You may well be looking for a more complicated solution than you need.
I am going to try and rephrase what we do to help you:
How I learned to stop worrying and love Heroquest
In an extended contest a player decides to use a feat. They have two braod classes of options:
Example: I have SwordHelp 3W. I call on Orlanth saying, Orlanth help me strike as you do with your sword of winds. Lightning runs up and down my sword, it feels ligher in my hand. +2 augment to Sword and Shield Fighting.
b: use the feat directly. You know the atackers ability. Find out how much the attacker wants to bid (hint: it is the risk they are taking). Ask the defender how they are defending (14 if no other option). Roll bones and consult table.
Example 1:
Harmast the Vingkot devotee is fighting Urggh the
Troll. He says 'I re-enact Vingkot's Break Bludgeons
feat when Vingkot broke Gash's maul in the fight at
the Black Forest Stones'[see I just made that up].
Harmast's Break Bludgeons feat is 8W. 'I'm filled with
Vingkot's hatred of trolls,' says the player, 'I'm
bidding high, as I charge at him to splinter his
weapon, my sword glowing with blue fire'. We agree he
is spending 20 of his remaining 30AP. The narrator
looks at Urrgh's sheet. The troll is an intiate of
Zorak Zoran. I do not have an approriate ability to
resist with. I could fall back on my Darkness
affinity[-10], or initiate of ZZ[-5], or even my Close
Combat[-20] but with a penalty for inapproriate use
its going to be no better than the default of 14 [I
just made the penalties up by feel, I can be quite
cruel]. Harmast does 20AP, reducing Urghh to 5AP.
'Sparks fly', I say as your sword chops into Urrgh's
Maul, splinter's fly into Urrgh's face, and he seems
blinded by the deafening crash of our weapons. [Note
no permanent effects - that only occurs when we go
below 0; if the blow had reduced Urghh to -15 (40AP
loss) I might say, 'your cracking blow knocs Urggh's
maul from his hands and cuts him across the hands and
arms'. ]
Example 2
Illaro the Humakti devotee is engaged in a duel with
Fazzur the Yanafil Tarnils devotee. Illaro attacks
saying I use Humakt's Decapiate Foe feat - trying to
re-enact the time he sliced of Tinga Tan's head in the
fight of Yellow Field [again I just made that up]. 'My
blade sings like air rushing down an alley as I aim
for my hated foes kneck, its keen edge glints, alomst
blindingly, in the sunlight', says the player. The
player has Decapitate Foe at 10W and bids 40 of his 60
AP telling me he is making 'a fierce attack, always on
the front foot, never on the back, giving no quarter,
and expecting none either.' My Yanafili does not have
any great feats to resist with, but he does have a
combat affinity 'Yanafal is the true master of war,' I
say, 'your blows shall not penetrate his shield. A
crimson glow surrounds me, with a thick band of silver
around my kneck.' I just resist with my affinity 0f
6W. Illaro wins and Fazzur goes down to 2 AP ' 'Your
blade slices through his crimson aura with a sound
like nails across a blackboard, being stopped only by
the silver ring around his kneck, but he staggers
back, winded by the force of the blow,' I say. [If
Fazzur went to -38AP (an 80AP loss) then I might say
'Your blade slices clean through his crimson aura,
like a knife through butter, and on through his silver
ring and kneck. Fazzur's head tumbles at your feat.
Again no effect is permanent until the contest goes
below 0AP.]
Example 3
Govoran the Mighty is in a blood feud struggle with
Illig the Unlucky (a slight over the quality of some
bacon began the killings). Illig has just seen Govoran
over the other side of the field, having finished off
an underling. 'I charge at Govoran with my Burst of
Speed feet,' says Illig, moving with the speed of
North Wind as he races across the Pass to bring the
first icy snows of winter[again I just made this up].
Dagmar bids 10 of his 40 AP 'I am the wind, hear my
roar, feel my icy point' cries Illig racing forward
with his spear. Govoran could try to Run [17], but
Govoran knows the Sunset Leap 'This will not be the
sunset of my days,' cries Govoran, 'like Mastakos at
Three Against the Crow, I shall leap to safety' [you
guessed it I just made it up]. Govoran wins and Illig
transfers 20 AP. 'Illig slips on the icy winds around
his too quick feet, unbalanced he is confused as illig
springs to one side, too fast for the eye to see, and
reappers - behind him!'
Any help?
Note I fully expect everyone else to have different descriptions of the magic and or myths. IMO that is good.
"Give the kids tools, so they can go build their own houses; not the blueprint of what the houses should be." Tori Amos
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