The Ellipsis Trick
Feb 4, 2018 23:27:43 GMT -8
Post by chronovore on Feb 4, 2018 23:27:43 GMT -8
I thought about putting this in the Fate thread, but considering how many times the question of when should the GM award a bonus for the player's description of what they're attempting, vs rolling, and then describing how it went down, I thought this summary was a real treat:
Admittedly, I'm prone to offering the players a bonus if their character is doing something where the intent was well-narrated. And frequently the action is hot-and-heavy, so by the time the player has finished their appeal, which sounds so enticing and convincing, it can be hard to say, "OK, well, roll for it…" because I already /want/ it to work the way they described. In the end, we are somewhat obligated to keep things fair across the board for all players, and part of that is that everyone uses the same rules.
THE ELLIPSIS TRICK
If you want an easy way to ensure you have room to incorporate aspects into a roll, try narrating your action with an ellipsis at the end (“...”), and then finish the action with the aspect you want to invoke. Like this:
Lily says, “Okay, so I raise my sword up and...” (rolls dice, hates the result) “...and it looks like I’m going to miss at first, but it turns out to be a quick feint-and-slash, a classic move from the Infamous Girl with Sword” (spends the fate point).
Ryan says, “So I’m trying to decipher the runes in the book and...” (rolls the dice, hates the result) “...and If I Haven’t Been There, I’ve Read About It...” (spends a fate point) “...and I easily start rambling about their origin.”
If you want an easy way to ensure you have room to incorporate aspects into a roll, try narrating your action with an ellipsis at the end (“...”), and then finish the action with the aspect you want to invoke. Like this:
Lily says, “Okay, so I raise my sword up and...” (rolls dice, hates the result) “...and it looks like I’m going to miss at first, but it turns out to be a quick feint-and-slash, a classic move from the Infamous Girl with Sword” (spends the fate point).
Ryan says, “So I’m trying to decipher the runes in the book and...” (rolls the dice, hates the result) “...and If I Haven’t Been There, I’ve Read About It...” (spends a fate point) “...and I easily start rambling about their origin.”
Admittedly, I'm prone to offering the players a bonus if their character is doing something where the intent was well-narrated. And frequently the action is hot-and-heavy, so by the time the player has finished their appeal, which sounds so enticing and convincing, it can be hard to say, "OK, well, roll for it…" because I already /want/ it to work the way they described. In the end, we are somewhat obligated to keep things fair across the board for all players, and part of that is that everyone uses the same rules.