Usually until the contest ends. If you run into a situation where it doesn't make sense for the enhancement to last, then go with the story and cut it short.
> 2) If the character discovers a way to provide himself with an edge
> during combat -- say, the opportunity arises to invoke a particular
> magic -- I assume he must use an Unrelated Action to attempt to gain the
> edge. Does the UA take the place of the character's normal action --
> does he forfeit the chance to wager APs that round?
Yes, and yes.
> 3) On our first night, combat proved quite exhausting for us and a
> little tedious. First, let's talk about the tediousness. Because the
> players were closely matched to the opposition, they were NOT willing to
> wager extravagent AP bids in combat; rather, they were happy to let the
> default 3AP carry them along. And even though the opposition was more
> agressive (high AP wagers), the combat drug on out for 30 minutes or
> more as the sides *whittled* each other down. This tediousness lead to
> exhaustion because we were trying to describe the combat vividly --
> being good "story-tellers" -- but not *specifically brutally*, as the HW
> rules advise. After a while, with our mental stores of creatively
> describing minor combat results were exhausted, combat descriptions
> degenerated to "I swing using 3AP -- oh, you win, he forfeits 3AP".
As the book states, when it starts to drag you can make "do or die" bids on the narrator characters. "he bids all his remaining AP on a lunge, intending to skewer you through the heart" - win or lose, someone is probably is hors de combat.
> 4) During this major, drawn out battle, one player said "This game is
> not detailed enough!" in exasperation. He meant, he really missed
> graphic combat explanations. As a group, they found the idea of
> whittling an opponent to "Dazed", then being forced to take the risk
> action of a coup de grace to actually kill the opponent somewhat
> distasteful. To paraphrase one player, "I'd rather chop his head off in
> one mighty blow than stab a down opponent through the heart." Even
> though I tried to explain that you could certainly perform the former
> action if you wagered enough AP, the player shot back that having only a
> 60% chance of succeeding greatly discouraged them from taking any such
> risks (ie, why give your opponent a 40% chance of gaining 14AP!??)
Hm, it sounds from your words that you are Transfering AP when you should be simply Forfeiting them - only on a Crit does the winner actually gain AP, and in a nearly-even match like you describe that shouldn't be happening much.
"Graphic combat explanations" are really up to the Narrator and the players - if you want the game to provide them, Rolemaster will happily provide Critical Hit Charts for every conceivable attack form. If the player wants to chop his opponent's head off, he's got to bid the AP for it and describe it. These heroes were fighting really defensively - when the opportunity to whack a guy's head off comes along they probably wouldn't take it because it was too risky (in character).
It sounds like a disconnect between the RQ/CoC style of play and dice mechanics and the HW style. In RQ you didn't have much to do describing your actions - you let the dice do it for you ("I hit" "He fails his parry" "Okay I hit him in the... head for...6 points" "his helmet absorbs most of it"). In HW you need to describe what you plan to do ("I'm going to take his head off with this shot...14 AP") and then see if the dice are kind ("okay, You rolled a Success, he failed, he loses 14 AP - you bash his helmet and bloody his face, he's reeling, nearly blinded by his own blood"). Bidding 3 every round is simply keeping him at a distance, not boldly stepping forward with a blow designed to remove his head.
> So, it was a bumpy night. I'm certain I made many errors running the
> game (I prefaced the game with 'I'm going to make a lot of mistakes
> tonight' and I finished with 'I'm sorry I made so many mistakes tonight,
> please hang in there with me until we learn the rules.'). And I've
> discussed the session *at length* with two of the players who have a
> good grasp of the rules and mathematics. They have some very
> interesting points about how the HW rules actually *discourage* bold and
> cinematic action because of the riskiness of APs. Since my players have
> always been cautious, tactical types (they are excellent CoC
> investigators), they are afraid that HW combats will be very, very dull
> affairs for us.
Well, you could try not killing downed heros as a normal course of action - Ransom and slavery are two good reasons to capture someone. In Heortling society killing will probably lead to wergild and/or a feud. Society generally frowns on the amount of mayhem and murder that RPG groups routinely get into. If you make it clear that most fights aren't to the death, and that great glory can come from great deeds, they might loosen up. Also try having contests that don't require death as a possible outcome - ease them out of the "death is an inevitable consequence of conflict" mentality.
RR
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