AndgryGM Modules

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## Four Modes of Play

Broadly speaking, we can divide D&D into four different major modes of play. Encounter, Travel, Exploration, and Down Time. During the game the DM will guide the game between these modes of play, altering the pacing and mechanics to match each mode while attempting to make the transitions as seamless as possible so that the game feels like one flowing narrative.

### Encounter Mode

First, there’s encounter play. In encounter play, the characters are making moment-by-moment decisions and taking very short actions that are measured in seconds. They may or may not be following an initiative order. These include various sub-modes of play like combat, chase scenes, action scenes, and social-interactions.

### Travel Mode

Second, there’s travel. During travel, the characters are moving from place to place over an extended period. They choose actions that may cover hours or even days of game time and they generally keep to those actions until something happens.

### Exploration Mode

The third mode of play is exploration. That’s the middle ground. Exploration lacks the tension of combat, though sudden surprises and setbacks can happen. And it generally covers shorter time intervals than travel. Players will generally spend a few minutes on an individual task. The players may be moving from scene to scene during exploration, as in exploring a dungeon complex, or they may be playing out an extended single scene, such as stealthily infiltrating an enemy stronghold.

*See also: Exploration*

### Downtime Mode

The fourth mode of play is downtime. Downtime can cover hours or even days of activity. The party is generally not engaged in immediate activities and tend to be focused on long-term tasks such as crafting, research, training, building reputations, or carousing.

## Player Actions

The player can interact with the world and characters by making actions. These actions are typically based on descriptions and are either resolved through roleplay or through game mechanics.

### Core Mechanic

The core mechanic applies in all modes of play, though the way it is implemented changes between the modes, this will be described in further detail in the sections below. When a player wants to make an action in any mode of play, this is generally how it should be resolved. The main two exceptions to this are combat actions and passive abilities. For combat actions, jump to the Combat section. For knowledge checks, jump to the Passive Proficiencies section.

#### Declare an Action

First, a player declares an action. When declaring an action they should include their desired outcome and an approach with which they hope to achieve that outcome.

#### Determine Possibility

Next, the DM determines if there is a chance that the action might succeed and if there is a chance that the action might fail.

If the DM determines the action can’t succeed, the DM may warn the player of the impossibility of the action, or they can just describe the action failing. At this point, the DM may, if they wish, offer alternate actions and approaches, or offer more information to help the player choose another action or approach with a higher chance of success. (This is the 'no, but' rule of improv.)

If the DM determines the action can’t fail, the action is a success and there is no role required. At this point the DM should describe the outcome of the player's action.

If the DM determines that the action can fail, but there is no risk or cost for failure such that the player can keep trying until they succeed, the action is a success. At this point, the DM should describe the outcome of the player's action.

*An example of this would be a player attempting to pick a lock. In this example, the players are not strapped for time so they can just try over and over until they succeed.*

 Otherwise, if the action could succeed or could fail, and failure would have some cost or negative affect, the DM uses the Core Mechanic to determine the outcome.

#### Resolve Action

Next the DM must decide how to resolve the player's action. First, they determine which Ability (Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma) best fits the action being performed. The Ability that the DM chooses should match the approach that the player is taking to the action.

Then they must determine if any skill proficiencies could apply. The player may offer ideas for skills that they think could work, but the DM has the final say. *(Unlike the base rules for 5e, the skill proficiencies are not inherently paired with a specific Ability. Instead the DM can select an Ability and Skill Proficiency separately. The original pairings are still good guidelines if you are unsure of which ability and Skill Proficiency to use.)* Only one Skill Proficiency can typically be added to a single action.

Next the DM determines whether there are any circumstantial modifiers. Circumstantial modifiers could come from the environment, some story element, help from other players, or a plethora of other places. Modifiers can include a static bonus or penalty, or the roll can be made with Advantage or Disadvantage.

Now the DM needs to determine a Difficulty Class. This is the number which the player is trying to roll over in order to succeed. Typically the DC for any action which is not being directly opposed by another character will be as follows:

 Easy
 Moderate
 Hard
 Very Hard
 Nearly Impossible

Once all of that has been determined, the player rolls 1d20 and adds the relevant Ability Modifier, their proficiency modifier (if it has been determined that they have a relevant Skill Proficiency), and any other bonuses or penalties from circumstantial modifiers or other applicable sources. (The player can remind them of modifiers from spell-effects, racial or class traits, etc.) If the player has Advantage on the roll, the player rolls 2d20 and uses the higher of the two outcomes. If the player has Disadvantage on the roll, the player rolls 2d20 and uses the lower of the two outcomes. If the total equals or exceeds the chosen Difficulty Class, the action succeeds.

#### Describe outcome

If an action succeeds, the player either accomplishes their desired outcome or makes progress toward that outcome. If the action fails, the player does not accomplish their desired outcome and may suffer costs or risks associated with the roll. Regardless of the success or failure of the action, the DM may also apply consequences based on the player’s approach. The DM describes the results and applies any necessary consequences. Then play continues.

### Opposed Rolls

When a player attempts an action that puts it in direct opposition with another (Non-player) character’s skills or proficiencies, the DC for the character’s action is 8 + target’s Ability Modifier + target’s Proficiency Bonus for the relevant skill. If the target has Advantage or Disadvantage on the skill, apply +5 or -5 to the DC. Any bonus that can be granted to the target’s skill roll, such as from Bardic Inspiration or from a Cleric’s *bless* spell may also be applied to the DC. The notation for this is an Ability (Skill) Check vs. Ability (Skill). E.g.: Roll a Dexterity (Stealth) check vs. the scout’s Wisdom (Perception).

*Example: Dave is trying to bluff his way past a guard. Dave would roll a Charisma check and add his Proficiency Bonus for his Deception Skill. The DC would be equal to 8 + the guard’s Wisdom modifier + the guard’s Proficiency Bonus for her Insight Skill.*

When a player attempts an action that puts it in direct opposition with another player's skills or proficiencies, the DM decides if the second player has time to make an opposing action or if they should make a saving throw. Either way, both players roll a D20 and add a relevant Ability modifier, a relevant skill proficiency (if applicable) and any other bonuses. The second player's total is the DC for the first player. If the player making the action is unsuccessful, the DM may rule that there are negative effects, or that the second player may retaliate in some way.

### Reaction Rule

A DM can use the Reaction Rule whenever a character has a moment to respond to something unexpected. The DM describes what the character is aware of. The player then describes their reaction. The DM then determines if the reaction could avoid or mitigate the unexpected event, whether it can succeed, and whether it can fail. The DM then asks for a Saving Throw or Ability Check based on the action. Any spell that can be cast as a Reaction can be used in this instance.

*Example: A player has stepped on a pressure plate that will trigger a trap-door opening underneath the forward rank members of the party, Alice and Bob. The DM tells the party “Alice, as your foot hits the ground, you feel a tile give way and hear an audible click. You’ve triggered a pressure plate. What do you do?” Alice, not knowing what is coming, says “I tumble forwards, trying to roll out of the way.” Bob, also unaware of what is coming, says “I raise my shield and stand my ground, gritting my teeth and trying to absorb whatever is about to hit me.” The DM determines that Alice’s action could conceivably carry her forward away from the pit trap. He asks her to make a Dexterity Saving Throw. Bob’s action, however, won’t do him any good. He plunges into the pit.*

*Example: Carol is trying to sneak past a patrolling goblin to steal a valuable thing. The goblin is walking ahead of her and she’s creeping silently behind, several feet back. Unbeknownst to Carol, she has failed her stealth check and the goblin is about to turn around because he thought he heard her breathing. “Suddenly, the goblin freezes. He’s about to turn, what do you do?” Carol thinks for a minute. “Is the cave wall irregular enough? Can I hide in the folds and crevices?” The DM says, “You could, but you’ll have Disadvantage since you have to move fast.” Carol thinks and says, “I’ll whip my dagger and try to take out the goblin before he turns.” The DM says “okay, give me a ranged attack roll with Advantage since the goblin is currently unaware of you.*

### Passive Proficiencies

All Proficiencies (skills, tools, weapons, and armour) are assumed to represent both active uses of those things and relevant background knowledge, lore, information, and awareness. When a player with a Proficiency encounters something in the game, the DM should simply give them any relevant information based on their expertise. The DM is advised to gate information based on skill proficiencies in the flavor text and descriptions of items and monsters. In addition, advanced knowledge may be gated behind specific levels of knowledge. A character’s Passive Skill is equal to 8 + Ability Modifier + Proficiency Bonus. If the character has Advantage on such skill checks, the Passive Skill gains an additional +5. If the character has Disadvantage, the character suffers an additional -5. Any bonus that can be granted to a skill roll, such as from Bardic Inspiration or from a Cleric’s *bless* spell may also be applied to Passive Skills.

Example:

*This small, natural grotto is filled covered with strange glowing fungus.

[Nature] The fungus is naturally occurring and harmless.

[Herbalism Kit, Alchemy Tools or Arcana] The fungus is useful for making antivenoms and medicines.*

*A skeletal creature wrapped in tattered linens with glowing eyes.

[Religion 20] The creature is not a skeleton. It’s a lich. Liches are powerful magic users that have turned themselves into undead creatures. They retain their spellcasting abilities and have other abilities such as…

[Religion] The creature does not appear to be a normal skeleton at all*

### Working Together

When two or more characters work together to accomplish the same task, the character with the higher modifier leads the effort. The leader makes the appropriate ability check and enjoys a +2 bonus for one or two helpers or a +5 bonus for three or more helpers. Characters can only work together if it is task where such help is feasible and possible. In addition, a character can only help with a task if they would not be incapable of attempting the task on their own (due to a lack of Proficiency for instance).

### Group Checks

When several PCs are trying to accomplish something as a group, the DM can call for a group check. First, the DM determines whether the group will succeed if any member succeeds (such as with searching), or if the group will fail if any member fails (such as with stealth).

In the first scenario, the group rolls a single check using the highest ability modifier and proficiency bonus available to any single character. If any member of the group would have Advantage on the check, the check is made with advantage. If any member of the group is benefiting from any bonuses that would apply to the check, the best single one of those bonuses is also applied to the check.

In the second scenario, the group rolls a single check using the lowest ability modifier and proficiency bonus available to any single character. If any member of the group would have Disadvantage on the check, the check is made with Disadvantage. If any member of the group is suffering from any penalties that would affect the check, the single worst one of those penalties is also applied to the check.

## Exploration

*See also: Exploration Mode*

The below rules are built mainly for when players are exploring dangerous areas, or when they have limited time to explore an area. If neither of those is the case, then players can ignore time and explore at their leisure. Any actions that the players make will then simply be resolved using the core mechanic.

### Exploration Tasks

#### What is an exploration task?

During exploration, the party is generally engaged in tasks that will take several minutes at a time or they are moving between nearby locations, like rooms in a dungeon. Obviously, more immediate tasks are possible.

When a player declares an action, it is important to distinguish between an immediate action and one that will take a few minutes. Kicking open a door or jumping over a pit are immediate actions. Securing a rope and climbing down one side of a pit and up the other is a task that will take a few minutes. As is picking a lock. Any action that will take more than one minute but less than ten minutes should be considered an exploration task.

During exploration, the party is generally moving slowly and carefully. That means that tasks that would otherwise be quick and easy – like crossing a room, opening a door, moving down the hallway, and reaching the next room – tend to be a little slower. For instance, it would take significant time for he party to gather back up in their marching order, move quietly to the door, peer through, stop to listen, move slowly down the hall, and stack up against the next door. Thus, moving from one room or scene to another should generally also be considered an exploration task.

#### Is it quiet or noisy?

Exploration tasks can also be quiet or noisy. A noisy task is one that can be heard or perceived at a reasonable distance. A quiet task is one that is no louder than quiet talking, one that would be difficult to hear from more than a few feet away. Kicking open a door is a loud task. Picking a lock is a quiet task. Movement between rooms is generally quiet as long as the party is making some kind of effort to go carefully.

In order to determine whether an action is immediate or not and whether it is loud or not, the DM should listen carefully to the players’ description of their actions and ask questions as needed. But the default position is that a task is not-immediate and it is quiet. The party can rush or hustle if they so desire and if the DM allows it. A rushed task is almost always loud unless the DM determines otherwise. The effect of rushing will be described below.

### Actions During Exploration

As is normal, once a player declares an action, the DM determines whether the action can succeed or fail and determines whether an ability check is required. The DM should also determine whether the action is immediate and also whether the action is quiet or noisy. If the description of the action doesn’t make that obvious, the DM should ask questions of the player to determine those answers.

If the action is immediate, the action can be resolved immediately. If the action was loud, the DM Rolls for Complications (see below).

If the action is not immediate, however, the DM should let the other players know that the character is engaged in an action that will take a few minutes and ask what the other players are doing during this time. This should be done before the non-immediate action is resolved. If any players undertake immediate actions at this point or ask questions, they should be dealt with immediately. If any players declare actions that aren’t immediate, those actions should be held. Once all the players are committed to non-immediate actions or to waiting for their allies to finish their tasks, the DM should resolve each non-immediate task in turn and then Advance Time (see below). If any of the actions were loud, the DM should Roll for Complications (see below).

### Extended Tasks

In general, an exploration task should take no longer than ten minutes. However, some very complicated tasks can take an extended period of time. The DM can determine, for example, that an extremely complex, ancient lock might take longer to pick. During that time, the party might attract attention and complications may arise.

When designing an extended task, a DM should determine how much time the task requires in terms of actions (1-10 minutes each). Each action Advances Time (see below) once and, if the action is noisy, may cause a Roll for Complications (see below). Obviously, during this time, other characters may engage in actions as described above or they can simply wait. If the action does not require a die roll, the DM merely Advances Time for each required action and, if necessary, Rolls for Complications. If the action does require a die roll, the DM Advances Time and Rolls for Complications for each action as normal, but if the die roll is a failure, the character makes no progress. Thus, they may have to attempt further actions in order to complete the task. Of course, if the action takes too long, the party may decide to give up. Particularly if complications arise.

### Time and the Time Pool

As players spend time on exploration tasks, the passage of time will have an effect. Timed effects (like spells and conditions) will expire and timed resources will get used up (such as torches and lamp oil). There is also an increasing chance that the party will suffer some random event, setback, or complication. But, while it is important to keep track of time, it is not important to keep track of time precisely. Instead, the DM uses the Time Pool.

The Time Pool is a pile of tokens visible to all of the players and the DM. The DM can use coins, candy, or poker chips. The DM can also use dice of the appropriate type if the DM has enough of them.

Whenever the party is engaged in one or more non-instantaneous exploration tasks as described above, or whenever they move from location to location within the dungeon, or whenever they engage in an activity that takes between one and ten minutes (such as casting a spell as a ritual), the DM Advances Time. The DM may also Advance Time if the party is staying in one place debating their actions for more than a few minutes. This can prod a distracted party to action as the characters realize they are wasting time and possibly attracting attention.

When Time Advances, any effect with 10 minutes or less remaining of its duration expires. Other durations are not effected. The DM then adds a single token to the Time Pool. If multiple characters undertook simultaneous exploration tasks, the DM adds only a single token to the Time Pool. However, the DM does not add a token to the Time Pool if there are already six tokens in the Time Pool. Instead, the Time Pool is Cleared (see below) and the DM takes note that 1 hour of exploration has passed. If the party was rushing at a task, the DM also does not add a token to the Time Pool. However, in those cases, the DM still Advances Time and all applicable durations expire.

After expiring durations and adding necessary tokens to the Time Pool, the DM should Roll for Complications if any of the attempted tasks were loud (whether they succeeded or not) or if any of the tasks were rushed (again, regardless of success).

### Rolling for Complications

Whenever the party attempts a loud or rushed task, the DM Rolls for Complications. The DM will also Roll for Complications before Clearing the Time Pool (see below). In addition, whenever the party does something to attract attention (such as arguing loudly), the DM may Roll for Complications. If the party spends several minutes arguing loudly about where to go next, the DM may both Advance Time and Roll for Complications.

Elements of the adventure could also call for a Roll for Complications as determined by the DM or the adventure designer. For example, if the party sets off an alarm trap or if a goblin prisoner starts screaming for help, the adventure could call on the DM to Roll for Complications.

To Roll for Complications, the DM rolls a number of dice equal to the number of tokens currently in the Time Pool. That’s why it can be helpful to simply use dice for the Time Pool if you have enough. In most normal situations, the DM will roll d6s. However, in less dangerous or more sparsely populated environments, the DM could use d8s. And in extremely dangerous environments, the DM could use d4s.

Various factors in the adventure could change the size of the dice used when Rolling for Complications. For example, if the party invades a kobold lair during the day – when most of the kobolds are sleeping – the Complication Dice might only be d8s. But if they come back at night, those dice become d6s. And if some kobolds manage to escape from a battle and raise the alarm, those dice might become d4s. Again, DMs and adventure designers are encouraged to use the Complication mechanic creatively to add different elements to their adventures.

Regardless of the number and size of the Complication Dice, if any die shows a 1, a Complication occurs. **The DM should remove one token from the Time Pool** and then resolve the Complication. Otherwise, nothing happens.

 Less than likely
 Even chance
 Probable
 Almost Certain

### Complications

*See also: Random Complications*

A Complication is a random event, setback, or encounter that befalls the party. They are prescribed by the adventure, but the DM can invent new ones on the fly. The most common Complications are random encounters with creatures wandering around the dungeon. In general, such an encounter should be an encounter of Easy difficulty for the party’s level or even easier. Such encounters should be nuisances rather than serious threats. The party should not earn any XP for dealing with this encounter, nor should they earn significant XP for dealing with any Complication.

This does, however, depend on the situation. If the players are exploring a dungeon, then the complications could be anywhere from easy to hard. Though if you make your encounters particularly difficult, it would be best to lower the frequency of them a little, rolling with D8s or D6s. Even with these dice, there is a 50-70% chance of an encounter each hour spent in the dungeon. In this case, roll a D100 on following table for encounter difficulty:

Using a very high danger level for an area is, as it says, very dangerous. You probably shouldn't put your players in a very high danger area for too long unless you are intentionally trying to kill them, especially if the area also has a high likelihood of an encounter.

Wandering creatures do not have to be hostile, though outright friendly creatures should be exceedingly rare. Other random events can include geological events, minor traps and hazards that risk a few hit points of damage or impose a condition on an unlucky PC, or the like.

DMs or adventure designers are welcome to design whatever Complications serve the theme of the adventure. But Complications should not be terribly complex. A random encounter should include only one or two types of creatures with clear, simple motivations. Other random events should not be more complex than a single event that the party can react to. In general, for each adventuring day that the DM or designer expects the party to spend exploring the site (as defined on DMG 84), there should be at least four but no more than six possible Complications. They could be organized on a random table or the DM can simply choose an appropriate one.

Specific locations can also have specific Complications keyed to them. For example, in the cave of sulfurous geysers, a Complication can always result in a spray of noxious gases from one of the geysers. An adventure designer could also instruct a DM to Roll for Complications each time the party passes through the Sulfurous Geyser Cave. Complications and Rolls for Complications should be used in this way to create special effects that help bring a dungeon to life and all sorts of random events can key off of this system.

DMs and adventure designers are advised not to worry too greatly over the idea that the party being “loud” can somehow increase the odds of an earthquake or volcanic geyser eruption. This sort of abstraction is actually quite common in fiction and is seen all the time in movies. And since loudness and brash clumsiness go hand in hand, as does loudness and inattention, it is perfectly sensible to key sudden, unexpected surprises to the party’s “loudness.”

If the DM is ever required to Roll for Complications when there are no tokens in the Time Pool, the DM should roll one Complication Die. If it shows a 1, a Complication arises. Otherwise, nothing happens.

### Clearing the Time Pool

If there are already six tokens in the Time Pool when Time Advances, the DM does not add another token to the Time Pool. Instead, it means that one hour of game time has passed and it is time to Clear the Time Pool.

After all effects with 10 minutes or less remaining of their durations expires as normal for Advancing Time, any effect with an hour or less remaining of its duration expires. Any effect with a duration greater than one hour remaining has one hour subtracted from its remaining duration. Then, the DM Rolls for Complications regardless of whether any attempted actions were loud or rushed. The DM should only roll six dice and not add any for the final advancement of time that caused the Time Pool to clear. Whether a Complication occurs or not, the DM then removes all tokens from the Time Pool.

Thus, the Time Pool gradually counts up to one hour of game time. Because of the slight variation due to Complications removing a token from the Time Pool and the possibility of characters rushing, the actual number of tasks accomplished in an hour may vary slightly. This accounts for the imprecise nature of time tracking.

Whenever the Time Pool is cleared, the DM can mark one hour of time on a log. This will help the DM determine how long the party has been adventuring. Moreover, in event-based adventures or adventures with specific time limits, the DM or adventure designer can key those events and time limits to one-hour intervals. Thus, the Time Pool provides a simple mechanic for keeping track of time.

### Time Flies

Each token in the Time Pool represents the passage of approximately ten minutes of time. If the party engages in an activity that takes more than 10 minutes – for example, the party takes a short rest – during exploration, you may add one token to the Time Pool for each 10 minutes of time spent. Each token represents a normal Advancement of Time. Thus, if the party is being loud or drawing attention during these extended activities, the DM should Roll for Complications once or twice. If the Time Pool is filled as a result of adding these tokens, the DM should add only enough tokens to fill the Time Pool, Roll for Complications as normal, and clear the Time Pool, and then add any remaining tokens.

As a shortcut to this process, if the party takes a short rest, the DM can simply assume one hour passes. He can mark an hour on his log and expire or decrement effect durations as normal. After that, the DM can pick up six dice of the appropriate size and Roll for Complications. The actual Time Pool remains untouched. This removes the possibility of interrupting a short rest in the middle with a complication, but it greatly simplifies the process, avoids the need to deal with partial short rests, and does not prevent the players from benefitting from a short rest they desperately need. However, it still provides consequences for the choice to take a short rest. Thus, most DMs are advised to use this simpler method.