Re: Resources: Cementing vs. Bolstering

From: ferguswindbag <abf_at_...>
Date: Thu, 11 Feb 2010 14:39:28 -0000

>
>
> On 11 Feb 2010, at 13:05, ferguswindbag wrote:
>
> >> .
> >
> > I think the implication is that if it's a penalty, it's the PC
> > that's eating that anyway. But a humungously good background result
> > isn't something I'm holding my breath waiting for, as the ratings
> > are (and are always going to be) relatively close to 'even'.
> > Rather, what I'm wondering is, if cementing is supposed to be a
> > session's play (and bolstering possibly even moreso), isn't there a
> > huge disincentive to even bothering? The point, surely, is to get
> > the PCs more involved in the management of their community, not make
> > it seem like a chore.
> >
>
> You're only going to try to cement a positive result in the first
> place.

A penalty _on the attempt to cement_. Negative resource challenges are "pre-cemented", as it were.

> Now aside from hopefully providing a scenario for the
> evening's play - and if that isn't fun you;re doing it wrong - either
> cementing or bolstering should improve the heroes standing in the
> community and give them a better chance to use those community
> resources for their own goals.

Most groups find plenty of ways of "doing it wrong" on their own initiative. My concern here is that you're over-interpreting the rules to the point of building in a whole extra level of "doing it wrong" on top of the usual. The core point is that that there's a specific game-mechanical cost already build into the resource-rated contests, in that the PCs are giving up the personal benefit they'd otherwise have accrued to themselves, and "donating" it to the community. Is it really necessary to stipulate that that has to take a whole session of play? (And by your extrapolation, even more so thus for "bolstering".)

Furthermore, "bolstering" is the mechanic one uses to offset any background _penalties_. If bolstering is going to necessarily take at least a session, then you're making interacting with the resources at all more time-consuming, since there's more of an imperative to "dealing with" resource penalties.