Alternate ways of playing extended contests?!

From: stefan.drawert_at_...
Date: Thu, 25 Apr 2002 22:53:57 +0200

recently I came across the following breakdown of an extended contest, written by Ron Edwards in the Hero Wars forum at The Forge. [ http://indie-rpgs.com/forum ]
I quote the relevant bit and like to point out that Ron's no.4 sounded VERY interesting to me:

> Here's how I break it down:
>
> 1) The first announcement (with the Bid) is conflict-oriented, getting the goal of the Exchange settled.
> "I am scooting about, keeping them from surrounding me, and going after one with a full spear-charge once I get
> the drop on him!" [Note that "try to" is not part of the sentence, nor is any definite statement of how far the
> character gets with his actions.]
>
> 2) The second description (after rolls) is provisional, showing what things look to be happening during the flurry.
> Say the guy got a shitty roll and ended up with a Minor Defeat: "Whoa, turned out that one guy was luring you,
> and when you start to charge, the others all pile on you! Fuckin' bad, man, you're going down!"
> [Note that this information might emerge as players-GM dialogue, not just you narrating away.
> Note also that it's stated in present tense, and does not include an actual outcome.]
>
> 3) The final description (after AP lending, Hero Point spending, etc) is the blowout moment,
> and again, everyone's participation is welcome, it's not just the GM droning on.
> Here's where "what happens" is established. Let's say our spear-guy turned out to be out of Hero Points! Shit!
> As it stands, he's taken down to -5 by the various numbers. But a player in the same scene says,
> "I give you 10!" So what happens? "Whoa! It's a dogpile for a second, but one of the foes goes 'unnnhh!' and flies off,
> and your spear-butt's sticking up - you bopped him off. Now you bound out of the tangle, but you're still off-balance.
> " [I mean, the guy did lose Action Points and he only has 5; he ain't sitting pretty.]
>
> 4) Final point: note that other players do not have to sit there and wait while all this is going on.
> AP lending can always get tossed in, at any stage; Augments across player-characters are certainly permitted prior
> to the rolls. I have found our game to be full of eager attention during one another's rolls. Getting away from
> the "my move," duhhhh, "my move" mode of play is a big priority in Hero Wars.

so my question now is: does anybody else play it this way, am I the only one not to play it this way, or are there other suggestions how to make extended contests more dynamic?

curious,

 Stefan
 Donnerstag, 22:39:40

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