I’ve been working on a Robin Hood-style adventure with a merry band of playtesters and had a fun exchange.
Setup
The Copperfox was a legend, a thief who stole from the corrupt Barun Juho and returned the coins to the folk. Sadly, word spread that the Copperfox had been betrayed, cut down on the road, and left for the crows of the Gottmark. With the Copperfox out of the way, Barun Juho resumed plundering the peasants without restraint.
But the legend did not die. The players have taken up the mantle of the Copperfox to keep the myth alive. Their adventure goal is to steal back a chest of coins now held in the Barun’s camp among the ruins of an ancient civilization lost to the Ironwold.
Adalbert, a Noble Scion, fancies himself the new Copperfox. He is joined by a falcon-warrior habuk named Vara for some muscle and Morbri, a bookish magician. To reach the chest, they must search among the ruins, but first pass through the camp gate.
Test at the Gate
The Gotts posted at the entrance are not soldiers. They are lowly thugs drinking, gambling, and passing the time. Adalbert sees it as an opportunity.
He says there’s no need to sneak, as he leaves behind the other two adventurers at the edge of the forest. He walks straight toward the guards as if he always belonged. He approaches the guard post, his glinting copper-thread finery catching in the firelight. He carries himself with the authority of someone who expects to be obeyed. He leans on his apparent status so completely that the guards don’t question whether he should be there.
This doesn’t feel like a conflict, although it could be. I press the player for more description.
Adalbert senses that the guards are trying to avoid trouble, and he plans to give them a plausible-enough story. The player explains that Adalbert is not trying to convince them so much as speak to his life as a noble. He begins a rousing speech about the expectations of nobles.
I call for an Orator versus test to see if there is just enough certainty. He speaks as though he has already been admitted, as though denying him would place the guards in the wrong.
Adalbert invokes his Superior trait for +1D for 4D against their 3D.
He rolls poorly. One success against two. A failure currently, but Adalbert isn’t quite finished yet.
One of the guards narrows his eyes. Something is off. A face half remembered. The moment begins to turn.
“Of course,” Adalbert says, “nobles are not questioned at the gate. We are announced and proceed without delay. You know better now.”
Adalbert recalls how his parents, Ridder Eberwin and Lady Eberwin, taught him how to behave as a vassal under Barun Juho. Adalbert knows how nobles speak and how they move. He does not need to pretend.
He spends a Persona and rerolls three dice for his Noble-wise.
Success.
The guards step aside, “Let him pass. Make way for the son of Ridder and Lady Eberwin.” The guards are eager to return to their drink and sink away.
Adalbert passes into the camp and looks for a way to signal the other bandits in the forest as he continues on…
The players at the table cheered.
It was a really solid moment supported by the system. The reroll felt earned, and it all flowed seamlessly.