Is the job done? Stick a FoRK in it...

[donbaloo]

How many FoRKs are too many during tests for replenishing resources? Take a graverobbing character with these skills for example:

Doctrine B2, Ditch Digging B1, Persuasion B4, Read B2, Write B2, Cemetery-Wise B3, Falsehood B3, Appraisal B3, Law-wise B2, Stealth B3, Inconspicuous B3, Haggling B3, Knives B2

So he's gonna "Getta Job" to replenish his funds through some petty pilfering in the graveyard. Using Cemetery-Wise as the skill, I could see using Ditch Digging, Falsehood, Appraisal, Stealth, Inconspicous, and Haggling as all beneficial to this endeavor. But how much is too much? Would this be an abuse of the system? As a GM, where do you draw the line or do you even worry about it so long as its functionally described by the player?

Or...would it be more appropriate to break it up and treat it as a series of Linked Tests?

[Thor Olavsrud]

How many FoRKs are too many during tests for replenishing resources? Take a graverobbing character with these skills for example:

Doctrine B2, Ditch Digging B1, Persuasion B4, Read B2, Write B2, Cemetery-Wise B3, Falsehood B3, Appraisal B3, Law-wise B2, Stealth B3, Inconspicuous B3, Haggling B3, Knives B2

So he's gonna "Getta Job" to replenish his funds through some petty pilfering in the graveyard. Using Cemetery-Wise as the skill, I could see using Ditch Digging, Falsehood, Appraisal, Stealth, Inconspicous, and Haggling as all beneficial to this endeavor. But how much is too much? Would this be an abuse of the system? As a GM, where do you draw the line or do you even worry about it so long as its functionally described by the player?

Or...would it be more appropriate to break it up and treat it as a series of Linked Tests?

You've got to decide this stuff on a case-by-case basis. First off, you should know that you can never use both Stealthy and Inconspicuous on the same test. They're very different. Stealthy is just that: the art of not being seen. Inconspicuous is about blending into a crowd and becoming one with them so you're not noticed.

You should also consider how adding something to a test will modify the risk. For instance, add Falsehood to a test, and you are putting yourself in a situation where you can get caught out. Fail the roll and you will initiate a conflict with someone who knows what you're about.

So I won't say there's some limit to how many skills you can FoRK. But each FoRK should color both the description of what you're doing and the Risk of failure.

Also, each FoRK you add increases the number of dice you are rolling, which in turn affects how quickly you will advance the skill. If you want the character to become better at grave digging, you won't always want to add all the FoRKs that you can.

[Kublai]

Maybe a good guide would be to select one skill from each category:
The skill actually being used: Cemetary-Wise, Appraisal, or Haggling - each one represents an aspect of the deal. Cemetary-wise and Appraisal are very similar in this case, as you are appraising the value of a grave. Haggling represents the work after the digging is done as you sell the loot off. I'd say choose one and let the other two FoRK in.
Skills that help you actually get the stuff: Ditch-digging, obviously.
Skills that can possibly come into play during the job: Stealthy, Inconspicuous, and Falsehood. Here I would allow only one to be used, which represents the method you get to and fro the graves while avoiding attention.

My choice would be: Cemetary-wise with Haggling, Ditch-digging, and Stealthy FoRKed in.

[foxandwarlock]

Having just read some of the Burner yesterday, I'd say to ask your player to tell you "how" he's doing the grave-robbing and I think which skills he's using will become readily visible. - as will the consequences for failing the checks.

Is he pretending to be someone offical and take the corpses out? Falsehood, Persuasion, and Law-Wise could aid him. Fail those tests and the official gravediggers catches on to your story.

Is he doing the old middle of the night, snatch'n'grab? Out comes Stealth, and Ditch Digging. BUSTED by the city guard ifyou blow the roll.

If he had Forgery, he could write up a fake document from the mayor saying that he was supposed to do take the bodies - that'd be a Linked Forgery test to help him with his Cemetary-Wise check. Didn't make your roll? Looks like the mayor's personal investigator is asking some questions around town about you.

[donbaloo]

Okay, good replies. I guess I was thinking along the lines of tieing in skills to cover anything that might come up in the job whereas it would be more appropriate to apply skills that would be needed for just doing the job right. Having a player at the table giving a clear description of what they're doing should make it much easier, like you say foxandwarlock. And I see what you're saying Thor about tieing in something like falsehood. If a player is wanting to FoRK falsehood then that's a whole other game there when you consider the risk of failure. That's sort of why I was wondering if a Linked Test might be better as well. If I broke things up like Kublai mentioned it could begin with a test to get into the cemetery smoothly to begin with, if that fails then it could dictate what other FoRKs might become important in the next step...getting the goods. Successes there could determine the amount of goods or quality that could in turn effect the final test...unloading the haul for cash. Each step would test different skills that either helped or hindered the next test.