Disengaging

From: richstella_at_...
Date: Fri, 21 Jul 2000 16:06:35 EDT

> I wrote:
> >How do you escape from an on-going contest? By winning the contest that
> you
> >wanted to escape from because you were losing!

Mikael wrote:

> From what you write below it seems you mean changing the contest or
> starting a new one, which is not the same thing as
> disengaging/withdrawing from same.
>

We know that you can change skills within a contest while retaining the APs you started with. This inevitably means changing your statement of what you want to achieve _in each exchange._ How far can you go in changing from what you originally set out to do before you have changed the aim of the contest?

Me again:
>
> >How do you do this? By changing your chance of success or edge. How do
> you
> >do this? By changing your statement of intent such that either:
> >
> >(1) You increase your Target Number
> >(2) You decrease your opponent's Target Number or
> >(3) You decrease both Target Numbers but affecting your opponent more.
>

Mikael again:
> This is merely switching abilities within the same contest. It does
> not represent a change of contest, rather it represents that you try
> to achieve the same objective by slightly different means.
>

But what of the situation I was addressing? How do you disegage from a contest that is going against you without changing the aim (or at least your aim) of the contest?

I charge into combat with Leakim the hideous chaos monster declaring my intention to carve him into little bits. He slithers forth his prehensile tongue and instantly lashes to death a couple of spear-carriers with his Tongue attack 15w3. Realising I am horribly outclassed I decide to run awaaaaaaay!

To escape I change the aim of the contest - page 138 of HW:RIG says we can do this, "the purpose and desired outcome of the contest have changed, but the characters do not start a new contest (with new AP totals); instead they continue with the AP they currently have."

Hardly achieving the same aim by different means.

Richard Crawley

If a tree falls in the forest and there's nobody there to see do all the other trees make fun of it?

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