On Re-Rolls: Memories and Nightmares

Mothership is brutal. Most rolls will fail. Allowing re-rolls can be a way to mitigate that.

The WARDEN OPERATIONS MANUAL suggests the mechanic of Resolve (p. 52): Every session a player survives they gain 1 Resolve, which can be spent as a free roll-roll on any roll.

Which is great. If your players survive. If you’re planning to continue with these characters.

This is an alternative houserule to the resolve mechanic — I started experimenting with it to help onboard new players into one-shot single sessions, but found it worked really well to encourage some RP elements.

It was inspired by this post at Lithyscaphe - Mothership: Backgrounds and Memories.

It’s a fun way to incorporate background and backstories into games. And there’s just enough of a trade off to make Players consider when to use it.

Twice per session, a PC can re-roll any roll and must take the second result. To do this, they need to recall a memory that may become a nightmare if they fail the second roll.

• PC declares that they’d like to re-roll.

• They start to narrate a memory that is (ideally) relevant to the check being, well, checked.

• They do the re-roll.

• If it’s a success: the first roll is ignored (so they lose the stress if they gained one), the second roll is now the “official roll”… and they should finish narrating the flashback/memory if appropriate.

• If it’s a fail: this second roll is also considered a failure. So they gain another stress in addition to whatever they gained for the first roll. They then should narrate how the memory becomes a nightmare.

As above, but -

• If it’s a failure: they gain the additional stress and roll an immediate panic check. Their memory turns out to be a nightmare or past trauma. They should narrate it.

Ellis is making a combat check. Rolls 56 over 43. Miss.
ELLIS: Yeah, I’d really like to re-roll that by recalling a memory.
STU: Sure, tell us how the memory connects to this moment.
ELLIS: I remember how my Dad used to take me hunting womprats when I was a teen.
STU: Sounds good. Roll again.
ELLIS: 32 under 43. Success! I remember the first time I hit a womprat and how proud my Dad was of me.

Later that session, Ellis is now trying to open a heavy industrial door to escape The Monster. Rolls 77 over 40.
ELLIS: Argh, crit, I’d really like to re-roll that by recalling a memory.
STU: Sure, just a reminder that because this is your second re-roll if you also fail the second time, it’s another point of stress, and an immediate panic check.
ELLIS: I’ll take that risk.
STU: Okay, well, tell us about a memory that’s related to this moment and how it’s inspiring you.
ELLIS: Back when I was out with my Dad, he used to make me carry the backpacks to make me strong.
STU: Task master, huh? Well, reroll.
ELLIS: Well, 68 over 40. Better than a crit I guess.
STU: Yeah, but it is still a failure. So gain another point of stress, and because it’s your second reroll, I’ll need you make a panic check as you explain how this memory becomes a nightmare.
ELLIS: Well, I remember how I dropped those backpacks and my Dad lost his shit with me. (Rolls dice) 12 over 10 stress, so at least I don’t panic.

If the nightmare they describe is especially good? Find a way narratively reward them.

For long-sessions, consider offering a third re-roll, where the consequences of failure are even worse: They gain another point of stress and make an immediate panic check at disadvantage.

Leave a comment