Request - example ofa physical use of Arete

[Pilgrim]

Just as the subject line says. I realized that so far we've seen a lot of Hubris so far, but only one explicitly using Arete. Any hope of an example somewhere for that?
Thanks much.

[Matt Snyder]

There are MANY possible "physical" examples of Arete. Simply put, any physical activity that does not include supernatural or magical aspects is an Arete-based activity.

Using Alexander from the playtest document, we could imagine several of his situations solved using physical Arete actions. When he's in the Atlantean ship's brig as prisoner, he could have picked the lock using his belt, then simply overpowered the guard (no doubt using some dirty fighting tricks he learned in New Orleans ... ).

Hope that covers some understanding. It's likely there will be more examples in the text with revisions.

[Pilgrim]

Well, it kind of does. The picking the lock using the belt buckle pushes the limits of the laws of nature pretty hard there.
Specifically, can Arete cover movie style laws of physics and nature? Hercules, Xena and Jackie Chan style stunts? Or is it more restrictive than that?

[Matt Snyder]

This is going to have be a judgment call on the part of the narrator (note, not the GM). Exceptional and amazing actions are allowable under Arete. In fact, that's the point. Arete is excellence, not "realism." Choosing to perform an action devoid of magical elements should not relegate the character to mundane (read: boring) actions. Arete is still fun stuff!

I refer you to page 12 of the playtest document under, "Choosing Arete."

The character's actions may be extraordinary or heroic, but they remain natural rather than supernatural.

[Pilgrim]

Ok, I do understand where you're coming from.
However, I'll strongly suggest provide examples of it so people will take relatively high Arete ratings and have an idea of how to use them.

Also on the quote:

The character's actions may be extraordinary or heroic, but they remain natural rather than supernatural.

Natural kind of implies the world everyone is familiar with - and may damp down the narrator's expectations of Arete based actions. May I suggest:

The character's actions may be extraordinary or heroic, but they remain rooted in the natural rather than supernatural.

That way, hopefully, paired with an example of Arete use most players will have a good idea of just how far they can go with Arete (remember - not everyone will be e-mailing you, have access to the forum or have you as the GM).

Thanks,