Rolls to avoid or cancel specific effects

[Darren Hill]

In the rules, players might make contests for the following kind of things:

• At the start of a battle, to see if they can choose the starting range.
• When the GM has used Strife to give a creature a one-use Advantage Die (like, say, The Boar Smells You cComing A Mile Off: 1d8)
• Any yes/no situation, where the contest determines if something happens or not

There are some hidden complexities here, when more than one Hero is rolling.

• What about those situations that seem Pass/Fail for the group as a whole? The PCs roll a contest to set the starting Range for Positioning a contest. What happens if two PCs fail, and two PCs succeed?
• The text says the GM can buy an advantage die with strife for some situation (like the boar smells you coming), and heroes can try a contest to cancel that. If they fail this roll, presumably they suffer an impairment. If they win, do they cancel that roll, or do they instead get  an advantage die of their own? I assume the answer is the latter - in which case, the contest is really just a standard roll to get an advantage, with the strife-bought situation merely providing the Colour that justifies it. Is that correct? (Hopefully I'm making sense.)
• When making such a pre-battle contest (for positioning, or avoiding the beast's ability to smell you, or whatever), so do you roll against the NPC's Name + Ability, or do you as GM spend Strife to buy a difficulty?

[John Harper]

Any yes/no situation, where the contest determines if something happens or not

That's not technically true. You never roll just to see if something happens or not. Only for conflicts of interest. Also, the heroes can initiate action that calls for a roll to gain their own advantage die. The heroes might say that they are "scouting the area" for example, to call for a contest and try to win an advantage die, like "Knows the lay of the land 1d8."

What about those situations that seem Pass/Fail for the group as a whole? The PCs roll a contest to set the starting Range for Positioning a contest. What happens if two PCs fail, and two PCs succeed?

The heroes who fail take impairment. The winners don't. The highest roller gets to set the starting range. Since all the heroes start in the same range band, this sets the starting range for everyone.

This is generally true of any contest between the heroes as a whole and some adversity. Only one hero needs to succeed in order for the group to "pass."

The text says the GM can buy an advantage die with strife for some situation (like the boar smells you coming), and heroes can try a contest to cancel that. If they fail this roll, presumably they suffer an impairment. If they win, do they cancel that roll, or do they instead get  an advantage die of their own? I assume the answer is the latter

It's the latter, yes.

When making such a pre-battle contest (for positioning, or avoiding the beast's ability to smell you, or whatever), so do you roll against the NPC's Name + Ability, or do you as GM spend Strife to buy a difficulty?

You use the NPC's Name + Ability. Use these dice to determine the Glory award given (using the table on page 117).

[Darren Hill]

Thanks, that's cleared a boatload of confusion up at my end.

[John Harper]

Happy to help. Actual play will help you work this stuff out, too. I know it took me a few sessions to get the kinks out. I hope you can get a group together.

[Darren Hill]

I know I have a group that will want to try this game. The issue is timing. I'll probably have to wait five or six weeks till the current gaming slot is finished.