Complications
Source GM Core pg. 220
Sometimes, when a plan goes sour and seems like it can't get worse, it does. Complications are unexpected problems that compound the difficulty of a challenge. The party might trigger a complication by critically failing a check to overcome a challenge, by reaching a certain threshold of Awareness Points, if you need to spice up the infiltration, or through their own decisions—maybe the supernatural research station is protected by several magical wards, each triggering different traps when a PC attempts to use a different kind of magic.
Many complications increase Awareness Points or otherwise make infiltration more difficult. A common form of complication is attracting the attention of security guards or robots who try to stop, capture, or even kill the PCs. When this happens, the infiltration might briefly shift into encounter mode as the PCs attempt to defeat their assailants. The sounds of battle are loud, and guards often have ways to trigger alarms or call for backup, so unless combat occurs in an isolated area or the PCs take precautions, each round of unmitigated combat causes them to gain Awareness Points, at the very least.
Each complication has a trigger that determines when it occurs. It might affect only a single character, or it might affect everyone in a certain area, and you'll need to determine whether multiple PCs can work together to overcome it or whether only one can. Complications must be overcome before the characters involved can overcome other obstacles, and attempting to overcome a complication takes a character's turn just like trying to overcome an obstacle. Many complications are one-off events and are overcome automatically, even on a failure, though not without a cost. If a complication requires PCs to gain Infiltration Points to clear it, it has an Infiltration Points entry, just like an obstacle.
Don't overwhelm the characters with complications. Typically, you'll want to aim for two complications per AP threshold. Otherwise, the PCs might end up spending more time on the complications than on the infiltration itself, and the chance of failure might be too high.
The following example is a common complication that could occur in almost any infiltration.
Trigger The PCs reach 5 Awareness Points for the first time.
Overcome standard, hard, or very hard Deception, Computers, Crafting, or Stealth
A security drone confronts the party and demands to see their credentials before asking them to vacate the area.
Many complications increase Awareness Points or otherwise make infiltration more difficult. A common form of complication is attracting the attention of security guards or robots who try to stop, capture, or even kill the PCs. When this happens, the infiltration might briefly shift into encounter mode as the PCs attempt to defeat their assailants. The sounds of battle are loud, and guards often have ways to trigger alarms or call for backup, so unless combat occurs in an isolated area or the PCs take precautions, each round of unmitigated combat causes them to gain Awareness Points, at the very least.
Each complication has a trigger that determines when it occurs. It might affect only a single character, or it might affect everyone in a certain area, and you'll need to determine whether multiple PCs can work together to overcome it or whether only one can. Complications must be overcome before the characters involved can overcome other obstacles, and attempting to overcome a complication takes a character's turn just like trying to overcome an obstacle. Many complications are one-off events and are overcome automatically, even on a failure, though not without a cost. If a complication requires PCs to gain Infiltration Points to clear it, it has an Infiltration Points entry, just like an obstacle.
Don't overwhelm the characters with complications. Typically, you'll want to aim for two complications per AP threshold. Otherwise, the PCs might end up spending more time on the complications than on the infiltration itself, and the chance of failure might be too high.
The following example is a common complication that could occur in almost any infiltration.
Submit Identification Complication
Trigger The PCs reach 5 Awareness Points for the first time.
Overcome standard, hard, or very hard Deception, Computers, Crafting, or Stealth
A security drone confronts the party and demands to see their credentials before asking them to vacate the area.
SuccessYou use fake credentials or convince the drone you're leaving.
FailureYou're caught in the act, security is notified of your presence, and the party accrues 1 AP.
Critical FailureAs failure, but the party accrues 2 AP.