Opposed Goals

[Darren Hill]

Is it okay to have a conflict where one side has one goal ("Reach the waterworks before Brother Artax dynamites it") where the resistance is provided by a third party (bandits hired by an evil real estate developer, say) with a different goal ("Drive the Dogs Out of Town!") ?

[TonyLB]

Sounds like a follow-up conflict, rolling fallout from the previous goal into the next.

That way you can reach the waterworks in time, but still be driven out of town, or fail to reach the waterworks but keep your place in the town, or any other combination.

[Simon Kamber]

No, you can't have different goals in a conflict. A conflict can have only one set of stakes. As Tony said, though, leaving the other set of stakes for a followup conflict would work.

[Darren Hill]

Yes, I'm convinced by Tony's argument. I asked because it seemed to me that in this case, the stakes would amount to be the same thing, but Tony pointed out how that wasn't so.