Read the Brief
Use the story information on the board: the problem, known facts, stakes, and unanswered questions.
FIELD OPERATIONS // GM & TABLE REFERENCE
Assignment Rules
The mechanics for resolving delegated missions live here instead of on the Assignment Board. Players choose a team from the fiction first; the numbers only come into play once that decision has been made.
QUICK PROCEDURE
Choose. Dispatch. Resolve. Return.
The board never identifies the “right” NPCs or publishes its DCs. The group chooses who to trust with the job based on what they know about the people and the situation. After the team is committed, resolve the assignment mechanically.
Choose the Team
The players decide who goes. Do not reveal an optimal lineup or required skill combination.
Set the Challenges
The GM chooses three challenges and their DCs based on what actually happens during the mission.
Resolve the Return
Count successes, apply discoveries and complications, then update injuries and the campaign state.
The Six Ratings
Resolving a Challenge
Roll: d20 + the resident’s relevant Assignment rating vs. the DC chosen by the GM.
A resident with a relevant rating of +2 or better can Assist another resident, giving the lead character +2 to that roll.
Natural 20: add an advantage, discovery, or benefit. Natural 1: introduce a complication even if the mission continues. On dangerous missions, failing by 5 or more can cause injury.
Keep the Board Fiction-First
Do not post DCs, recommended personnel, or a list of the ratings the mission will test. Those details turn the assignment into a solved optimization problem before the players have made a choice.
Use the board to communicate clues. If the characters know a route is unstable, say so. If they do not know what is waiting inside, leave it unknown.
Mission Results
Exceptional Success
Objective completed plus an additional benefit, discovery, or reward.
Success
The assignment is completed and its normal objective is achieved.
Partial Success
Reduced rewards, incomplete information, or an unresolved complication.
Failure
The objective fails and a serious consequence may create a new party quest or rescue mission.
Danger & Injuries
Assignment NPCs are not disposable resources. Injury progresses:
Healthy→Injured→Seriously Injured→Incapacitated
Death is rare and reserved for situations where the danger and consequences clearly justify it.
Traits & Team Chemistry
A good team is not always the three largest numbers. NPC traits, relationships, loyalties, injuries, personal goals, and willingness to take a particular risk remain part of every assignment.