I am well into my first read through the TB book, my only other experience of the game being watching a few sessions of Sean Nittner running a game, and I have a couple of questions:
What about breaking and running? If in a kill conflict a party has, or monsters have had enough and want(s) to break and run, what then?
The second is about the much discussed issue of Might. I’d be happy just to know if Might might advance at higher levels. As Torchbearer reads at the moment, there are no dragon slayers without armies behind them, no Brand firing his arrow with deadly accuracy into Smaug’s weak spot (“good idea” or magic arrow?)… oh, and on the subject of dragons, what does the battle conflict mean if it’s not a kill conflict?
Very much enjoying the rulebook and I’m hoping that my players will come willingly to enjoy the dark places TB has to offer.
Both sides are committed to the end of the conflict as far as I know. Thematically for the GM a loss result can represent some of the creatures running off into the darkness never to be seen again. For the PC’s it’s a bit more dire though…
Might increases can happen to some characters at higher levels according to the previews released so far! I suspect rules for battles will come out sometime - leading groups will allow the PC’s to increase their might (ie. 10-20 = +1 might , 50-100 = +2 might, etc.) in a battle conflict perhaps? Maybe commander for attack/defend and fighter for feint/maneuver (representing individual heroic actions)?
Having just read through the play-test characters that have been given away over the past few days, I see that Might does indeed increase at 10th level for some classes. I’m much happier about the whole thing now.
Although, I’m still a bit concerned about the lack of a rout option in kill contests… it seems to me that routing might well be a very plausible response to impending defeat… even if it means abandoning out of action comrades.
This is all handled by the compromise rules. If you lose a kill conflict with a compromise, the assumption is that this is the best result possible under the circumstances, including pretending you’re dead, running away, sacrificing yourself etc. This is also one point where Torchbearer is much harsher than Mouseguard. In MG you can lose a kill conflict and, with just a minor compromise, still get away with most of your group – this would be a rout with some losses. In TB, you need a mid-level compromise for even one single team member to stay alive. This is the guy who abandons his comrades and runs. Apparently that’s the best you can hope for in a vicious close-range TB tunnel fight in the near-dark in a cramped, dank environment. That, or being left for dead.
With these compromise rules, you only start a kill conflict when you really mean it, and once you’ve started it, you can’t just back out – it’s kill or be killed.
This is all handled by the compromise rules. If you lose a kill conflict with a compromise, the assumption is that this is the best result possible under the circumstances, including pretending you’re dead, running away, sacrificing yourself etc. This is also one point where Torchbearer is much harsher than Mouseguard. In MG you can lose a kill conflict and, with just a minor compromise, still get away with most of your group – this would be a rout with some losses. In TB, you need a mid-level compromise for even one single team member to stay alive. This is the guy who abandons his comrades and runs. Apparently that’s the best you can hope for in a vicious close-range TB tunnel fight in the near-dark in a cramped, dank environment. That, or being left for dead.
With these compromise rules in place, you only start a kill conflict when you really mean it, and once you’ve started it, you can’t just back out – it’s kill or be killed.
If the players are not ready to die, then they shouldn’t enter a Kill conflict, they must know that. You can always play a drive off, flee or capture conflict if the group doesn’t want to be in risk of dying. The only way you can try to kill a creature without the risk of suffering the same consequences yourself is having higher Might than the victim.
Just like the other BWHQ games when it comes to Torchbearer the expectation conversation is really important cause the game and grind will definitely chew you up and spit you out.
