[TSoY] A few questions after actual play

[dyjoots]

I fell in love with TSoY after reading the internet version, and I bought the print book.  I finally convince my group to try it out for a one shot, and I ran into an issue.

Our Elf Ammenite was being attacked in the dark by a goblin.  Attack was successful, so the player BDTPed.  His intention remained "kill the Elf," while Elf's intention was "discover the goblin's identity."

First, are those acceptable inentions?  They aren't directly opposed, but that certainly doesn't seem like it's a required feature... I figure they are, but I just thought I'd ask.

Second, the elf player's first action was to bring a candle up to show the goblins face.  And the elf succeeded at the roll.  My problem was that this could technically end the contest.  I narrated that she brought the candle up, but his face was concealed by a mask.  Is that an acceptable way of dealing with such a situation?

[Darcy Burgess]

to begin with, I believe that the declared intentions were perfectly fine.

the way I interpret the system, the player's declared intention (ie: "kill the elf" or "discover the gobbo's identity") doesn't succeed until the BDTP is concluded.

in this case, that would mean that although the Elf won that stage of the conflict (bring the candle up), the goblin's identity remains hidden until the BDTP is resolved (one party either backs down, or the contest transcends Broken).  The victor must take this into account during their narration -- in this case, the goblin could have recoiled from the candle (nice choice, as it also gives a reason for taking "damage"), or have been splashed with hot wax, or any number of other possible reasons for his identity to remain hidden even though the candle was brought to bear.

[James_Nostack]

First, are those acceptable inentions?  They aren't directly opposed, but that certainly doesn't seem like it's a required feature... I figure they are, but I just thought I'd ask.

This is legal, but the stakes aren't well balanced here.  The goblin's goal is to completely deprotagonize the elf's player, but the elf just wants a single piece of information.  If I were playing, I'd be a lot more aggressive in establishing what happens if I win.  Whoever is controlling the goblin just went for my throat; if that's how it's gonna be, then I intend to be like General Sherman burning my way through the South.

I would suggest making the goblin only intend to cripple the elf to keep him out of action for a while... or the elf getting to find out all about the goblin's mission.

To quote myself from the wiki:

One thing to remember about the Shadow of Yesterday: it doesn't have any "hit point" system. This means that any hero can die with a single roll if the attacker strikes with lethal intent. Furthermore, due to the dice mechanic, even a lowly n00b can beat the world's greatest adventurer on a lucky hit. Naturally the endangered player won't stand for this, and will Bring Down the Pain.

Here's what that means for your game: any time you design an adventure where a random puny kobold attacks Sir Lancelot with malice aforethought, you should be prepared--your players may Bring the Pain, and you'll end up spending twenty minutes resolving something that would take two seconds in D&D. Thus, in the Shadow of Yesterday there's not much room for "filler combat."  From a pacing point of view, a murderous kobold is a bigger event in the story than a benign dragon.

Although only a player can Bring Down the Pain, the Storyguide is the one who provokes it by having NPC's act with intentions that are unacceptable to the player. If I'm a player, and immediately upon meeting a kobold that little critter wants to kill me, you have forced me to Bring the Pain by dropping me into a high-stakes situation. If you don't want me to Bring It, you need to make sure that kobold's intention is not that objectionable. If I'm gonna die, I have to fight back--but  if the kobold just wanted to scare me away, or steal my gold I might not choose to squander my pools on this "throwaway" encounter.

[James Nostack]? suggests making sure that the antagonists of a story each have clear motivations, possibly with room to escalate. "You see some goblins, they attack to kill" will get very tedious in this game.