Setup vs Assist

There are two ways you can help someone else. A Setup Action, and proving Assistance. Let’s look at the differences.

Compare

Setup Action

A Setup Action is, conceptually, a distinct Action, that happen before the original Action. You did something to make the situation better before they do their thing. Although ‘before’ can be seconds, and remember Flashbacks.

This is the safe option. It doesn’t cost you anything, it doesn’t really risk anything unless the thing you decide to do is itself risky. However, it does require a roll, although as always the GM can declare that something is so trivial for your character that you automatically succeed.

And it only applies to one Outcome. However, different things can be done for different Outcomes.

Setup Actions also do not really exist mechanically, in a way. They’re just saying ‘Let’s pause that thing one player is about to deal with and let this other player do this other thing first that will make it easier’, but nothing was stopping that second player from just doing that thing to start with. There’s nothing special about a Setup Action except how people think about it.

Assistance

Assistance is, conceptually, part the same Action, done at the same time. You are doing the thing with them as they do it. This means it can’t be done in a flashback. However, you can flashback to try to learn something or have equipment that you need for the assistance.

This costs, at minimum, a Stress. It also makes you involved in that Action, which means the GM is well within their rights to add addition Outcomes to their roll which could impact you.

However, it does more. It adds an entire dice to their roll and thus makes Actions Rolls more likely to succeed. It’s why you don’t have to roll when assisting, because the original person is rolling that dice instead.

Often it’s your choice

There are a lot of times when you can pick which you do something as, and it really just vary in how you describe them. It’s merely if you conceive of them as ‘Before you do that, let me try this thing first’ or ‘Let’s do this together.

Let’s set up a situation that can go both ways:

Gameplay

GM And this is the part of the blatant lying to Jim’s face where he tries to punch you, Greg. Level two harm incoming. What do?

Greg I shall…wish Reuban was here and I was where he is? But I will fight back. Assault, so absolutely no dots. Uh, we have to take him down, too, can we add an outcome to that?

GM Yeah, I’ll add in ‘taking him down’ as an outcome.

Greg One die, two outcomes, still not great. Minerva, can you help any? Fly a drone into his face?

Minerva You want me to unpack the drone again and put the rotors on and launch it into his face while you’re being punched? Don’t think I have time for that. But it is pretty big, and should work as a weapon. I think I’m just going to hit him with it. The whole case.

GM Assistance, or Setup action?

Assistance

Gameplay

Minerva Assistance. This is a two-on-one fight now. I will help by throwing the drone case at Jim.

GM Sure. Take a Stress. And Greg, starting from zero dice, that’s one added for assistance, and one added for ‘taking him down’. So two dice, and two outcomes.

Greg Alright. Let me roll. That’s a 4 and a 4. So…partial successes in everything.

GM You manage to duck backwards slightly as his fist swings at you, although when it’s about a foot from his face the drone case suddenly smashes into the side of his head with an expensive tinkling sound. That doesn’t stop the speed or impact or anything, and his fist glances off your jaw, take Level 1 Harm Bleeding Lip. However, he is temporary dazed. If you run, you can get out of there before he recovers

Here, Minerva paid a Stress and didn’t have to roll. Greg gets an extra dice, which pulls him out of the hole he started in by having no dots. So he’s partially successful at both avoiding the attack and taking Jim down.

Setup Action

Gameplay

Minerva Setup. So, flashback to five second earlier-

GM You don’t have to say that, but sure.

Mineva I slide around the edge of the room, unseen, and throw the drone case at Jim.

GM Unseen? You’re trying to stealth?

Minerva I am canonically very stealthy and unnoticeable, even when in the same room. And he was up in Greg face…and I’m not doing it towards the exit, so he knows I’m not trying to sneak past. Just…I don’t want him to see the throw until too late.

GM You know, I’ll let you have that. Roll me a Stealth.

Minerva And a 5.

GM That’s going change things, Greg. Do you want to put that into ‘taking him down’ or ‘not getting hurt’?

Greg We better just take him down, we’re done here, I can limp out. And…to roll one dice for two outcomes, I would roll…

GM You roll one normal, and then another two and take the lowest.

Greg So, a 4…that’s a good start…and a 4 and a 2, so 2. So, let’s put the 4 in taking him down, and I take a 2 to straight to the face.

GM Okay, so, you do not manage to brace yourself or do anything except to note his exceptional form as his fist swings at you, although he loses his form when it’s about a foot from your face, because the drone case suddenly smashes into the side of his head with an expensive tinkling sound. That doesn’t actually stop the speed or impact or anything, and his fist smashes into your jaw, take Level 2 Harm Possible Concussion. However, he is knocked unconscious by the case that he failed to see until the last second.

Here, Minerva had to do a Stealth Roll, which she could have failed, but she doesn’t have to pay anything. And failure wouldn’t have harmed anything, it would have just resulted in the drone case missing Jim entirely or something.

Greg got some extra Effect to use either to take Jim down or to avoid getting hit, and used it and this partial success to fully take Jim down. However, because Greg failed at avoiding the attack, he gets punched in the face. Of course, he could resistance roll that, taking some Stress.

Sometimes it’s not a choice

But there are some thing that can’t be done as an Assist. Such as if people are doing completely separate things, like someone is setting off a distraction while someone else sneaks into somewhere. Those are two completely independent things, and cannot be merged together into an Assist.

There are also times where something can only be done as an Assist, mostly because both people are doing the exact same thing, and there isn’t some distinct ‘before’ action that makes sense. If two people are both trying to Modify a car so it won’t start later, that’s one thing, one of them should take the lead and the other assist.

Additional considerations

Assistance can only help on a single roll. They’re helping you do the thing, and that stops when you stop.

Setup Actions, however, have no such restriction. If you do a Setup Action and then the original Roll that it helps, it doesn’t magically go away, the situation created by that Setup Action still exists.

It usually won’t come up again in future rolls, but it can. The rule is that it definitely can help for one Outcome, if the GM lets you do it, but it still exists narratively and can be a consideration. It can even make things harder for you if poorly thought out.