Trollbabe Rules Question

[Ronaldo]

I recently picked up Tollbabe and there is one part that I can't figure out despite reading several times. If there are several Trollbabes on the same side (not against each other): they may all state the same or different goals. If they all state the same goal and one or more fail and one or more succeed, what are the consequences?
Thank you.

[Ron Edwards]

Hi Ronaldo, and welcome to the forum!

I think I can answer best through examples.

First example

Let's start with a simple one ... two trollbabes (Oga and Heath) are fighting a psychotic troll, and each has the same goal - to knock him unconscious.

First point: don't worry about "contradictory results." They aren't contradictory - the conflict for one is whether Oga knocks him out; the conflict for the other is whether Heath knocks him out. Here's how the dice might come out.

1. Both succeed. Well, the troll is knocked out and both trolllbabes were involved in the process somehow. Given how the players narrated the beginning of the conflict, the GM should have an easy time narrating the outcome.

2. Both fail. I figure this one is easy to understand already. The troll isn't knocked out at all, and the two players' narrations are only constrained by having to be compatible.

3. Oga succeeds and Heath fails. What this means is that Oga knocks the troll unconscious and Heath does not. What happens to Heath depends on how many re-rolls she took along the way. (reverse the names for the 4th possible result)

The important point is that each player rolls entirely separately, up to and including setting the Pace. You do not combine rolls. (note: this becomes more interesting when one or both trollbabes have one another as a re-roll item, i.e., have a relationship, but that still does not change the basic rule of "don't combine rolls.")

Any questions on that one? If so, let's deal with them before considering the next one, which I'll post here anyway.

Second example

Here's a possibly more difficult example. This time, Oga and Heath are in the same scene, and this time, each one has announced the same goal of stealing the (allegedly) magic chicken. The dice work exactly the same as above, so let's see the outcomes.

1. Both fail. Non-problematic, I trust, just as above.

2. One succeeds whereas the other fails. In this case, I think this one is also non-problematic.

3. Both succeed. This one's the tricky one, it seems, right? Well, it's not so bad. First, remember that the GM always narrates the successes, so here's how it might go, to pick two possible rough concepts...

a) They both have the chicken, but neither has full control over it; that will have to be agreed upon or settled by a new conflict.

b) One has the chicken at first but the other managed to get it, and now has control over it. Again, that might entail a new conflict, or it might not, depending on what the players think.

c) The chicken is indeed stolen by one or both of them in some way, but the damn thing has escaped and now neither has it; this almost certainly calls for a conflict, and you should be careful not to make it a repeat of the first - the chicken-chase should be a whole new problem, not merely extending the chicken-theft.

But it's not an arbitrary choice between the three (or any equivalent option). When choosing among these general options and narrating such an outcome, 90% of it depends on what the players said at the conflict's beginning - in other words, how Oga and Heath are going to steal the chicken (separately). That will generally dictate who will get to it first, what complications will be involved for failed rolls and re-rolls, and what state the chicken might be in during or after the process, for each trollbabe. You'll find that using this material attentively will lead to the players enjoying your choice (privilege) to interpret the outcome, whether (a), (b), or (c) or something in-between.

How's that one? Questions, concerns? (Again, if the first one generated questions for you, let's wait to deal with this second one entirely; we can always come back to it.)

Third example

And finally, the one which people might find hardest, probably because character-character conflict has been problematic in their experience of play. In this case, Oga and Heath are annoyed with one another and are fighting. Let's say each one has the same goal: to knock the other unconscious.

All right, here are the possible outcomes, which I hope you'll see are the easiest, not the hardest, as long as everyone maintains his or her trust of the system.

1. Both succeed - no problem! Both are unconscious. I trust that this one should be easy for the GM to narrate.

2. Both fail - no problem! Neither is unconscious.

3. One succeeds and the other fails - no problem! The first one wins the fight.

So that's my explanation. How was it? Does it make sense? All questions are welcome.

Also, here's a reference for a previous discussion: [Trollbabe] Multiple trollbabes in one conflict.

Best, Ron
edited to fix typos

[Ronaldo]

This is great! Thank you very much.