Question about Potency: In the base book under “assessing factors” of effect, it says that fine items stack with quality and tier. If i have an item or ability that grants potency, does this also stack with other effect factors.
Ex: Fine Longsword + Ghost Fighter Cutter Advance. Will this result in a +2d to the skirmish action roll?
Also in general do effect factors stack either in addition or subtraciton to the end result?
Potency is just one factor. Quality/tier and Scale are the other ones. We compare our factors to those of the opposition when the factor is the one we are most concerned with – and this is used to determine which way to slide the maximum effect possible for a Desperate action – up or down (and in turn, the effect possible at other positions).
No. Nothing in that example has given you bonus dice (you only get +1d when something tells you that specifically).
Yes. Multiple factors that matter will stack, if they are all particularly relevant to what the action should be able to do.
First off, effect doesn’t give extra dice. Potency doesn’t give extra dice, quality doesn’t give extra dice, Fine doesn’t give extra dice, they all just affect the Effect of the roll.
With that out of the way, Fine is not a direct boost to the Effect, but to the Quality of something. The default quality of say, a sword, is equal to your crew tier. Fine bumps that up by +1, and the weapons upgrade on the crew sheet by another +1. The final result is then compared to the Quality/Tier of your opposition, and that factors into the final Effect consideration, as do the other effect factors like Scale and Potency.
But I have a feeling you should perhaps re-read the rules for Effect, since there seems to some confusion as to what it does.
As with the others, Die adders are very directly stated in the book. With that out of the way, Example time.
Lets say the whisperer Flint is currently being mauled by a rampaging demon and Castle, the Crew’s Cutter, wants to stop this. They have been around the block a few times and are Tier 2, and luckily for them, the demon isn’t particularly strong, unluckily for them that still leaves the demon at Tier 3.
Castle, not one to be deterred by simple math, charges in with meat-hook in hand, ready to defend his injured companion. With the Demon distracted, Castle is in a good position to get a hit in, as the demon isn’t paying much attention to him. However the tier downgrade combined with the potency downgrade, means that the Hook will likely just bounce of the demon’s smokey hide without a scratch, Castle would roll his 3 skirmish dice against Risky / No Effect. Even if Castle pushed himself for extra effect, he would only be rolling Risky / Limited.
Castle, being a smart cookie, remembers that he has a Fine long-sword strung across his back and opts to take this into the fray instead. The bonus quality of the blade directly counters the tier penalty from the demon, reducing his penalty merely to potency. Should castle charge in now, he would be looking at a Risky / Limited Effect, the sword is more likely to annoy the demon with flesh wounds then outright slay it. Depending on the GM, they might rule that without overcoming Potency a weapon cannot deal more than limited effect, Should your GM determine otherwise, Castle may be able to push himself to deal a good old fashioned battle wound to the demon.
Flint, being an even smarter cookie, reminds Castle that they had recently acquired some Fine Cold-Iron Swords from a near by smith for the express purpose of killing this demon. With this newfound information, Castle raises the Cold-Iron blade high into the air and charges forward. The Fine Quality of the blade counters the tier difference as before, while Cold-Iron grants Castle Potency against this specific demon, as other demon’s weaknesses may vary. This puts Castle in a quite standard Risky / Standard Effect, and with an added Push on Castles side, bumps this up to Risky / Great. Castle rolls his 3 skirmish dice getting a solid 6, dealing a heavy wound to the demon, and saving the somewhat battered Flint in the process.
Thanks for the clairifications everyone, all of the this is extreamly helpfull. 🙂