Polaris "advantage" question

[chris_moore]

Hi,

I just got Polaris, and I'm BEGGING my friends to play it.  I have one question.  When does the Heart or the Mistaken "have the advantage"  during a conflict die roll?  I know you add Zeal or Weariness either way, but what consitutes the "advantage"?

thanks, chris moore

[Ben Lehman]

Advantages only apply in the context of die rolls.

If the Mistaken has the advantage, subtract Weariness from the challenge rating (if the knight has no weariness, do nothing.)

Likewise, if the Heart has the advantage, add Zeal to the challenge rating (if the knight has no Zeal, do nothing.)

Answer your question?

yrs--
--Ben

[chris_moore]

My question is: How do you know when the Mistaken or the Heart has the advantage?

I must be missing something really simple.

thanks, chris

[Mikael]

My question is: How do you know when the Mistaken or the Heart has the advantage?

I do not have the rules with me, and will thus take this excellent opportunity to confuse everyone with a guess based on half-remembered facts: the one who invokes "It shall not come to pass" has been pushed to a corner and, therefore, the other guy has the advantage.

(I would not have to guess if I had actually played the game. Alas, I am still trying to find a timeslot for just three players, and dreaming about four.)

Cheers,
Mikael

[Ben Lehman]

Mikael is correct.  The one who uses the "It shall not come to pass" phrase gives his opponent an advantage.

yrs--
--Ben

[Sydney Freedberg]

(Prescript: Ben, I meant to PM you or something, but I got my copy, and, wow. I read some and showed some to my non-gamer wife, and she was all, "play this! play this!").

This has real strategic significance in the game, and I want to make sure I got this right. The effect of these rules is

IF Heart invokes "it shall not come to pass,"
THEN
- IF protagonist = novice, THEN protagonist gets no penalty
- IF protagonist = veteran, THEN protagonist gets penalty = weariness

IF Mistaken invokes "it shall not come to pass,"
THEN
- IF protagonist = novice, THEN protagonist gets bonus = zeal
- IF protagonist = veteran, THEN protagonist gets no bonus

If so, then this mechanic is designed to steadily erode a protagonist's chances of resisting unacceptable statements by the Mistaken over time -- correct?

[Ben Lehman]

This has real strategic significance in the game, and I want to make sure I got this right. The effect of these rules is

IF Heart invokes "it shall not come to pass,"
THEN
- IF protagonist = novice, THEN protagonist gets no penalty
- IF protagonist = veteran, THEN protagonist gets penalty = weariness

IF Mistaken invokes "it shall not come to pass,"
THEN
- IF protagonist = novice, THEN protagonist gets bonus = zeal
- IF protagonist = veteran, THEN protagonist gets no bonus

Absolutely correct.

If so, then this mechanic is designed to steadily erode a protagonist's chances of resisting unacceptable statements by the Mistaken over time -- correct?

Not quite.  You have to consider it together with the steady increases in Ice and Light.  In short:

Beginning of story: Protagonist and demons must negotiate.
Middle of story: Victory without negotiations is feasible for both sides (although the nature of this can vary -- consider the 2 zeal, 2 ice, 2 light knight versus the 1 zeal, 4 ice, 1 light knight).
End of story: Negotiation is again necessary.

yrs--
--Ben