Little addition to this: This discussion about drones, hosts, critters etc. being able to gain and spend Edge highlights another general problem with Edge replacing modifiers that´s worth discussing: What if there
really is no one to grant that Edge to? For Drones, Critters and IC, you can argue that these are Entities in Combat with their own stats, Initiative etc. For hosts and (unsupervised) devices in hacking tests, it´s already a bit trickier, but at least they have stats, defense rolls etc. Again, I´d argue that,
yes, these can earn Edge as well, reflecting their Firewalls getting more watchful etc. (
and usually spend it right away, because otherweise it would turn somewhat esoteric
and hard for the GM to track).
But in other situations, this gets harder and harder to justify. Shooting at inanimate stuff in bad lighting conditions, trying to climb a fence that´s slippery from rain - in these situations, there is no one you can give Edge to to reflect what would have been a dice pool modifier. So, what do? The obvious answer is to either default to a dice pool modifier or raise the Threshold. I mean, why not? That´s what GMs are for. But I have another suggestion/houserule/GM technique (call it whatever you want) that taps better into one of the actual strengths of the Edge System - being a narrative tool.
Narrative Edge Short version: You, the GM, get your own Edge pool to
pester your PC with create interesting challenges and narratives
Long version: You start the Session with a moderate amount of Narrative Edge on your side of the table (f.i. one point of Edge per PC?). Whenever the PCs "test their luck" by doing something under disadvantagous conditions
and there is no NPC you can give that point of Edge to, add it to your own pool. You can use it like the kind of all-mighty story-telling demigod you are. Of course, you should use that power wisely and, if possible, give a little in-game explanation on why you chose to spend your Narrative Edge in a certain way. For starters, I suggest you stick to these 4 Edge boosts:
- Reroll Dice: The default option, see above. Restrict the use of this boost to situations where the Players are actually in a disadvantagous situation that helped you earn narrative Edge in the first place, f.i. the "Climbing a wet fence" situation.
- Give Edge to an ally: You are the GM and not an NPC, so you can´t spend Edge directly for the Opposition. But you can spend 2 Edge to give 1 to them. Possible ingame explanations: The guards already got suspicious, or the negotiator can spot the dirt from that wet fence on your pants...
- Steal Edge from a PC: Pay 2, take 1 from a player. Note that it´s usually not fun when you take stuff from players. This should only be employed as a direct consequence of ill-advised or reckless PCs actions and not as a tactical GM tool to curb "edgy" players (or even for vengeance purposes).
- Special Effects: Pay 5, create some unexpected troubles for the players. My personal favourite. It´s often advised to add some complications to a run, especially when things go too smoothly - random traffic stops, unexpected changes to security protocolls, nosy civilians, that kind of stuff. But as a GM, I always have troubles to get the right moment to bring these up in a way that doesn´t look like I´m just adding complications for the hell of it. Narrative Edge might be just the right tool here
