I know it says so, but I disagree about the practical use of it in this case. If the action is instantaneous, using an extended contest rather than a simple contest would _reduce_ suspense, not increase it in my opinion, as it becomes a numbers exercise. More below.
>>To use an extended contest the situation must
>>be conceivable as an ongoing process.
>
>Stop thinking in antiquated terms like "rounds" or "actions", and
>re-evaluate situations from their perspective *within the story*. The
>biggest obstacle for people to overcome, where HERO WARS/HEROQUEST is
>concerned, is the shift from traditional methods of scene resolution
to
>an actual narrative focus. A narrator must analyze his or her story to
>determine where the real dramatic tensions lay before deciding upon
the
>means (ability test, simple contest, extended contest) he or she will
use
>to resolve them. Narrative is always a process.
I am not thinking in rounds, and narrative is actually the reason why you should not use extended contests for instantaneous actions. If you cannot narrate what the flow of APs mean, an extended contest is out of place.
Then again, you are quite right that you can include a lot of the "preparation phase" into the actual contest and thus turn it into an extended contest that can be narrated.
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