>
>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.
I wouldn't let the cavalry officer player do that because it would
invalidate the contest. Thinking about it he probably should use
some mental ability to steel himself to ride across despite the crude
invective coming from the other end, Or if you do want to allow him
to make the attempt let him try it as an unrelated action - and give
the trooper another round in the contest before resolving the attempt
to ride across (if the trooper wins the extended contest in that roll
- quite possible given the AP totals - then Mr. cavalry is out of
luck)
--
--
"The T'ang emperors were strong believers in the pills of
immortality. More emperors died of poisoning from ingesting minerals
in the T'ang than in any other dynasty" - Eva Wong _The Shambhala
Guide to Taoism_
Paul K.