Are players allowed to help using the same skill that the Originator of the roll is using? For example Helping a mouse using fighter by using fighter? I think I remember in first edition you had to use a different skill in order to help, but I think this has changed.
Do used traits recharge for each new session or do you have to spend checks for them to ever recharge? ( I know that you can spend checks to recharge during a session in which you have used one to your advantage already.)
Are you able to keep using traits against yourself during a session? Are there limitations to how many times?
I have four players in my game. 3 Guard mice and a Patrol Mouse. I know that only 3 mice can take action per round in a conflict, and in the case of having 4 mice you rotate so that no one is ever left out two times in a row. Would it break the system if we scaled it so that every mouse got an action ever round? What is affected if we modified that rule? Is it a terrible idea? My players are asking me why at least one of them has to sit out every turn and I am just curious.
Are players allowed to help using the same skill that the Originator of the roll is using?
p94, How Can I Help?
The example describes an Armorer can help another Armorer.
Do used traits recharge for each new session
p257, “Level 1 traits may be used once per session unless they are recharged.” - yes, they recharge each session or can be recharged with checks during the session.
players are asking me why at least one of them has to sit out every turn
The conflict captain rolls the disposition. If the other players take an action each, that means that on the first round, each player will have rolled dice (1 for disposition, and 3 actions). The next round can involve a different combination of players. Including the conflict captain.
So, on the next round you could encourage the conflict captain to take an action, and let one of the other players wait until the next round (the player who last acted). Since you all act one after the other, you just need to use a bit of common sense to ensure that everyone gets a go.
Top tip: If you have the pdf version of the rules you can find clarifications very quickly simply by using Ctrl+F and typing in the name of the rule you wish to look up (like “help”).
Thanks for the clarifications! I have two hard copies of the book and have taken lots of notes, but I am thinking about a .pdf for the autofind feature as well. Cheers!
You may continue to use a trait against as often as it fits. Do take care that it doesn’t become silly or trivial, but using a trait against is rare enough (from my experience) that I never want to squash the idea. (to date, I’ve never said a trait cannot be a detriment; however, I think I’ve disallowed it being a benefit once or twice)
As for playing out volleys of action, I can’t say much about the reasons, but three actions against three actions is a pretty full volley; I’ve not found that conflict ever keep a fast pace even among a group strongly accustomed to them.
Emphasize heavily to players that no one is sitting still or sitting out. While one player may be rolling the dice, on behalf of their PC mouse taking an action, others should be readily offering Helper dice, (possibly gear), and in any other sense participating in the cacophony of a conflict. Even NPC mice might be joining in with assistance. The individual action is not like golf or tennis! The whole team would be involved, but only one rolls the dice–just as in a test.
The basic pattern is that the whole team participates in the action itself–if its an Attack, everyone is contributing to the assault; if it is a Maneuver, everyone is contributing to the movement. Thus, the set number of Helpers per volley seems arbitrary.
So, shifting the response, there is the instruction on pg 103 that in Helping an action, up to 2 team members may pass a Helper die on the roll. This is a question best left to the sagacity of Luke and Thor. My take is that this relates to the new multi-team rules/guidance. In 1e, a large team might get broken down into smaller pieces and everyone could help; in 2e, that is not the pattern. In this case, a large team (such as 4-6 mice in a patrol, plus an NPC support, plus whatever else) could amass quite a pile of dice in each action of a volley. In order to prevent too large a dice pool trivializing the challenge, the instruction now includes this restriction of Helpers. I think this also relates to the cacophony of conflicts in this way: not everything you do is really all that helpful, and with so many facets of a conflict, sometimes you just can’t help the primary action at the moment.
I’d say that a change to ignore that rule would permit too large a dice pool, a bit more time spent gathering Helpers, and less risk/challenge.
Aside: for the multi-team rules/guidance, that is found on pg 116.
Thank you all for the knowledge. I think this info will go a long way to help enhance my groups gaming experience. We had a great first game this past Sunday, but I stumbled a bit here and there.
When I have had a one-shot of four players I used four actions/round. The problem is that the battle can end really fast if everyone is just using Attack and it is difficult to predict the actions. When I play with friends who are accustomed to MG we use only 3 cards because then you get more tactical conflict.