thread: 2009-06-15 : Lazy Play vs IIEE with Teeth
On 2009-06-17, Vincent wrote:
Cool!
There are three overlapping effects at the core of Dogs' resolution rules that make it happen.
The first is the most straightforward: if you take the blow, you get fallout dice. The fallout dice you get depend on the details of my raise: am I attacking you with a shovel? Insulting your mother? Shooting you? Shoving past you? All call for different fallout dice. If you don't know what I'm doing, you don't know what fallout dice you'll take if you take the blow, so you don't know whether you want the fallout dice, and thus you don't know whether you want to take the blow.
If you don't know the fictional content of my character's action, you don't have the information you need in order to decide which dice to push forward on the table. If you mumble through this and choose dice arbitrarily, then eventually you're going to push forward 3 or more dice; when that happens, you won't know which dice to take for fallout. The game procedures literally can't continue. You'll be sitting there with your hand over the dice bowl, looking at the dice and not knowing which to pick up, until you say, "wait, but what did your character DO?"
An example showing effect 1:
Me: I raise. 9.
You: I really want some d4 fallout. I wonder if I should dodge or take the blow?
You: ...
You: Hey you didn't tell me your raise. What is it?
Me: Oh! Yeah, I shoot you in the face. Put my gun right up to your eye and blow you away.
You: Dude! I don't want d10 fallout, I want d4s. I see with 2 dice to dodge.
The second is a little more technical, but also concrete and reliable: if you take the blow, you seize narration from me at Effect; if you block or dodge, you undo some of my narration and redo it yourself starting at Execution. If you don't know the details of my character's action, you won't know (a) whether you prefer to let my Execution stand as I stated it, or (b) what to say either way, now that it's your turn to talk.
An example showing effect 2:
Me: I raise. Physical, not fighting. 9.
You: Well, I want the 3d6 fallout, so maybe I'll take the blow. I wonder if there's some reason I shouldn't.
You: ...
You: Hey you didn't tell me your raise. What is it?
Me: Oh! Yeah, I jump out the window and run into the stable.
You: Oho, I remember, earlier you said that you left your big, excellent shotgun with your horse. I see with 2 dice to block it: I see you looking at the window and I get in front of it so you can't just dive out.
The third effect is where traits and escalation come in, and it's the least important. At the beginning of resolution, we say where the action's taking place and we say which dice everybody rolls up-front. If you want to change the venue, or if you want more dice, you have to make raises or sees that give them to you. The rules for all of those things are based on the details of the characters' actions, but that's no guarantee that we won't mumble through. Here's the guarantee: you want more dice, but I don't want you to have them, and I'm entitled to know what your character's done to give them to you. Consequently, if you mumble through but invoke more dice, I'm going to stop you and ask you what your character actually did.
An example showing effect 3:
Me: I raise. I put my gun up to your eye and blow you away. 9.
You: I see with 2 dice so I can block or dodge. I'm going to roll these 2d8.
Me: Wait, what? How come?
You: Oh! I have "slippery as an eel 2d8." I slippery myself right out from in front of your gun and you blow a hole in the wall instead.
Me: Cool, that makes sense. Dammit.
Furthermore, if you're mumbling through but I think I might have maneuvered you into giving me more dice, I'm going to stop you and ask you what your character actually did.
An example showing effect 3a:
Me: I raise. I jump out the window and run into the stable. 9.
You: I see with 2 dice. I block you.
Me [looking at "shoving people out windows 2d8" on my character sheet]: What's your block? Are you between me and the window?
You: Oh, um, no, I trip you as you go by, you fall at the window and I'm over here. Laughing.
Me: Cool, that makes sense. Hmph.
Escalation works the same way. When I escalate, it's to get dice.
Escalation, traits, relationships, belongings - since you don't want me to have more dice, and since you're entitled to know what my character's done to give the dice to me, if I try to mumble through you'll stop me and ask.
