Freelancers asks the players to step into their characters' roles and use dramatic narrative to describe events and advance the story. In this manner, the players experience the excitement, drama, and epic scope of the RFI universe from the perspectives of their characters. While this rulebook provides specific rules for how to resolve actions, the game relies heavily on both the Game Master and the players to use their imaginations —tempered with common sense— to explain what happens.
In Freelancers, combat and other situations are represented in an abstract fashion. The game focuses on the characters and the heroic actions they take, rather than on measurements, statistics, or other minutiae. Instead of taking a ruler and measuring the distance between characters on a map, it's preferable for a player to simply state: "I'm ducking behind the computer console to get some cover while I return fire." That sort of description paints a much better picture of the action taking place. Action resolution also has a narrative element. Freelancers uses a unique dice system to determine if a given task succeeds or fails. However, the dice reveal more than whether or not the Player Characters succeed. The different dice and their varied symbols tell a larger story, adding depth and detail to the scene in which the PCs find themselves. The variety of results allows for interesting and compelling encounters. It's possible for a character to fail at a task, but still receive some benefit or find a brief respite. Likewise, a character can succeed at a task, but at a certain cost or with unforeseen complications.
¶ The Core Mechanics
Characters in the RFI Universe frequently find themselves needing to take actions that are outside the realm of your day to day situations. It could be lying through their teeth to a NorAellian trader, or hiding in a cargo container once that deal goes south. It could even be heroically holding off an overwhelming force for just three more hours so help can arrive. The point it, characters often find themselves needing to perform actions that require both skill and luck. To determine if these actions succeed or fail —or if they have any other unforeseen consequences— Freelancers characters perform skill checks.
Skill checks are relatively simple, and broken up into two key steps:
- Roll a pool of dice
- Interpret the pool of dice
In general, a skill check succeeds if, once all factors have been accounted for, there is at least one success remaining. Sometimes multiple successes can describe to what degree the character succeeded (or in the case of failures, to what degree they failed). These skill checks form the foundation of the game; even combat is boiled down to a skill check for attacks. Other rules and game elements either modify or interact with these two steps: the assembly of the dice pool and the interpretation of the results.
¶ The Dice
Before we get into the details of how one builds a pool of dice, it's important to understand the special dice Freelancers uses. (Currently, these dice are pulled from Fantasy Flight's Edge of the Empire RPG.) These dice use special symbols in place of numbers to represent a positive result or a negative result. Certain symbols cancel, allowing you to easily interpret the results of a role. (See Interpreting the Pool for more details.)
A typical dice pool can contain from five to eight dice. This pool size covers the majority of situations. Difficult, complex, or epic situations may include more dice, while mundane situations may involve fewer dice. If a task is so easy that success is virtually guaranteed, dice might not even be rolled at all. The impact of generating and rolling a dice pool is best reserved for important tasks that can influence the story.
Dice are divided into three categories. The first type features dice with symbols beneficial to accomplishing tasks. The second type is dice with symbols that cancel those beneficial symbols and hinder the accomplishment of tasks. The third type of dice is Force dice, which are used slightly differently than the other dice.
Boost, Ability, and Proficiency dice are the beneficial, positive dice. Setback, Difficulty, and Challenge dice are the negative, disruptive dice. Force dice are distinct; while used for a number of situations, they are not usually used in a standard skill check.
¶ Positive and Negative Dice
Each dice pool is made up of a number of dice from several different sources. Essentially, these dice pools are composed of "positive dice" and "negative dice."
Positive dice are added to the pool to help accomplish a task or achieve beneficial side effects. These may reflect an innate talent or ability, special training, superior resources, or other advantages applied to the specific task. Negative dice are added to the pool to hinder or disrupt a task, or to introduce the possibility of complicating side effects. These may reflect the inherent difficulty of the task, obstacles, additional risks, or the efforts of another character to thwart the task.
¶ Table 1-1: Positive and Negative Dice
| Positive Dice come from | Negative Dice come from |
|---|---|
| The skill used to accomplish a task | An opponent's special abilities, skills, or characteristics |
| An applicable talent or special ability | Opposing forces at work |
| Equipment or gear being used by the character | Inclement weather or environmental effects |
| The use of light side Destiny Points | The use of dark side Destiny Points |
| Tactical or situational advantages | Tactical or situational disadvantages |
| Other advantages, as determined by the GM | Other disadvantages, as determined by the GM |
¶ Positive Dice
There are three types of positive dice with symbols that improve the odds of successfully completing a task or achieving beneficial side effects.
¶ Boost Dice
Special advantages, or "boosts," are represented with light-blue six-sided dice. Boost dice represent benefits gained through luck, chance, and advantageous actions taken by the characters. They can be added to a pool for a wide variety of reasons. Boost dice are most often used to reflect the character gaining some sort of benefit or advantage, such as having ample time to complete the task or having the right equipment. Boost dice and Setback dice are thematic opposites of each other. Boost dice are represented by
¶ Ability Dice
Ability is represented with green eight-sided dice. Ability dice form the basis of most dice pools rolled by the players. They represent the character's aptitude or skill used when attempting a skill check. These dice possess positive, beneficial symbols. Ability dice are opposed by Difficulty dice. Ability dice are represented by
¶ Proficiency
Proficiency is represented with yellow twelve-sided dice. Proficiency dice represent the combination of innate ability and training. They are most often used when a character is attempting a skill check using a skill in which he has trained. Proficiency dice can also be added to a pool when a player invests a Destiny Point for an important skill check. These dice possess a greater likelihood of success, and they are the only dice that feature the potent Triumph symbol. Proficiency dice are the upgraded version of Ability dice. Proficiency dice are represented by
¶ Negative Dice
There are three types of negative dice that have symbols that undermine success or introduce unwanted complications.
¶ Setback Dice
Certain complications, or "setbacks", are represented with black six-sided dice. Setback dice represent problems or minor obstacles during task resolution. Setback dice are often used to represent relatively minor effects that impair or hinder a character, such as poor lighting, obstructive terrain, insufficient resources, or facing a hungry rancor instead of an old, decrepit one. Setback dice are not as potent as Difficulty dice. They are added to represent additional circumstances and environmental effects that would not in and of themselves increase the base difficulty of the task. Setback dice and Boost dice are thematic opposites of each
other. Setback dice are represented by
¶ Difficulty
Difficulty is represented with purple eight-sided dice. Difficulty dice represent the inherent challenge or complexity of a particular task a character is attempting. In simplest terms,the more Difficulty dice in a dicepool, the more challenging it is to succeed. Difficulty dice possess negative, harmful symbols that cancel out the positive, beneficial symbols found on Ability, Boost, and Proficiency dice. Difficulty dice oppose Ability dice. Difficulty dice are represented by
¶ Challenge
Challenge is represented with red twelve-sided dice. Challenge dice represent the most extreme adversity and opposition. These dice may be featured in place of Difficulty dice during particularly daunting challenges posed by trained, elite, or prepared opponents. Challenge dice can also be added to a pool when the GM invests a Destiny Point for an important skill check. These dice feature primarily negative, obstructive results, such as Threat and Failure, but the Challenge dice also feature the potent Despair result. Challenge dice are the upgraded version of Difficulty dice. Challenge dice are represented by
¶ Force Dice
Focus is abstracted using white twelve-sided dice. They are generally only used in dice pools by Focus using characters (or creatures) or under special circumstances. One of these special cases is when the players generate their starting Destiny pool at the beginning of a session (see Destiny Points).
Unlike the other dice used for task resolution, which generate results that impact success and failure or magnitude and complication, the Force dice generate resources. Each die features both dark side
Force dice are represented by
¶ Dice Symbols & Results
The dice used in Freelancers feature a number of unique symbols used to determine success or failure, as well as to provide additional context and consequences during task resolution. Understanding these symbols allows the players to more fully contribute to the story, generating memorable details and describing cinematic actions over the course of their adventures. This section introduces and defines the different symbols, then describes how they are used in play.
¶ Positive Symbols
A character was able to hack into the Terran security network while infiltrating a heavily guarded cell block, but how successful was he? Did he succeed by the skin of his teeth, or was his success so complete that the facility's security systems have been quietly deactivated? These sorts of specific results of character skill checks are determined by interpreting positive dice symbols.
Three positive symbols are found on the Star Wars Roleplaying Dice. These symbols represent Success, Advantage, and Triumph.
¶ Success
Success symbols
Success symbols appear on
¶ Advantage
The Advantage symbol
It's possible for a task to fail while generating a number of Advantage symbols, allowing something good to come out of the failure. Likewise, Advantage can occur alongside success, allowing for some significantly positive outcomes. It's important to remember that Advantage symbols do not directly impact success or failure, only their magnitude or potential side effects. Advantage is canceled by Threat. Each Threat symbol
Characters may use Advantage results in a wide variety of ways; this is known as "taking the Advantage." If a skill check generates one or more net Advantage symbols
Advantage symbols appear on
¶ Triumph
The Triumph symbol
First, each Triumph symbol
Second, each Triumph symbol can be used to trigger incredibly potent effects. Two common uses are to trigger a Critical Injury upon a successful attack, or to activate a weapon's special quality. Effects generated by a weapon's special quality usual require multiple Advantage symbols
Players gain both effects with each Triumph symbol; they don't have to choose between the Success and the special effect trigger. Although the Success aspect of the Triumph symbol can be canceled by a Failure symbol
The Triumph symbol only appears on the
¶ Negative Symbols
While evading a squad of Terran scouts aboard a stolen shuttle, a character unsuccessfully attempts to weave between two massive rock formations. Is the failure severe, resulting in a terrible crash? Or does it result in little more than a scratch on his shuttle's fuselage? Such details are provided by interpreting negative dice symbols.
Three negative symbols are found on the task resolution dice. These results are Failure, Threat, and Despair.
¶ Failure
Failure symbols
Failure symbols appear on
¶ Threat
The Threat symbol
It's possible for a task to succeed while generating a number of Threat symbol , tainting or diminishing the impact of the success. Likewise, Threats can occur along side Failure, creating the possibility for some significantly dire outcomes. It's important to remember that Threat symbols
The GM generally resolves Threat effects. There are a wide variety of possible effects that Threat may trigger. If a skill check generates one or more net Threat symbols, the GM generally applies one or more special side effects. This could include being knocked prone, losing the advantage of cover, taking more time than anticipated, suffering strain during a normally routine action, or giving an enemy an opportunity to perform a maneuver. (The applications of Threat are covered in more detail here).
Threat symbols appear on
¶ Despair
The Despair symbol
First, each Despair symbol
Second, each Despair can be used to trigger potent negative effects. A Despair symbol
Players suffer both effects of each Despair symbol; they do not get to choose between the Failure and the special effect trigger. The failure aspect of the Despair symbol can be canceled by a Success symbol
The Despair symbol only appears on the
¶ Force Resources
Warning: This section needs to be entirely rethought for the RFI setting.