Tag: Jeremy Strandberg

Been wondering where all this talk of Defend has been going?

Here’s where I think it should go.

Comments/questions/angry screeds welcome and appreciated.

Rewriting Defend

DEFEND When you take up a defensive stance or jump in to protect others , roll +CON: on a 10+, hold 3 Readiness; on a 7-9, hold 1 Readiness.

Piotr’s crushed form is to your right. The giant just snatched Vigo and smashed him into the rocks. The wind howls, and the giant hefts its enormous, jagged sword. It’s definitely spotted you, Fighter. What do you do?

The rest of the party is clambering up the slope behind him, trying to get into that cave they spotted earlier, hopefully safe from the giant and the elements. Not the Fighter, though. “I’m holding my ground. Hefting my shield, planting my feat. Let him come! Defend?” The Fighter is standing in defense, for sure. He rolls it. 10+, gets 3 hold.

Everyone’s looking to me, so make an obvious move and tell the consequences and ask. “Okay. It swings that mighty sword at you, straight across from your left. There’s no way you can just block that thing, it’ll send you flying if your lucky or cleave straight through you if you aren’t. What do you do?”

“I wait to the last moment and drop to a knee, planting my shield at an angle so it just glances off overhead.”

Cool, but how do we resolve this?

Option A The Fighter suffers the giant’s attack, taking d10+5 forceful damage, but spends 1 hold to halve the damage and effect. So he takes only 3-8 damage (less armor), knocked around but doesn’t go flying. Maybe there’s a crack down his shield. He’s still got 2 hold. “The giant’s a little off balance after that swing, what do you do?”

Option B The Fighter rolls to Defy Danger (based on his description, could be with STR, CON, or DEX… that’s not important).

On a 10+, the blow glances off the shield and rattles him a bit, but it does no real harm and the giant’s a little off-balance from the swing, what do you do?

On a 7-9, maybe I give the fighter a choice… hold his position but his shield shatters under the blow, or the shield holds but he goes flying… either way, no real damage. Regardless, he can spend 1 hold to halve the attack’s effect, so the shield is cracked rather than destroyed or he staggers back a bit rather than going flying. The giant is a bit off-balance from the swing, what do you do?

On a miss, d10+5 forceful damage (sending him flying) and I’m probably shattering that shield at the same time. Spending 1 hold would cut the damage down to 6-8 (less armor) and only stagger him and crack the shield.

“Uh-oh! Ranger, you’re surrounded! Three of those mutant goblins appear out of the spray, tittering and chittering and leering at you like you’re dinner. Water splashes all about as the tide comes in. The sea cave is starting to flood. What do you do?”

“I’ll take a defensive stance, spear braced behind me, and clear my head. I’m ready for the them. Defend?” Sure! She rolls, gets a 10+. Holds 3. She’s basically ceded the initiative by Defending, because she’s waiting to see what they do. Looking at the GM to see what happens. Soft move time.

“The one behind you, up on that rock, coils up and pounces, trying to tackle you and probably sink those teeth into your throat. What do you do?”

Which of these is best represents how this should resolve?

Version A: The Ranger spends 2 hold… 1 to halve the mutant goblins attack, another to deal damage back at the attacker. She describes pivoting away from the pouncing mutant and bringing her spear up to block it, then launching a kick into its solar plexus. The Ranger takes maybe 1/2 of d8 damage (let’s say only 3 points in the end) and stumbles but isn’t tackled, while that attacking mutant backs off, injured. The other two goblins, though, launch themselves at the Ranger (who still has 1 hold). “What do you do?”

Version B: The Ranger says that she pivots away from the pouncing mutant, bringing her spear up to block it’s attack and punting it hard in the solar plexus. The Ranger rolls Hack and Slash, gets a 7-9. Deals damage, suffers the enemy’s attack. In this case, I say that the leaping pounce of the goblin tackles her to the ground, raking and biting, for d8 damage, before she manages to kick it off of her (doing damage). She spends 1 hold to halve the effect/damage, from 6 HP down to 3 HP, and manages to keep her footing. She’s also spends another hold to deal her level in damage to the mutant that attacked her; let’s say that’s enough to drop it. The other two goblins, though, launch themselves at the Ranger (who still has 1 hold). “What do you do?”

Here they come! The swarm of orcs smashes into the front rank of soldiers, snarling and snapping. The line buckles, but holds… for now! You can tell that they won’t last long under this ferocious pressure. What do you do?

The Fighter hoists her shield readies her sword. “If you’ve got any clever ideas, Ranger, now would be a good time!” I’m staying alert, ready for an attack if one of them makes it through the lines or something. Defend? I got an 8, so… 1 hold.

The Ranger hops up onto one of the battlements and scans the approaching forces, assessing the situation and looking for any edge he can get. Rolls Discern Realities and gets a 10+. “What should I be on the lookout for?” A little to your left, there’s a spot in the line where your forces are really having a hard time with it. It could give way any moment. “Ugh… who or what is really in control here?” You spot a big old one-eyed orc, maybe like two ranks back, right near where the line is about to collapse. There’s sort of space all around him, and he’s urging the orcs on… he’s clearly a lieutenant or war-priest or something. “Okay… what here is useful or valuable to me?” Um… honestly? Your bow and arrows. You take that one-eyed priest out, and it’s going to change the course of this battle. What do you do?

“I’ve got a shot?” asks the Ranger. You’ll have to roll Volley, but yeah, you can try? “He’s not surprised?” No, he’s in the middle of a battle… he’s got his one eye all sorts of peeled for danger. “Okay, I’ll draw, take aim… fire! Volley… whew! A 7. I guess I’ll move to get the shot, placing myself in a danger as you describe it.”

Okay, so… you’ve got to hop and weave closer to the front line, then jump up onto one of those huge stones the siege engines tossed earlier. Roll your damage!

The Fighter interjects… “I’m staying close to the Ranger as he does this, so I can protect her!” Cool.

Ranger nails it and rolls 8 damage! The one-eyed orc goes down! But for the danger, I say that as he takes the shot, the weak point in the line breaks and a swarm of orcs rush through,. Three of them are rushing right at you in your obvious spot, what do you do?

The Fighter is like “oh no they don’t! I spend my 1 hold and jump in front of the Ranger and redirect the attack to myself. I’m hacking and hewing left and right at those orcs!”

Okay, cool… but how do we resolve that in game?

Option A The Fighter’s just Hacking & Slashing. The fact that she had 1 hold from Defend doesn’t really even matter, because she was fictionally positioned to do intercept the orcs anyhow. (But she loses the 1 hold because she’s not defending anymore.)

Option B The Fighter is Hacking & Slashing, but the 1 hold she spent means that those orcs are fixed on her and the Ranger is definitely in the clear.

Option C The Fighter doesn’t actually need to spend the hold. She’s Hacking & Slashing the orcs, but keeps that 1 hold because she’s still defending him. If she rolls a miss on the H&S and I have the orcs rush past her, then she might spend that 1 hold to intercept them. But on a 7-9 (or a 10+ if she exposes herself), she could use that 1 hold to half the damage or effects of the orcs’ counterattack.

Option D The Fighter intercepts the orcs and she’s got their attantion, but she suffers the orc’s attack in full. In this case, let’s say is damage (d6+2, 1 piercing & messy, +2 extra damage for the three orcs attacker her.

The other PCs are making a run for the airship, but the Paladin falls back. “I’ll stop in the archway, turn, and face the Usurper’s soldiers. Sword at the ready, they aren’t getting past me.”

Cool! We all agree that she’s Defending. She rolls it, 10+. 3 hold! Sweet.

The four soldiers fan out, size her up. She waits. They rush her! What do you do?

“Give a little ground so they can only come at me two at once, block their blows, cut them down as I’m able!”

How do you resolve this?

(Assume that you talk it out with the Paladin, agree on what’s fair, etc. Also, of course you can Defend yourself. It’s right in the discussion of the Defend move, page 62 )

Option A: The Paladin rolls to Hack & Slash, and we resolve that move. Because she’s fighting, she’s no longer standing in defense and loses her Hold.

Option B: The Paladin rolls to Hack & Slash. It’s a 7-9. The Paladin rolls her damage and cuts one of the soldiers down, but they make an attack against her… let’s say d8+1 damage. The Paladin spends 1 hold to halve the damage, then spends 1 more hold deal damage equal to her level to one of the other attackers (not enough to drop him, but he felt it). The soldiers back off, warry. The Paladin still holds 1. “What do you do?”

Option C: The Paldin spends 1 hold to halve the attack’s damage/effect, so she takes d8+1 damage, halved. She spends 1 more hold to deal her level in damage to one (or maybe both) of the attackers. They’re still up, but maybe back off a little, two of them on her, two behind them. The Paladin still has 1 hold. They renew their attack, what do you do?

It’s bedlam! The bat-things are flying all over, attacking everyone. The cultists are in disarray, fending off bat-things and trying to get their bearings. It’s mostly dark, just a few braziers and starlight lighting the open-aired tower.

The Fighter rushes through the chaos and chops through the manacles, freeing the young lad who was going to be a sacrifice to the Night God. The Fighter then starts ushering the lad toward the exit. “I’m leading him by the wrist,” she says, “sword out and ready for danger.” We agree that this Defend and she rolls, gets a 7-9, holds 1.

We cut the action to one of the other PCs for a bit (the bard, wresting with the cultists on the tower’s edge). That exchange resolves with a cultist plummeting off the edge and the bard making a dash toward the stairs.

We jump back to the Fighter and the lad she freed. They’re making their way through the chaos, trying to make it to the stairs, too. There’s plenty of danger: the darkness, the bat-things, the cultists! The Fighter Defies Danger (with DEX, or INT, or even CHA… whatever. On a 7-9, maybe they get to the stairway but there’s a cultist coming up from down below.

Doesn’t matter, though, because the Fighter rolls a miss. The obvious move is separate them, and I say “as you’re dodging and ducking through the chaos, there’s a scream and the boy’s wrist is snatched from yours, a couple cultists are dragging him away, knife at his throat! What do you do?”

The Fighter, though, is like “Oh no they don’t! I spend that 1 hold from Defend and redirect their attack to me. Before they grab him, I yank him in front of me, so I’m between him and the cultists, then I spin and lash out at them. Hack and Slash?”

What do you think? Hack and Slash? Or does the Fighter just get grabbed/stabbed by the cultists?

What does Defend look like in your games? Which of these is closer to how it gets used?

The GM points to a looming threat… there are noises in the dark, outside the light of the camp fire. Sounds like something creeping towards you, goblins maybe? What do you do?

Version A:

The Cleric is like “I heft my shield, ready my mace, and stand in front of Ovid.” Rolls Defend, gets 3 hold.

The Wizard casts light and rolls to cast a spell. “Oh, crap. A miss.” So the GM makes a hard move, and as the wizard starts casting the spell “twang twang” he’s peppered with arrows! Take d6+3 damage, Wizard!”

But the Cleric’s like “no! I spend 1 hold to redirect the attack to myself and another to halve the damage… so… 6 damage, half that is 3, and my 2 armor brings it down to 1. Did the wizard’s light spell go off, or not?”

Version B

The Wizard casts light and roll to cast a spell. “Oh, crap. A miss.” So the GM makes a hard move, and as the wizard starts casting the spell “twang twang” he’s peppered with arrows! “Take d6+3 damage, Wizard!”

But the Cleric is like “whoa, hold up! I jump in front of the Cleric to protect him! Defend?’ Sure, roll it. 10+, so 3 hold. “I spend 1 hold to redirect the attack to myself, another 1 hold to halve the damage. So that’s… 6 damage, halved for 3… less 2 armor. Only 1 damage. Did the wizard’s light spell go off, or not?”