> From: "Alexander G. M. Smith"
> Subject: Extended Contest - Argument Overridden
>
> 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 would have treated it as changing the ability you
are using in mod-contest. The important point is that
it is all part of the same contest and the same set of
AP's. So, yeah, the cavalry trooper can try to shove
past the infantryman. BUT, the infantryman is
obviously thinking himself very like his old drill
sergeant, AND he's got his back up, AND (as a good
infantryman) he knows how unreliable horses are, AND
he just sticks his weapon in the horse's face;
meanwhile, the cavalry trooper has clearly gotten way
too hot, AND he's not thinking clearly AND his horse
knows his rider is agitated . . resulting in both
parties switching their abilities and continuing at
the old AP.
I all else fails, I'd let the infantryman get in
several last, really humiliating insults as a parting
shot--the cavalry trooper gets a big negative for
running away. And if there is anyone watching, they'd
know that the cavalry trooper got across, but what
they'd remember is that his mother was a donkey (or
whatever).
Chris Lemens
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