When to use Artha

[Mickeroo]

According to the books, Boons and Divine Intervention must be announced before dice are rolled. I have no problem with this but my players are argueing that Luke lets you do it afterwards during demos. I don't specifically remember that or not, but what should I do? Specifically, what should the rule be and how should I deal with them giving me a problem if I stick by the book?

[Thor Olavsrud]

According to the books, Boons and Divine Intervention must be announced before dice are rolled. I have no problem with this but my players are argueing that Luke lets you do it afterwards during demos. I don't specifically remember that or not, but what should I do? Specifically, what should the rule be and how should I deal with them giving me a problem if I stick by the book?

Boons and Divine Inspiration should be spent BEFORE the rolls are made. If Luke allowed them to spend the points after the rolls were made in the demo, he did it to be nice and because they were inexperienced. Using them after the roll in regular play is not really in the spirit of the game. The whole point is to make that tough decision over whether to use your hard-earned Artha before you know whether it will really be necessary or not.

After a roll is made, you can use a Deeds point for Saving Grace, to reroll the failed dice. Obviously this is usually not as cost-effective as using a Deeds point ahead of time in order to get the Divine Inspiration. Again, that's the whole point.

If you can't convince them of this, go with it but tell them that you will make Artha awards much harder to come by.

[luke]

sorry. yeah, follow the rules in the book. what i did last year at the cons was to demonstrate how the game works to folks who had no clue what they were doing.

it was easier to show the value of persona points once the dice had been rolled.

however, now that everyone is comfortable with the system and knows what a persona point is worth, they should be spending 'em like they know!

-L

[Mickeroo]

If a lot of people in my group are new, should I let them use artha after the roll for a session or two?

[Thor Olavsrud]

If a lot of people in my group are new, should I let them use artha after the roll for a session or two?

Eh. I would teach them new habits now, unless you're trying to convince them to buy the book. :P