Challenges

After the events of last game, it became clear to me that we may need a refresher on how challenges work in KC.

There are a couple of different kinds of challenges in this game:

COMPARE

For some challenges, all you will do is compare the relevant Prowess/Stat.
The relevant Prowess/Stat is most likely going to be either your Dynamic Prowess or your Reactive Prowess.
All this means is that if you initiate the challenge, you will compare, say, your Dynamic Mind with your opponent's (usually) Reactive Mind. If your number is equal to or higher than your opponent's, you win the challenge. Pure and simple. Sometimes, you can use Devotion to boost your stat, sometimes you can't.

CHALLENGE

Most challenges will be resolved with an actual test.
First, you will compare the relevant Prowess/Stat.

Based on that comparison, you will roll a d6 to determine the outcome of the test. If your stat is higher than your opponent's, you have an "Advantage" (a bonus to your die roll), and you will win the test on a 3,4,5, or 6. If your stat DOUBLES your opponent's, you have TWO Advantages, and you will win the test on anything other than a 1. Conversely, if your stat is lower than your opponents, you will win the test only with a roll of 5 or 6, and if your opponent's stat is double yours, you will only be successful if you roll a 6. In some cases, Devotion may be spent to temporarily raise a Prowess.

This means that the character who initiates the challenge describes their action, then declares their Dynamic Prowess (or Warfare, if it's a physical test). The player who describes their action has 'initiative'...all that means is that the first person to act gets to go first. (I'll talk about Fray combat in a moment.)
The opposing character declares their appropriate Reactive Stat (or Warfare/Dynamic Stat if both players are taking an offensive action).

The player who initiated the challenge rolls a d6. If the instigator's roll is not successful, her action does not happen (or happens differently than intended, with unsuccessful results) **and the action that the defender declared **IS** successful**. If the instigator's roll is successful, her action takes place as described, and the challenger's action does not occur or does not occur as planned.

Appropriate Professions can provide a re-roll on challenges, in very specific circumstances.

FIXED CHALLENGES

Sometimes, the Storyguide will ask you to make a test.

It could be a "how difficult is it to open this lock" test, or it could be a trauma test, or it could be a "if I run at full speed, can I catch up to that mook" test. Basically, any situation where you need to interact with the *setting*.

The Storyguide will declare a Difficulty. USUALLY, this will be one of the following: Low (2), Moderate (5), High (8), or Epic (15).

You then compare the appropriate Prowess against the Difficulty. Usually, this will be your Dynamic Prowess. HOWEVER, with Trauma, you will use your Reactive Stat (because you are attempting to resist taking Trauma).

That's pretty important, so I'll say it again, bigger:

When the Storyguide asks you to make a Trauma test, you compare your Reactive Prowess in either Mind or Soul with the Difficulty of the test.

Now you roll a d6.
If your declared Prowess is higher than the declared Difficulty, you'll be successful with a roll of 3-6.
If your declared Prowess is DOUBLE the declared Difficulty, you'll be successful on anything but a 1.
If your declared Prowess is lower than the declared Difficulty, you must roll a 5 or 6 to be successful.
If your declared Prowess is HALF or less than the declared Difficulty, you will only be successful on a 6.

Appropriate Professions can provide a re-roll in specific circumstances.

You may spend Devotion to raise a Prowess temporarily for some fixed challenges, but not for Trauma tests.

That's it, in a nutshell.

COMBAT AND FRAY COMBAT

In combat, the two combatants do the first bits as usual, as they would for any Challenge:

1. Describe/Act out (within reason) actions (BOTH of you describe your actions)
   
2. Declare Prowess (in this case, you will be declaring your Warfare. The defending character may choose to declare his Reactive Body stat, if he is taking a full defensive action)
   
3. Figure out which character has an Advantage (higher Prowess, therefore a bonus to the die roll)
   
4. Declare Dramatic Maneuvers
   
5. Roll a d6, taking in to account any Advantages possessed by either side.
   
6. Declare Offensive/Defensive Maneuvers, and in so doing, determine injuries
   
7. ACT OUT (within reason) the results of the challenge
   

I did not put in all the details about interrupting Techniques and what types of actions you can declare in combat, because that's all spelled out pretty clearly in the BRB.

FRAY COMBAT

Fray combat is when a character is engaged with more than one challenger.
[quote="Bee Arr Bee, Fray Combat"] There can only be a maximum of 4 opponents against a single target at one time. If allies come to the aid of the single target, the group should be split.
Fray Combat forces a character to engage in one challenge per opponent. However, for swiftness of play, all players in the group should roll the die. This will often require counting and including Advantages/Disadvantages.

• All characters who are successful will strike their opponent(s). They may spend Offensive and Defensive Maneuvers as normal, but it's important to remember that a character only has those Maneuvers for one fight scene.
  
• A character may spend more than one Offensive or Defensive Maneuver per round, but only one per Opponent, depending on the result of the test.

So. When Malicia is beating the crap out of a swarm of "demons", she will declare an attack on *one* of them. Then the demons declare their actions against her. The demons roll their dice to decide the outcome of the challenges, taking in to account any Advantages/Disadvantages.

All of this means that you are expected to know your character sheet, and to be able to calculate your own Advantages/Disadvantages when in a challenge or combat situation.

If Molior waltzes up to Murmur and punches her in the face, Molior's player (Mark) is expected to know what he is declaring (Warfare), and Murmur's player (Jenn) is expected to know what she is declaring (Reactive Body). Mark is expected to know HOW MUCH Warfare he can declare (let's say he declares 4), and Jenn is expected to know her Reactive Body stat (let's say 3). Jenn can say "You don't double me up, but you're higher than me", or she can say "I'm declaring 3"). Then Mark rolls the die, calculating his Advantage will allow him to win on a 3-6.

If Jill whispers in Dave's ear: "I need you to do a Trauma test at Moderate Difficulty", Dave is expected to know that he will be comparing his Reactive Mind or Reactive Soul to 5, and that he will be rolling the die, calculating any Advantages/Disadvantages to determine the outcome. If Jill had said, "I need you to do a test for Psychological Trauma at difficulty 5", Dave is expected to know he's comparing his Reactive Mind to 5, and rolling accordingly.

If you would like to discuss the test, or the appropriateness of it, please do so AFTER THE GAME. Or privately, OOC, away from other players.

I am going to go ahead and assume that equal stats means you win on a four or more, ie half the time. (I don't think you actually said this, but it seems pretty obvious).

You may spend Devotion to raise a Prowess temporarily for some fixed
challenges, but not for Trauma tests.

Does this mean you can also not use Devotion to gain an Inspiration on a trauma test?

Corral wrote:I am going to go ahead and assume that equal stats means you win on a four or more, ie half the time. (I don't think you actually said this, but it seems pretty obvious).

If your stats are equal to your opponent's, then the regular rule of success on a role of 4, 5, or 6 applies, yes.

Corral wrote:Does this mean you can also not use Devotion to gain an Inspiration on a trauma test?

I'm a little confused by your question, Laura. An Inspiration *is* a bonus to your Prowess, so you cannot use Devotion to get Inspirations (to raise a Prowess temporarily) for Trauma tests...which is what I *thought* I said, but perhaps I was unclear.

You *may* spend Devotion for an Inspiration on your Trauma test. See new post.

Okay, so I apparently don't know what an inspiration is. I thought an inspiration was a +1 to your roll, ie you need to roll 1 less in order to succeed. But a bonus to your prowess would only do that, I figure, if a +1 to your prowess would help you meet, double, or not be doubled-up-by the other person's prowess....?

An Inspiration is a bonus to the Prowess.

An Advantage is a bonus to your roll.

So, if you and your opponent both have a 4 in the Stat you're using, you can spend a Devotion to get an Inspiration to raise your stat to 5. This bonus gives you an Advantage (because your stat is now higher than theirs, you get a +1 to your *die roll*).

Corral wrote:a bonus to your prowess would only do that, I figure, if a +1 to your prowess would help you meet, double, or not be doubled-up-by the other person's prowess....?

Yes.

I don't see full defensive mentioned in the book. Does it do anything other than allow you to use reactive body instead of warfare?

Your choices for a combat round are to: fight, defend, or flee.

"Full defense" is considered *by me* to be things like: taking evasive action (that isn't necessarily fleeing - ducking a punch, f'rinstance); blocking a punch; etc.. NOT grabbing someone's fist and flinging them across the room, or punching back, or blocking their punch by breaking their arm. F'rinstance.

Corral wrote:I don't see full defensive mentioned in the book. Does it do anything other than allow you to use reactive body instead of warfare?

I don't know what you mean by "full defensive". You make it sound like a special manoeuvre or combat action; I have never known such to be an option in Kingdom Come. So it confuses me as to why you would ask for benefits to something that, as far as I know, doesn't exist.

EDIT: Ah, I see, Jill is to blame in the earlier post. I now understand your question and her clarification. I'm not sure why she used "full defensive" instead of just "defensive" but now I understand where you were coming from.

Blame ME, will you!??


I used the term "full defensive" which ought to have been "fully defensive" (bad grammar) because I wanted to be clear that ducking a punch and then kicking someone's shins is not a defensive action. It seemed more clear to me to say "full defense", because I have had people ask me if they can punch someone in self-defense. You can't. That's an *offensive* action.