Hello, first time posting in the new community. I am looking at games similar to Power by the Apocalypse or Forged in the Dark. Just to clarify:
-good roll = you fully succeed in your intended action
-average roll = minor success or an additional complication
-bad roll = usually a miss, and definitely bad consequences are happening.
Thanks!!
Ps trying the formatting options for a list but I cannot make it work :)
EDIT: I meant games apart than PbtA or FitD, thanks!–
@simblanco Ironsworn has Strong Hit / Weak Hit / Miss (which are used for everything, not just combat).
Fate has “succeed with style”, “succeed”, “tie”, “succeed with cost”.
Success with style usually gets you more than you were aiming for. You scale the wall and also find a fire escape to help your friends up. You stab him real good and also knock him flat. Note that those are typically Aspects you make up on the spot, not stuff you pick from a list.
Usually when you tie you get a lesser version. You try to set the room on fire but only the curtains catch. You try to disable the cameras but only get them to reboot.
Failures mean you don’t get it. The cameras stay on. You miss your swing. You can’t get up the wall.
But that’s kind of boring. You can choose to convert a tie to “success with minor cost” or failure to “success at serious cost”. Maybe you set off an alarm. Maybe you get recognized by a rival. Maybe when you swing at the mugger you seriously injure him and he’s bleeding out dude what the fuck.
For most rolls you can spend your metacurrency of fate points to bump up your result. “it looks like I can’t climb the wall, but I’m Retired Cat Burglar so it comes back to me pretty quick”.
But if you spend on everything you’ll run out. You should look for compels (things about your character that make the story more Interesting) to get more. “Yo I’m Wanted in 37 states what if the hotel we’re breaking into is like a cop convention?” “I’m Fashion Over Form can we say that everyone recognizes me as I try to get away, blowing my cover?”. Etc.
Anyway I like this system. I like having more agency. When I played pbta stuff I felt like I was always rolling meh, and the consequences weren’t fun. That may have been lackluster GMs though.
Technically PF2e has Crit Success, Success, Failure and Crit failure, but I somehow I don’t think you are looking for that if you want something similar to PbtA haha.