Ross wrote:
"For example: give Indy 5w2 gun. Give the arab 17
Flashy Swordplay, 5w sword
and 5w dodge, and Indy 6 flashy anything ('cos he's
ill).
If Indy is first actor he pulls out the gun and shoots
him. APs are 45 Indy,
25 Arab. One or two shots should do it.
If Arab is first actor, he tries the Flashy sword
play, then switches to
sword. APs are Indy 6, Arab 17. Indy can at most
gamble 6 APs per bullet
shot (switching action), whereas the Arab with his
sword can gamble 17. Even
if the Arab hands over APs on the first encounter,
unless he hands over
*lots* allowing Indy to make his bullets worth more
than 6, the odds are still that he'll win it."
But surely each participants AP are based on the ability that they are actively using to achieve their goal. In other words, in either case Indy is using his gun, so his AP are 45.
Now, it seems to me that the swordsman started the contest with his high "flashy swordplay" ability, because either a) it is higher than his actualy sword ability, so he wanted the extra AP, or b) he expected Indy to have good combat skills but lower defenses against being demoralized. So, he makes a high bid--if he wins Indy is staining his pants and probably soon to be sliced up. Indy, uses his "cool under pressure" of about 5W2 and wins easily. Then on his turn he pulls out his gun, bids fairly high, his opponent has a generic defense of 6, Indy wins dramatically and drives his attacker deep into negative AP, leaving him at least severely wounded if not outright dead.
Now, if the arab feared Indy's gun, then maybe he would have made his his goal to "grapple the annoying foreigner" which would have made for a very different contest.....
--Bryan
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