Trollbabe 3rd reroll question...

[Bankuei]

I noticed that for the 3rd reroll, it seems that regardless of success/failure of the roll, that it still results in failure of the Goal.   Am I correct in understanding that this final reroll is really simply about narrative control?  Also, is it possible through choosing to narrate your character's death that you can still have success of the Goal?(The ultimate sacrifice?)

Chris

[Ron Edwards]

Hi there,

"Am I correct in understanding that this final reroll is really simply about narrative control?"

Yes, emphatically yes. I'll lay it out carefully.

If the first roll is failed, the goal potentially fails (it will if the player chooses not to re-roll) but the trollbabe is merely discommoded. The goal is still possible if the player chooses to re-roll.

If the first re-roll fails, then it's just the same, except that the trollbabe is now injured. The goal fails if the player chooses not to re-roll; the goal may still succeed if the player chooses to re-roll.

The second re-roll is the last chance for the goal. If it fails, the goal fails, period.

The final re-roll (if taken) is strictly a player attempt to narrate how the character "ends up" relative to the failed goal, as opposed to the GM. In most Trollbabe play, GM-player relations are pretty positive - so as with the Narration die in Otherkind, players tend to make use of this option rarely, only when they really really care. Which is fine.

"Also, is it possible through choosing to narrate your character's death that you can still have success of the Goal?(The ultimate sacrifice?)"

No. The goal was failed on the second re-roll.

There are ways to get the ultimate-sacrifice scenario into Trollbabe play, but that's kind of an advanced or nuanced application of the system, requiring more than one conflict at work at a time, and quite likely more than one trollbabe in the scene.

Best,
Ron

[Bankuei]

Thanks, I just wanted to clarify that. The only confusion came up in looking at the flow chart and seeing that after the second reroll that the Goal is failed either way, but that players still got narrative control under choosing their death.

Chris

[Ron Edwards]

Hi there,

Let's look at that third re-roll again.

1) No one has to re-roll, at any level. That's always player's choice. So if the second re-roll fails, the player can say, "OK, she fails at her goal, she's incapacitated, and this is how," and be done. It can stop here.

2) So the player chooses to re-roll the third time only if getting that goal is worth the risk to him or her. Let's look at the risks.

a) The roll succeeds: yay! Note that the player may narrate the outcome; although the goal still fails and the trollbabe is still incapacitated, the player gets to say how the trollbabe "comes out" in the situation (e.g. dragged to safety, etc).

b) The roll fails. Two options exist within this outcome. The player has first-dibs rights to say, "She's not just incapacitated, she's dead," and narrates how. If the player doesn't want to do this, then the GM says how the trollbabe "comes out" in the situation (e.g. wakes up chained in a dungeon, etc ).

Best,
Ron

[Bankuei]

All cool.  Thanks for the clarification.

Chris