Hi all,
I’ve recently started running Torchbearer for a couple players to learn the system. We’ve had one session so far where they created characters and started delving the dread crypt of Skogenby.
A question came up that I still feel uncertain about. Our halfling burglar cook asked if she could drop her backpack before a conflict to avoid having it be a factor for Fighter tests. I ruled on the fly that yes she could, but warned that if things go poorly for them it might mean that her pack has been lost.
After the session, I couldn’t find anything about this in the book or searching the forums. Was I being too lenient in letting her do this?
The players won the kill conflict with a mid-level compromise. I suggested that the unprotected backpack was damaged by an errant attack and is now unusable until they mend it (which will be a good excuse to talk about the Beginners Luck rules in our next session).
This seemed maybe a bit light-weight compared to the other example compromises in the book. But since it was our first conflict and none of us had a good sense of just how dangerous it would be, I’m feeling ok with that. We did talk quite a bit about the other examples, so I think we’ll all be more cautious about entering kill conflicts in the future.
Ah, good to know! I have a feeling that compromises are going to take a lot of practice for me to get right.
My first inclination was to have a foe survive and drag the pack off deeper into the dungeon. But since one of the examples is to have a member of the losing side survive, having it also steal the pack with most of their food and torches seemed far too severe. Maybe more appropriate for a major compromise.
Played a burglar with the Peasant skill and “always mend gear in camp” Instinct. He was a wiz with a needle and thread. Mended some shoes and a backpack to save the day.