> An example could be: You have to hold the trolls off until dawn,
> you've an hour to go,
Excellent example of a good contest. But...
> let's give it five rounds, including
> incremental augments for the lightening sky, if you're on higher AP
> by the end, Elmal will have come to the rescue.
>
...why fix the duration at five rounds?
Your goal is: hold the trolls off until dawn. Their goal is something like 'Eat the hoomans before dawn'. If you knock the trolls down to -ive APs, you've held them off. If you end up at -ive APs, the trolls got you before the sun got them. If, in the first exchange, the heroes bid everything and win, narrate how their initial repulsion was so devastating that the trolls immediately fled. If the heroes keep bidding small amounts, the two sides keep sniping at other as the endless night wears on. If you want Elmal to lighten the sky, that'll probably be a small bid ("We hunker down for a few hours: 7AP, using my 'Build Stout Defences' ability") with any AP loss converted into a Hurt for the trolls.
I don't see why exchanges need to be fixed. After all, the game-time duration of the contest is much longer than the real-time duration, so you're only seeing the interesting bits anyway.
Neil.
-- Neil Smith Milton Keynes Roleplaying Games Club neil_at_... http://www.mkrpg.org.uk http://home.freeuk.com/wimp/ Honorary Life Member www.SADWargamers.com
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