specialty
- Food Scientist → Specialty TBD (Discovery removed)
- Pastry Chef → Specialty TBD (Puzzles removed)
Chef:
- 4 points to distribute across all stats
- No automatic bonuses
Ingredient Yield System
Used for Red cards (Hearts/Diamonds) when gathering ingredients.
Step 1: Determine Success
Roll d20 + stat bonus and check success tier (see above).
On failure (Nat 1 or 2-10):
- No yield roll
- Can try different approach if situation allows (“No but”)
On success (11+):
- Proceed to Step 2
Step 2: Roll for Yield
Roll yield dice + success bonus to determine how many portions you gathered.
Yield dice size determined by restaurant tier:
| Restaurant Tier | Yield Dice |
|---|---|
| 1★ Food Truck | d6 |
| 2★ Casual Dining | d8 |
| 3★ Fine Dining | d10 |
| 4★ High-End | d12 |
| 5★ World-Class | d12 + 2 (or 2d6)* |
*5★ bonus TBD - needs playtesting
Success bonuses (from Step 1):
- Yes but (11-15): Roll yield dice + 0
- Yes and (16-19): Roll yield dice + 2
- Natural 20: Roll yield dice + 4 + roll reward table
Example:
- 3★ chef (d10 yield dice) rolls 17 (Yes and!) on Foraging check
- Rolls d10 + 2 = 12 → Gathers 12 portions of ingredient
Ingredient Categories
Ingredients fall into generic categories:
- Proteins - Meat, fish, eggs, protein sources
- Vegetables - Greens, roots, mushrooms
- Fruits - Fresh fruits, berries, culinary fruits
- Spices - Herbs, seasonings, flavor enhancers
Track simply: “3 proteins, 2 vegetables, 1 spice”
Players imagine specifics based on genre:
- Fantasy: Dragon meat, enchanted mushrooms
- Sci-fi: Alien protein, synthetic vegetables
- Cartoon: Toon-logic meat, impossibly large vegetables
→ See Red Cards - Ingredients for situation prompts
Multi-Stat Opportunities
Many Red card situations allow multiple approaches:
If first approach fails, try different stat:
- Fruit trees: Forager climbs (fails) → Butcher shakes tree (succeeds)
- Land owner: Host negotiates (fails) → Butcher intimidates (succeeds)
Different approaches may yield different amounts:
- Risky/loud approaches (Combat) → Potentially more yield
- Careful/quiet approaches (Foraging) → Safer but less yield
Group decides who rolls based on:
- Best stat for this approach
- Narrative fit
- Player creativity
→ See Character Mechanics for group rolling rules
Black Card Encounters
Black cards (Spades/Clubs) use Narrative Resolution instead of yield system.
→ See Exploration Card System for Black card resolution details
- Spades = Social encounters
- Clubs = Environmental events
- Success/failure determines narrative outcome (not quantity)
Resource Constraint
Limited inventory/backpack space:
- Forces choices about what ingredients to carry
- Can’t take everything you find
- Must prioritize based on job requirements and value
Inventory upgrades:
- Can be purchased through Progression Phase
- Permanent increase to carrying capacity
- Always a present consideration during exploration
Design Notes
Key considerations:
- Specialists should feel valuable during exploration
- Bonuses should be clear and easy to apply
- Every specialist should have multiple opportunities to use their bonus
- Resource constraint creates meaningful decisions