Drowning and Falling questions

[klausok]

I have just bought D&F and read it for the first time. It looks like it would be fun to play. But there are a couple of points that are not quite clear in the rules.

Is there a FAQ or some other list of rules clarifications somewhere?

On to the questions:

Does every character face every challenge?

If so, in what order does it happen? This is important since several characters might want to steal a monster's treasure.

If not, how do you decide which character(s) face which challenge?

What is the scope of the Magical Tornado of Magic spell? From the way it is worded it might be anything from a single die roll to the rest of the game,

• Does it help every character or only the caster?
• Does it affect only one die roll, or all three rolls in a challenge, or all rolls involving monsters for the rest of the game?
• Does it affect only one monster, or both monsters in a two monster challenge, or every monster in the game?

Stealing each other's treasure is a complicated subject. How is the timing? I mean, when do you choose who to steal from? In what order is it revealed? In what order is it carried out?

Can I wait to see who steals my treasure, and then try to steal it back? Can I wait to see who steals somebody else's treasure, and then try to rob the robber?

Must all attempts to steal from one character happen at the same time? E.g. if A steals from B and B steals from me, could I then steal "my" treasure back from B, thus subjecting him to a second theft challenge? If A (who has more Cool than I) fails to steal from B, can I then make the attempt to steal from B?

What happens if the group can not agree on who gets treasure after defeating a monster?

Keep up the good work
Klaus

[Jason Morningstar]

Hi, Klaus, and thank you very much for the questions!  They are excellent questions.

Is there a FAQ or some other list of rules clarifications somewhere?

No!  But there should be.  This will be a good start.

Does every character face every challenge?
If so, in what order does it happen? This is important since several characters might want to steal a monster's treasure.

Yes, every character faces every challenge.  I've always started to the left of the person who created the challenge, and that works pretty well. 

What is the scope of the Magical Tornado of Magic spell? From the way it is worded it might be anything from a single die roll to the rest of the game,

• Does it help every character or only the caster?
• Does it affect only one die roll, or all three rolls in a challenge, or all rolls involving monsters for the rest of the game?
• Does it affect only one monster, or both monsters in a two monster challenge, or every monster in the game?

OK, we're talking about Magical Tornado of Magic:  "This spell, available to all wizards, lowers the monster penalty by one each time it is cast. It is intensely irritating."

It's a one-use spell.  It lowers the monster penalty for everybody for the entire challenge.  How it is lowered is really just narrative color - maybe one of two monsters is subdued, or maybe both are weakend, in the example of a multi-monster challenge.  I hope that makes sense.

Stealing each other's treasure is a complicated subject. How is the timing? I mean, when do you choose who to steal from? In what order is it revealed? In what order is it carried out?

Can I wait to see who steals my treasure, and then try to steal it back? Can I wait to see who steals somebody else's treasure, and then try to rob the robber?

Must all attempts to steal from one character happen at the same time? E.g. if A steals from B and B steals from me, could I then steal "my" treasure back from B, thus subjecting him to a second theft challenge? If A (who has more Cool than I) fails to steal from B, can I then make the attempt to steal from B?

What happens if the group can not agree on who gets treasure after defeating a monster?

OK, theft: "Every character may attempt to steal one item between each scene, so even if you get ganged up on, you have a chance at recovering some of your property.  Stealing treasure becomes an additional challenge for the potential victim, who will be furiously beating off his light-fingered fellow adventurers. If one person wants to steal from you, it is an easy challenge. If two person want to steal from you, it is a difficult challenge. Three or more - awesome. If you win, you keep your treasure. If you lose the challenge you must fork over one treasure for each thief. They choose from among your hoard in descending order of cool.  Note that damage and lost levels from treasure-stealing attempts are par for the course."

You're right, this is pretty complicated.  In my experience stealing treasure is rarely employed because it is more trouble than it is worth.  In terms of sequencing, if there are multiple people who want to steal, I'd fall back on the "start left of the previous challenge creator" suggestion.  I would suggest limiting theft to one attempt between each challenge, just to keep the game moving.  Keep a sense of humor about it and distribute the abuse evenly. 

Drowning and Falling is a ridiculous game, so if you find yourself struggling with a rule or butting heads in less-than-happy competition, you should definitely take a moment to re-assess.  In the spirit of the source material, it's probably better to arbitrarily house rule than to stop the mayhem.

Thanks again, and let me know how it goes!

[klausok]

Thanks for the answers

I don't know if I can get my friends to play this, but I will try.

Klaus

[Jason Morningstar]

In my experience D&F works great if you have, say, two hours of dead time in between other things.  It's actually sort of challenging to play, because there's pressure to constantly create new stuff, and it never lets up, ever.  The way cards are allocated is designed for about four hours of play, but two hours is probably a perfect balance between having fun and overworking your brain.  Just halve the cards you hand out if you want to try the short game.