The 3 Axes of Outcomes

Every roll in a tabletop RPG should be interesting. A swing-and-a-miss just doesn't cut it anymore. We have more mature systems, like the new FF Genesys, that show us how a variety of possible outcomes, and a system for sub-goal effects, can make every character action propel the game forward.

Systems like Powered-by-the-Apocalypse are successful examples of how failing forward can keep a game progressing while constantly introducing new challenges for the players to face. But some players quickly grow tired of the average 7-10 roll always being the result (generally over half the rolls in any given game!). That's why in Genesys, they have 6 total possible outcomes, without leaving all of the dice interpretation to the players like in FATE or Mistborn. 

Success or failure on the action roll is important: do the characters accomplish their goal? Critical hits and misses, like in D&D, add two additional, time-tested exciting outcomes. In Genesys, there are also minor advantages and minor threats, for a total of six. What's more, each result is only mutually exclusive with it's counterpart (and not even true for criticals in Genesys!), giving us a satisfying variety of results: success with minor threat, failure with a critical advantage, or even success with both a critical effect and a critical threat!

This mix of results seems to be both the minimum required variety for keeping us entertained, but also the maximum amount of complexity we can still enjoy. I am currently reworking into Hostargo a mechanic I dropped some time ago. I'm dubbing this the "chaos die" that will be included in every roll, and there will be other mechanics to support and change this die, making it a properly integrated system rather than a stapled on rule.