Beyond All-or-Nothing: Accumulated Progress
(or "How To Eat An Elephant 101")
Important obstacles rarely fall to a single roll. You have to keep chipping away at them; it's a little like whittling down a foe's health one strike at a time. This model works far beyond combat.
If a door is barred and you decide to chop it down with an axe the GM might assign a Difficulty Level. (If you see DL instead of EL it just means whatever's resisting you is probably inanimate/passive.) You hit the door, and it rolls resistance only. If it rolls better than you it has resisted your effort, but if you get even a little bit of effect it weakens the door.
The only reason to do it this way is when time matters. If there's no time pressure, why roll? If you have an axe, you can eventually get through any normal door. Most of the time it's better to go straight to opposition. If the door rolls against you and wins then it generates effect!
What kind of effect could a door generate? Noise, for one thing; guards might respond to enough racket. We already mentioned traps. Maybe the recoil rattles your teeth. Maybe the effect isn't literally from the door, but the room is filling with water and you will drown if you don't get it open in time...
In a rooftop chase where you must leap an alley, a single roll trivializes a jump that could potentially kill you. Treat it like a fight! If it wins a roll you hit the far wall, knock the wind out of yourself (a Complication), and scramble to hold on, but pull yourself up and continue the chase. A worthwhile1 obstacle is a challenge in its own right, rolling against you with purpose and potential.
Notes
- Worthwhile Obstacles… It's also nice to have a few easy tasks now and then. Sometimes an otherwise trivial roll can surprise you and start a whole new adventure! Usually, though, the easy stuff can just be skipped. DON'T drag the game down by making an entire battle scene out of each and every time the dwarf orders another beer. ↩