The Storyteller-Roleman-Game Mechanic Papers, Issue 2!

The Storyteller, Role-man, and Game Mechanic Papers are an attempt to provide a forum for presenting opinions on detailed subjects. This forum is unique in that because participants are limited to one "brief" with no opportunity for rebuttal, there are no simultaneous discussions, flames, and "quote bites" which tend to be distracting.

The role of these papers builds on an analogy of the judicial court system. Game Masters have always been the judge when it comes to their games, and they are the ones who will rule on the material presented. The jurisdiction of a Game Master is, of course, limited to the extent of his game. The role of the lawyers is played by those who submit briefs. Briefs are written to meet certain specifications including size and appearance. Hopefully the issues presented in the briefs will help Game Masters make more informed decisions in their games.

Suggestions for improving the utility of these documents are welcomed. Also, anyone interested in writing briefs for future topics should send electronic mail to ZZTong@aol.com. (At this time, this project is only open to AOL members.)

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Presenting Briefs for this topic are: AmyC950247, Bob Mohney, Greg Lloyd, J Crocker, NeumannR, and ZZTong. (Briefs are presented in a random order.)

"Held Actions -- Issues and Concerns"

STORYTELLER

A strict interpretation of the rules says holding an action requires a specific event to be defined for which the acting character must wait. ("I wait until I'm about to be attacked."; "I wait until Dex 15.") A common variation, known as an "open" hold, removes the specific event requirement letting characters with held action act at will.

The strict version tends to create a wargame-like flavor during combat. Players have to supply the event criteria for the hold, otherwise their characters may not get to act, or get caught off guard because they failed to anticipate what happened. Although this method sounds like it takes more time, often it is the faster of the two methods because the GM knows what will trigger the held actions.

The open version best represents the ability of characters to react to their surroundings, but can be more awkward to use and can make for a more choppy sequence of events. Characters more likely to use held actions in the middle of other character's actions, leading to more DEX vs DEX rolls. This method really becomes awkward when characters start using held actions in response to other character's held actions.

STORYTELLER

Holding your Phase, or Reserving, or Hesitating, is a classic Hero move, especially in a Champions campaign. It allows for the classic "hesitate while the villain makes a fatal move allowing the hero to take out the villain." It also allows the player to use some forethought and tactics in combat. Overall, allowing liberal use of Holding a Phase makes for exciting combat, but it can bog things down if the GM allows players to reserve each and every action. This can be avoided if the GM is clever about concealing an enemy's Speed from the players, making it more difficult for the to know when and when not to Reserve a Phase. The GM should also input some variety into the enemy's tactics, making a Reserve prone player unsure about what the enemy is getting ready to do. Also, don't forget, villains can Reserve too!

STORY TELLER

The rules aren't entirely clear when it comes to Holding an Action: is the holder required to declare specifically what his intentions are, or can he just hold until some undetermined time in the future? The rules are unclear and the different interpretations have some major ramifications on combat actions.

If the holder has to make a specific declaration ("I wait until George steps into view" the players are a little more reluctant to hold-- lessening the GM's bookkeeping. GMs also have to make some hard choices about the effects of something unexpected happening. Like when Steve steps in instead of George (Will the PC fire his gun or does he have to make an EGO Roll to avoid shooting?).

The clearest method for handling holds is the "until" clause. Anytime a hold's declared, it needs an "until" component: until I see someone; until that Haymaker begins; until the rivers flow upstream. As soon as the condition occurs the character can use his action. If the condition does not occur before his next segment, the character loses the held action.

Now matter how it's handled, a consistent method of handling holds is necessary, so the players now what to expect.

ROLE-MAN

Held actions make possible many combat options that allow me to create 'signature' combat styles. For example, martial arts like Judo and aikido use held actions to react to opponents' aggresive moves. The occasional 'loss' of an action may even be necessary to correctly play these 'reactionary' arts.

Another use of held actions, especially in Superheroic games, is for combined maneuvers. Higher DEX/SPD charcters hold to act in unison with slower teammates, allowing us to defeat opponents that no one hero could. The GM can also hold enemies' actions, breaking up the predictable DEX/SPD sequence, adding challenge to our battles.

ROLE-MAN

Held actions are great! It stands out as the best rule for enforcing good storytelling, because it allows characters to momentarily "drop out of the game system" to react according to the plot, rather than only getting one chance to move. Your character is super-fast and suddenly a villain takes a hostage... you aren't forced to react right away, thanks to the ability to hold your action... you can wait and see what the villain is going to do and react accordingly.

And held actions really keep your character guessing. Your character could run up against a single villain over and over again and never really know how fast he/she is, depending on how the GameMaster runs it, until one dramatic moment when the speed and power of the villain can be revealed. Think of the surprise your character would get when he/she discovers just how quick his archenemy really is, as they square off for one final battle!

Basically, held actions allow for greater storytelling and keep the game from dropping into a mechanical series of traded moves and specific times. It helps keep the game a role-playing game rather than just an elaborate wargame.

GAME MECHANIC

Holding a phase is not and optional rule. Consequently, the abilities it gives have been factored into the costs of the statistic that govern it: dexterity. The price of DEX is such that it justifies the ability to go before others and to hold your action in light of going first. Going first alone does not justify the cost, since one can take a half move to close part of the distance between yourself and a target, miss the attack, and then have a subsequent opponent be able to move to a better position to attack you. Only when combined with Holding, where one can react to subsequent movement is the cost of Dex appropriate.

Consequently, if one gets rid of holding, one should lower the cost of DEX. This, however, leads to balance problems as players will have more points to spend, and an increase in the amount of DEX bought. Why stop at 18 when thanks to a lower cost one could purchase a 22 for the same cost?

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