Since I'm brand-spankin' new to these forums, I'll apologize right away if this topic has ever been discussed before, but after reading through Dogs and thinking about it a lot (haven't yet played or run it, though I hope to try it soon) this is one of the only gritty die-rolling questions that is coming to mind:
What would a Dog roll when trying to exorcise a demon?

The guidelines for what stats to roll in given conflicts (talking, physical, unarmed fighting, armed fighting, gun-fighting) do seem like they would cover most things quite well.  But if you were doing a game quite high on the supernatural continuum and you had a scene like in the move The Exorcist, someone helpless but demon-possessed, what kind of conflict would that be?  Also, I've read in AP posts about initiations like "put this demon back it its box" and I have the same question there.

Obviously the 4 stats are described well enough that a GM could just pick a combination of the two on his or her own, but I was wondering how other people usually handled a conflict like this.

Welcome!

It's not easy to spot and I never say it, but did you notice that the stats are paired? Acuity and body mean mind and body, heart and will mean, um, lively and violent, let's say. Just talking is lively mind, physical action is lively body, physical fighting is violent body, gunfighting is violent mind. You never roll lively+violent or body+mind.

So for exorcisms, just: is the Dog talking? That's social: acuity and heart. Is the Dog moving around, making the sign of the tree, laying on hands, whatever? That's physical, not fighting: body and heart.

It's tempting to make battling demons into a form of violence, and thereby justify rolling will. But I'd suggest that the appropriate stat for battling demons is always heart.

-Vincent

Hi Fnord and welcome, (not clear on your name)

In the event of conflicts with the demon-possessed, I would recommend re-reading carefully the section on ceremony, as it is these elements of ceremony that have a tangible effect on the Demons by provoking clear mechanical fallout. See specifically the way they are described on page 73.

It may also be worth noting that one does not need to roll a new trait to use these, of course if you narrate their use combined with a trait then you can do that, but it is not required. You can just push forward dice from your existing pool. Also, if you escalate the conflict to a new arena you do need a consistent narration, but this does not necessitate new traits. Laying on of hands can be very much in the physical arena depending on how it is done, but the player needn't add in his "I'm a brute of a guy" or "I pack a mean punch", unless he wishes to emphasise those elements of his character, he can just say "I lay on my hands forcefully".

Of course in a "The Exorcist" style conflict, players are going to use their "Big Bible 1d8" and their "I have memorised the book of life 2d6" along side the "Reciting the book of life" ceremony because its just too cool not to.  However these scenes may not be as common as you may believe from a quick reading of the rules. The players judgements are key to this game, and they may not ratchet things up to that level, especially if you or the other players are actively confronting such judgements.

lumpley wrote:
You never roll lively+violent or body+mind.