>
> Sure, but what you're omitting is "when does the contest end?". If
> a contestant is below 0AP, then, unless he invokes some special
> power (like a Secret), or takes a Final Action, then For Him, the
> Contest Is Over, surely?
In a single combat yes, in a group contest its nowhere near so simple. Unless their opponent finishes them off or spends the rest of the contest watching them its quite likely that they will re-enter the fray (or at least it is in my experience). Until everybody on one side is defeated all at one time the contest is still very much alive and even defeated combatants can make a comeback. Maybe getting back into the contest is a long shot but if so its one of those Discworld million-to-one shots that comes up nine times out of ten.
>
> Are you suggesting that if I'm reduced to -40 AP during a group
> contest (through "mundane" means like being sliced in two by the
enemy
> clan champion), then I remain in a state of quantum superposition of
> states until the _entire_ contest is over (i.e. one "side" has won)?
To some extent yes, if anyone has suitable magic to lend you AP then they can do so. Or someone could call on divine aid. Or something could happen somehow - never underestimate the inventiveness of players. Its more of an issue with the lesser losing positions - does -5 mean anything if by the end of the whole contest you made it back up to +10?
I think we are making this out to be a bigger difference than it usually is - the difference between a player immediately saying "I leap in and save him" and one who patiently waits his turn to say "I do something to save him". I see the whole wait-your-turn thing as more of a gaming convenience than something of real narrative value so I'm willing to do some narrative work-arounds where players can convince me that their actions are sufficiently simultaneous to head off the calamity. At the end of resolving all actor's stated actions the hero in question will have exactly the same number of AP either way - it is merely a question of rewarding interested players with a narrative that reflects the fact that they were paying attention and reacted accordingly.
-- Nic
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