Hi there, reading the BWG I got a little hung up on the examples of Intent/Task and resolution when it came to the “I want to kill him” example
The issue arises on Pg30, rather than the player getting his intent directly (as with other tests and examples) this mentions looking up the weapons section and anatomy of an injury section - which, while fatal in the example - could easily have been bumps and bruises i.e. the player not getting their intent.
Right now I’m making my peace with it since even bumps and bruises would be “moving the player towards their intent” which is mentioned elsewhere as what successes do.
But it raises questions of how much to factor in, shy of making it a Bloody Versus test; for example what if the guy had a shield and armour would you:
A) When looking up the weapon and anatomy of an injury stuff have the guy make an armour check, factoring in VA of the weapon and maybe knocking off a success to reflect getting around the shield (though this could entirely thwart, not even making progress towards, the player’s intent)
B) Throw the armoured, shielded guy a couple of advantage dice on the initial opposed roll then look up and use the weapon and anatomy of an injury stuff
C) As B but then not bother using anatomy of an injury / weapon stuff and just declared him dead
C) Something else, if so what?
Well, actually I would say that A, B, and C were all correct by the RAW. It depends on which section of the rules you and your table are using. If you’re just using the hub and spokes a simple vs test is cool. And everyone is allowed to petition for advantage, and disadvantage can be given by the GM. So I would say that C was the most correct for only using the Hub and Spokes.
If you’re using the rim, but not wanting to do a bloody vs or Fight! the others could still be applicable though. I think it depends on the situation and your call as GM.
But in the end, I would stand with the intent of the player. Thats why you ask for intent every time. If the player clearly states their intent is to ‘kill’ and they succeed, they have accomplished their intent.
What Dijarian said. In my games, I try to gauge how important the combat is. If it’s not very, or if I’m playing using only the Hub, then it’s a simple Versus test. Winner take all. You might give Advantage or Disadvantage depending on each combatant’s weapons and armor, but I don’t look at the weapon damage, armor or Anatomy of Injury rules. Success is whatever your intent. If it’s dead, then so be it.
If the situation calls for Bloody Versus, then I use that (which does involve the Armor, Damage and Anatomy of Injury rules) - BV adds uncertainty to your Intent, by the vagaries of combat. You only wanted to incapacitate your opponent? If you roll high enough, maybe you kill them outright…
One of my favorite games climaxed with my character and a crossbow against a demon with 12" razor claws. The demon had a massive attack and speed, but I had put my Driven trait on my Crossbow. I spent all of my persona, so one of us wasn’t walking away.
