On Resolution, Action and Combat

Inspired by Chris McDowall's brilliant procedures for play, I have internalized the following checklist as how I approach running any TRPG:

1. Offer them a Deal (a toll/price) or a Dilemma (foretelling of missed opportunity) to get what they want
2. Just give them what they want (continue with the procedure of play*)
3. Test their character/luck to see if they get what they want (consult the dice)

*I mean the procedures for crawls of all varieties or possibly social/roleplay scenarios

I used to be incredibly hung up on option 3, thinking that everything could be solved with the right dice mechanic. That obsession originally drew me away from Into the Odd/Electric Bastionland and towards Blades in the Dark and Mothership... but when I want to run something for my table I find I don't need any rules; I just consult these three steps and play into the setting and scenario.

I've also been obsessed with a "4-themed encounter table" that Chris McDowall introduced in one of his recent YouTube videos on session prep, which uses the math of 4 choose 2 to populate a d6 encounter table using 4 major themes you want your players to notice.

Trying to come up with 4 outcomes of any violent encounter that are interesting, I've come up with:

1. Injury
2. Mortality
3. Retreat
4. Shock

Which then populate a d6 as follows:

1. Injury/Mortality
2. Injury/Retreat
3. Injury/Shock
4. Mortality/Retreat
5. Mortality/Shock
6. Retreat/Shock

As you can see, each roll now has an incredibly evocative implication, which with the context of the scenario could almost write itself (to me at least). An interesting feature of the math is that each "theme" will occur half the time, so each is evenly weighted and reasonably likely to show up. It might be possible to replace damage dice and use this as a spark when deciding how trivial/skippable violent encounters end (such as when encountering mob enemies that need to be slain).