Questions about Circles

Burning Wheel Subsystem Advice and Guidance
1

  1. If my character wants to find someone, I roll his or her Circles against the Ob. What’s my character’s Task? “I ask about him in the Tavern”? But what if he/she doesn’t know where the tavern is? Should the GM tell me to roll Tavern-wise or something as a Linked Test?

  2. Corollary: what happens in the fiction? Does the NPC is in the Tavern and my character finds him right away? Does one other NPC tell my character when and where to find the NPC I rolled for, and a scene has to be framed in those time-space coordinates in order to meet him? Does the NPC appear ex-nihilo?

  3. Another one: I circle up a NPC and know his name, so I’ve +1D for circling him in the future, with the same Ob. But what if I circled him up in the middle of conflict originally, with that Ob penalty, but now I’m trying to circle him up whenever the GM wants to? Shouldn’t that Ob penalty disappear? And this applies to other penalties that may change over time: I circle up a character of Higher Station, but the second time I want to circle her my own station is far greater than hers, does that Ob penalty still applies?

  4. The final one: if my character’s Reputation is 3D, plus his affiliation 3D, plus his Circles 3D, and I roll to circle up a NPC, does that NPC becomes an instant-relationship of my character (aptitude = 10 - 3D Reps - 3D Affs - 3D Circles exponent = 1 test for aptitude)? Maybe it depends on the will of the player: if he or she wants that NPC to become a relationship, there you get it, otherwise, it’s just a NPC of the mill.

2

1a) It’s supposed to be retroactively creating someone your character knows, or is an acquaintance of some sort.

1b and 2) Determined by the obstacles chosen, if appropriate. In most cases it’s “so you go over to find Bob at the tavern”

3
  1. Well, you shouldn’t assume you’re rolling Circles. If finding the tavern is going to be an obstacle, when you say “I ask about him in the tavern” the GM should ask you “How do you find the tavern.” You may not be rolling a Circles test if you determine the issue at hand is about finding a tavern rather than finding an NPC. I wouldn’t make it a linked test, since if you don’t find the tavern you can’t “ask about him in the tavern” now can you?

Of course, if finding the tavern isn’t an interesting problem, the GM can just say Yes to that part.

  1. If you ask for him “right now” The NPC will be somewhere close by and accessible within a reasonable time, based on what you’ve established. Ex nihilo is fine. One of my friends once Circled up an old freebooter buddy by “asking around about him”, This “buddy” walked into our brothel one day and proceeded to slam his head up against the table (enmity clause!).

  2. Let it Ride doesn’t apply if the situation drastically changes.

  3. Affiliations don’t count when Building Relationships with Circles, just Rep. I wouldn’t let the player decide. If they keep Circling the same person, a Relationship develops.