All About Effort

Index Card RPG
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Effort is simply one tool in your DM toolbox. When it’s the right tool, it does its job beautifully. When it’s the wrong tool, then it might bog down your game.

When is effort the right tool? Effort is the right tool when you want to slow down your game and elongate time. Why would you want to elongate time? You might put a task on the PCs they have to complete. While they are busy taking time completing the task, pressure is mounting. If your goal is not to build pressure, then adding Effort to your game is not the right tool.

What are some examples? It might take PCs one heart of effort to chop down a door; pick a lock; call an elevator; create a device; hack a sentry turret; stop a ritual; close a portal; or persuade a reluctant witness. When is the right time to force players to spend their time engaging in such tasks? Whenever pressure is mounting. The dragon is coming back. The guards are running up the stairs. The roof is about to collapse. The fire is spreading. The enemies are showing up in waves. The bad guys are harming innocents.

If you add a timer to the mounting pressure, e.g., the lava is rising in 1D4 rounds, and then you force the players to pick the lock to the door and apply effort to slow them down while the lava is rising, I guarantee that players will feel the literal heat trying to avoid burning alive. Using these tools, a Timer in conjunction with Effort, can add much needed excitement to your games.

If players have all the time in the world, or you are not trying to slow them down, then Effort is not the right tool for the job. Hope this topic helps folks on this important concept in ICRPG.

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Well said! The assumption that everything has to require Effort really can throw a wrench into your scene when used without purpose.

One additional way to use Effort I’ve found effective, beyond slowly things as pressure builds, is providing “delicious distractions”. Think the treasure chest behind a lock. It’s not key to the scene, but it’s over in the corner and oh so tempting! It will require a few actions of effort to unlock the prize inside, but the idea of a high value reward for some effort can pose an interesting dilemma for players (as well as outlet for players who may not have something obvious to do in the scene). Just make sure that the “distraction” is worth their time or otherwise, they’ll never go for it in the future.

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Here’s an idea I had for effort (probably not original but still):

If using the magic system from ICRPG Magic, you can lower the SP cost of a SPELL by gathering power. Spend your TURN to roll your casting STAT, if you succeed roll MAGIC EFFORT. Spend as many consecutive TURNS gathering power as you want. For each HEART gathered, reduce the SP cost of your next SPELL by 2. You must cast the SPELL immediately on the turn after you finish gathering power. If you MOVE, take any other ACTIONS, or incur SP damage for any reason before you cast your spell, you lose all gathered power.

Could probably be worded better, but I think you get the picture.