I wrote this up for my players after my first night of running HW. I did a few things wrong that night, and used these examples to explain how it should go.
The following examples have no edges or handicaps. I wanted it to showcase the most basic parts of skills and AP bids. I hope it helps others who are as confused as I was. Here goes:
The online synopsis of the game manages to miss a few very important
things
about how the system works. This note tries to explain how they work.
Hero Wars has no hit points, statistics or skill definitions.
Conflicts are resolved several different ways:
Ability Contest
When its's just no big deal, like noticing someone walking up the road
in
daylight while you guard a gate. Roll equal to or less than your skill.
1 is
a critical success, 20 is a fumble unless your skill is 20 or better, in
which case 20 is a failure.
Simple Contest
When the person walking toward you has tried to disguise its identity,
you
match your Scan (or Notice, or Spot Hidden, or Suspicious....) against
the
person's Disguise skill. Each must roll under their skill, with the low
roll
winning. Your Scan of 15 rolls a 14, success, but it just looks like a
local
guy in a hat. (The other guy rolled a 7 on his Disguise. so he wins.)
Extended Contest
When its dramatic and important, Action Points come into play. The
Disguised
person throws aside its cloak and is revealed as a Broo! Drawing a
rusty shortsword, it charges full speed at you,head down and twisted
horns aimed at your belly.
In mechanics terms, the broo has started an all-out attack. This is
simulated in game terms by the Broo's player making a large Action Point
bid. Characters can bid up to as many Action Points as they have, with
a few
exceptions mentioned below. Starting Action Points (AP) are equal to the
skill in question.
The nasty broo has a Head Butt skill of 20, and surprise gives him a so his starting AP are 20. He's going to bid all 20! He's clearly hoping to take you out before you can raise the alarm.
You have a Spear and Shield skill of 18, If you lose
this contest, you may not even get a chance to raise the alarm. His
first
attack has a chance to daze, hurt, injure or almost kill you. Any AP
gains or losses for this "round" are based on the Broo's bid of 20.
The broo rolls a 12, pretty ordinary. Maybe you can get out of his
way....rolling a 12--a tie!, you see that you've both succeeded and the
tie
means no one loses any AP. After your shout, you can hear the other
guards
rousing....
Next round it's YOUR turn to bid. No reason to play anything risky
here--you
know help is on the way. So you Bid 1 AP. The broo wheels around to
charge
at you again, but this time you're up on the balls of your feet and the
broo
hears the fort rousing.
He comes at you again, trying to get past your now lowered spear point.
His
lunge as you poke--you roll a 4 (great roll!) and he rolls a 18. You tie
again, but this time your roll is lower. Your spear point wards him off
and
he has to all but back flip to avoid it. The broo loses 1 AP because you
tied and both succeeded, but your roll was better. Guards shout from the
wall...
Again, the Broo makes a huge attack, charging at full force. He bids 20--even though he only has 19. Gutsy, or nuts. He can bid up to his STARTING AP, even if he has fewer than he started with.
Receiving the charge full on your shield, there's
a huge clatter--your roll of 19 looks bad--a failure! Wait--the broo
rolls a
20. He's got a 20 skill, but a 20 is a failure anyway. So he's in bad
shape,
but so are you. Your failure means you lose 1X your bid.(So does he.)
Yikes!
that's 20 Action Points and would put you at 0. That's called a Marginal
Defeat and would leave you without AP and "Dazed".
Time for Bravery! Instead of submitting to the AP loss, defeat and
falling
to the ground woozy, you can choose to accept wounds. Each wound "soaks
up" 7 AP, so 1 wound stops all the AP loss. The broo's sword snuck
around
your shield and jabbed into your thigh--your shield bashed a gash into
his
head. It looks like the broo took a wound to avoid 0 AP too.
He's getting woozy, and the sound of archers on the battlements makes
you
willing to take a risk. Your turn to bid, and even though you only have
7
AP, you bid your starting amount--19. A good roll this time could end
the
fight before the archers can hog the credit. You slide around the broo,
getting your back to the wall.
Shaking his head, the broo focuses on you, snorts and charges. Your 5
is a great roll, even with your skill
lowered by -1 since you're wounded. The broo rolls a 20! Normally that
would
just be a failure, but he's at -1 to skill too, so he Fumbles! You
snake out
your spear tip behind his forward leg, step aside and lift---the broo
lifts
completely off the ground and aided by his own momentum smashes full
head on
into the fort's wall. Since your bid was 19, and he fumbled to your
success, he
loses 3x 19 or 57 AP! He was at 7, so now he's at -50. Since -31 AP or
more is a Complete Defeat, he sags down the face of the wall like a
sack of
rotten potatoes, dying.
A cheer from the parapet above you lets you know they'll be singing
about
THAT move tonight! Now...let's just hope the shortsword wasn't
diseased....
These kind of contests work for magic, for armwrestling, whatever.
Please feel free to comment or correct.
Mike Dawson
Please write me with your descriptions of how "Gaumata's Vision"
went for your gaming group.
mdawson_at_...
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