[Poison'd] Some questions

[Klaus_Welten]

Hi! I really love Poison'd, but I have some doubts about its rules:

1) Maybe I'm wrong, but is there any incentive to choose a mutilation or disfigurement at character creation, or not to go around armed to the teeth (which I see as more pirate-like, anyway)? In both cases, it seems you only lower your Profile by doing so.
2) Do you have to use all of your weapons to have full Profile? For example, if you get Profile 4 from a musket and grenades, in melee combat your profile is 4 or 2?

Thanks for your attention and answers. ^_^

[lumpley]

No problem, Klaus. I love to answer rule questions.

1) No incentive.

If your character has suffered mutilation (from earlier in character creation, when you were choosing what your character has suffered), you must choose a mutilation or disfigurement. Otherwise, you can choose one if you want, I suppose, if you got it by some accident or mishap, not by violence. But there's no reason to.

2) I always give the PCs their full profile unless they're specifically unarmed. I don't see why I should be a stickler about it; I'm sure the pirate in question is a terrifying and violent figure even if he's just hitting you with his musket butt, not firing it at you. But if you as GM want to be a stickler (like "musket and grenades count as unarmed if you're in a sword fight") that's fine, it's your call.

Follow up questions welcome, as always. Thanks, Klaus!

-Vincent

[Klaus_Welten]

Another question for you, Lumpley: p. 24 mentions the GM buying "a company of marines", but what does that mean? Is it an extra mob, besides the ship's crew?
Thank you again for your attention.

[lumpley]

Exactly.

-Vincent

[Klaus_Welten]

Played my first game tonight... and got more questions! ^^

The situation is the following: the Resolute came very soon and confronted the pirates. The captain PC first tried to fell, but they lost the combat at the first tier, so they decided to engage the Resolute at boarding range (is this possible?). They lost, however (BTW, if the Dagger's specialty is Boarding, do the crew gets +1 to its Profile, since the ship's profile is not used?), at the third tier of escalation; now, what happen to the PCs in such a case? Are they wounded?
The PCs got arrested and are now escaping; but what happens when (I hope it'll not be an "if" ^^) they reach the Dagger? How can they steer the ship with five men? How can they get a new crew, with no money?
Some unrelated questions:

1) What happens when the GM and a player tie in a success roll?
2) What exactly do the second and third tier of escalation of a fist fight mean?

Thanks for your attention. ^_^

[lumpley]

Let's see.

To change from one kind of fight to another, like from "cannon to cannon, at range" to "company to company" (for boarding), you have to first resolve the initial fight. For example:

The Dagger and the Resolute exchange cannonfire at range, and the Dagger takes the worst of it in round 1. The Dagger's captain has to choose: stay in the fight - cannon to cannon, at range - or else accept the loss. He doesn't want to keep at it at this range so he chooses to accept the loss. Consequently, as the fight table says, the Dagger is driven off course to avoid fire. This resolves the initial fight. Somebody can launch straight into a second fight - pursuit and evasion, for instance - or you can have some free play and success rolls if you want instead. Either way, the next fight will be a whole new fight, starting at escalation level 1 same as all new fights.

(Can the Dagger now suddenly close and board the Resolute? I don't figure that it can - it's been driven off course, it hasn't been granted suddenly the perfect opportunity. So if that's what the Dagger's captain wants to do, what he needs to do is make some success rolls to make it happen. Go into danger or use some kind of treacherous stratagem. But that's your call as GM.)

If the Dagger's specialty is boarding, then yes, the crew gets +1 Profile when boarding.

When the PCs are part of a mob that loses at the 3rd level of escalation, are the PCs wounded? Totally your call. When I run the game, usually they aren't but occasionally they are, and it's just at my whim. I try to follow the lead of the fiction - who's where, doing what? Which PCs have exposed themselves to danger in the fight, and how much danger?

Five men can steer the Dagger, but not well. Merchant ships the size of the Dagger often went to sea with a crew around only 10 souls. However, with no money, how indeed will they get a crew? They'll have to get some money from someplace. Just follow the "hunting for a prize" rules, and think flexibly about what hunting for a prize might mean on land.

Make sense?

Unrelated:

1) To win a success roll, the player has to roll more hits than the GM (p12), so ties go to the GM.

2) Level 2 means that the loser gets stunned, knocked down, or pinned (winner's choice which). Level 3 means that the loser gets broken bones, a smashed face, or a broken head (winner's choice which). But maybe I don't understand the question?

-Vincent

[Klaus_Welten]

Hi Lumpley!

Let's see.

To change from one kind of fight to another, like from "cannon to cannon, at range" to "company to company" (for boarding), you have to first resolve the initial fight. For example:

I know, but the "Fleeing&Pursuing" table reads: "1. Falling behind, vs engaging your quarry at its captain's choice
of range". Can the loser choose "boarding" as range?

2) Level 2 means that the loser gets stunned, knocked down, or pinned (winner's choice which). Level 3 means that the loser gets broken bones, a smashed face, or a broken head (winner's choice which). But maybe I don't understand the question?

Yeah, I know how the table reads, but what do those mean in game? Is there any penalty to suffer from any of those, or it's just color and fistfights are actually non-harmful?

Thanks for everything, you're helping me a lot. ^_^

[lumpley]

My pleasure.

1) Ah! I see. Yes, the quarry's captain can choose boarding.

2) I'm going to be a stickler about this. Losing a fistfight is harmful in fictional positioning terms, but carries no definite mechanical penalties.

Losing at the 3rd level might mean a deadly wound; follow the fiction to know.

Losing at either level probably puts the loser under the power of the winner.

If somebody's lost a fist fight at level 2 or 3, and then they walk across the deck, or climb rigging, or have a conversation, or whatever, as GM you can call for them to roll to endure duress. "You're trying to look at the map but your head is still ringing from that beating. Roll to endure duress." "Wait, you're trying to load a cannon with your arm and ribs busted? If you're serious, roll to endure duress, but, like, only once. No way you can serve on the gunnery crew in this state."

Is that "just color"? I don't think it is. Fictional positioning is a better way to talk about it, I think. Losing a fistfight means binding changes to your character's fictional position.

-Vincent

[lumpley]

Oh, but on 1: the quarry's given the pursuer the opportunity to board. The Dagger is repelling the Resolute's boarders.

-Vincent