I have some questions about group actions and bonus dice.
When a PC leads an action, can each contributing PC push themselves for bonus dice? Are Devil’s Bargains available during group actions, and if so would you offer the same bargain for everyone? For example, if they accept the Devil’s Bargain everyone gets a bonus die. Or are there separate bargains for each PC and they are awarded the bonus on an individual basis?
Can each PC push themselves in a group action?
– I believe so. Can’t find a page number in BitD that confirms this but I see no reason why not. I’ve allowed this in my games.
Are Devil’s Bargains available for group actions?
– Again, I believe so. If each person can push themselves then each person should also be able to accept a Devil’s bargain.
Does everyone get the same Devil’s Bargain, or would it be one for the group?
– A tricky and interesting question. I would say it depends on the situation.
When a PC assist’s a character, they open themselves up to harm and consequences, and this is also true in group actions. If something goes wrong it can go wrong for the group making the rolls.
If you can think of a Devil’s Bargain that would cover every character making the group action, I would say everyone is free to accept the same Bargain or not. If you can’t think of a group Devil’s Bargain, I would would attempt to offer separate ones for each character.
The latter would definitely be more difficult, but also has more potential for interesting complications!
Yes, each PC can Push themselves. It’s an action roll. All normal rules apply.
Well, if they Pushed, then they can’t have a Devil’s Bargain. Those are mutually exclusive.
I think a group Devil’s Bargain would be tricky. I think your best course would be your latter suggestion – individual DBs for individual bonuses.
You could still have individuals help each other by spending a stress to Assist another. Still on an individual basis though.
Thanks for the advice, fellas!
In our session last night there was a group Sway to try and and everyone asked for a Devil’s Bargain. It was getting late and in the interest of brevity I shrugged and said “sorry, sometime’s there just isn’t a bargain to be made” and we moved on. I was hoping I could justify my decision, but I guess not.
Not that it really matters, they succeeded the roll and the PC leading only took 1 stress. But now I know for next time!
“Sometimes there isn’t a bargain to be made” doesn’t really need extra justification. If no one can think of any that make sense in the story, it’s just not an option. It’s sort of the nature of options like the Devil’s Bargain.
Indeed they can, but remember that on a partial success or failure EVERYONE suffers the consequences. I often see people forget that part.