I don’t own BWG (but BWR), but I presume this question applies to all version. Please move the question to another forum section if more appropriate.
I ran a Bloody Versus between a group of 4PC’s (2 NPC support) vs 6 NPC’s. The most important stake/intent was capture: either the players capture the boss of the NPC’s, or the PC’s are caught themselves. However, in addition, it was decided that wounds would be inflicted as well, as that felt appropriate / required in the fiction.
So some PC’s got stuck with wounds (which is fine, and which I presume we can just handle with regular old health/healing rules), but I was wondering about something else: Steel. For some PC’s, it was the first lethal fight they were in (2 opposing NPCs died) and the first wounds they took in combat. I’m not ‘worried’ about Steel from the point of Hesistation or how it would have impacted the fight (that can be narrated out easily), but from the (moral and mental hardness) effects such a combat might have had on the PCs.
I feel like I’m abusing the system if I just ‘hand out’ Steel tests (for advancement logging) to the PCs, on the other hand, for some PCs this is a big deal.
How to handle this post-Bloody Versus Steel issue? (And if you have comments regarding wounds, feel free to chime in as part of a general ‘post - BV’ topic).
I don’t think handing out those tests is abusive at all. In fact, Steel is only one of several systems that expects you will “hand out” tests of appropriate difficulty. Hatred, Greed and Grief do as well. It’s important that you do so, actually, or it will be extremely difficult to log the appropriate tests for advancement.
But also, after a fight, you can make players roll Steel and if they fail, they’re basically spacey and useless for a few hours. It’s called shock. After some fights, it’s no big deal, but others? When you’re rushing to put out fires, help the wounded, or reinforce the gates? Or you need to grab your stuff and run, and you’ve got people forgetting to pick stuff up or grab crucial supplies?
Yeah, that’s when the hardened soldiers are going to be really useful.