Questions about conflicts in Dogs

[jrs]

Vincent,

I have some questions that came up during our play last weekend about conflicts in Dogs.  I think at least one of them has been mentioned here, but I could not locate any such discussion.  Feel free to point me to old threads.

1. Can multiple Traits be introduced in a single Raise or See?  I'm referring to complimentary Traits, where it would be reasonable that both could be firing at the same time.

2. Player A is engaged in a conflict.  Player B (whose character is present but not in the conflict) wants to Help Player A.  Can he?  I think the answer is that he could not Help until a Follow-up Conflict is initiated.

3. If a conflict begins at gunfighting, do the gun (and any relevant trait) dice get rolled at the same time as the Stat dice or at the time of the first Raise?

That's it for now. 

Julie

[Vaxalon]

I'm not Vincent, but I think I have the answers to your questions.

1> Yes.  They have to be narrated in, though, for the see or raise where they're rolled.

2> It's best to have any PC's who are present for a conflict roll into it.  If a conflict isn't engaging enough to catch the attention of all the players who have PC's in the area, it's probably not engaging enough to play out at all.

3> The gun dice get rolled when the player invokes that belonging.  In my experience, it happens pretty fast when you get to the gunfighting level.

[lumpley]

Fred, you've been firing off a lot of replies around here, many a bit hasty. Can I ask you, when someone's asking for my input specifically, please don't reply until after I have. Thanks!

Julie, I don't feel like looking up old threads, so here're the answers.

1) Yes. When you bring a trait or belonging concretely into a raise or see, you roll its dice. I have "I like to beat up on my brother 1d4" and "I was an accomplished boxer at university back east 2d8." I raise "I punch my brother in the nose." I get to roll 1d4 plus 2d8.

2) You're right. Player B has to sit on her hands until this conflict ends; nobody can join a conflict already underway.

My favorite way to handle it is: "okay, Player A, we have to do all of our remaining raises and sees in the split second between when Player B's character notices what's happening and when she gets her gun out of its holster. Go!"

My second-favorite way to handle it is: "okay, Player B, you break up the fight - for now. The next night, Player A, how about we get back together behind the hay barn to see it through, without interruption."

Dogs' resolution can accomodate a lot of time-play.

Oh, and I specifically don't endorse Fred's answer. A lot of the time, I'd rather split the scene into a couple of related one-on-one conflicts and resolve both before we do any followups, than do a group conflict.

3) Sure, that's the way I play it, except when I'm being super-strict to teach new people how the rules work. The functional difference between rolling the dice altogether and waiting to roll the gun's dice until I've declared my raise - but before I've put dice forward for it, of course - is small.

Make sense?

-Vincent

[jrs]

That's all very helpful, Vincent.

Thanks!
Julie