players invoking "roll the dice"

Burning Empires Infection
1

Can players in BE invoke the “roll the dice” part of “Roll the dice or say yes”? That is, if a GM is doing an color or interstitital scene with only NPCs present, but a player says “hey I think you should have to roll for that” (and the other players agree) can he make the GM either back down or use a building scene on it?

For example, I was thinking of doing a scene where I’d show an FoN brutally beating (or even killing) a subordinate/acquaintance, to illustrate his relentlessness.

My thinking right now is that the players do have the right to call for the dice, but that everyone should try to be on the same page about what constitutes a conflict. In the above example, if the subordinate was just ‘furniture’ (he’s never been part of the story before, not a contact/relationship or related to any), then I’m not really changing anything in the world, just adding color to the character. Thus, a color scene.

However, if instead of beating him up I was hulling him, the hulling kind of promotes him above furniture into a potentially important character that could be used in future scenes, making it by definition a building scene.

Am I on track or way off base?

  • Mike
2

I’d say only if one of them has a claim on that NPC. If they have him or her as a relationship, mainly.

If you kill a random NPC, that doesn’t change anything. There was nothing before and there is nothing after.

3

I think it also depends on your intent as GM.

It is color and no dice rolling if your just showing what could happen to them, and trying to set a mood and character for the villain.

But if your showing how he is converting his whole staff and preparing agents then I would say that it is a building scene.

As written you have introduced a color character (the hulled guy) who should not be that important. Maybe later you can include him in a building scene or something to give him command of a group or something. But I would agree that you don’t need a roll because there was no Conflict, just a task. And your intent was not to make an army, but to show what is going on and how things stand, to up dramatic tension and give focus to the what may in store for others.

4

I agree, it is a color scene. There is no conflict with another actual character, so it isn’t a conflict scene. The FoN doing the beating is not advancing their agenda or building up to a conflict so it’s not a building scene.

As far as “Roll the dice or say yes”
“I choose to say yes.” I don’t believe it’s their choice which way you go.