[Shock] Some more questions

[matthijs]

There's a few things I'm still not 100% clear on.

d4s in a conflict

When several of my d10s are successes, does my opposition affect all of them with one d4, or does each d4 affect only one d10?
Say I roll 3d10 with results of 5, 4 and 2 against a Fulcrum of 6. I have 3 successes. If my opponent rolls 2d4, showing 4 and 3, which one applies:
- They can use the single 4 against all three of my results - bumping them to 9, 8 and 6.
- They can use the 3 and 4 against two of my results - for example, bumping the 2 to 6 and the 4 to 7, still leaving the 5.
- They can use the 3 and 4, and split them as they like, so they have 7 points to divide as they choose - for example, bumping the 5 to 6, the 4 to 6 and the 2 to 6.

When several players roll d4s for minutiae, exactly what happens?
Say Archie, Betty and Chuck roll 3, 4 and 1, and they all want in on the action. As I understand it, Betty (highest roller) gets to contribute her die. But Archie and Chuck can give her their dice, right? Betty can use all three of them whichever way she wants? Or do Archie and Chuck have a say in how they're used?

What, exactly, does it mean to be in a crux? It says somewhere that your Protagonist's Shock is how you confront your Protagonist's Issue – could you provide an example?

When you own a Shock or Issue, does that mean:
- You just hold veto power over it;
- You can provide details about it when they're needed;
- You can bump in and narrate stuff about it in someone else's scene?

When the Antagonist is a character (as opposed to, say, a feeling or an institution), does that character have to be present in all the Protagonist's scenes? Or can the Antagonist choose to play someone or something else that represents the same force or intent as the Antagonist?

[Anders]

Ok, until Joshua shows up ...

You only use one of your respective dice. That is one of your d10's and one of your d4's (if you choose to roll any) and proceed accordingly. If this is not so, then I have a grave misunderstanding on my hands.

I must have missed the part about giving the highest rolling minutiae contributor the other dice. Does it really say that somewhere? Time to reread the book. As I've understood it only the highest die can affect the outcome. The others could add their minutiae but not state that it's part of the conflict.

[matthijs]

You only use one of your respective dice. That is one of your d10's and one of your d4's (if you choose to roll any) and proceed accordingly.

Yeah, that sounds sensible. I'll wait and see what the official answer is, though.

I must have missed the part about giving the highest rolling minutiae contributor the other dice.

On page 30 it says: "Only one player may effect the outcome in a given turn, though other players may give their dice if they approve of another player's Minutia and may add to it while doing so". That's where I get the feeling there has to be a reason to use more than one d4, since the player who gets to use hir die is the one with the highest roll - so sie wouldn't want to swap with someone else's die, sie'd need them for other purposes.

[Joshua A.C. Newman]

There's a few things I'm still not 100% clear on.

d4s in a conflict

When several of my d10s are successes, does my opposition affect all of them with one d4, or does each d4 affect only one d10?
Say I roll 3d10 with results of 5, 4 and 2 against a Fulcrum of 6. I have 3 successes. If my opponent rolls 2d4, showing 4 and 3, which one applies:
- They can use the single 4 against all three of my results - bumping them to 9, 8 and 6.
- They can use the 3 and 4 against two of my results - for example, bumping the 2 to 6 and the 4 to 7, still leaving the 5.
- They can use the 3 and 4, and split them as they like, so they have 7 points to divide as they choose - for example, bumping the 5 to 6, the 4 to 6 and the 2 to 6.

Anders is right: the Protag chooses the single d10 and d4 that sie wants to use — sie might want to throw the context to gain a Feature, or might just really like the outcome where sie fails, so it's hir option. The Antag must choose the single d10 and d4 from hir pile that is worst for the Protag: the highest d4 sie's got and the d10 that is most advantageous to the Antag's Intent.

When several players roll d4s for minutiae, exactly what happens?
Say Archie, Betty and Chuck roll 3, 4 and 1, and they all want in on the action. As I understand it, Betty (highest roller) gets to contribute her die. But Archie and Chuck can give her their dice, right? Betty can use all three of them whichever way she wants? Or do Archie and Chuck have a say in how they're used?

Archie and Chuck don't have a say if Betty wants a say. Only one die is used at the option of the person whose die is highest. If Betty doesn't really want to throw in but Archie has an idea, Archie can throw in his die (a 3) instead. This gives Archie the narration of the outcome through whatever circumstance he's narrated. Naturally, Chuck only gets to narrate if the others don't want to.

What, exactly, does it mean to be in a crux? It says somewhere that your Protagonist's Shock is how you confront your Protagonist's Issue – could you provide an example?

I don't think I've said quite that. The Shock is context. It's a purely literary device. It has no mechanical significance except that you can't contradict the owner of the Shock on their narration of the fiction on that subject.

When you own a Shock or Issue, does that mean:
- You just hold veto power over it;
- You can provide details about it when they're needed;
- You can bump in and narrate stuff about it in someone else's scene?

Yes, yes, and yes. You have total narrative power over that thing. If you own "Love" and a *Tag is getting married, you get to say how marriage works in this world. If someone else owns "Marriage", then you don't, really, but obviously you have a certain amount of say in the matter.

[quote[When the Antagonist is a character (as opposed to, say, a feeling or an institution), does that character have to be present in all the Protagonist's scenes? Or can the Antagonist choose to play someone or something else that represents the same force or intent as the Antagonist?
[/quote]

Yeah, the Antag is the sum of all forces arrayed against the Protag.

Any more questions?

[matthijs]

Thanks for your answers! A few follow-up questions, though:

Archie and Chuck don't have a say if Betty wants a say. Only one die is used at the option of the person whose die is highest. If Betty doesn't really want to throw in but Archie has an idea, Archie can throw in his die (a 3) instead. This gives Archie the narration of the outcome through whatever circumstance he's narrated. Naturally, Chuck only gets to narrate if the others don't want to.

If Betty doesn't want a say, but doesn't want the others to have one, can she just decide that nobody gets to contribute a d4?

the Antag is the sum of all forces arrayed against the Protag.

Um... but can the Antag be more than what's on the sheet? Say, if I play Jill, and tell you her Antag is "Jill's uncle who wants her to go insane", can you decide that actually means "all the forces that want Jill to go insane", and hardly ever actually play the uncle - instead, you're bringing in hallucinations, horrible situations, and brain transplants?

[Joshua A.C. Newman]

If Betty doesn't want a say, she doesn't get one. However, if she wants a certain outcome and her dice say she can have it, she can have it. So let's say that she's got that 4 there, and the Protag will fail if she does nothing and succeed if she intercedes. But she wants the Protag to fail. If she does nothing, Archie, who wants the Protag to succeed, will use his die. Betty can use her die to narrate a Minutia interceding to make the Protag fail even more.

If she wants a say, she's got to narrate something. The dice alone don't do it.

You're right: the Antag is going to be playing the Uncle, when appropriate; the Hallucinations when she's hallucinating; the talking mayonnaise jar who tells her she's sane; the bumbling brain surgeon. Etc.

[matthijs]

Okay, thanks! It's been a great help getting all this ironed out. If I get a Shock: group together, I'll be sure to post an AP here!