Generally you'll do some sort of pre-combat rituals to get whatever augments you want. During a contest you'll "lose a turn" if you want to get an augment (ie, istead of attacking your opponent, you'll do an unrelated action). So you usually get your augment before combat, but you *can* get one during combat. However, you do not need to roll every round to see what your augmentation value is - once you've rolled, that's the value of that augmentation for the rest of the contest.
> a> Speaking of Edge, do you always add the 'winner's' attack Edge and
> the 'loser's' defence? What if you are bidding, but you lose? Do you
> still add his attack, subtract your defence? Or do you only add your
> attack when you bid, and just lose all the AP if you bid & lose? What
> about Transfers?
"Characters may be given edges in some situations that allow them to press their advantage when they succeed in extended contests. An edge is a number that is added to AP staked in an exchange when the character's opponent must transfer or forfeit AP.
A handicap is the reverse of an edge--it is a number subtracted from the stake when the character's opponent must transfer or forfeit AP. Handicaps may never reduce an AP bid below 1.
Edges and handicaps are added or subtracted to the bid before the bid is multiplied for degree of success."
Eaxmple:
I have a sword (^3) and Chain+shield (^5) My opponent has a large axe (^4) and a shield (^1) My edge against my opponent is ((3-1) = ^2). If I win an exchange, my opponent adds 2 to the bid before multiplying for Success Level. My opponent has a ((4-5) = ^-1) handicap. If he wins the exchange, I subtract 1 from the bid (minimum 1) before multiplying.
The bid is 5 AP. If I win the exchange, the bid is changed to 7 by my edge. If I lose, it is reduced to 4 by his handicap. Then we multiply for the Success Level.
> i} Mystic Strikes. OK, so I haven't seen the rules for magic, but the
> rules sysnopsis does include the basic description for strikes. So,
> from that, would I be right in assuming the target always resists with
> his full ability? It being just a Simple Contest, do the target's AP
> recover between attacks? Otherwise after one successful attack (with
> the target number added as Edge) the target will probably be
> defenceless!
Mystic strikes are supposed to be a one-shot kill. At the end of an Exchange when a Strike is used, some will probabably be down to 0 AP or less. The Mystic must bid all his available AP, and the Target Number of his Strike is added as an edge *to the winner of the contest*. Strikes are up there in the range of cult Secrets. You need to have at least 1w2 in three abilities before you can learn a Strike.
Example:
I use my Deadly Heart Punch strike, which has the special effect that my
opponent dies if I reduce him to 0 AP. My Opponent has 50 AP. I have 25 AP,
and a Target number of 5w. I'm basically bidding (25+25=50) AP. If I lose
the contest I'll be defeated in one exchange (I'll be driven to -25 on a x1
Multiplier, -75 on a x2, and -125 on a x3). I will also lose a number of
points in my Strike ability (assuming I'm still alive...). If I defeat my
opponent, I'll punch his heart through his backbone, killing him instantly
(no need to check the Consequence chart).
> I] I ran some test combats. First a Big, Tough, Strong, Minotaur
> against a good, but normal, human warrior. Over in 3 exchanges. Next a
> started character hero against the poor warrior. Took quite some time,
> but the hero won. Now, the time taken was fine, the big guy won FAST,
> as he had extra Edge, and more to bid, so the warrior lost AP in a big
> way. But there were only 3 wounds inflicted (one on the Minotaur!),
> while in Hero vs. Warrior there were 6-8 wounds! Only 1 wound per
> exchange, right? That doesn't sound right, the Minotaur should have
> minced the guy! Just driving him to 0 AP doesn't sound too violent...
> Opinions?
It all depends on how you bid. Someone (David D?) used the algorithim of 1/2AP-1 for bidding, but the players can bid anywhere from 1 to their total starting AP, which can stretch the combat out or reduce it to a single exchange. As far as driving someone below 0 AP, you can do a Parting Shot to reduce him *after* he goes below 0.
Roderick
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