Re: Re: Extended Contest - Argument Overridden

From: DaveCamo_at_...
Date: Wed, 15 Oct 2003 15:39:23 +0000


Hi!

>It seems like the sub-contest in each round is irrelevant, if Charge-
>over-trooper vs whatever succeeds, the AP balance changes a bit but
>the trooper doesn't die, get knocked off the bridge, or anything else
>that would end the contest. So it only ends when AP reaches zero?

Yes, an extended contest only ends once the AP total for one side reaches 0 or below. The contests inside the extended contests are certainly relevant. If the cavalry guy is still trying to shout down the trooper, a loss of AP would mean the losing person has lost some face (how much being determined by how many AP have been lost). If not taken below 0, then the loser hasn't lost enough for the contest to end (and the loser be laughed off the bridge, burst into tears, or whatever). Being taken below 0, the loser would suffer the result penalty on things like trying to command his troops or relationships with others who have witnessed or heard about the incident. On the other hand, if the cavalry guy decides to charge, the concequences will be much different. The losing person could be put in a worse position physically (for example, closer to the edge of the bridge or the winner's weapon at the loser's throat) if not taken below 0 AP. If taken below 0, the loser would suffer injury based on the result and po ssibly still take the penalties as listed above as well.

The cavalry person also needs to make a bid commensurate with charging full-out across the bridge. If the player's not willing to risk the AP then the character is not willing to risk the action.

I try to get my players to describe what they're attempting to do in as much detail as possible (without going overboard) since that can lead directly into figuring out the result. As a 'reward', they might receive a bonus for their next action. For example, if the player described rushing the other person with the intent to push them over the edge of the bridge and succeeded but didn't drop them to 0, I might say that they were able to get their opponent closer to the edge and give him a bonus if he attempts to push his opponent in next round.

>What happens if the cavalry soldier jumps his horse over the trooper
>successfully, but doesn't win the AP contest? Did the jump succeed or
>is the jumping sub-contest in that round actually a failure, perhaps
>just pushing the trooper back a bit? Even though he cleared the
>trooper by 3 feet? In other words, does the overall AP contest
>tweek the results of the sub-contests?

Yes, the sub-contests are affected by the overall AP but are affected more by the actual change of AP.

As I stated above, the bid has to fit the action. If the cav soldier bid an appropriate amount but still didn't drive the trooper to 0, it's probably due to only a marginal or maybe minor victory with the 'jump' action. So yeah, if the 'jump' roll was successful but the trooper still has some AP left, the trooper was put into a worse position but was able to stay between the cav soldier and the other side. For instance, if the 'jump' was only a marginal victory, the horse didn't clear the trooper by 3 feet. The horse might have actually only gotten the front hooves off of the ground but this caused the trooper to stumble backwards.

Camo

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