Any time you feel that there is the potential of conflict for the character(s) around the next corner, you may do any or all of these three things. If you’re exploring all three, for quickness maybe roll 5d6 at one time and just separate out the results on the table, so like 2 dice for distance, 1 for surprise, 2 for grit.
Roll for Distance
You may roll 2d6, and multiply the result by 10 to learn how many feet or metres any creatures or NPCs are from the character(s) if they’re inside at the time, or how many yards or metres they are from the character(s) if they’re outside at the time. Don’t sweat the distance though - in this game, range is just an abstract to give an idea about how close things are.
Roll for Surprise
Unless it’s pretty clear one or both sides notice each other, you may then roll 1d6 to see if those creatures or NPCs, or the character(s), are surprised by encountering each other. 1-2 means the character(s) are surprised, 3-4 means the creatures or NPCs are surprised, 5 means both are surprised, and 6 means neither side’s surprised. If neither or both are surprised, maybe move first to new paths. If only one side’s not surprised, that side has one free round to try whatever they want, like attack without risk of being hit if they fail their roll, or take one of the new paths.
Roll for Grit
Finally, you may roll 2d6, and check the grit score for those creatures or NPCs, including any hirelings of the character(s), or check the grit tables, to see how they might react to spotting the character(s), or how they might be acting as the character(s) arrive. If a fight happens, follow the steps in during conflict.
Click here for some examples of all this in action at the table!
what's next?
Ok, so from here you might want to...
...move onto handling conflict in the moment
...return to the rules of the chaos intro
...or check out the character generation guides
Remember, though, that you can navigate anywhere on the site using the menus on each page, and if you ever get lost, roll 1d6 and we'll see what perils you encounter!