Ashley Munday wrote:
>Hi,
>
>I can't really speak for anyone else here but the first question to
ask is:
Of course, there really is a fair amount of variety in framing and such. I'm trying to get at how HQ2 (which, please to remember, I have not seen) handles things like this. (And, by proxy, learn a bit about how it differs from HQ1 in this regard.)
>- How important is this contest?
>
>Pretty damn important for Luke's player, it's the culmination of his
story arc in the second session
Absolutely. I vacillated between this one and the confrontation between Luke, Vader, Emperor at the end of RotJ. This one has some specific tricksiness I wanted to look at, though. (The other might be good for discussing 3-way conflicts.)
>so I'd make it an extended contest using the climactic scene outcomes
table.
And we have our first new term! "Climactic Scene Outcomes Table"? This is new, and sounds intriguing. Please to say more?
>The stakes of the contest are whether Vader can neutralise Luke or
turn him to the dark side.
Sorry? Vader has two stakes?
What are Luke's goals/stakes?
>Luke would be using his main keyword ability "Jedi Apprentice"
augmented with his "Father's Lightsabre."
Seems straightforward enough. Mind you, I am a fan of Extended contests allowing for lots of different abilities coming to the for, so I wouldn't necessarily limit it to these two, but the new keyword options are also something I haven't seen yet.
>If I were using the pass/fail cycle I'd say that from the previous two
contests were arguing with Yoda on Dagobar (minor success)
Hmm... Not sure I'd view that as a success, but I'll go with it.
>and trying to stop Fett leaving the space station (marginal fail)
He exchanges fire briefly with Fett, completely failing to do anything to even really slow Fett down. He also loses R2 in that sequence. Marginal fail? I'd have guessed higher.
>so I'd make it moderate resistance. If I was thinking more about the
drama of the scene and not using the pass/fail cycle I'd probably want
Luke's player to have a nailbiting time and burn a few hero points
>so I'd make it a hard resistance.
*nod* Agreed. It's Darth Freakin' Vader, and Luke failed to finish his training. Hard.
>From there it's pick up the dice, start rolling and telling each other
what's happening.
>First exchange Luke scores a success vs success but gets the lower
roll - the narration would be along the lines of Vader driving Luke back
into the Carbonite pit and Luke jumping out.
>Luke 1, Vader 0.
See, now THAT is interesting. What to do about the Carbonite pit has always been a stumbling point for me.
IF you view the original goal as Vader trying to freeze Luke, then that contest ENDS there and Vader needs to switch goals. Also, since it is a one-shot deal to trap someone in Carbonite, you have that to contend with. If you make it one step in a "neutralize/capture" Luke scenario, then it is a failure that has mechanical effects, because Vader can't pull the trick again. So do steps in the chain have mechanical effects? Do you just accept one shot things as being one shot? I have struggled with this.
OK, so you have that as a first pass. I still don't know Luke's goal. Did Luke start this exchange, or was this Vader's exchange, bidding "I test his defenses and resolve, then shove him in the carbonite and freeze him"? Or are you thinking more, "Luke gets a minor success, and so gets to take away one of Vader's traps?"
>Second exchange Vader wins with a success vs a fail - they exchange a
few more blows ending with Vader blowing Luke through a window and onto
the gantry, bruised and prone on his back. Luke 1, >Vader 2.
Straight forward enough.
>Third exchange Vader wins again with a success vs fail. Vader does the
whole "Luke, I am your father" bit, Luke looses it and flails widely,
having his paw chopped off in the process. Luke 1, Vader 4
You're misremembering, I think. Doesn't the hand chop happen before the "I am your father" bit? Regardless, Vader has, at this point, switched to "convert" directly as his goal, right? Also, again we have mechanical effect as a hand is off and a lightsaber lost. Luke can NO LONGER fight back in physical terms.
>Fourth exchange Luke wins, critical success vs fail. The narration is
along the lines of Luke jumping into space and ending up clinging onto
the instrument under the space station while Vader sweeps off to >his
star destroyer. Luke 4, Vader 4.
This is the whole "rule the galaxy together as father and son" spiel, ending with "It is the only way." Luke wins big to resist conversion/despair, but his only out is to jump off the edge. (Which strikes me as one of those "at this point, you are losing so badly, the only way to win is to be messed up" things. Is it a "I know I can only ever beat him with 4 against me, so we go with this sort of narration" here?)
>Final exchange, Luke wins (just) by spending a hero point. Narration
is that he telepathically contacts Leia (who's been having her own
climactic extended contest elsewhere to reach the Falcon)
Assuming we're not too married to "narrativist" definitions, since Leia has no story question/premise, and is probably an NPC.
>and the Millenium Falcon picks him up as the thing he's clinging to
breaks up. Cue jump to hyperspace, getting a hand like dads and roll end
credits.
OK. So you have Luke winning the contest, but escaping with only a lost hand. When did Luke's contest go from "Rescue his friends" or even "Defeat Vader" to "Get off the station alive?" Or do we now set stakes from one side only? (Not necessarily the PCs.)
How does winning 5-4 inform our narration?
>Cheers,
Thanks.
LC
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