From time to time, my players will ask me about some element of the immediate setting; something like, "Is there a door nearby that I can escape through," or "Is there an isolated guard that I can mug for his uniform?"

My response to these has heretofore been to roll a die. I ask the player if they want odds or evens, and if the die comes up with their choice, they get the result they want. Otherwise, no sale. Simple, and it's worked well.

A few minutes ago I had an idea, though. Yeah, I know, run for the hills. The idea is this: in these situations, the player can either choose the die roll, and accept a 50/50 chance of being slightly-to-moderately screwed; or they can spend a point of Edge and declare that what they want is true.

There would be three caveats: one, your declaration must be plausible, and plausibility is strictly at my discretion. If you're in a cafe, and a Triad hit squad comes in gunning for you, you can't declare, "There is a Vindicator minigun hidden in one of the potted plants!" That's not plausible. Two, you cannot make a declaration that directly affects another character, i.e., no declaring that the leader of the hit squad trips and knocks himself unconscious on the edge of a table. Three, any piece of gear gained through a declaration will be lost at the end of the scene. If you declare that one of the other customers left his keys in the car and use it to escape, something will happen to render the car unusable once you no longer need it.

Critique welcome.

I've done something similar. If the character is inquiring about near-by environmental bonuses, I'll simply have them roll their Edge score with a set threshold in mind based off the likelihood of the given scenario. More vague, less clear statements can backfire. Like a door to escape a mob in an alleyway, but it's locked. Though that can give players whole new challenges.

It's a good idea.

We also use a roll edge test to see if there is environmental factors present the player can use but usually only when it is a real maybe sort of thing. How lucky are you? The other thing to keep in mind is does it tell a better story or make the scene more interesting if what the player wants is there. Take a look around the room you are in now and see how many things there that a Shadowrunner could make use of.
I'm kind of a fan of players helping with the narration in these cases if it makes for a better story. It is supposed to be a cooperative story telling game after all.

I too would use edge. However, what I do would not require them to use a point of edge. I simply roll the character's edge to determine if something happens.

If it is something the players ask for, I would assign a threshold for the Edge test based on the odds. If it is something particular the players ask for, I might up the threshold by 1 or 2, depending on how advantageous it would be for them at that moment.

Vice versa, I would also make secret Edge tests to determine if something purely random might occur that may aid or impede the character in the story. For example, I had a player who called up a cop, that was bedding the local simsense dealer, and the player attempted to convince the cop that she was the dealer, using the physad voice mod power. I thought that was quite foolish of the player to do without making sure the cop was alone first, so I rolled the player's edge, and didn't manage a single hit. So, I decided that the cop was with the simsense dealer at the time of the call. The cop came ready to fight, rather than talk.

I try to give highly detailed descriptions of the environment, so that the players don't need to ask about things like entry points and guard positions and whatnot, but I do have a similar system in place for anything I as a GM have failed to account for properly.

Basically, anytime a player asks me a question I don't have a prepared response for, I consider that to be a professional fault on my part and will reward them by considering turning some aspect of their inquiry to their advantage. So while I already know in advance that all the doors except one in a building will be locked, if they blindside me with an idea like "If the doors are made of metal, I want to use my Shape Metal spell to bypass them" and I honestly hadn't considered the door construction (and it fits the scenario and doesn't contradict anything), I typically decide, yes, the doors are metal (or at least certain of them are).

It compels me to put more thought into designing my runs, and it rewards my players for clever thinking and being observant, so win-win.

~Umi

I like the idea a lot and have used it in all variations read above. If I describe a bar, there is no need to check if there is a stool or a bottle nearby to break over some poor sobs head, so no roll and no edge spent. If there is doubt that there is something present, I let them roll edge against a threshold. If its backtracking/ retconning things they have to spend edge to have that for the remainder of the scene (a rented car at a parking lot to change getaway vehicles, a hidden something, somewhere. As said before I keep a Veto as a GM to how plausible it is for the given character concept (a hidden weapon for a samurai, a getaway vehicle for the rigger, a lockpick in the sole of your shoes for the covert ops guy). Preparing is still always better, as you still have to have Edge left for this to work.

The main thing is, it gives player characters an opportunity to shine like movie or novel characters often do, "beeing" prepared. It did also cut time spent planning significantly and allowed for a lot more "Action" and roleplaying and generally a more invested atmosphere at the table. Sometimes it even became a "contest" of who could make more of a given environment without having to spend edge. Sometimes players get a really great idea while diving right into the run, some time after planning - this way it feels less wasted as they can spent edge to retcon at least some of it into any given story.

I break down the information I give out. For most things, I prepare what I feel is a no-Perception-roll-required description. Then Threshold 1. Threshold 2. And so on.

A character who has both a high Perception DP and a high Edge will likely have much more information to act upon. Characters with relevant Knowledge skills can roll to specifically be looking out for such information like security protocol, physical security in place, etc. A perceptive character will likely know who are packing concealed weapons and a lucky character may find a weapon, a character who is perceptive, lucky and knowledgeable would be very difficult to keep off balance.

One mechanic I've seen in some systems that I find useful all over the place: Declarations. Basically, a player can make a roll on something relevant to declare that something is the case. For example, rolling Knowledge: Street Racing to insert something in a scene involving street racers. Threshold set based on how much sense it makes, potentially requiring a point of Edge to be spent to do it.

A system that's always worked for our group is 'convincing' the GM of the plausability of what you're asking for. So instead of "I look around for a fire escape" I'd go with something like "Well this building must have a fire escape. It's most likely around the back through this door as that would open onto the street outside". It's basically a character thinking out loud, but allows you to provide reasoning to your idea and then it'll happen or not based on whether the GM agrees

I'm certainly open to persuasion, and the fire escape is a good example.

I think it's a fine use of Edge, but should always be GM-approved (to avoid really ridiculous stuff from happening).

Some game systems actually use this kind of "story control" element for the players.

Bye
Thanee

Yeah, "drama points" are a well established mechanic, where you spend them to create details in the scene. The greater the change, the more you have to spend.

In SR4.5, Edge is a good replacement. Even though Edge is highly overpowered as is, this is much more balanced, because the player and the GM have to work together to describe the effect. It gets players more involved in the narrative aspect of the game.

Ooooh, I like this idea. I like it a lot. I think I'd adopt it wholesale for Shadowrun - rolling Edge - but for Star Wars, with a completely different dice mechanic... Maybe spend a Force Point to narratively declare something about the scene, with the GM having veto power (with no expenditure, of course.)

that is my experience, too. My players really enjoy the mechanic. I am really curious about how we will implement the mechanic into 5th Edition.

I like this idea very much, and it works well even for those that plan every little detail, because environments are fluid, and constantly changing. Edge represents luck, so the characters are rolling to see if they have the luck that maybe the opposing response team forgot to relock a door, or the power fails at a critical moment allowing them to escape. Things like that reinforce that the characters are the heroes and makes the game more cinematic.