I did an extended contest trial run with the gamers, doing a simple scenario of two people trying to cross a narrow bridge from opposite ends. After figuring out that the healer wouldn't stand up to the cavalry soldier, we switched sample characters and had the cavalry guy face the trooper. The contest to see who got across first started out as a swearing contest. Insults were traded merrily, with modifiers for an intimidating horse not stopping the trooper's Swear Like a Trooper ability, until the foot soldier was ahead (33 AP to 8 AP), whereupon the cavalry soldier charged with his horse.
What should happen then? He runs down the soldier but loses the argument? Runs past the trooper and gets out of the contest before it is ended, though running past makes him win the overall bridge crossing situation? Should I have discarded the contest and started another one? Or have the horse injure the trooper, giving him a penalty to his swearing (or would that be a bonus)? Or have the trooper attempt to scare the horse when it charges?
It just seems odd doing a contest and then having a preemptive strike make it all meaningless.
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