#genesys

ttrpg blorbos

we're going onto year 2 of this game, playing as a group of peasants who discover magic. shenanigans continue ensuing.

Roll D6 pool, 5-6 is successes, and 1s are complications regardless of if you succeed or fail, and maybe complications are tied to how much XP you get

Also playing around with the idea of whatever class uses neoplasm being able to fuck with or absorb complications, maybe even stealing XP from other players

By Fantasy Flight Games

Universal game system which uses narrative dice, rather than standard rpg dice. Similar to the Star Wars RPG, also created by Fantasy Flight Games, Genesys is the generic version of that system. While the base book can be easily adapted into any setting, there are additional books, Realms of Terrinoth and Android: Shadow of the Beanstalk, which provide additional information for Fantasy and Cyberpunk campaigns respectively. Many tools for the system are easily available online, including character sheets, dice rollers for the narrative dice, and a discord bot which connects to your character sheet/dice rolls and adds everything up for you to generate your result.

You just rolled a skill check. The dice are on the table. Now what?

If you’ve ever done improv, you already know how to play Genesys. If you haven’t, the system will show you the way.

Most rolls land in one of four familiar storytelling beats:

Yes, and… (Success with Advantage). You get what you wanted, and the situation tilts in your favor.

Yes, but… (Success with Threat). You accomplish the goal, but the situation pushes back.

No, but… (Failure with Advantage). You miss the immediate objective, but gain an opportunity.

No, and… (Failure with Threat). You fall short, and the situation gets worse.

The narrative dice answer two questions at the same time: Did your character accomplish what they were trying to do? And what else happened because they tried? Success and Failure answer the first. Advantage and Threat answer the second. That split means you’re never staring at a binary outcome wondering how to make it interesting.

Suppose your hacker tries to bypass a security door while guards patrol nearby. They roll Success with Threat. The door opens. Success told us they bypassed it. But the panel sparks and the security system logs the intrusion. Threat pulled from context you already established: there are guards, there is a security system, and now those things matter.

Same scenario, but Failure with Advantage. The door stays locked (Failure). But while working the panel, the hacker spots a maintenance tunnel the blueprints never mentioned. Advantage pulled from the environment: you’re in a building, buildings have infrastructure, and now that infrastructure becomes an opportunity.

While Advantage and Threat pull from context you already established, Triumph and Despair create context by introducing new facts, details, or complications into the scene.

Your diplomat rolls a social check; Success with a Triumph. The result doesn’t mean they negotiated really well. The Triumph means something unexpected just entered the scene. Maybe they learned the noble’s dark secret. Maybe an ally they didn’t know they had just stepped forward. Maybe the entire political situation shifted in a way nobody saw coming, not even you, the GM.

Despair works the same way in reverse. This time, the diplomat rolls Success with a Despair. Maybe the noble’s liege just walked in and heard everything. Maybe their confidant turns out to be feeding information to your enemies. Or the PC just accidentally revealed who sent them, and that faction has history here. Despair doesn’t automatically mean a failed negotiation—it introduces complications that weren’t on the table before the dice hit.

Look to the fiction for your answers. If you’re staring at Advantage and thinking “I have no idea what that does,” you either rolled for something that didn’t matter—which means you shouldn’t have rolled in the first place—or you didn’t frame the scene clearly before asking for dice.

You’re riding to join a cavalry charge. Your horse bolted without you. You vault onto the saddle mid-sprint—a Hard Coordination check. You roll Success with Advantage and a Despair.

Most players shout the result and wait for the GM to adjudicate. But you already know what Success means: you made it onto the horse. The Advantage? You already established the goal: join the charge. So finish the story! “I grab the saddle strap, swing up, and take aim at one of the riders.” Then the Despair hits and the GM says, “As you crest the ridge, you see the full enemy force: not the dozen riders you expected, but forty.” The GM didn’t plan this. The dice just told everyone at the table that this fight is bigger than anyone thought.

The active player already described what their character wants to do. Let them finish the story they started. You know where the character is, what the environment looks like, and what’s working against them. The dice just show you which version happens.

This is her character for a Genesys Fantasy campaign, Veleda, shown here with her loyal lynx Rava.

Working on commissions for RPG players is always an incredible joy.

Being able to bring their characters and stories to life, and to connect with them, moves me deeply! This is what I love most about my work.

If you're interested in a commission like this, I still have 3 slots available!