#AWFE #AW2ED
Good evening everybody!
I’m playing Fallen Empires with few friends and having a Mesmerast and a Mystic in the first session I came out with the question “what is magic to you?” so players defined according to their characters’ idea: that thing that allows them to do their “tricks”.
Now, the Mystic acts as a magician, so whenever she needs to she inserts magic and enchantments in the description of her moves’ outcome. Absolutely no problem with this, even when she declares an enchantment as her action: if this activate a move, go forth and roll that. But yesterday evening the Mystic wanted to carry with her some children she rescued from a sacrifice and who were taken away by their parents. So she said: “I perform a magic that will take the children from their parents, no matter what.”
Now, in first edition I would have had no doubt and I had her roll “Seize something by force”, but in this case – being it a battle move and being not the Mystic in battle – I didn’t know what to do. An idea could have been “Go into danger”, but there was no sudden threat. So we stopped for a while and talked about it and – even if I don’t like to do so – I suggested the player to change description and she agreed to describe how she forced the kids’ parents to leave the children and let them come to her. It was clearly a manipulate, so we resolved like this.
What would you have done instead? Thanks everybody who will answer.
You could have done it 4 ways (perhaps more). note that all of these are assuming that the Mystic is right there. if she isn’t, then just use the ceremonial space (aka the coolest thing in the game)
First and most direct is to say “Hold up there with the ‘no matter what’, why don’t you seize something by force” because he could get knifed or something, I hear parents are sometimes a tad protective of their children
or you could say “the spell works great, they are safely away from their parents, however, the parents are pissed, and trying to get their kids back, defend something you hold”
or “the spell works great, you and the children are away from them, but papa Infanticide is on your trail, now you’re trying to Escape a Hunter”
or “the children are safely behind you, and running, but you’re going to have to Hold Off Papa Infanticide while they get away.
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Asking for clarification on what the player means until it is either obvious they can do it, or resolves into a move? Sounds perfect.
William Nichols I summarized a bit (also: I was writing on cellphone).
The actual scene was the following: Mystic succeeded in avoiding the sacrifice and run away with the children saved in order to take them somewhere safe. The first things she does just outside the temple is trying to pass unnoticed. She fails, so I make my move and have the parents come by and take their children to bring them home.
Mystic wants to oppose, and she tells me “I want to grab the children and seize them from their parents, using my magic”.
This description was a little problematic for me to interpret by the rules because of what I said before.
It seems like a Go Aggro to me, she wanted the child and was ready to use magic to have it.
For me it’s not a Seize something by force, because she used magic and I don’t think the parents could really fight back. So there is no exchange of harm, just a Mystic using her powerful magic to have her way, so Go Aggro.