Taking hits, p. 69: “If you take a hit from an attack…” Who is “you”? Conflict captain, player chosen by the GM based on the action, or the person acting that action?
Helping in Conflicts, p. 72. Can you use a Nature descriptor to help in conflicts? That option seems conspicuously missing.
Can you banish or abjure a creature of any Might rating?
Traps: Are the players responsible for declaring that they’re searching, or can that be prompted by the GM? My assumption is that it must be actively stated by the players. (If so, the following Instinct would be overly powerful – but admissible! – for a burglar: “Always search for traps.”)
p. 86: “In town, checks may only be used to gain experience from helping, not spent on making tests. Any unused checks are lost when you leave town.” However, at the gates you must: “Spend remaining checks.” What’s happening here and is there a page reference re: getting experience for helping in town via checks?
Mixed monster disposition, p. 151. Which creature is primary in terms of the GM basing a disposition roll on: the highest Might, highest Nature, the majority creature type, or the designated boss? For example, if there are two goblins and one orc but it’s a drive off conflict (which the goblins have listed but the orc does not), is it Orc Nature 4 + 2D for the goblin helpers? (This isn’t a hypothetical. It came up as I was planning my game for tomorrow evening.)
Thanks in advance!
PS: Expect me to be on here more often, participating and also asking [stupid] questions. I’ve played a one-off of Torchbearer and I had a blast. It was also well received. I plan to launch at least one multi-session campaign in the next few weeks, and I can’t wait!
The person on each side that is designated as acting for that action is the one that takes hits when attacked or feinted or that recovers disposition when defending. So if Jill the team captain assigns Bob to Defend while the enemy is attacking, then Bob is the one who takes a hit to his disposition if the enemy wins or recovers disposition if the enemy loses. If there is left over disposition loss or gain then Jill, the captain, is the one who decides how that is distributed. Bob is the one who was hit though. I’m only about 90% sure on that though.
I think yes, though you can’t have an applicable skill. More like 80% sure on that one.
No idea
Don’t be fooled by Burning Wheel. Instincts are not interrupts. An instinct doesn’t let you retroactively search for a trap. All an instinct does is save you the turn. The player still has to describe how they are searching for the traps in order to take advantage of the instinct. The central tenet of Torchbearer is “Describe to Live”.
I’m pretty sure the idea is that you spend any remaining checks on recovery at the gates (and only recovery). You don’t have to spend them all, but it’s your last chance to recover with checks. After you enter the gates the checks are only for gaining experience from helping, and leftovers are discarded when you leave for the next adventure.
GM’s choice. I would usually pick the leader, but it’s ultimately up to you. If it’s a bunch of orcs with a chained up ogre, I might choose the orcs since they’re really in charge of the fight. If it’s a warlord and his goblin minions, I’d choose the warlord. At the end of the day though, it’s really up to what you think is appropriate.
#3 I’d guess is “no.” I would think that you couldn’t banish or abjure, say, a Great Wolf. I’m not Thor, but I’d guess banish/abjure are intended for supernatural conflicts, like banishing demons or abjuring spirits - only usable in special circumstances, that is.
I think the question was whether might had an impact, not what varieties of creatures can be banished. So can anyone attempt to banish an elder god that’s running amok?
Found the answer I needed to #5 – not sure how I missed that use of a check! p. 23, Help Checks header. Whew. It was the very existence of “help to gain experience” that was mystifying me.
I know it’s not retroactive, but good point re: the player still having to describe the action as opposed it being an interrupt with an “Ah ah ah! I’ve got an Instinct for that” sort of deal. Makes sense. They still have to do what they’d normally do, but they don’t spend a turn doing it.
Sorry, Odie, you misunderstood me! Jovial is right that I’m looking for whether or not the restrictions on conflict options exists for banishment and abjuration conflicts, since that seems a little vague. (Also: Long time no talk, man! I’ve still got my Stella glass from NYC. )
Precisely. Could a player banish or abjure a greater demon or devil – say a Might 6 or 7 creature? Or does banish = kill and and abjure = drive off for the sake of the Order of Might?
It’s right there if you finish the sentence: “If you take a hit from an Attack or Feint on your action…”
Only if it’s within your Nature and you don’t have the appropriate skill. But yes. See Helping with Nature on page 27.
There are no Might restrictions on Banish/Abjure conflicts. But you must be able to get into a position to perform the ceremony/ritual. If it’s got a horde of minions attacking you, you need to have defenders to ward them off while you do your stuff, IMO.
Instincts must be initiated by the player. See Using Instincts on page 108.
If you wish to use Checks for anything other than experience from helping, you must spend them before entering town. Once you are in town, the only thing checks can be used for is to gain experience from help. See Help Checks on page 23.
The Boss Monster leads the conflict; it’s the boss after all. Use its disposition/Nature to set the disposition for the conflict. The other monsters help. Orcs don’t have drive off as one of their core conflicts, so in a Drive Off conflict against an orc leading two goblins, you would roll 6D (4D for the orc’s nature, +1D for each of the goblins) and then add your successes to the orc’s Nature 4. See Group Dispositions on page 149 and Monsters Help Monsters on page 151.
This is correct though! Sorry, I wasn’t considering this angle. Yes, you can only banish spirits! Ghosts, extra-planar entities, demons, gods, etc. No great wolves!
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