Slowest, Loudest person in the group?

Burning Wheel First Reading
1

I seem to recall a rule from BWR where if the group or a pair of people are testing for a stealth test or a speed test, you go by the slowest person or the person with the lowest stealth skill.

What am I remembering mis-remembering?

So, when a person with stealth is with a person without stealth in the forest and they want to skulk around together, if the unskilled in the ways of stealth has a skill that can help, how does that work?

2

Judd, you’ll find the rule in the Adventure Burner. The idea is that if you have a group test in which the failure of one person in a group means the failure of all–sneaking, for instance–the person with the lowest exponent in the skill must make the test. If there is a tie, the person with the highest obstacle penalty should make the test.

If one person is skilled in Stealth and the other person is not, the unskilled character should make the test. The skilled person may help.

3

How does that work with only one person on a team being allowed to help the leader in a Range and Cover volley? Is the leader allowed to be the person with the best skill or stat? Can it change round by round, depending on what was scripted?

Matt

4

Range and Cover is special, and the leader can be whoever has the best relevant skill.

5

Actually, Knaight, I think the rules are a bit fuzzy on this point. In this thread:

http://www.burningwheel.org/forum/showthread.php?11358-Range-and-Cover-Questions

Thor indicates that in his campaign Slowest and Loudest can apply to Range and Cover.

Peter

6

Remember, Slowest and Loudest is conditional based on several factors:

  1. It’s a group test.
  2. If one person failed it would mean failure for the whole group.

I would apply Slowest and Loudest to Sneak In or Sneak Out, since those maneuvers require everyone in the group to be successfully stealthy. If one person steps on a twig, the whole group’s maneuver is blown. I would not apply Slowest and Loudest to a Hold maneuver, since only one member of the group needs to successfully put eyes on the opposition in order to pull it off.

Matt, if the Slowest and Loudest rule is invoked for a particular maneuver, then the person with the lowest skill/stat exponent has to make the test. There is no limitation placed on who the helper may be. Remember that if everyone has Skirmish Tactics, then multiple people can help.

7

Seems like even Charge or Close might need Slowest/Loudest, then.

Matt

8

Well, note Thor’s point 2. Let’s say you and I have bows, and five guys are rushing us. If one of them doesn’t make it before we’re ready to shoot, so we only get tackled by two guys each before we can shoot, did they fail? Nope! Even if only one of them makes it in time, that’s probably enough to keep us busy while the rest pile on.

It’s possible that something in the fiction might make success everyone-or-failure, of course. But generally I’d agree with Thor’s assessment: It’s most appropriate for Stealthy actions.