On 25 Nov 2010, at 19:50, sarah.newton5_at_... wrote:
>
> Cool - so in the warrior vs wizard example above, would each
> character use their best attack ability, or would one of them be in
> some sense defending against the other? Does either of them get to
> "set" the context of the contest that the other participant has to
> respond to?
>
The abilities that can be used are limited by the context and the objectives - i.e. the ability must be one that could sensibly be used given the situation and capable of achieving the objective. And of course, circumstances may suggest that some abilities suffer a penalty. For the wizard versus warrior example you would likely consider range, cover, weapons and so on. Typically the wizard would have an advantage at range (especially if the warrior lacks a ranged attack) while the warrior would do better at close quarters.
If both are trying to win the fight then attack abilities would usually be used as the primary ability (unless one or the other is trying something tricky). Defensive abilities would be usable as augments.
So the wizard and the warrior are standing at either end of a 50' corridor. The wizard uses Puissant Bolt of Doom. The warrior uses his Terrible Swift Sword ability to attack, suffering a penalty of -3 for the range (the spell could toast him before he gets close enough to attack) but Augmenting with his Fast as the Wind ability (he could use a dodging ability, too).
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