Wises, Circles, & Resources (oh my!)

[jchokey]

This question was inspired by another recent thread in practicals, but is really its own issue, so I thought I'd pose it separately.

Here's the situation. Bob the Merchant wants to buy a very deadly poison to slip into a rival's tea.. He's in a city where the open selling of poisons is illegal. Bob does, however, happen to have Black Market -Wise.

It seems to me that the best way of handling this might be as a linked test: First test Black Market Wise, then Circles (to find someone who can sell you the poison, and then Resources (to actually pay for the poison).

But might there be other legit ways to do this? For instance: Could one simply do Black Market-Wise as a linked test to Resources and skip the Circles roll? The rolls for "Scoring a deal" on pp. 87 would seem to suggest so.

[Berandor]

The question, to me, would be what your intent is and what you think is necessary for the game.

As for the intent, the player is just looking to get some poison, not for a specific NPC to sell it to him. So do you want/need an NPC? Keep in mind that a circled NPC could be referred to later on and could be circled up.

I'd ask the player if he wanted a contact in that city who sold poison, and I'd ask myself if buying poison is extraordinary enough for this campaign and city that you'd need a contact to get it. Can you go buy poison if you know the right places? Or do you have to be referred by someone or to someone?

I hope I made myself clear. I'm afraid not, so here's the short answer: it depends. I wouldn't say you necessarily need Circles.

[pfischer]

I agree with Patrick - if it's just a matter of getting hold of the poison, then it's a straightforward Resources test, with the linked Black Market-wise as you already suggested jchokey.

[luke]

Your characters have just entered a city. Poison is implicitly illegal. No black market has of yet been mentioned.

You must take logical and legitimate steps so that your actions make sense.

Step 1a: I bet I can find some poison on the black market. "I go looking for a black market." Black Market-wise test.

Step 1b: There's got to be smugglers in this town. "I know some folks that might be able to help." Circles test to find a character who can help you find a black market for poison. The less specific I am, the lower my obstacle. I deliberately didn't shoot for a poisoner. Too specific.

Step 2a: Once a vendor has been located, a Resources test is made to acquire the item. "I pay what he's asking."

Step 2b: Once a vendor has been located, Persuasion is used to try to bargain for the item. "I want to promise him a favor in exchange for the poison."