[HfL] Some doubt after a semi-game

[Mauro]

I write this in English so Sebastian can answer: it'd be quite stupid, having the author here and not taking advantage of this

So... I played part of a game (almost till checkpoint one); we didn't finish both for some doubt and lack of time; our Heat was growing very quickly (on second scene, seven dice...). So, the doubts:

• no body part can cross the dashed edge; what if this happen? We simply reroll the die.
• can the players adjust the Heat, if it's wobbly?
• if the Heat falls while putting the last die, this doesn't count as Collapse only if players are rebuilding it, or also if there was three dice beside it and they were adding them?
• can the player repeat a Challenge? For example, one character tried to stun a PNG, failing; then another character wanted to try the same thing.
• if for a Miss I get Trauma ×2, how many dice I remove and how many pips I lose? Two or four?
• we were wondering... what if the PGs are separated, or if one leaves the group?

And, the main one: there is some moment in which the Heat resets (for example, when a Checkpoint is reached)? I think not, but the doubt came to us...

And, a doubt from a friend of mine: did you think about some way to give a mechanical advantage for character supporting each other in a Challenge?

[Mauro]

I forgot my answers!

[cite]Autore: Mauro[/cite]• can the players adjust the Heat, if it's wobbly?

We did it; one time it was very wobbly, since the d10 touched it without Collapse.

• if the Heat falls while putting the last die, this doesn't count as Collapse only if players are rebuilding it, or also if there was three dice beside it and they were adding them?

We used this rule only for rebulding, because when we had something like ten dice it was quite simple that the Heat Collapsed while adding dice (well, really we initially used it also while adding dice, but when we had more dice we thought about that and decided not to use it anymore).

• can the player repeat a Challenge? For example, one character tried to stun a PNG, failing; thenanothercharacter wanted to try the same thing

We did so; different ways (but similar: crowbar and shovel), but I'm not sure the game permits this.

• if for a Miss I get Trauma ×2, how many dice I remove and how many pips I lose? Two or four?

We removed four: in the rules explains only one Trauma, so I thought Trauma ×2 simply means "Use two times Trauma rules".

• we were wondering... what if the PGs are separated, or if one leaves the group?

I think simply the same rules are used, which the scenes focusing on different groups.

[Sebastian Hickey]

Hi Mauro,

Thanks for these questions. Here are the answers:

• no body part can cross the dashed edge; what if this happen? We simply reroll the die.

I count the die as a Miss, unless, of course, it caused a collapse. That is, just ignore Hits that cross the line!

• can the players adjust the Heat, if it's wobbly?

Yes, yes, yes!

• if the Heat falls while putting the last die, this doesn't count as Collapse only if players are rebuilding it, or also if there was three dice beside it and they were adding them?

It the Heat falls, it's a collapse when:
[ulist]

• ...you are adding the last die to the stack when trying to rebuild it.
• ...you are adding any of the scene dice (dice sitting beside the stack that are added to the Heat before you make the Challenge roll).
• ...you nudge the Heat with your dice when rolling (that's the obvious one).
• ...you are trying to "steady" the stack of dice before adding any of the scene dice (dice sitting beside the stack that are added to the Heat before you make the Challenge roll).[/ulist]
  It is not a collapse when:
  [ulist]
• ...you bang into the table. Oops!
• ...you are rebuilding the Heat but you haven't got to the last die yet.
[/ulist]

• can the player repeat a Challenge? For example, one character tried to stun a PNG, failing; then another character wanted to try the same thing.

If it works in the fiction, then yes. Technically, you are framing the next scene as an immediate follow-up from the last scene (and the guy with the lowest number of Story Pips should take a Story Pip.), where the scene type is a Run Scene, the Scene Objective is "Do the thing the other guy fucked up," and the Location is, well, where you are.

• if for a Miss I get Trauma ×2, how many dice I remove and how many pips I lose? Two or four?

Four.

• we were wondering... what if the PGs are separated, or if one leaves the group?

That's never, ever happened to me! Wow! I guess you do what you did. Keep the same rules, but occlude some of the players from the action. Those other players could still Threat and Challenge, but they could not narrate for their own character (unless they wanted to do a "meanwhile" cut, which would be funky). In fact, someone should try to run a game where each of the contestants is in a completely different location, and each of them, somehow, is contributing to the same goal in every scene. Heist movie, anyone?

• And, the main one: there is some moment in which the Heat resets (for example, when a Checkpoint is reached)? I think not, but the doubt came to us...

No, the Heat only resets when you get to the end game. Using short Rest Scenes is the only way to reduce the height of the stack.

• And, a doubt from a friend of mine: did you think about some way to give a mechanical advantage for character supporting each other in a Challenge?

Yes, but it got scrapped during playtesting. If you want, you can:
[ulist]

• ...allow other players to aid your roll by spending 2 Story Pips (they spend those, not you).
• They get to roll according to their Power, they may use a Talent, but they cannot commit Violence.
• If the case of a Fail/Collapse, both characters are affected, and add one Trauma to the result.[/ulist]
  
  Does that clear it up for you?

[Mauro]

Yeah, thanks; only another doubt:

[cite]Autore: Sebastian Hickey[/cite]allow other players to aid your roll by spending 2 Story Pips (they spend those, not you)

They spend two Story Pips, and? On a Hit they turn in VP?

By the way: I think the summaries about the Scene are a bit unclear: they say to add a die to the Heat, while you put it beside the Heat; reading "add" I thought I should place it directly on the top.

[Sebastian Hickey]

They spend two Story Pips, and? On a Hit they turn in VP?

Just discard them.

By the way: I think the summaries about the Scene are a bit unclear: they say to add a die to the Heat, while you put it beside the Heat; reading "add" I thought I should place it directly on the top.

Yeah, it's a bit unclear all right. It's one of those things I tried to address in the errata. If you like, you could add in a new entry to the errat a wiki?

[Mauro]

Story Pips: I've not clear how discarding the Story Pips aid the roll; you mean something like, on a Miss I must discard four Story Pips and instead other players (the ones who helped me?) can discard (some of) them instead, so I can try to make more VP in my next Challenge?

Wiki: yes, of course.

[Sebastian Hickey]

I didn't think of it like that, but yeah, that's awesome. Here's the structure:

• The Challenged player asks for help (unless he has 4 Story Pips, in which case he must do it alone).
• Anyone can donate Story Pips to the Challenged player (to bring his total up to 4).
• After the Challenged player rolls (Violence, Risks, etc.), anyone who donated Story Pips can roll too (assuming the end result was a Fail).
• After all donating players roll, if the result is a Fail/Collapse, add a Trauma to the result.

Looks like a good house rule. Potential side effects: Moving through the Checkpoints more quickly, Increasing the frequency of Traumas, Pushing Scene Setup on the same players, over and over, and god knows what else.

If it works out okay, I'll support it on the website. So let me know.

[Mauro]

I didn't think of it like that, too; I simply didn't understand what do you mean I'll try to playtest it as soon as possible: when (if) I manage to do that, I'll surely wrote an AP.

For the additional Trauma: do you think it removes two Heat or it's "for free"?

[Sebastian Hickey]

Traumas should always reduce the Heat by two.

Hopefully it works out and we can put it up in the wiki for Future Generations.