The focused ability usage bonus is (again as far as I remember) unrelated to the resistance difficulty.
It *is* related to the resistance *name* though: if your hero's ability is narrowly focused on opposing the *definition* of the resistance (gleaned from it's name) then you *can* receive a bonus (at the narrator's option).
So:
After 7 sessions of play in the series, the Base Resistance is 16.
Having been cornered in a back street of Alda Chur, Broddi the Groveller
tries to weasel his way out of the clutches of Angmar the Dark Assassin.
Angmar is known for mercilessly carrying out his 'retirements' and is
reputed to have even slain a Chalana Arroy devotee in an unlit alley in
Alone, northern Sartar. The narrator has no trouble knowing that Angmar's
reputation denotes a difficulty of Hard.
Broddi's ability at grovelling is appropriate to the situation, so the
narrowly focused ability receives +6 bonus.
Pitiful [17 +6 (focused) =] 3W vs Merciless [16 +9 (Hard) =] 5W
Cancelling masteries: 3 vs 5
Broddi's player rolls 14, a failure
The narrator rolls 11, also a failure but the lower rolled value.
Outcome is *marginal victory* for Angmar.
This could be narrated: Angmar mercilessly grabs Broddi by the collar of his
vestment, intending to do him in *but* Broddi's incessant whining (his
player narrated that Broddi tries to wheedle his way out of the situation by
claiming mistaken identity [which is true]) distracts the assassin enough so
that Broddi can wriggle out of the vestment and (naked) make a dive into the
freezing cold river.
The reason for the Hard resistance was initially inspired by the Pass/Fail Cycle. The heroes had had a string of victories and the narrator knew it was time for a bit more adversity, so she used the character Angmar who could provide a Hard resistance, in keeping with the story.
From: HeroQuest-rules_at_yahoogroups.com
[mailto:HeroQuest-rules_at_yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of L C
Sent: 05 March 2009 06:04
To: HeroQuest-rules_at_yahoogroups.com
Subject: Re: Relative resistances and narrow/broad
abilities
Olli. I think you must keep in mind that relative resistances aren't a
fixed requirement. (How very Zen.)
In other words, what this does (from my understanding) is put the
judgment of what resistance to set with the GM, rather than fix things
at a given level.
In other words, Breaking through this Wall is not a 10W3 resistance, it's just REALLY HARD. What does REALLY HARD mean in your game? Well, that depends on your game, doesn't it?
So to take your Pitiful, Narrow, Broad, Augmenting ability thing, I don't think you ever go "this event will be +5 harder". Sometimes you do if narratively that makes sense. But usually you would say, "That Pitiful Ability is PERFECT" so this shouldn't be too hard using it. Or that broad ability sort of applies, but it will be tough. Or that narrow ability is pretty spot on, but this is a really tough wall.
What the rules give you are how to set what tough, really tough, easy, etc, are - and you set those related to the ability in question. Or possibly the ability level of the campaign. (That's unclear to me.)
But it isn't set as "Your next challenge is +5 whatever ability you use", I'm pretty sure of that.
LC
Olli Kantola wrote:
>
> Hello,
>
> I don't have access to HQ2 draft although I managed to page thru it once.
> Perhaps this is premature anyway, because the new HeroQuest isn't coming
> out until 2012. ;)
>
> Anyway, I was thingking about narrow and broad abilities, devotees and
> stuff and relative resistances. It seems to me that there is no point in
> having abilities narrow or broad if this relative resistances thing works
> like it sounds like it works.
>
> Let's say that I have:
>
> Pitiful Ability 13
> Narrow Ability 10W
> Broad Ability 10W
> Augmenting Ability 15
>
> Now, if the resistance is going to be 5 bigger than my final number, who
> cares if I get +6 for a narrow ability? Why not just use the Pitiful
> Ability instead. Perhaps it's better color anyway, if the actual name of
> the ability is nifty enough.
>
> Am I getting something wrong here or what? I have confidence in Robin's
> game design fu, but following this conversation is bound to confuse
> anyone.
> =)
>
> Olli Kantola
> ----
>
> As far as we can discern, the sole purpose of human existence is to
> kindle
> a light in the darkness of mere being.
>
>
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