Hello
We've run through a few capes sessions and I have some rules questions.
1) Can I stake debt on a side I'm not allied with?
2) Assuming there is enough debt staked by someone, can I split dice on a side I'm not allied with?
3) Does Claiming a side count as Allying with it? (This assumes I'm Claiming a side of a Conflict I have not rolled at all on).
Thanks
Jesse
A modified "No" on all of those.
The modification being that folks who have not yet participated in a conflict in any way (i.e. everybody in the instant after the conflict is created) can stake or claim most any side. That sometimes makes for some pretty nasty tactical moves (such as momentarily supporting the winning side, only to push your own third-party agenda and screw everyone else! Yay!)
But if there are Side A and Side B, and you are allied with Side A then you can't do much of anything to Side B. You can't stake, you can't split, you can't claim. It's not your side.
I hope this helps!
Thanks.
And just for completeness:
If I'm allied with Side A, I can still attempt to roll DOWN Side B, right?
Jesse
Indeed. You can always roll any side any way you want. So you can be allied with Side A and roll down Side B without changing your alliance. Or you can roll UP Side B, and now you're allied with Side B (even if you've staked on Side A and have to leave that Debt behind).
So, long-term, you can be Staked on all sides of a conflict. It's just that you have to make rolls to change sides between Staking on A (when you're allied with them) and Staking on B.
Great. One more just to make sure I've been doing this right.
A player Claims Side A. No one Claims Side B. At the end of the page, Side B is in control. The Conflict does not resolve and the Claim on Side A goes away (it can, of course, be reclaimed at the top of the next page). Correct?
Jesse
Correct.