Augmenting Example in Contest (Was:Digest Number 1825)

From: Mike Holmes <mike_c_holmes_at_...>
Date: Wed, 23 Mar 2005 11:49:26 -0600


>From: "Sam Elliot" <sam.elliot1_at_...>

>It's easy to see how it could be seen as digression. I expect that Mike H.
>playing HQ mostly over ICQ (yes?) is an aspect, as this brings in the
>[written] narrative and, at its simplest, the rule: you get an augment if
>you use the ability to colour the narrative. This generally works for PbEM
>too. FTF I honestly haven't the experience.

Just to clarify, I play as much FTF as I do IRC (and now starting a PBEM, too), as Josh indicates. As it happens, the same style of play is excellent for FTF, IME. And, actually, in both media, I don't require inclusion into the narrative of augments per se. In fact, sometimes players just rattle them off, and we count up. What does happen, that said, is that sometimes if somebody activates something I or another player may go, "huh?" at which point we stop, and the player explains why he's using that augment. This can be a "prose" explanation OOC, or it can be in the narrative.

Basically the player has to be willing to satisfy the other players in terms of an explanation, should the use of an augement seem odd somehow to somebody. How they explain the augment is up to them, and can include OOC discussion, or narration (sometimes odd "speculative narration" on how it might look if there's a success) or whatever. Sometimes, actually, the player making the augment will look at it and decide that it's not worth trying to make the explanation. That it was tenuous in their mind, too, and just to leave it out. Put another way, they give themselves the "worse than -20 improv mod," and move on.

>Now, what I think would be good, Mike, would be an example of a drawn out,
>interesting-augments simple contest leading to the moment of the dice roll,
>for the Issaries website.

I've been thinking for a while that I should keep the OOC logs from IRC - we split play into OOC and Narration windows, and currently keep just the narration for reference.

But I'll try to do an example here cobbled together from memory from the FTF game (Josh can correct anything he sees as problematic). Note that this is completely paraphrasing and guessing as to what was said, but the spirit is essentially correct, and there's no reason that it couldn't be what was said in actual play:

Situation: Josh's character, Arkozaan, is a noble/priest initiate of a cult that worships a demigod leader of his nation. He's chasing a goblin who has stolen a priceless artifact from one of their temples across the side of a pyramid, on top of which are these two "magic antenae" (for lack of a better short description) called the gifts of Klysus.

Mike: so what's your goal as you close with the goblin?

Josh: I'm just going to try to get the Heart from it.

Mike: OK, abilities?

Josh: Hmm. Know what, Arkozaan isn't really that good at this sort of physical stuff, how about he tries to intimidate the goblin into just dropping it and running off?

Mike: OK, what's he using for that?

Josh: We'll start with Intimidate 19. Augment with Linked With the Heart for +2...

Mike: Cool.

Josh: Exert Authority, two more

Mike: That's 3 dubbleya

Josh: Oh, and his Leadership Affinity for 2

Mike: Cool, glowing with the aura of the Khurtum then, neat [Note how I actually put in a tiny bit of narration here for color]

Josh: Oh, and I'll use my Desert Rat Skull at thirteen for a +1

Mike: Cool, we finally get to see what the dang thing is for. What does it do here, precisely?

Josh: A beam of light comes from it and strikes the goblin's soul, delivering fear. [Josh is often quite eloquent in this sort of thing, I may not even be doing him justice here]

Mike: Sweet.That's, uh...six double-ewe. What else?

Josh: How about his Death Affinity?

Mike: Like...he's also "glowing" blackish in addition to the aura of the Khurtum? Cool. Oh, hey, you're on the pyramid of Klysus right now...that means you get a +20 to that ability [absolute center of the religion], so that's a +4, for a total of 10 double you.

Josh: Great! How about "Initiate of Klysus?" since I am using his magic and on his temple, etc.

Mike: Yup, that's 12 W.

Josh: For personality traits, how about Elitist?

Mike: Sounds good, that's two more. Fourteen dubbleyou.

Josh: And...how about Mythology of Klysus?

Mike: Hmm. How do you mean?

Josh: There has to be a legend of Klysus making people bow before him at the pyramid. So Arkozaan is inspired.

Mike: Nifty. OK, that's a 16 W, anythuing else?

Josh: Could he use "Proud Member of Family?"

Mike: How does that figure in?

Josh: Well, this is happening very much in public. He's under pressure to perform so that his family will not be ashamed.

Mike: Hmm. Call that a +1 modified. So that's a 17 W. Anything else?

Josh: Nope, that should do.

Mike: OK, roll.

[I roll a 1, Josh rolls an 18]

Josh: Ow!

Mike: Yeah, that's a major defeat, or you can bump to a minor?

Josh: Hmm, what's going to happen here, generally? Can it be a magical backlash?

Mike: Sure. In fact I have something pretty cool in mind that way.

Josh: Cool, I'll leave it at a Major Defeat then.

Mike: OK, the auras that you're producing as you command the goblin to stop are being channeled into the little rat skull, but it can't handle the energy of the pyramid. The beam goes awry, and hits one of the "Gifts" [those antenae, remember]. As this happens, suddenly there's a light in the sky from off in the distance that suddenly rushes towards you, becoming a ribbon of multicolored light as it does. In a moment it attatches itself to the "gift" and becomes an undulating band that crashes into the ground making a wall. It stretches back out of sight, and Arkozaan notes that it has crushed the wall to the Inner City, as well as some buildings that were between that and the pyramid. - The goblin stops for a moment, stunned, as does everyone in the quadrangle, but then continues it flight as everybody stands around in shock.

Josh: Whoa. Cool...

This event lead to problems with Arkozaan's carreer as a priest as the two demigods inhabiting the Pyramid made his life miserable with threatening to kill him if he didn't get rid of the stray essence flow that he'd accidentally attached to the temple (it was messing up their ability to use their magic correctly). Interestingly, after putting together a large ritual with lots of community support and such, he failed that, too, and lost faith in his gods to some extent. Which is actually somewhat where the character was headed - we were going to see if he could break out of his (relatively) "evil" religion.

BTW, I liked Ash's description of the Mother situation. It's different than how I'd have handled it, but you see it uses the same methodology in general. That is there's a group standard of what can be used where, and Ash is monitoring it. As I said to begin this discussion, as long as there's a clear, consistent standard, then you just don't have problems from what I've seen. Where your standard lies is always a matter of what the group is comfortable with.

Mike

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