Oscar can still win (assuming he isn't splattered in the first strike), if his wit can disturb/confuse/demoralize the troll. Oscar can use any defense he wishes, not just his rapier wit - so if he has dodge, or scamper, or whatever, he can "defend" with that, while still hurling taunts at the troll as his "attack". An example - Cyrano de Bergerac's duel with the fellow outside the theater: I'd run it as a contest of Cyrano's Wit (augmented by his Fencing) against the poor fellow's Fencing. Cyrano sets the stakes at the beginning of the scene - "I will compose a poem" - and proceeds to demolish the fellow both physically and mentally. Cyrano's defense is his fencing ability, not his wit.
> Another case: Oscar and the troll meet in the wilderness and Oscar uses R
> Wit against the troll who responds with his maul. Hopefully, you're not
> saying that Oscar can stop the troll in his tracks with a sarcastic remark
> short of Oscar's R Wit being magical.
Short of a magical Wit, it's not a *good* idea, but it is a possible one. If Oscar initiates the fight, what is he trying to do? Obviously not damage the troll physically! Oscar's intentions in the fight are at least as important as the fact that the Troll is trying to tentpeg him.
> I think that there should be some consensus that the game rules do not
> dictate that anyone can win any contest at any time by choosing any skill
> that he (the Actor) happens to be good at. Here are some examples that
> assume that Oscar's Rapier Wit is not magical, that Oscar has no good
> physical combat skills, that the opponent does and will beat him
decisively
> in physical combat, and that Oscar tries to start a contest with Rapier
Wit
> against the opponent.
The Narrator & players are in charge of making sure that the skills used and the contests match up.
> Example1: Oscar tries Rapier Wit in a social situation where it will be
<snip>
> My Solution to all of these examples: First of all, the Narrator should
> probably rule in all of these cases that the battle of wits is a simple
> contest (it takes two to have an extended contest). Then, like contests
> only effect like skills (unless there are extenuating circumstances or
> magic). Oscar humiliating his opponent will not prevent the opponent from
> effectively physically attacking him. There are some simple allowable
> extenuating circumstances: the opponent fights less well because Oscar
> humiliated him in front of his friends and he is still self-conscious or
> the opponent fights even more fiercely to punish Oscar for humiliating
him.
Certainly *a* way to do it. HW does not have only one way to do things, it has several different types of contest. If one does not work in a particular circumstance, use another. Play around with the various contests and see what works best for *you*.
RR
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