Re: Concurrent contests

From: Michael Schwartz <mschwartz_at_...>
Date: Sun, 4 Nov 2001 18:12:36 -0500


Russell Hoyle" wrote:

>1. Do I just arbitrarily decide what the river's bid
>is, should it be fairly consistent between bids, and
>also between characters?

The river's bid should be the same from exchange to exchange, representing the strength of its current, potential unseen hazards (slippery rocks, sudden dropoffs, heavy bottom mud), etc. The river's bid should also be identical for all the heroes, unless the Narrator has determined previously that a crossing at the moss-covered log (or the steep bank) is more treacherous than a crossing at the sandy flat (or the eddy pool).

>2. When a hero wins an exchange, and the river's AP
>are depleted, this applies ony to his personal battle
>with the river, right? So it has no impact on the other
>heroes' contests? (Unless, I guess, some powerful magic
>or strategy to weaken the river occurs.)

Each hero must be victorious in their own contest versus the river in order to cross, but it is up to the Narrator whether a hero's victory can aid his or her comrades in their attempts to cross. Help usually takes the form of lending APs (shouting directions or throwing out a rope) or augmentation (casting the Salmon Leap feat or dampening the current), though I can imagine some situations where granting an edge to one's comrade (or a handicap to the river) might be appropriate as well..

>3. When a character reaches the far side and wants to
>help a comrade, do we use the same AP total accumulated
>up to then, or is it a new contest and therefore are APs
>replenished?

If a successful hero aids a comrade using the same ability that won him or her the contest, I would allow the hero to use that presumably higher AP total for lending purposes. The comrade must continue the contest with however many APs he or she had as a result of his or her prior progress in the river crossing. The hero can use any ability he or she desires to augment his or her comrade, subject to appropriate modifiers, including the same ability her or she used to win the contest (such as using Strong (with a rope) or Swimming to haul someone across the river).

--
Michael Richard Schwartz | Language is my playground,
mschwartz_at_... | and words, its slides and
Ann Arbor, Michigan  USA | swingsets. -- yours truly

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