[DitV] Shooting UFOs and escalations

[Filip Luszczyk]

In our last game we had the following situation:

The conflict was about the community's trust in the Sorcerer. We've already "opened" Just Talking and Physical arenas, it was still possible to escalate to Fighting and Gunfighting. There was a crowd in panic, due to a giant glowing UFO floating over their heads as a result of the "demons" providing their active support for the Sorcerer's agenda. In my Raise, the Sorcerer, a local sherif, took a big-ass shotgun and shot the UFO down, dispersing it and consequently winning the crowd's gratitude.

Now, we weren't sure whether to treat it as Physical action or an escalation to Gunfighting. The Fallout size was obviously d4, since the Sorcerer wasn't affecting any of the PCs directly (i.e. it was actually d6, due to his Visciousness power). The dice for the gun obviously applied. However, since he wasn't aiming at any living target at all, we concluded that it was effectively a mechanical equivalent of Raising by, say, firing into the air or shooting a can or whatever.

But then, all such Raises would include pulling the trigger. Is it enough to treat such an action as Gunfighting?

I recall reading somewhere a clarification that made it clear that waving your gun around wouldn't be an escalation to Gunfighting in itself. As far as I know, there needs to be lead flying. What about shooting at non-living elements of the scenery? Is the act of shooting alone enough to escalate, or does there need to be an intent to hurt a living target?

[Warren]

I tend to play it that there has to be a Raise which could inflict d10-sized Fallout on a character before you have escalated to Guns. Just waving it about and shooting into the air (or UFOs, or whatever) counts as a physical action at best (although you would get your Gun dice).

[lumpley]

I think it's gunfighting when someone shoots at someone.

-Vincent

[Filip Luszczyk]

Yup, makes sense. Thanks.

[David Artman]

I think it's gunfighting when someone shoots at someone.

That's how I run it: waving a gun around gets you the gun's di(c)e, but you don't escalate until you aim it with intent to shoot someone or something (ex: the black powder barrel behind which your enemy is hiding!).

The REAL tricky case is the one of "I fill the doorway and prevent him from getting past me with my very bulk." Fighting or not? I haven't laid a hand on him--but we're at Physical at least, right, much like if one rests and reassuring hand on the shoulder of a relative with whom one is in conflict? But one might say that "imprisoning" is inherently Fighting....

[Paul T]

David,

Hey, I don't know. That seems pretty clear-cut to me! Blocking the doorway is definitely Physical. You're using your body to change the situation in such a way that you're more likely to get what you want, and your opponent can't ignre it, which makes it a Raise.

But you're not actually trying to hurt your opponent, are you? So it doesn't make sense to call it Fighting.

Imprisonment has nothing to do with it: you can talk someone into imprisonment ("sign here"), you can push someone into a jail cell (physically), but, if they start fightin', then you ain't getting them imprisoned without fightin' back.

[Paul T]

Oh, hey:

I could "I trip him" being a borderline case.

In that case, it seems in the Dogs spirit to let the player making the Raise decide. If it's only physical, you'll do d6 fallout if the other guy falls for it. If you want to take it Fighting, though, you'll get the extra dice and higher fallout--which do you choose?

I bet that, in play, it'll be obvious pretty much every time.

[lumpley]

Paul: yes! As GM, if it's not perfectly obvious I always ask the player making the raise. I even ask occasionally when it IS perfectly obvious, just to confirm.

-Vincent

[David Artman]

Yeah, OK, maybe not so tricky--I guess I was imagining me blocking door and him running into me ("prevent him from leaving") and, thus, we're in contact and there's some overbearing attempt and so forth.

But Vincent's reply is the Gold Standard: let the player decide the fallout they want to do, and let that drive escalation. That's where the mechanical rubber meets the road, regardless of subtleties of narration leading up to escalation (or not).