> So I guess the question really is, what kinds of conflicts should I
> resolve as contests in heroquests and in what kind of myths. Or
> something... I know it varies based on the quest, but if anyone has
> any thoughts, I'd appreciate them.
Contests are used to resolve conflicts where the outcome isn't due to personal choice - where Fate (or Luck) takes a hand.
But decisions are usually *not* a contest, except in special circumstances.
Will the hero lie or tell the truth?
Will the hero kill or spare an opponent?
Will the hero woo or ignore the love interest?
Will the hero join the group or not?
You *can* use contests to model these decisions, and you might want to if there is a good reason for a character to act "against his nature", but for the most part we usually leave these decisions to the player. (If the hero decides he will do something, that may require contests to see how well he does, of course, but that's not a decision to "do or not do").
We tend to do this anyway - a narrator presents a choice/situation to the player and asks "what do you do?" - it's only once the player makes his decision that we bring out the dice.
We also tends to bring out the dice for a "suspenseful" decision - which is usually the "he has a real good reason to act against his nature" type stuff - Will Luke try kill his father (falling under the spell of the Emperor), or will he continue in his goal to save him? We might make a contest out of Luke's "There's good in him, and I will find it" vrs the emperor's Manipulate People". If the emperor wins, he has a new whining Skywalker apprentice... Or we just assume that Luke is going to continue on his "Help Vader" path and the Emperor's efforts are going to fail to turn Luke, though they may affect Luke's fighting.
And, of course, it depends on you, your players, the story you're telling, where in the story you are, etc. Some groups might use a contest to determine a decision, some might let the player narrate the full contest from decision to conclusion without using the dice. Contests are tools. Sometimes you need them or want them, sometimes you don't.
RR
He was born with the gift of laughter and the sense that the world was mad
R. Sabatini, Scaramouche
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