The GM tracks the party’s total successes and failures toward an objective; reaching the successes wins the endeavor, hitting the failures first loses it. By complexity: Simple 4 successes and 3 failures, Average 8 and 4, Intricate 9 and 4, Insurmountable 11 and 5. It is a pacing guide rather than a rule — something spectacular can count double, a creative solution can bypass it, and the GM can quietly ask for one more success while lowering the DCs to keep things moving. Usually kept secret.

Summary

The GM tracks the party’s total successes and failures toward an objective; reaching the successes wins the endeavor, hitting the failures first loses it. By complexity: Simple 4 successes and 3 failures, Average 8 and 4, Intricate 9 and 4, Insurmountable 11 and 5. It is a pacing guide rather than a rule — something spectacular can count double, a creative solution can bypass it, and the GM can quietly ask for one more success while lowering the DCs to keep things moving. Usually kept secret.