Editing Unwritten: System Reference Document/Playing a Scene (section)

==Actions==

An action represents something interesting that your character does. By ‘interesting’, we mean that what the character does has a possibility of failure or complication that that leads to further drama. It may lead to a failure that has ramifications later on, or it might require you to make a hard choice, or pay a price.

An action does not tell you exactly what happens; rather it provides the skeleton of what happens. It places constraints which you can then flesh out with juicy narrative details. Depending on the outcome of the action, you and the GM will be asked to describe how your character failed or succeeded. Use that to your advantage to make your actions flow with the story better.

One of the constraints that may come up is just what price is required for success. You will be presented with a choice to fail at your goal, or to succeed at a cost to ultimately attain your goal for a price.

===Time Is Flexible===

An action represents as much time as makes sense. This means that an action can represent a variable amount from one time to the next, or even in quick succession. If you spend an action to see if you can find a way to escape an oncoming avalanche, that action may only take a split-second. Taking an action to dig yourself out of the avalanche that you just got caught in may take a lot longer.

===The Action Roll===

Taking action boils down to:

* Establish the nature of the action
* Choose the skill and type of action
* Determine the opposition
* Determine the outcome
* Resolve action

====Establish the Nature of the Action====

The first step you perform on an action is to determine the nature of the action. The character performing the action is the actor and you establish what the goal of your action is, and how you plan to get there.

Before anything else, ask yourself “What is the character trying to accomplish?” You may want to jump straight to describing what your character is actually doing, but resist that temptation. You need to have your intention figured out before you can effectively continue—it is the linchpin for what your character actually does and how well it turns out for them.

Once you have gotten a handle on what you are trying to accomplish, then you describe how you want to get from here to there. Think about what your character would attempt based off of what they know and what strengths they would rely on. If you have a detailed idea of exactly your character will be attempting, then go ahead and describe it. However, if you aren’t sure on the details yet, don’t worry. Just make sure you have a general idea of what your character will be doing. We’ll settle the details when we resolve the action.

====Choose the Skill and Type of Action====

First, you choose which skill you will be using as the basis for the action.

Next, we classify what the character is doing into one of four different actions. Which action you choose determines what the actual outcomes signify and how they are resolved. There are four different actions.

=====Overcome=====

This is the action for overcoming opposition. When there’s something between your character and their goals, you use the overcome action to deal with it. Look at it as the “catch-all” action—if it doesn’t fall into any other category, it’s probably an overcome action.

Success in an overcome action means you have gotten past whatever was in your way.

=====Advantage=====

Advantage actions are focused on aspects and using them to help you. You can create advantage or take advantage.

Creating an advantage means that you have created something that your character can use to help out in other rolls. Sometimes, that means you’re doing something to actively change your circumstances (like attaching pulleys to a set of heavy stones or setting something on fire), but it could also mean that you’re discovering new information that helps you (like scouting out the lay of the land). If you are successful, you can place an situation aspect on a person or scene.

Taking advantage of something means you are using something you’ve previously observed (like an antagonist’s predisposition to a bad temper). Success means you can create free invocations on an existing aspect.

No matter what type of advantage action you are performing, if you are not successful then you may inadvertently accomplish something that hinders you instead.

=====Discover=====

The discover action is how a character (and thus a player) learns about the world around them. They may be examining a building, digging through dusty tomes, or talking to people in the know. A successful discover action gives the player a chance to ask the GM a specific number of questions dependent on the outcome.

=====Oppose=====

A oppose action is what your character is doing when you are acting as active opposition. You may be the target of a Create Advantage action or otherwise providing actively getting in the way of some action. Unlike other actions, an oppose action is a reaction to another’s action. However, it is also resolved during the resolution phase of an action.

====Determine the Opposition====

The opposition to the action determines how effective a character’s roll is and the results of the action. If someone or something is actively working against the action, then the opposition is active. Otherwise, the opposition is passive. In either case, the type and amount of opposition is determined before the actor rolls.

If a character is the target of an action, that is the actor is trying to do something to the character, then that character is actively opposing the action as long as they are capable of doing so (not unconscious, etc.).

=====Passive Opposition=====

Passive opposition represents the general resistance to an action. It is represented by a static rating. In some cases, the GM may decide that the opposition is coming from an active source, but may consider the source unimportant or uninteresting and just use a passive opposition for brevity’s sake.

=====Active Opposition=====

Active opposition signifies someone or something putting out effort to oppose the action. The opposition gets an Oppose action, which they roll before the actor rolls. Like an actor, they will choose a skill, collect any relevant bonuses from stunts, and add both to their dice roll.

====Determine the Outcome====

Now we get down to the nitty-gritty and determine the outcome of the action.

# The actor rolls the Fate dice, adds up the pluses and subtracts the minuses.
# The actor adds the value of the chosen skill.
# The actor totals up any applicable stunts and adds that.
# The opposition total is subtracted from the actor’s total.

If the final result is...
:...negative, the action fumbles.
:...zero, the action ties.
:...positive and the result is 1 or 2, the action succeeds.
:...positive and the result is 3 or greater, the action excels.

====Invoke aspects====

If the involved players or the GM are not satisfied with the roll, they can now invoke aspects (either using fate points or free invokes) for bonus or to re-roll the dice. Boosts can also be spent for bonuses at this time. You can invoke several different aspects using fate points, but each aspect can only be invoked once for this action by fate point. However, multiple free invokes can be used on the same aspect in this one action (on top of a fate point, if needed).

Players and the GM can go back and forth spending fate points, free invokes and boosts as much as they like. Once they are done, the outcome is figured out again and the action is resolved.

====Resolve action====

So, what happened? That depends on the type of action, listed below. Also, if the action was actively opposed, the oppose action is resolved as well.

You’ll notice below that in some cases, you have the option of turning a fumble or tie into a success by incurring a cost. We’ll discuss the nature of costs after we discuss the outcomes of each type of action.

=====Overcome=====

;If you fumble...
:Choose one of the following:
:* Describe how you fail to overcome the situation at hand. 
:* Succeed at a serious cost. Work with the GM to determine the cost, then describe how you succeed and how the cost affected the success.

;If you tie…
:Choose one of the following:
:* Describe how you fail to overcome the situation at hand. 
:* Succeed at a minor cost. Work with the GM to determine the cost, then describe how you succeed and how the cost affected the success.

;If you succeed...
:Describe how you overcome and obtain your goal.

;If you excel...
:Describe how you overcome and obtain your goal particularly well or with flair. Receive an appropriate boost to reflect how well you did in overcoming the action.

An obstacle that has been overcome successfully is no longer an obstacle for that character. Unless the situation changes, you should not have to overcome the obstacle again and again. For example, if you have managed to get across the menacing chasm in your way, you shouldn’t have to roll overcome every time you come to it again; overcoming it is no longer interesting. But if there was a earthquake, or someone has been tampering with the rope bridge you set up, it may be time for another overcome action.

=====Advantage=====

If you attempted to create an advantage, resolve the action as follows:

;If you fumble…
:Choose one of the following:
:* Describe how you failed to make a change to your advantage or failed to recognize a potential advantage. 
:* Describe how you create a situation aspect that is not what you intended.
:* Succeed at a serious cost. Work with the GM to determine the cost, then describe how you created your advantage, and how the cost affected the success.
:In any case, the GM can give a free invoke to someone else who would benefit from how things went badly for you.

;If you tie...
:Describe how you created or recognized something to your advantage, but only get to use it momentarily. You receive a boost to reflect this.

;If you succeed...
:Describe how you created an advantage or recognized something to your advantage. Place a situation aspect and receive a free invoke on that aspect.

;If you excel...
:Describe how you created an advantage or recognized something that was distinctly to your advantage. Place a situation aspect and receive two free invokes on that aspect.

If you chose to take advantage of an existing aspect, resolve the action as follows: 

;If you fumble…
:Choose one of the following:
:* Describe how you failed to utilize the situation to your advantage. The GM can give a free invoke to someone else who would benefit from how things went badly for you.
:* Succeed at a serious cost. Work with the GM to determine the cost, then describe how you succeed and how the cost affected the success. Receive a free invoke on the aspect.

;If you tie or you succeed...
:Describe how you take advantage of the aspect in question. Receive a free invoke on that aspect.

;If you excel...
:Describe how you take advantage of the aspect in question particularly well. Receive two free invokes on that aspect.

======That's going to leave a mark======
If you excel at creating an advantage on a target character, you can spend one of your free invokes to place a minor consequence on the target instead of a situation aspect. If the target has no open minor consequence slots available, it "rolls up" to the next available empty slot. If your target has no empty consequence slots, they are overwhelmed.

=====Discover=====

;If you fumble...
:Choose one of the following:
:* Describe how you are unable to find any useful information. 
:* Succeed at a serious cost. Describe how your search inadvertently damages something helpful or important. Ask the GM a single question.

;If you tie...
:Choose one of the following:
:* Describe how you are unable to find any useful information.
:* Choose to succeed at a minor cost. Describe how your search causes an inconvenience and ask the GM a single question.

;If you succeed...
:Describe how you are seeking information. Ask one question for every shift you succeed by.

If you excel...
:Describe how you cleverly (or luckily) discover information. Ask one question for every shift you succeed by. You also have the option to ask the GM to reveal an important detail or hint. If you do not use that option during the scene, you receive a fate point.

Your discover roll represents all of the details you can get out of the situation as it is. That means once you run out of questions, you cannot simply attempt another discover action to get more. Instead, you have to change the situation before you can dig further. Changing the situation is anything that would allow you to approach the question from a different angle. Ultimately, what qualifies as a sufficient change is up to the GM, but here are some suggestions:

* Change the environment with a create advantage action, such as performing an experiment or setting up helpful equipment. A nice side-effect of this is that you get a free invocation to help out with your roll.
* Get someone to help you using the Teamwork rules (someone different if you had help last time).
* Go away to do research, or go off to clear your head. It should take you out of play for a little bit of time.
* Provide a really detailed description on how you are approaching the problem differently that impresses the people at the table.

=====Oppose=====

Oppose is the mirror of an attempted action, so it is mostly resolved by the resolution of the action itself (if you succeed, the actor fumbles; if you tie, the actor ties, etc.). Describe your part in the action.

However, you can excel at your opposition when you beat the actor’s roll by 3 or more shifts. When you excel at opposition, describe how you manage to turn the tables momentarily. Receive a boost to reflect this.

===Resolving costs===

Costs can be considered to be either minor or serious. The GM should consider the nature of the action and the failure to come up with an appropriate and interesting cost.

A minor cost should add a story detail that’s problematic for the character, but isn’t really a danger, nor does it negate what the character was trying to do. Some examples of minor costs include:
* Introduce a new wrinkle to the situation that complicates things a little
* Present the player with a tough choice as part of the success
* Give an NPC a boost
* Place a situation aspect on the character

A serious cost should make the current situation worse. Some options include:
* Introduce a new wrinkle that complicates things a lot
* Reinforce the opposition or bring in new opposition
* Place a Minor consequence on the character (or the lowest empty consequence slot the character has available)
* Give an opponent an advantage with a free invoke
* Delay success so it will take much longer than expected

===Teamwork===

Characters can help each other out on actions. There are two versions of helping in Fate: combining skills, for when you are all putting the same kind of effort into an action (like using skills together to push over a crumbling wall), and stacking advantages, for when the group is setting a single person up to do well (like causing multiple distractions so one person can use Stealth to get into a guarded camp).

When you combine skills, figure out who has the highest skill level among the participants. Each other participant who has at least an Adequate (+1) in similar skills adds a +1 to the highest person’s skill level, and then only the lead character rolls. So if you have three helpers and you’re the highest, you roll your skill level with a +3 bonus.

If you fail a roll with combined skills, all of the participants share in the potential costs—whatever complication affects one character affects all of them, or everyone has to take consequences. Alternatively, you can impose a cost that affects all the characters the same.

When you stack advantages, each person takes a create an advantage action as usual, and gives whatever free invocations they get to a single character. Remember that multiple free invocations from the same aspect can stack.

===Dangerous Actions===

The GM can declare that an action is dangerous: the action represents something that could have significant repercussions if you fumble your roll. If you fumble a dangerous action, you are overwhelmed, and are no longer an active part of the scene. (See Overwhelmed below)

In an action that is being actively opposed, an action can be dangerous for both sides. This means that whichever character fumbles the action will be overwhelmed. However, the GM may declare that only one side of the action is dangerous. For example, you may be leaping from a high overhead balcony to cut off an escaping opponent, meaning it is dangerous for you, but not them. If you fumble, you are overwhelmed (you landed badly); but if they fumble, they are simply cut off and they continue to be active in the scene. 

====Conceding Dangerous Actions====

Sometimes, discretion is the better part of valor. When you are facing a dangerous action, you can interrupt it at any time before the roll is made to declare that you concede the action. This is critical—once dice hit the table, what happens happens, and you deal with it. 

Concession gives the other person what they wanted, or in the case of more than two relevant participants, removes you from the scene. You are overwhelmed, period.

But it’s not all bad. First of all, you get a fate point for choosing to concede. The fate point may be used once this scene is over.

Second of all, you get to avoid the worst parts of your fate; you have a say in how your character is removed from the scene.  Yes, you lost, and the narration has to reflect that. You can’t use this privilege to undermine the opponent’s victory, either—what you say happens has to pass muster with the group. It may mean that you have a choice between dire consequences and merely dangerous consequences. But sometimes that is better than nothing.