Re: Masters in Extended Contest

From: Roderick and Ellen Robertson <rjremr_at_...>
Date: Tue, 9 Oct 2001 11:14:21 -0700

> If Oskul is 5w and Urgrain is 6w, they roll as if their target
> numbers are 5 and 6. If Oskul rolls 10 and Urgrain rolls 11, Oskul
> has the low roll and wins the exchange, thanks to the Special Case
> rule on p.121. Urgrain forfeits the stake, Oskul loses nothing. But
> what if Oskul rolls 10 and Urgrain rolls 20? The table on p.131
> implies that Oskul forfeits the stake, while Urgrain forfeits twice
> the stake.
>
> Some argue for a reading by the table. Only the Lose/Lose case has a
> Mastery special case. Others argue that both have failed, so it's
> treated as if both had succeeded (which would mean Oskul forfeits
> nothing, and Urgrain forfeits 3x).
>
> Hopefully this can be clarified in the forthcoming edition.

A Fumble isn't a simple "Failure plus a little more bad", it is an order of magnitude worse than a mere Failure. So it is not considered a "Failure" for the purpose of the Mastery Special rule. The result is a Fail/Fumble, not a Fail/Fail, and as you note, only Fail/Fail has the Mastery special rule. This *is* intentional. Even the best can still make mistakes (or have mistakes forced on them, or have their mistakes siezed upon) by an equal in skill. That's the whole reason for the Mastery Cancellation rule.

So the result of your question is: Oskul -1x Bid, Urgrain -2x Bid.

Had both Oskul and Urgrain rolled "20", it would be treated as a Fumble/Fumble, not as a Fail/Fail bumped by the Mastery Special to Success/Success.

RR