1 Man Fight! & Duel of Wits

[Wrathbone]

I have put together the framework for a campaign although I have yet to play BW. Unfortunately the 2 players who were originally to play this campaign have dropped and my time is now nonexistent with a new kid.

Last year I picked up a Mythic GM Emulator PDF; this is basically advice on how to run a game solo or with players and no GM. I'm tempted to take my campaign and burn a few characters and run them through to get a clear idea of how the rules work, basically adding new spokes each session (and gaming an hour or so a week at night). I'm in no hurry.

My question is this: is this even possible? With the nature of Fight! and DoW, where you're trying to outscript an opponent, is there any advice on doing this sort of thing solo (Mythic has a table where you can roll to determine the chances of performing an act that you'd likely perform anyway, but this seems like a lot combined with all the steps in Fight!)?

One thought is to script for what the characters want to do with full knowledge of all actions; a roll on the Mythic table will tell whether they actually perform these actions or whether some of them must rescript (for some reason they change their minds & perform a new action).

[EarthenForge]

Huh. I suppose it's possible. Scripting based on how you think the character would fight is a good idea. If you want to add an element of surprise, you could make up a set of cards that have individual actions on them and pull as need for your opponent. That downside of that would be that their actions may seem random, not just surprising and they wouldn't be able to punish you with headlocks and stuff. But it could still work, especially with basic strike and block maneuvers.

EDIT: Oh, better - have the cards represent entire exchanges so that you can include more planned out actions. You may need several sets for guys with varying Reflexes.

[Wrathbone]

I thought about random, and I don't think that would work. There has to be some thought based on what your character & your opponent(s) would normally do.

I was thinking of a number like 75% +/-. Let's take 5 characters in a combat. Each one writes their script based on what that particular character would do, based on their personality, fighting style, etc. Obviously, everyone knows what everyone else is doing because I'm playing all the characters. I'm not going to look too closely to see what the results would be before actually doing the combat; hopefully, experience with the system won't make this too obvious.

Even though the script knowledge is out there, 5 characters each with a 25% chance of having to change their script will lessen worries about foregone conclusions. The changes don't have to be drastic, but can be; for example changing your strike from phase 2 to phase 3. Just enough to keep it spontaneous.

[luke]

Really not possible, dude. I really don't think it's worth the effort!

[Wrathbone]

Curses! I could always use the simplified melee mechanics from the wiki & just use social skills in place of Duel of Wits....

My only question....aren't certain tests needed from the Fight! mechanics to improve hard-to-improve stats & skills? If you drop this spoke, don't these become much harder to advance?

[Dwight]

Curses! I could always use the simplified melee mechanics from the wiki & just use social skills in place of Duel of Wits....

My only question....aren't certain tests needed from the Fight! mechanics to improve hard-to-improve stats & skills? If you drop this spoke, don't these become much harder to advance?
If you are willing to hang yourself out there IMO it's the most obvious way to get a Power Test, especially as your Power rises. Speed Tests are a bit tricker to control but if the combat lasts a while you are likely to get at least a D. If you want it, you should also be able to come out with Brawling/Boxing Test and a Weapon Test. There are a few incidentals that you could get (Perception, Intimidate, etc.) But overall there is nothing you can't get elsewhere.

[Wrathbone]

Didn't a forum member come up with some advanced house-rule bloody-versus rules? I know the consensus was that if you go to this effort, you might as well use Fight!, but they might work for me.

If the author sees this, please let me know.

[Dwight]

I've tried out one version of "Bloody Vs till someone gives up or tries to run away". I'm kinda torn about it, not entirely sold on it. I think at the least it needs a tweak that I'd like to try out. It might work for you though if you want something that runs a little longer, the tension is spread to somewhat different places than Bloody Vs, and puts more emphasis on the combat, without going to Fight! But it's a poor substitute for Fight! scripting.


P.S. I think Luke mentioned in an earlier thread about the evils(!) of scripting stated it violated Let It Ride. He's got a point (things go on longer, the 'winner' might not get wath they want) but I'm not entirely convinced of that if it's within an extended mechanism. In the same way that multiple Swords rolls in Fight! are not a violation of LiR.

[birdlander]

In the same way that multiple Swords rolls in Fight! are not a violation of LiR.

Multiple Sword rolls in Fight! don't violate LiR because each roll has a different intent: strike, feint, disarm, etc.

[Dwight]

Multiple Sword rolls in Fight! don't violate LiR because each roll has a different intent: strike, feint, disarm, etc.
Yes. But there can be an overall intent that you work towards. The comparison is clearer with Duel of Wits where your overall intent for the DoW is always explicitly spelled out yet you could be rolling your Presuation multiple times. It's a matter of establishing the framework (thus the expectations of everyone playing) to make it a Test series (can only earn one Test for advancement) and it's back inline with LiR [IMO].

It still takes longer, but whether that is a plus or minus gets assessed for whether or not you use the mechanism in the same way you pick between a Versus roll or DoW.

[Wrathbone]

As long as you're on Duel of Wits, could you clear up something for me? From the rules it's pretty clear (or seems) that DoWs are only for the purpose of swaying an audience, and that your opponent need not be swayed or accept your argument if you win. Yet I see many posts where people use DoW for simpler social conflicts, where a crowd need not be present, and where you're trying to directly influence the action of your opponent. Is it used for the first situation, or both?

[Dwight]

Should be a new thread but both. Reread, it's an agreement between the players (EDIT: regarding a player-player disagreement of what character is going to do what, though that might not be spelled out as clearly as it could be?) and once started [at the point indicated in the rules text] is binding. When there is noone else around the characters are themselves the audience.

[Wrathbone]

Thanks for all the replies. I'll probably just use versus & bloody versus (as well as other systems on wiki) but it would be nice to try Fight! for lethal fights. I haven't totally given up on solo Fight!, even though Luke said:

"Really not possible, dude. I really don't think it's worth the effort!"

I guess he knows best, having designed the game, but one last idea. I read another post by Thor about having multiple scripts handy and just picking one to use for each exchange as you GM a Fight!. The players didn't seem to notice if scripts were reused.

What if I choose the part of the PC in every Fight! For the NPC I will have a set of scripts that is ready to go (option 1). Or I could write 3 quick scripts for the NPC before each exchange that is relevant to the situation at hand. One of these is picked by rolling d3 (option 2). Or even a combination of these two.

This might seem a lot more time-consuming but remember I won't be explaining rules to other players, arguing about rules interpretations, etc. Once the system is down it should flow smoothly (if it works). Another thing to remember is that I would strictly observe the results; if a character dies, so be it. There's no point in cheating if you're playing a solo game (or a RPG for that matter, it's all make believe anyway).