On the Discord, Guybrush asked:

Could someone please confirm whether or not someone can receive multiple step-ups or step-downs if multiple circumstances are given? e.g., d4 could be stepped up twice to a d8.

Now, as it happens, a part of this answer ties into the excellent four-part Dee Sanction Actual Play posted by Alun Rees, so stick with me!

The GM may increase or ease a Challenge’s difficulty because of environment, preparation, or enemy potency. But, broadly speaking, that step change — whether Advantage or Disadvantage — relates to one of each thing.

For example, if an Agent has fine tools and spent a week planning, that’s preparation – the GM can give one step up. It’s dark and stormy – so, the GM can give one step down from the environment. Prep and assistance – well, in that instance, maybe two steps up.

However, the GM should consider whether, if there are two steps up, is it worth rolling? Are they sufficiently prepared that it would be too easy to warrant a challenge?

The same goes for bad stuff. Lose all your die to steps down—it means a Call to Fail. But, maybe, that amount of Disadvantage should make the task impossible.

The bit that nudged me from watching the Actual Plays was this — Abilities DO NOT usually add Steps. The possession of Abilities makes things possible — which is why an Agent has a few, and generally, none will duplicate across a team.

The section of the Core Rules on page 22 — Step-Up and Step-Down — provides notes about the sources of advantages and disadvantages (as above, including prep, environment, and potency of a foe) and highlights that without an Ability, the GM can judge a task impossible.

The dice mechanic of the game already makes Agents capable — on a D6, they have a 66% chance of success.

A Challenge to fake a document for someone with Intellectuall D6 and Counterfeit does not roll a D8; it rolls a D6. Without Counterfeit, it wouldn’t be possible; or, perhaps, the GM might allow it with a Step-Down or make it a Call to Fail and leave the player to decide whether to risk success at the cost of certain peril, or accept outright failure.

That last option isn’t called out in the book, but a GM has the right to consider it. An impossible thing might be achieved at some considerable cost — generally more than just a Hit; something tangible that escalates the threat would be far preferable. In that instance, the GM offers a Call to Fail, outlines the nature of the peril and allows the player — and probably the Table — to make or deny that Call.

This Kickstarter is the culmination of weeks of effort getting the building blocks of production, publicity and pledges in order. It is also the satisfying conclusion to seven years of tinkering with the setting, background concepts and, most recently, settling on the crunch framework of the game mechanics.

The core of the Kickstarter is the book, available in PDF (the Page), softcover (the Gentlefolk) and a cloth-bound hardcover version with a foil-blocked sigil of the Black Seal on the front (the Courtier).

For those who want a little bit more, there’s the Agent of Dee (limited to 75 backers), which offers a Kickstarter Exclusive All Rolled Up game roll with a metal buckle. The versatile, compact hobby wrap can hold more than 100 polyhedral dice, plus up to 10 pens and pencils, as well as index cards or a small notepad. It will feature a badge and, as I say, a metal buckle closure — something that generally only appears on the high-end oilskin Adventurer series All Rolled Ups.

The campaign will fund a 60-page black-and-white illustrated compact book (A5, 148 x 210mm/5.8 x 8.3 inches), 95% written at the time the Kickstarter starts and tested over several years.

If we hit the £3,000 goal for the Kickstarter, we’ll add more art, more content and enhance the range of initial digital material available to support the game.

Beyond the base Goal of £3,000, stretch goals will add:

•  More Art (£4,000) – We will add two additional full-page commission pieces by the talented Evlyn Moreau to the Core Book.
•  PDF Adventures #1 through 4 (various) – Over the course of playtesting the game, many adventures have been run, taking the Dee Sanction from the heart of the Ossulstone Hundred in the shadow of the Tower to the foothills of the Carpathian Mountains in the wilds of eastern Europe.
•  Longer Bestiary (£6,000) – The Core Book contains a two-page bestiary. At this stage, we will expand that count to four-pages in total.
•  Tudor Mini Guild (£8,000) – We will commission Evlyn to create twenty mini character portraits in the style of her Fabulous Mini Guild. All backers of virtual or physical product will receive a copy of the PDF version to print out or use online as tokens.
•  Ossulstone Map (£10,000) – First glimpsed at Dragonmeet in 2019, the part of London at the heart of many Dee Sanction investigations is that which lies in the shadow of the Tower of London. A work-in-progress, at this level all backers of virtual or physical product will receive a copy of the PDF version to print out or use online.
•  Sanction Journal (£11,000) – The Dee Sanction encourages a play style that weaves tales across different dates, places and characters. Rather than restrict character information to just a sheet, a Sanction Journal – also known as a Book of Days – provides copies of the character sheet interspersed with a mix of gridded, lined, and dotted paper. All backers of virtual or physical product will receive a copy of the PDF version to print and use.

If we hit the high end, we have more stretch goals in mind, but those will have to wait!

The Actual Play content on the page features both the adventure from the core book — Lost in Translation — and one of the stretch goal adventures — Ex Libris (in somewhat shortened form).

All being well, there are busy months ahead, with the final polish to apply on the core book, artwork to wrangle, and (hopefully) adventures to write. Head over to the Kickstarter shortly and pledge your support to the Queen and The Dee Sanction.