Failures!

Burning Wheel Subsystem Advice and Guidance
4

I think it’s more fun if we make consequences for each other’s tasks and intents! Maybe make one consequence for the three previous task/intents and then make a new task/intent?

I pick the lock to get into the room [to hide from the temple guards]
If you fail, the door opens before you finish and you’re face to face (or face to belly, as you’re kneeling) with a startled young temple virgin.

Make a boat to cross the river and catch the brigands fleeing with your husband.
If you fail, your crummy 15-minute boat breaks up and is swept down the river. You lose the brigands’ trail entirely. How will you try to find them now?

I use my sword to get people out of my way so I can exit the ballroom unharmed.
If you fail you can escape the ballroom, but the young Count Mondegreen bravely tries to seize your sword and loses two fingers. His uncle, the deadly Sir Norwin, won’t take that well.

New task and intent:
I’ll woo the innkeeper’s fiery daughter by singing below her window at midnight.

5

Losing the bandits is a bad consequence for failure unless there’s already a good alternative to finding them. It smacks of the whole getting stuck problem that BW failure is supposed to avoid.

I’ll woo the innkeeper’s fiery daughter by singing below her window at midnight.
Fail and the innkeeper’s fiery son comes out to give you a drubbing.
Fail and the innkeeper’s daughter is smitten indeed, but your fair voice also attracts the dangerous attentions of the Fair Folk.

6

I use Remarkable Magic Mud-wise to know of a special kind of mud found along this riverbank that has healing properties - I want to use it to patch up my wounds.

[ul]
[li]If you fail, the mud you find is full of parasitic insect larvae that enter your bloodstream. The wound closes, but you’ll have other problems down the road!
[/li][li]If you fail, the mud only works for as long as you leave it on the wound. As soon as you take a bath or something, your injury will return.
[/li][li]If you fail, the mud heals the wound but paralyzes your leg.
[/li][li]If you fail, digging up the mud unearths a river crocodile’s eggs - and mama’s right nearby!
[/li][li]If you fail, it turns out the mud is actually a blood-thinner. Instead of healing the wound, it makes you start to bleed to the next wound category.
[/li][li]If you fail, it turns out the mud “fixes” the wound by adhering to your flesh and merging with your body. You’ll get the “Bizarre Leg Bulge” trait, which gives you +1 ob to all Speed tests.
[/li][/ul]

This is fun!

EDIT: Oh, just saw Ten of Swords’ post. Okay, hold on a sec…

Make a boat to cross the river and catch the brigands fleeing with your husband.
If you fail, your boat goes down the river with you still in it! Maybe you can still catch up, if you can make it out of the Thornswamp alive…

I use my sword to get people out of my way so I can exit the ballroom unharmed.
If you fail, someone screams, trips, and knocks over a candle onto a drapery. Now everyone’s running and shrieking, and there’s a big fire between you and the door!

I’ll woo the innkeeper’s fiery daughter by singing below her window at midnight.
If you fail, she’s not even there to hear you - she’s already gone off to the ball with your rival. (Is this reasonable? How important is it that failure be a direct consequence of the character’s actions? It seems highly desirable at least.)

Oh, and yeah, the book pretty explicitly says that on failure, the stated intention does not come to pass. Right there on page 31. So using intent-plus-twist failure is technically a house rule in BWG.
Personally, I don’t think it’s contrary to the spirit of the system to leave that option on the table. But it is contrary to the rules.

7

Apologies if it’s a faux pas to wait only for two - just want to keep the game going.

I’ll woo the innkeeper’s fiery daughter by singing below her window at midnight.
If you fail she laughs at you and demands that you prove your love by turning all traffic away from Bristle Creek Bridge until the church bells ring on Sunday morning.

I use Remarkable Magic Mud-wise to know of a special kind of mud found along this riverbank that has healing properties - I want to use it to patch up my wounds. (Your consequences are already great, SeaWyrm… it’s a tough one!)
If you fail, the magical mud you find isn’t healing mud - it’s sleeping mud. The search crews from the prison will find you caked in mud, sleeping peacefully under a tree.

I want to use my Wine-Tasting to sample the trader’s so-called Kalgan red and see if he really has access to restricted vintages—in which case I must know more!—or if he’s scamming me.
If you fail, your suspicions color your palate and you wrongly believe his superb Kalgan red is a ruddy Mawport dishwater. He’ll take the Kalgan red to your competitor, Gaston.

New intent: I’ll write a devilish and anonymous piece of satire that will humiliate the governor into resigning or make the king recall him.

8

I’ll write a devilish and anonymous piece of satire that will humiliate the governor into resigning or make the king recall him.
If you fail, your attempt at satire goes completely over your audiences head, and everyone, the king included, thinks that your stand-in for the governor is actually a likable, sympathetic character. Furthermore, the governor’s political enemies determine your true identity, conclude that you are obviously a paid propagandist for the governor, and take actions against you.

9

I use Remarkable Magic Mud-wise to know of a special kind of mud found along this riverbank that has healing properties - I want to use it to patch up my wounds.
You also recall that in order for the mud to work, you have to pass a test set by its guardian ogre.

I want to use my Wine-Tasting to sample the trader’s so-called Kalgan red and see if he really has access to restricted vintages—in which case I must know more!—or if he’s scamming me.
You can’t quite tell from the limited sample. If you really want to know, you have to steal or buy a full bottle of it.

I’ll write a devilish and anonymous piece of satire that will humiliate the governor into resigning or make the king recall him.
The satire gets into the wrong hands, and now the governor’s seen it–and nobody else has.

Intent: I win the loyalty of my reluctant companion.
Task: I cook a delicious meal.

10

I use Remarkable Magic Mud-wise to know of a special kind of mud found along this riverbank that has healing properties - I want to use it to patch up my wounds.
The remarkable magic mud also has unforeseen side effects, fit to the circumstances. You attract all the mosquitos for miles and get the equivalent of a Sup wound, or you find yourself slightly phosphorescent for a few days, making stealth impossible. Or a mild acid eats through your clothes and now you have to replace them.

I’ll write a devilish and anonymous piece of satire that will humiliate the governor into resigning or make the king recall him.
It all goes well—except for the anonymous part. Now the governor knows your subversive agenda and wants to get his hands on you. Oh, and everyone knows you have an axe to grind, so the effects are rather limited. Of course that guy is whining.

You succeed—all too well. Instead of a political process, you get an angry uprising. Now the province has risen up in rebellion. The governor has been hanged. The king is mobilizing his armies to quash the fledgling republic. For bonus points, combine with the previous, and now the king wants your head in particular for starting this mess.

Intent: I win the loyalty of my reluctant companion.
Task: I cook a delicious meal.
Again, you succeed in winning loyalty but at the expense of far too many of your supplies. Better hunt well or find a town to buy up more staples.

Your cooking just isn’t up to snuff. Your companion sells you out at the first opportunity. Hey, not all consequences involve partial success!

Your companion isn’t impressed and doesn’t finish his meal, but he’s willing to tolerate you for a while longer on the condition that you provide him with good food later. Since you can’t manage it yourself (Let It Ride!) you’re going to have to find and pay a gourmet chef, and soon!

11

I use Remarkable Magic Mud-wise to know of a special kind of mud found along this riverbank that has healing properties - I want to use it to patch up my wounds.
When you arrive the Sisters of Mercy are applying all the available mud to the wounds of Lepers, leaving none for you.

I want to use my Wine-Tasting to sample the trader’s so-called Kalgan red and see if he really has access to restricted vintages—in which case I must know more!—or if he’s scamming me.
You agressively slurp the wine down the wrong way and splurt it all over the young Count sitting at the next table. If you’re noble, he demands satisfaction, if not he has his men beat you severely.

I’ll write a devilish and anonymous piece of satire that will humiliate the governor into resigning or make the king recall him.
You satire makes the King look foolish for installing the governor, he is not happy and instigates a search for the author.

I win the loyalty of my reluctant companion by cooking a delicious meal.
Gasp! Where there peanuts in that salad?!

12

This is fun! Don’t forget to add new tasks and intents so we can keep it going!

New task/intent: I want to divide the orcish camp between the warchief and his lieutenant. I’ll use Poisonous Platitudes to convince the warchief to search his lieutenant’s quarters, and I’ll fork in Ratiquette to have the rats of the camp steal jewels from the warchief’s lodge and carry them to the lieutenant’s lodge while the sun is high.

13

I want to divide the orcish camp between the warchief and his lieutenant. I’ll use Poisonous Platitudes to convince the warchief to search his lieutenant’s quarters, and I’ll fork in Ratiquette to have the rats of the camp steal jewels from the warchief’s lodge and carry them to the lieutenant’s lodge while the sun is high.
You wormtailed friends hope to please you & return the jewels to you instead, and when the Warchief finds nothing in his lieutenant’s quarters, his suspicion fall on you.

New task: I shall bind the ghosts of dead enemies to defend the hall against assault, binding them in a circle in the gatehouse. [linked test, Circination then Summoning]

14

[ul][li]The Chief and his lieutenant spot the rats, and have a big rat-hunt and rat-feast. They have united the camp.
[/li][li]The Lieutenant has already won the jewels in a game, and now is rumored to be magically controlling the rats.
[/li][li]They see through my attempt, and agree to put all their hostility aside at least long enough to skin me…
[/li][li]The Lieutenant’s cronies see the railing of the Chief as the perfect time to end the Cheif’s chieftainship.
[/li][li]The Lieutenant is backed by the shaman, and the chief knows it. He quietly recovers his jewels, and goes away fuming that you humiliated him by proving he can’t protect his own goods. Cue new enemy. The Lieutenant, meanwhile, is annoyed about them having gotten there, and suspects you of having arranged it. Two new enemies, and no actual division of the camp, just the leaders.
[/li][/ul]

Setting: Flaming river, on far side is a keep with tower guards, it’s dusk.
New Intent: Get across the River of Fire to the Keep of the evil wizard withut being seen by his guards.
Task: Use my Acrobatics, FoRKing Staff to vault over and land quietly.

15

You make it to the other side, but land loudly, attracting the attention of the Wizard and his guards. Your back is to the flaming river as the Wizard starts lobbing fireballs at you from the battlements of his keep, and the guards are quickly advancing on you.

16

This is a great thread. Stick to the format. No discussion!

17

On a success you’re still taking damage. Convection!
On a failure you don’t vault far enough and are forced to give yourself an emergency push at the end. Your staff goes up in flames and you arrive unarmed and with no way to vault back.

Intent/Task: I want to use Conspicuous with a Doctrine FoRK to draw attention to myself as I regale the crowd with fire and brimstone preaching. That will give my sister the distraction to pick some pockets so we can eat tonight.

18

Stick to the format.

19

I win the loyalty of my reluctant companion by cooking a delicious meal.
If you fail, he has other hungers in mind, good looking. He tries to push himself on you after dinner.

I shall bind the ghosts of dead enemies to defend the hall against assault, binding them in a circle in the gatehouse. [linked test, Circination then Summoning]
If you fail, the circle cannot contain them and the entire hall is swiftly overtaken by the dead, forcing the living out into the snow. The ghosts remain within, drinking your mead and singing songs in their foul foreign tongue.

New Intent: Get across the River of Fire to the Keep of the evil wizard withut being seen by his guards.
Task: Use my Acrobatics, FoRKing Staff to vault over and land quietly.
(I love Wayfarer’s answer where you lose your staff.) If you fail, the smoke above the river blinds you and you miss the ledge you were aiming for and end up dangling from a gargoyle, which animates and seizes you. If you can’t break free you’ll pass out in the smoke and be at the wizard’s mercy.

New task/intent: I’ll brew a poison that will suppress my pulse and respiration for three days to fake my death. With me dead, Leonardo’s men will have no reason to threaten my family. I’ll be buried in the family crypt and my apprentice can open the crypt on the third day and release me. (Rolling Poisons with forks from Alchemy and Herbalism, perhaps.)

20

I slash at the ropes in an attempt to set the prisoners free

-You cut through the ropes, but accidentally slash a prisoners arm, too.

  • Your dagger does the job, but it gets jammed in the last rope, just as the guards rush in.
    -You fumble with the dagger while trying to saw through the tight knot the dagger, and it drops to the floor, snapping in half.
21

I’ll brew a poison that will suppress my pulse and respiration for three days to fake my death. With me dead, Leonardo’s men will have no reason to threaten my family. I’ll be buried in the family crypt and my apprentice can open the crypt on the third day and release me. (Rolling Poisons with forks from Alchemy and Herbalism, perhaps.)

A) You potion works perfect, though your lover hears of your death. Overcome with grief she stabs herself in the heart at your graveside, mere moments before you wake.

B) Your plan goes without hit a hitch until your apprentice celebrates it’s success too early and mistakes the basilisk venom in your lab for brandy. Seems he’s paralysed and cannot release you from the crypt. What do ytou do?

Task & Intent: I shall sway the emotions of the bandits with my tale of poverty and woe and convince them to leave my Village in peace [Oratory, forking Village-Wise].

22

I shall sway the emotions of the bandits with my tale of poverty and woe and convince them to leave my Village in peace [Oratory, forking Village-Wise].

Your speech touches a cord with the bandits, who not only decide to leave your village unmolested, but also go full Robin Hood and start stealing from the rich and giving to the poor; the local duke responds to this by declaring martial law, and having a bunch of the villagers taken in for questioning about the bandits, tortured, and summarily executed as a warning to “anarchist sympathizers”.

Task and Intent: I will steal important documents by disguising myself as a serving girl and sneaking into the home of Vito d’Angelino, head of the powerful Genoa Merchant League (Disguise, linked into Inconspicuous).

23

I slash at the ropes in an attempt to set the prisoners free

Isn’t this Say Yes under almost all circumstances? It doesn’t take much in the way of skill with a knife to free someone. Maybe if you have to do it instantly with a sword-stroke the failure chance is injuring prisoners.

I shall sway the emotions of the bandits with my tale of poverty and woe and convince them to leave my Village in peace [Oratory, forking Village-Wise].

  1. They’re convinced. You’re even worse off than they! But that means you’re natural allies, and now they intend to use your village as their new base of operations. The good news is they’re not ravaging. The bad news is they’re not leaving you in peace, and now the reave and his men are on their way.

  2. They agree to leave your village alone. Instead they’ll raid the next village over, where your brother lives. Or they’ll wait for your sister’s caravan on its way back. Maybe they’ll simply wait for the king’s tax collectors to come, do the work of robbery for them, and then waylay him, likely getting you taxed twice. You’ve bought a reprieve but not a solution.

Task and Intent: I will steal important documents by disguising myself as a serving girl and sneaking into the home of Vito d’Angelino, head of the powerful Genoa Merchant League (Disguise, linked into Inconspicuous).

  1. (Disguise failure) You make it in, but your disguise is lousy. Every servant you pass can give your description, and will once the theft is discovered.

  2. (Inconspicuous failure) Even serving girls are suspicious when caught where they don’t belong. You’re apprehended with your hand in Vito’s desk drawers.

  3. (Inconspicuous failure) Your disguise works, but the guards still note you and don’t recognize you. Maybe they’re amorous. Maybe they’re willing to wake up the steward to ask when you were hired. How quick are your wits and your tongue?

Repeated Intent/Task: I want to use Conspicuous with a Doctrine FoRK to draw attention to myself as I regale the crowd with fire and brimstone preaching. That will give my sister the distraction to pick some pockets so we can eat tonight.