Controlled position question(s)
I understand Risky and Desperate, but Controlled position left me with a few questions.
On a 1-3, you falter, and press on with either a different approach (action), or a risky opportunity.
I assume this means that you MUST do this. I understand fiction-first, but it seems there’s a possibility of rolling multiple times for the same action. If I want to SWAY a guard, and I have Controlled position, failing w/ a 1-3 could have me roll again (with fictional reasoning) with Command. Maybe doing so a 3rd time with Wreck or Skirmish.
My players weren’t in love with the idea of rolling multiple times for the same action, but I wanted to make sure I had the rule correct.
To be exact, on a 1-3 the Controlled Position says: You falter. Press on by seizing a risky opportunity, or withdraw and try a different approach.
– Trying a different approach doesn’t have to be Controlled. Example: you fail to sway the guard, and she ignores you. Then, you try to command her: that could be risky, maybe with limited effect. Then, if you fail, you suffer the consequences. Everytime you roll, re-evaluate the fiction for the action you are using, as usual.
– If you press on with a risky opportunity, the action is the same, but something change and now it’s risky. Basically, the system says that the natural progression for using the same action is a change to a Risky position.
I suppose my questions are – does the PC HAVE to try this action again (either Risky position, or new Action) as “payment” for the failure.
Side-commentary if so, it feels odd, and against some of the other design commentary to not roll for the same thing more than once.
Thanks!
No, the PC falters – doesn’t succeed yet – and can back away.
Flirt your way past the guards. Controlled. Oh, They’re not interested…
So I can now walk away. Or keep flirting in a less controlled way, maybe by explicitly offering sex? But that might go badly. Or something else, like just making a run for it.
So I’m “rolling again”, but the second roll is for a different action.
You “falter,” ie, what you just tried to do did not work. Your options now are to “press on,” ie. try again by raising the stakes, making it risky; or “withdraw” and do something else. Something else can be something else entirely, like go have a beer if you feel like it. It just can’t be the same thing. (You’ve tried swaying the guard. It didn’t work. Do something else.)
The game explicitly says you should never roll twice for the same thing. If you find yourself doing that, something has gone wrong.
Yeah pretty much what others have said. There is no requirement to press on with the same action. If you choose to, it is at worse position. If you choose to try a different approach, it may be able to be at controlled still.