This chapter discusses the various types of conflicts characters may encounter during an adventure in the RFI Universe: social conflict, personal conflict, and ship conflict.
Social Conflict: Resolving disputes or influencing others through conversation and personal interaction. This can take many forms, from subtle manipulations and deceptions to intense negotiations that shape the fate of entire settlements or trade agreements.
Personal Conflict: Addressing problems with direct physical action, often in violent or high-stakes situations. Whether defending themselves, protecting others, or enforcing their will, characters may find that combat or physical confrontation is unavoidable. Even on the frontier, skilled fighters know that clever tactics and intimidation can sometimes prevent bloodshed.
Starship Conflict: Navigating the dangerous and thrilling realm of space combat. Pilots, gunners, and engineers are all vital when starships engage in battle. Whether defending against pirate raiders, standing off against corporate security vessels, or pushing rival factions away from a prized resource, starship combat is as much about teamwork as it is about firepower.
The sequence of events in any type of conflict is divided into rounds and turns. During each round, every character takes a single turn, during which they can perform a major action and several minor actions. The round ends when all characters involved in the conflict have taken a turn.
At the start of any conflict, the gamemaster chooses which character takes the first turn. This decision is based on the following:
Player Characters: By default, the gamemaster chooses a single player character to act first. This choice may be obvious based on the events leading up to the conflict. If there is uncertainty, the gamemaster selects the player character with the highest relevant skill, such as Will or Combat.
Non-Player Characters (NPCs): If the NPCs have an advantage, such as ambushing the player characters, the gamemaster may select an NPC to act first.
Threat Spend: If the choice of who acts first is unclear, the gamemaster may spend 1 Threat to have an NPC take the first turn.
Once you have completed your turn, including one major action and any minor actions, the action passes to the opposition (typically controlled by the gamemaster), who chooses an NPC to act next. Once that NPC has taken their turn, play returns to the players, who then decide which of the remaining player characters will act next.
At the end of your turn, you may spend 2 Momentum (Immediate) to Keep the Initiative, allowing another player character to take the next turn. A character who acts due to keeping the initiative must hand the next turn over to the opposition. No character or NPC may take more than one turn per round in a conflict.
Every main character, and some supporting characters, have a limited ability to withstand Stress, resist negative consequences, and avoid injuries during tense or dangerous situations.
A character can withstand a maximum amount of Stress equal to their Fitness attribute; your choice of species, talents, and other factors may affect this maximum. Each time your character faces a negative consequence, you may choose to suffer Stress instead.
When you suffer Stress, the severity of the consequence—usually a number between 1 and 5—tells you how much Stress you must endure: mark that amount of Stress on your Stress Track, like so:
¶ Stress Track Example |
If you can’t endure that amount of Stress without going over your maximum, suffer whatever Stress you can (filling your Stress Track) and suffer a complication, representing some additional problem faced during the conflict.
There may be other circumstances which cause you to suffer Stress. Exposure to extreme environments—intense heat or cold, or thin atmospheres—as well as physical fatigue, starvation, dehydration, sleep deprivation, poison, radiation, diseases, or substance withdrawal can all inflict Stress, at the gamemaster’s discretion.
When you have suffered your maximum Stress, you are Fatigued. You can continue to act, but your body and mind are struggling, and you are far from your best.
When you are Fatigued, you cannot suffer more Stress, and you suffer +1 Difficulty on all tasks rolls. Further, select one of your attributes: while Fatigued, you automatically fail any task using that attribute. That attribute is shut down.
Freelancers and other characters lead intense, challenging, and often stressful lives. However, managing the stresses of such a life, and having ample time and opportunity to rest and recuperate, is a necessary part of an effective and happy crew.
A character can recover Stress in several ways. Each time you recover 1 Stress, clear one marked space on your Stress Track. If you're Fatigued, you can only recover from Stress by resting, or if an ally helps you. Ways to recover from Stress include:
Momentum: After a successful task, you may spend 2 Momentum to remove 1 Stress (Repeatable) from yourself or any ally who can hear you. A character cannot remove more than 3 Stress in this way on any single task.
Rest: You can recover from Stress outside of conflict by spending time resting and relaxing:
The gamemaster may adjust the amount of Stress recovered by resting depending on the conditions and quality of rest. Poor conditions—such as needing to rest in the wilderness with limited rations and poor shelter—may cut down the amount to half its normal value. Increasing the amount of Stress recovered often comes from improved quality conditions, such as exceptional food and drink or quality time spent with friends and loved ones.
At the gamemaster's discretion, Stress can be recovered in other ways, but there should always be a cost. Rest takes time, which could be spent doing something else. Attempting to find alternatives to rest, such as by using chemical stimulants, may have side effects or other consequences.
The rules for Stress apply to player characters. Supporting characters and NPCs are treated differently.
A supporting character does not have Stress under normal circumstances. A supporting character who has one value has maximum Stress equal to half their Fitness (rounded up). A supporting character with two or more values has maximum Stress calculated as if they were a main player character.
NPCs do not have Stress. Notable and Major NPCs may spend Threat to avoid negative consequences. They cannot be Fatigued and cannot reach maximum Stress. The cost to avoid Stress is the same for NPCs as for player characters but is paid using Threat.
The gamemaster may adjust the amount of Stress recovered by resting depending on the conditions and quality of rest. Rest takes time, which could be spent doing something else. Attempting to find alternatives to rest, such as by using chemical stimulants, may have side effects or other consequences.