In a score, our scoundrels came across a heavy locked chest. One of them decided to try a flashback to pickpocket the key from Pickett, a rather scary thug. The pickpocket action failed, and I found myself looking at setting consequences.
What I would like to have done was give the punk a good pounding for her presumption, trying to pick a guy like that, what are you thinking? But since it was a flashback and we already knew she wasn’t injured at the start of the score, Harm as a consequence was off the table.
How do you handle fights in flashbacks, and other actions that might risk Harm? It doesn’t feel right to disallow actions that risk Harm. It doesn’t feel right to have fights where the scoundrel knows they can’t actually get hurt. It doesn’t feel right to have to retcon “oh, you’ve had a broken arm this whole score, we just didn’t mention it til now.” Is there a better way?
If it makes sense with what’s already been established, maybe just go with a lost opportunity. In this case, The PC fails to pickpocket Pickett, but that doesn’t have to translate into him catching her. He could just almost catch her, forcing her to slip away, then move to some position where picking his pocket just isn’t practical anymore. Or the PC grabs a key, but it turns out not to be the key to the chest. On a 4/5, perhaps the PC does get the key, but Pickett notices later and decides to go check on his chest at just the wrong time.
If you do want to retcon in some harm, you could say the beating didn’t initially feel so bad, but now with all the action and excitement of the score it’s starting to catch up to her.
I’ve also asked this myself.
Don’t get caught up in the “they weren’t injured at the beginning and suddenly they are now” time warping dilemma.
If harm makes the most sense, inflict it, let the player resist it, and maybe we retcon their injury (they WERE injured at the start of this scene, but we didn’t notice it until just now in the TV show.)
Or have the consequence be that they fail, the player gets away, and the guards are now on high alert (Desparate / Limited roll for example.)
Pickett saw you escape with his key.
But you got the key!
But it doesn’t open this chest!
So what IS it for?
Chris Paladino I like the “hiding an injury that the viewers only see now” approach here too, especially when used sparingly.
He could grab the characters jacket just as they are escaping with the key. Thus removing some item them have not used yet. Also he sees them. Just some thoughts…
An idea I toyed with around flashbacks is that the action in the moment always succeeds, even on a 1-3, but that somehow doesn’t translate to the present on a “failure”
So the “wrong key” idea above is a good example of the approach – yeah, you got something, at the time of the flashback it felt like the pickpocket was a success… but it doesn’t help right now with the lock in front of you. Or perhaps you did sweet-talk a name out of the guy at the docks, but he was misinformed, so you end up similarly stumped.
Graham Willmott This is what I tend to do as well. Your flashback action succeeded, the roll is to determine how useful/how much trouble that action may end up causing in the present or future
Talking about fights in a flash back. The PC gets hurt and spends coin for extra downtime recovering. The consequence is lost coin.
Just an idea.
Personally I’d be okay with the Harm suddenly showing up in the current scene. Something like a knife wound could be explained as having bandaged it up quickly, but now you notice that the wound is seeping….so the mechanical effects kick in.
Or let the character resist and be down some Stress. Or have already used Armor from her Load (which isn’t with her because it’s being repaired following that scuffle). This is akin to losing Coin, which was spent on healing – I liked that idea too.
Or allow for another consequence besides Harm. Ticking clocks are always my favorite. A clock (mostly full) showing Pickett and a pack of bully boys catching up to the PC. Or extra Heat as Pickett puts the word out that he’s looking for a piece of this upstart.
Suffice it to say, fights in flashbacks should be totally fine. It’s just a matter of GM and players deciding what consequence makes for the most enjoyable narrative.
Just because no one mentioned the harm at the beginning of the score doesn’t mean they weren’t hurt. It just hadn’t been addressed yet.