[Agon] Non-Combat Battles

[marco.costantini]

Today a friend of mine suggests this question that neither him nor me was able to resolve.
I try to explain:
The Heroes have to repair a statue o Zeus. The Heroes fail the simple contest, then use Hubris to resolve it as a non-combat battle.
Now, who is the subject of the battle? I, as the Antagonist, heve to pick up an ability (Craft or Sport) based on the circumstances of the battle, but who has this Ability if the contest is not against a NPC?

 

[Darren Hill]

I've been in this situation. Some ideas:

Method 1:
You stat up some elemental or natural or supernatural force, or create some challenge, using the NPC rules. "The March of Time," "The Oncoming Storm," "The Will of Ares," etc. 

Method 2:
Why do they need to repair the statue? What is stopping them from doing it in time? Create an actual npc, or group of npcs, which represents this opposition. Eg. The heroes start repairing the statue, but find the local bureacratic people argue against them, and each conflict represents some kind of debate before they can get any work done...