> Yep. As soon as Mike said "There's no such mechanical thing as a
> surprise round" I realized where I was going wrong. Old habits.
Cool, this may make the following redundant.
> My gut would be to go with 1, but I can see how 2 might make for a more
> interesting exchange.
It's also a mind-set thing, if you narrate what happens, and only base conflict on what the players seek to do in response, it can lead to different priorities of play, and a greater feeling of active control and engagement by the players.
> For the sake of discussion, let's say I go this route [1]. The
Broos goal
> is probably as simple as "kill these guys (PCs) and take their stuff."
If you play the Broo's with this intent, it is not really relevant as to who is attacked first, all of the players would get to have a say in this conflict of interests, as they are all involved. But there is nothing against you forcing the hindmost players to go last, or even asking them to restrict what they can do in the first round. This last part is best handled by consent, as the players may not like games with restrictions on their actions, but there is no harm in asking, and they may come up with cool things given the option.
You can be more radical still, if your goal was "By using the element of surprise get into a position where we have our knifes at the first two guy's necks and can dictate terms", you could have a conflict conducted in slow motion. This could concentrate purely on the two guys up front, with the other two players only getting to narrate non-conflict actions.
(I admit this is not typical broo thinking.)
>From a traditional standpoint, this might seem like cheating, but we
have all seen films that employ such techniques, and as long as the
potential outcomes do not negate the player's enjoyment, and as long
as further interesting conflict ensues, it is equally valid. On a broo
success, the next conflict may be the other two players negotiating
their friend's release, based on the broo's inhuman demands. On a
failure, normal fighting with no more suprise elements.
HQ allows you to be flexible with the scope of the conflict at hand, based on specific goals.
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