Rewriting Dwindle pt 2 Bonuses & Setbacks

When I originally wrote Dwindle, any skill roll dice that had minimum or maximum values affected the degrees of the roll's success. Dice with 1s would make the roll less successful, causing setbacks (complications) on successes, or making failures into critical failures. Dice that showed their maximum values would do the same. They would grant a bonus on a failure, or cause a success to be a critical success.

The rule worked really well. Then I tweaked it. Now instead of instant modification of the outcome, the characters gain cookies (my term for any metacurrency in games: power points, inspiration points, etc). This makes multiples 1s or die maximums count for more, but I think we lost some of the fun.

Players began to just fling chips around without narration or description. Time to go back to the original.

Bonuses and Setbacks

Whenever you gain the minimum or maximum value on any dice in a skill roll, you will gain a Setback or a Bonus, respectively. These create nuance within the outcome, and help to create a more interesting story.

Bonuses

Whenever any dice you roll on a skill check result in their maximum value (ex. 20 on a d20 or 4 on a d4) your roll will gain a bonus. You can narrate the bonus to illustrate how a failure was softened or a success became mighty. Examples of bonuses may include steep discounts, bonus damage, or advantage next time you roll against the same target. If you acquire multiple Bonuses from a single roll, then you can greatly increase the bonuses you narrate.

Setbacks

Whenever any dice you roll on a skill check result in the minimum value (ex. 1 on any die) your roll will gain a setback. The player to your right (not the GM) will narrate what bad thing happens to you. This will soften your successes or make your failures dismal. However, you and the narrating player will both gain 1xp, regardless of how many actual 1s were shown. Examples of Setbacks may include increased costs, more damage taken, or disadvantage next time you roll against the same target. If you have multiple Setbacks on a single roll, then your "Friend" can be particularly nasty in their description. 

Lexicon

• Bonus A narrative and mechanical improvement of a skill check. Resulting from dice showing their maximum values, and narrated by the rolling player.
• Setback A narrative and mechanical worsening of a skill check. Resulting from dice showing a 1. Setbacks are narrated by the player to the right of the rolling player, and both players receive 1xp.