Re: Mechanical discussion

by **Baelon Drakeson** Sun Aug 02, 2015 2:27 pm

Reader wrote:Baelon is correct, the following is from the Estate holdings section, but I consider it to apply to everything

I was thinking of this, on page 1, which does apply to everything:

Don’t allow the existence of these Holdings to limit the
details of your Domains. Just because you don’t have an
Artisan (Smith) doesn’t mean there isn’t a smith—it’s a
rare settlement of any discernable size that doesn’t have
several of those. It just means they aren’t skilled enough
and don’t produce enough work for it to be a significant
note in the House’s prosperity.

Reader wrote:Generally core book but with case by case approvals on Out of Strife, Prosperity. Pretty high rate on approvals so far, so don't be afraid to ask (Master-of-arms and Military academy aren't allowed at the moment - former may well be allowed but with some cap on the upgrades granted, latter seems like something for very special cases in Essos, not Westeros).

I am hoping that assassins and saboteurs would be unavailable. I feel they could cause the game to devolve into nastiness very quickly.... especially because the cunning tests for them are kind of low for the magnitude of the effect. TN 12 to kill a primary character without getting caught? That just seems too easy.

Reader wrote:Burnt = gone forever, and can't burn a point that has been spent.

Note you can get additional DP - spend 50 XP, voluntarily take an additional drawback (subject to approval of course), or be granted one as a story reward (again totally at narrator discretion).
Presumably all of these can only be done between stories.

by **Reader** Sun Aug 02, 2015 2:29 pm

Theomore Tullison wrote:You can spend two points to turn both bonus dices into test dices which would be the surefire way. You can spend one for +1B, which gives you a 50% shot at success, and if that doesn't work, there's a 2/3 chance that it's high enough that the second point spent to turn that into test die is enough.

No way besides destiny though. Then you'd need some sort of benefit like lucky or BoA.

Only one destiny point can be spent per roll sadly Theomore, otherwise it would be a great idea.

"
You may only spend a single Destiny Point at a time for any one of the following effects."
p72, GoT edition

If you do indeed have one point left (we can check) you CAN spend one for 1B and trust to luck as Theomore suggests. Smile

by **Gwyneth Drakeson** Sun Aug 02, 2015 2:35 pm

As I recall, I spent my DP already...or wait. When did DP refresh? Beginning of Day 8 or end of it? HMMMM!

Gwyn probably IS mad enough to justify the bad roll IC. So that's a comfort. I was just really hoping to get that roll.

Burning her only DP feels very irresponsible though, especially over a thing like this. I suppose taking Isobel as a Nemesis might 'pay' for that point, but as much as Gwyn would be okay with that, I am leeeeeeeeeeaning on not doing it. We'll have our hands full with Marbrant for the time being. Smile

And come down to it, I have my own ideas about what's going on in Isobel's head. I guess we'll see if I'm right. Smile

I need to finish Gwyn's dream sequence before I write up her response to Isobel though, so it will make more sense.

by **Yoren longshore** Sun Aug 02, 2015 2:39 pm

Baelon wrote:
I am hoping that assassins and saboteurs would be unavailable. Cause the game to devolve into nastiness very quickly.... especially because the cunning tests for them are kind of low for the magnitude of the effect. TN 12 to kill a primary character without getting caught? That just seems too easy.

I agree that it should be banned or happen rarely, but it should be noted that it's an opposed roll to find the assasin afterwards. Also Assasinations against pcs should always be played out according to the book.

by **Gwyneth Drakeson** Sun Aug 02, 2015 2:43 pm

Okay, going back and looking, I don't see that I spent one after all.

I'm not in that many threads in Day 8, and Day 9 is all epilogue stuff... She didn't spent DP for River Ghost or Blacks and Greens...so I may try that hail mary destiny roll after all!

...and it was a 1.

So yeah. The dice have spoken. I'll deal.

by **Theomore Tullison** Sun Aug 02, 2015 2:44 pm

It would have refreshed on the end of day 8, actually.

by **Reader** Sun Aug 02, 2015 2:48 pm

Gwyneth Marsten wrote:Okay, going back and looking, I don't see that I spent one after all.

I'm not in that many threads in Day 8, and Day 9 is all epilogue stuff... She didn't spent DP for River Ghost or Blacks and Greens...so I may try that hail mary destiny roll after all!

...and it was a 1.

So yeah. The dice have spoken. I'll deal.

WTF. You're right about the dice gods. Rolling Eyes

As Theomore confirms, you should have one due to the DP refresh on D8. Not that it helped.

Nobody has asked about Assassin/Saboteur yet, would weigh these very carefully. AS noted, anti PC actions have to be played out, even if they're allowed.

Thanks to everyone for their (futile) help on boosting that roll. Smile

by **Theomore Tullison** Sun Aug 02, 2015 3:00 pm

Meh. Do such things yourself*

*[size=50:384a0v3t]Or get a cohort to do it...

by **Reader** Sun Aug 02, 2015 3:02 pm

Theomore Tullison wrote:Meh. Do such things yourself*

*[size=50:2ifs9qni]Or get a cohort to do it...

That's the spirit. Nothing says "
I care"
like the personal touch in an assassination/sabotage attempt.

by **Theomore Tullison** Sun Aug 02, 2015 3:03 pm

Besides, it's the only way to get it right.

by **Nathaniel Mason** Sun Aug 02, 2015 5:08 pm

Theomore Tullison wrote:Besides, it's the only way to get it right.

Theomore and I are in complete agreement.

by **Baelon Drakeson** Sat Aug 08, 2015 8:07 pm

How are we determining which resource(s) are affected by our House Fortunes rolls?

by **Reader** Sat Aug 08, 2015 8:31 pm

Baelon wrote:How are we determining which resource(s) are affected by our House Fortunes rolls?

Randomly allocated between resources (roll 1d7).

by **Lady Corrine Marsten** Sat Aug 08, 2015 8:39 pm

Reader wrote:
Baelon wrote:How are we determining which resource(s) are affected by our House Fortunes rolls?

Randomly allocated between resources (roll 1d7).

Oh, so do we not get to choose where to focus?

by **Yoren longshore** Sat Aug 08, 2015 9:36 pm

Reader wrote:
Baelon wrote:How are we determining which resource(s) are affected by our House Fortunes rolls?

Randomly allocated between resources (roll 1d7).

Could you reconsider this? As that means that one decrease in the wrong attribute may ruin a house...

by **Theomore Tullison** Sat Aug 08, 2015 10:02 pm

Sounds like the makings of a good story :mrgreen:

by **Baelon Drakeson** Sat Aug 08, 2015 10:04 pm

Yoren longshore wrote:Could you reconsider this? As that means that one decrease in the wrong attribute may ruin a house...

It will slow down the growth of small houses considerably, as we are more likely to get bad rolls, but with a little care it shouldn't be ruinous.

Don't forget that each month that you choose not to roll for HF you get a +1 in a resource of your choice (though it does not trigger extras like Head for Numbers or Marketplace).
It is unlikely that anyone will get worse than "
curse"
, which can be -1 to two different resources. Leave at least 1 point unspent in important resources and it won't be a problem. If you have a bad roll, take the next couple of months without rolling to replace the two points you lost.

As a general action plan in the short term:
Spend the first couple of months putting a point each into anything vulnerable. The only situations that could be 'ruinous' are if a resource drops below the amount invested, in which case you lose a holding. As such the only resources losses that could be 'ruinous' are defense, lands, influence, power, and wealth. If more than two of those are already at 0 expendable, figure what holding would be least ruinous to lose (probably a weak military unit), and put the +1s elsewhere.

by **Yoren longshore** Sat Aug 08, 2015 10:11 pm

Well, I suppose that when I look at it, it's from a little biased perspective, as I rolled 3 curses and a decline Sad

But i think you should be able to choose resources, as you can't secure yourself by putting points into vulnerable holdings as per the rules, you have to roll to allocate the resources.

by **Kevan Lyras** Sat Aug 08, 2015 10:15 pm

You could use glory to mitigate declines?

by **Reader** Sat Aug 08, 2015 10:29 pm

Yoren longshore wrote:Well, I suppose that when I look at it, it's from a little biased perspective, as I rolled 3 curses and a decline
But i think you should be able to choose resources, as you can't secure yourself by putting points into vulnerable holdings as per the rules, you have to roll to allocate the resources.

This is a good point - if someone has no buffer in a given category I don't want to screw them over. That would be anti-fun.

Random allocation, but that's just a starting point. If it will screw you in a given category, flag it and we'll adjust it to hit different resources. Smile

by **Daveth Coldbrook** Sat Aug 08, 2015 10:36 pm

Reader wrote:
Baelon wrote:How are we determining which resource(s) are affected by our House Fortunes rolls?

Randomly allocated between resources (roll 1d7).

I'm confused. Is that just on losses, or gains as well? Losses kind of make sense, as we don't choose those, but I can't see why we can't choose where we'd gain. Or at least our 'focus', and if we gain more than one, the other can be a 'happy accident'.

by **Baelon Drakeson** Sat Aug 08, 2015 10:37 pm

Yoren longshore wrote:Well, I suppose that when I look at it, it's from a little biased perspective, as I rolled 3 curses and a decline

Oof! Bad luck. You remembered all the bonuses and penalties from population, law, and holdings, right? HF tests are weird, even finding a missed penalty can help.

Yoren longshore wrote:But i think you should be able to choose resources, as you can't secure yourself by putting points into vulnerable holdings as per the rules, you have to roll to allocate the resources.

From page 122:

A house must roll for a House Fortune at least one month of every three, but no more than one House Fortune roll can take place for each month.You must decide at the start of each month. If you choose not to roll for a House Fortune, you may instead increase any resource by 1.

That last sentence certainly sounds to me like you choose which resource. So you do that twice initially to protect your vulnerable holdings, then the two months after a curse recovering from it. You'll end with one resource up 1 from where you started. No real progress, but not disastrous, either.

by **Reader** Sat Aug 08, 2015 10:39 pm

Daveth Coldbrook wrote:
Reader wrote:
Baelon wrote:How are we determining which resource(s) are affected by our House Fortunes rolls?

Randomly allocated between resources (roll 1d7).
I'm confused. Is that just on losses, or gains as well? Losses kind of make sense, as we don't choose those, but I can't see why we can't choose where we'd gain. Or at least our 'focus', and if we gain more than one, the other can be a 'happy accident'.

A further good point. Gains - first on any given roll chosen, further increases on a given roll are random.

You can determine your fate to some degree, but sometimes there's an influx of new people, a minor knight wins a tourney and attracts more soldiers, the harvest is bountiful etc.

by **Septon Arlyn** Sat Aug 08, 2015 11:00 pm

well in the book it states that houses get to choose one resource to increase, so how about we get to choose our first option to try to increase then if we get a blessing/curse the second resource that is increased/decreased is random? it gives us some choice while not letting us completely stack the deck in our favor.

by **Reader** Sat Aug 08, 2015 11:04 pm

Septon Arlyn wrote:well in the book it states that houses get to choose one resource to increase, so how about we get to choose our first option to try to increase then if we get a blessing/curse the second resource that is increased/decreased is random? it gives us some choice while not letting us completely stack the deck in our favor.

If you don't roll, you can choose. If you roll, it's random. At least, that's how I read it!

by Sponsored content