Modular Objectives - Train Lightning

Lancer’s sitreps make large strides towards objective-based gameplay in a TTRPG genre often geared towards “killing the other team more efficiently.” However, they often struggle to anchor themselves in the fiction: What do “control zones” and “victory points” mean in a diegetic sense, and how come a character can earn points just by standing in the right colored square at the right time? Why are there only 6-8 rounds to complete this objective? What drives the decision to make a sitrep “single budget” or “double budget”? My answer to these questions is to break away from Lancer’s conventional sitreps through the use of modular, action-oriented objectives, which perform the following:

Establish the Stakes of victory and defeat ahead of time.
Place Duration front and center as a measure of complexity.
Leverage Objectives that require PC action economy to advance, which are augmented by the chosen Duration.
Scale Enemy Forces as a function of Duration as a balancing force against pursuing the Objective.
Remain flexible enough to augment with Modifications to shape the objective to the game’s underlying fiction.

This post will reproduce my guidelines for modular objectives originally published in my GM supplement Prototype Pattern Groups, along with some additional commentary and references. I will cover the common attributes of all my modular sitreps before detailing specific objectives and potential modifications.

Anatomy of a Modular Objective

Unless otherwise stated, modular sitreps share the same rules for Stakes, Duration, Enemy Forces, and Deployment. Each sitrep utilizes its own Objective with a suggested Map Layout determined by the players’ approach, which can be augmented with Modifications to better suit the fiction. For example, players could Transport a payload to safety or Fortify the area from hostiles to call an airlift. In response, the GM refers to a fitting sitrep, establishes the expected Stakes, and reuses their prepared map and Enemy Forces as planned for their target Duration.

Stakes

The stakes of PC victory and defeat should be made clear at the start of any combat, and players should be given the opportunity to decline a combat if they deem the stakes unacceptable. The exact terms of victory and defeat do not always need to be conveyed, but the GM should be generous with this information so players can make an informed choice before entering combat.

This follows the same logic as for Lancer’s Skill Checks (“Making Skill Checks”, Lancer, p. 45), but applied to a combat scenario. For additional reading on the topic, check out The ICI Doctrine and the Action Roll from Blades in the Dark.

Duration

All of the sitreps in the Lancer Core Rulebook automatically terminate after a set number of rounds. However, this hard cutoff is not a requirement. Often, an encounter can instead target a desired number of rounds and forgo a hard cutoff. I use the following terms when describing durations for this section’s sitreps:

Short: 1–2 rounds.
Medium: 3–4 rounds.
Long: 5–6 rounds.

It’s possible to combine two Short or Medium sitreps into a longer one, transitioning to the second upon completion of the first.

Depending on the situation, the GM should assign an appropriate target duration for the combat scene in rounds. Choose longer durations for higher-complexity fights.

Cutoff Times

When using these targets, encounters may run shorter or longer than expected. Unless there is a reason for a cutoff time (in the fiction or in real life), it is not required to have one. If a hard cutoff is desired, the following are recommended for each duration:

Short: End after 4 rounds.
Medium: End after 6 rounds.
Long: End after 8 rounds.

Soft cutoffs (i.e., factors that make victory after a certain point more difficult or taxing, but not impossible) can also be used. This could be the introduction of additional Reinforcements, or it could be an environmental effect like damaging sandstorms or rising water levels. If the cost of continuing seems too great, players can choose to Retreat.

Retreat (Optional Rule)

Sometimes it is less costly to yield an objective and regroup instead of pushing through a combat towards an uncertain victory. At the start of any round after reinforcements have been deployed, players may collectively choose to Retreat. To do so, each PC makes an Agility check; the check has +1 Difficulty if the PC is Slowed, or +2 Difficulty if they are Immobilized (whichever is worse). On a success, the PC escapes without further harm. On a failure, part of the PC’s mech is destroyed during escape; they suffer the System Trauma effect from the Structure Damage Table (Lancer, p. 80).

Regardless of overall success or failure, the PCs flee from the combat, treating it as a PC Defeat. They suffer the consequences of defeat as makes sense in the fiction. For example, if a combat’s objective was to disarm a bomb to prevent it from destroying a building, then upon Retreat the bomb detonates as if the PCs were defeated: The building is destroyed, but if detonation would have also damaged the PCs, they escape the blast thanks to their Retreat.

After Retreat, PCs usually cannot return to the combat scene; the situation changes after escape, and the mission requires a new avenue of approach. See Failing Forward (Lancer, p. 263) for more information.

Enemy Forces

Total combined enemy forces (i.e., both the initial deployment and any reinforcements) scale with the intended duration of the sitrep. Simply put: More enemies means a longer fight, and vice versa.

Short: 1–2 normal NPCs per PC.
Medium: 2–3 normal NPCs per PC.
Long: 3–4 normal NPCs per PC.

NPCs with extra Structure count as an additional “normal NPC” for each additional point of Structure. Conversely, NPCs with reduced HP (like Grunts) are typically valued at 1 Structure per 2–4 NPCs.

Deployment

PCs deploy in an Allied Deployment Zone (ADZ) and initial Enemy Forces deploy in an Enemy Deployment Zone (EDZ); the side in a defensive position deploys last. If neither force is in a defensive position, randomly determine who deploys last.

Although preparing Enemy Forces tracks Structure, Deployment instead tracks turns/round. In an initial deployment, target a “sweet spot” of NPC turns/round equal to the number of PCs +2. Fewer than that, and PCs tend to have a distinct advantage in sheer action economy. Greater than that, and the NPCs will have a long “tail” of turns with limited chance for PC response. At the end of each round, deploy an additional 0–2 NPCs from Reinforcements to an Ingress Zone (IZ) to maintain NPC turns/round around that “sweet spot”.

Naturally, NPCs that take additional turns/round (like Elite and Ultra NPCs) contribute to a larger portion of the total NPC turns/round.

Much of this information is community knowledge, as detailed in OWACS Ender’s GM’s Guide To Building Encounters.

Objective

In general, modular sitreps require more PC actions than Lancer’s usual sitreps. Advancing the objective typically requires a character to Search for, Handle, or Interact with an objective. Each sitrep’s victory conditions vary with its objective. The objectives below reference the following actions:

Interact (Protocol or Quick)

When you Interact, you manipulate an object in some way, such as pushing a button, knocking it over, or ripping out wires. You may only Interact 1/turn, regardless of whether it is used as a protocol or quick action.

If there are no hostile characters adjacent to the object when you Interact with it, you automatically succeed. If there is at least one hostile non-Drone character adjacent to the object, you must succeed on a contested skill check against one of those characters (chosen by the players or GM controlling those characters) in order to Interact with the object. The skill check is context-dependent. For example, you may attempt to reset a computer with a Systems check while an opponent is roughhousing you with a Hull check. Pilot skill triggers may be used in place of mech skills when the context is appropriate.

Handle (Protocol or Quick)

(This is a combination of Lancer’s Lifting and Dragging rules (Lancer, p. 62) and my previous work.)

A character may start to handle an adjacent object or willing character by lifting or dragging them. A character may choose to stop handling an object as a free action.

Mechs can drag characters or objects up to twice their Size but are Slowed while doing so. They can also lift characters or objects of equal or lesser Size overhead but are Immobilized while doing so. While dragging or lifting, characters can’t take reactions. The same rules apply to pilots and other characters on foot, but they can’t drag or lift anything above Size 1/2.

If a character starts to handle an object handled by a hostile character, the object does not move until it is only handled by characters allied with each other. If a character handling an object is involuntarily moved such that they are no longer adjacent to the object, they cease to handle the object. As a protocol or quick action, a handler may roll a single Hull check. All hostile handlers must succeed on a contested Hull check or cease to handle the object.

Area Search (Quick)

(This is a modification of Lancer’s Search action (Lancer, p. 70), included as an optional rule in Prototype Pattern Groups.)

When you Search, you attempt to identify hidden characters. To Search in a mech, make a Systems contested by the Agility checks of all Hidden characters within Sensors, ignoring line of sight.

To Search as a pilot on foot, instead make a contested skill check, adding bonuses from triggers as normal. Pilots are treated as having Sensors 5.

Any Hidden character who loses the contested check immediately loses Hidden and can be located again by any character.

Map Layout

Each sitrep has its own suggested layout. They use the same terminology as the sitreps in the Lancer Core Book. The GM is encouraged to use their best judgment when placing these zones; they may add, remove, and reposition objectives, deployment zones, ingress zones, and extraction zones to fit the fiction.