Half of our group is surrounded by feral ghouls with only a wrecked vertibird for cover. The doors are jammed open. Time is against them. 

The other half woke up near an abandoned warehouse and no sign of the others. Worse, they've found a strange tunnel in the building and signs they might not be alone on the surface. 

[center] Shit is getting real.[/center]

And that means we need to talk about [b]high-stakes[/b] situations. Not every combat situation is high-stakes, so not all will require a roll. I encourage them  though, for creative purposes. When a situation has a high likelihood of death, rolling is required. Not for every hit, just for the choices that feed into how you handle the situation. Example.

Vert-gang has decided on a plan collectively. One member will distract the ghouls, two will attempt to sneak outside unnoticed, and the other two will try to cover them in case things go sideways. That's [i]three parts[/i] where success is really a game of chance and it'll need [i]three separate rolls[/i]. Each unique player involved in the individual part will have a D20 rolled on their behalf -- secondaries don't give you a bonus roll. Your collective score will determine how things go in total. Your individual rolls, if they're extreme, can affect how they go for [i]you[/i]. For things to go well you'll need to get a total count that's half the maximum possible count. If someone rolls a 5 and the other a 15, things go well and prizes await, but that first person might take a beating. A total count less than 20 means things are about to get worse.

And that's it. Sneak 1 rolls, gets a 18 (probably Brown). Sneak 2 rolls, gets a 2 (fuckin' Owen). Brown gets onto the vertibird like a ninja, while Owen falls and breaks his leg. Ferals don't notice, this part is successful. 

It's meant to be simple. I trust everyone will play fair and report their rolls in discord. If some folks seem to "always be lucky" you can expect some GM involvement. 

[b]Vert-Squad[/b] That's really how we're going to handle rolling. So, [@stormflyx] you can roll for Chowder in part 1 (distraction). For part 2 it'll be [@Cazzer1604] and I for Lancer Brown and Owen (sneaks). Part 3 [@stormflyx] and [@Lavenderdame] for Harper and Patty (cover). Report your rolls in discord/vert-gang. Let me know if you have questions there! 

[b]Ware-Homies[/b] It's a little different here. Our party is a few decisions away from approaching a different kind of high-stakes situation. Cross that bridge when we get there.