Threads of Lachesis

Additional Adaptations

Threads of Lachesis

Threads of Lachesis’s Storyboard-like design was originally created as a tool in one of our upcoming traditional tabletop roleplaying games - Opprobrium - to facilitate montage scenes: a chase scene, hunting for clues, a trek across the country. I would be remiss if I did not add our original design here for use in your games. If you adapt or tweak Threads of Lachesis for a different usage or style of play, please let us know and we will add it to this section with credit to you.

MONTAGES

Montages are special events that Act as cinematic scenes by having the players roll 10 total dice to create a Storyboard of action. These are designed to be used during intense, action-heavy moments, complications, or provide more cinematic investigation scenes. Work with the players to define the potential outcomes at the beginning. If the characters are trying to find a witness trapped in the burning building, a final successful outcome is a rescue of the witness and the failure outcome is the building burning down around them. If the players only have failures, the witness could die or become hospitalized and the characters themselves may be seriously injured in the effort.

Create The Storyboard

Split 10 dice among all participating players.
The players performing most of the action or taking lead should receive a greater number of dice, but all players involved should be rolling at least 1 die.
Players select a Skill they will use for this Montage - They must explain how the skill is relevant to the task.
The Players roll the dice.
After the roll, players can distribute their Skill’s Ability number as points to increase the value of any rolled dice.
Line up each player’s dice in front of the Narrator. This is the Storyboard for the Montage.

Narrate the Dramatic Parts of the Attempt

The Narrator interprets the Storyboard in front of them and describes each character’s shortcomings (1’s or 2’s) and wonderful successes (5’s or 6’s) trying to accomplish the task. The Narrator can also point to Players and have them describe the success or failures of their character in the moment. Tip: Pair off Success and Failures. Narrate the events as one step forward, one step back. The goal of a Montage is to keep the tension high until the final outcome is reached.

The Final Outcome

The final outcome of the Montage is determined by the total number of Successes vs. Failed dice. 5s and 6s are successes, all others are failures. The more successes, the more positive the outcome, and vice versa.

Convert Montages to D20 Systems

It is possible to convert this to a d20 system. Define what a successful and failed dice roll is: 15+? 10+? Depending on the system being used, have players use either their Ability Points, Ability Modifiers, or Skill Points. Generally, you want them to be able to manipulate at least one die from a neutral position to success, or a failure to neutral for sake of the narration.

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