I look for a way out! (while my buddy gets a butt-kicking...)

[MadJay]

I'm sure there's a bigger idea/concept here I'm missing...but then I wouldn't ask if I knew!

An example which I hope demonstrates my block...and I've been thinking a lot about these kinds of scenarios.

2 PCs and a handful of henchmen running through a series of tunnels from a pack of alchemical beasties. They know they might be heading down a dead end. The plan is to have the dwarf try and hold off the beasties while the human finds a way out a short distance away.

or
perhaps the human and the dwarf have wandered too far in a crypt and disturbed the eternal slumber of some undead champion in a dead-end chamber. Knowing they can't go back the way they came - the dwarf begins looking for another way out - while the undead champion makes a grab for the human.

Assuming in both cases, the PC's' intent is to get away (or is Fight the way to do it?) - how do I approach this? what should I be thinking about?

I keep looking at it this way: There is a way out, can it be found in time is the question, for me. Failure, I think should mean an escape is found, but not before the nemesis in the above scenarios gets to do something bad, I can say (setting stakes) "failure means, you find a hidden passage, but not before the beasties/undead delivers a butt-kicking (B5 wound) to the Human"

Then I'm assuming we still gotta deal with the Get-a-way...right?
I'd love to hear thoughts, WWYD?

[Mel White]

For me, I'd avoid setting stakes prior to the roll--whatever that turns out to be. BW is all about task and intent: what the character wants to accomplish and how he does it. If the skill roll meets the obstacle, then the player gets to narrate what happens in accord with the intent. If the skill roll fails, then I get to narrate. And, if multiple characters, including NPCs, attempt to accomplish different things, then the character rolling the most successes gets his or her intent and no other character gets theirs.
So, having set the situation as an undead champion and his skeletal horde shuffling towards the trapped human and dwarf companions, the players might say something like:
Dwarf: "I use tomb-wise to look for a secret passage to the surface!"
Human: "I buy time for my companion by holding off the undead horde! I'm using my sword but it's a messy fight so I FoRK in brawling."
GM: "Right--the horde, led by its mace-wielding champion presses in to overwhelm you both with numbers and bear you off to the Pit. I'll roll the champion's B5 mace, +1 advantage die for their numbers."
Human: "Oh man!"

In this scene, if the Undead win, then the companions are captured and the next scene would either be in the Pit or en route to it, with the PCs carried like in a mosh pit by skeletal fans. If the dwarf scores the most successes, then the player would narrate finding the secret passage likely escaping the horde. Interestingly, I think if the human scores the most successes, then he has held the horde off but the dwarf has realized that there is no secret door. He's certain of it. The characters are trapped, although they have some time to think of something else--as does the horde.

Different players might have reacted this way:
Dwarf: "I use tomb-wise to look for a secret passage to the surface!"
Human: "I help by buying time for my companion by holding off the undead horde! Here's my sword die."
GM: "Right--the horde, led by its mace-wielding champion presses in to overwhelm you both with numbers and bear you off to the Pit. I'll roll the champion's B5 mace, +1 advantage die for their numbers."
So, in this case, if the dwarf rolls more successes than the undead champion, then the player can narrate the desperate fight of the human who gives ground step by step, slowly enough for the dwarf to uncover the backdoor added by the tomb's architect to be later exploited for tomb robbery. The companions enter the tunnel and race off ahead of the horde who shy away from the surface light.
If the undead champion achieves the most successes, then I would narrate the human fighter disappearing under a mass of bones and rusted armor, as the dwarf is dragged feet-first from the secret passage he managed to find, but too late to get away!

Finally, backtracking to the initial situation, once I described the apparent dead-end and the oncoming undead horde, the players may have decided to search for the "secret passage to the surface" or "secret passage to escape the horde". As GM, I could just set an obstacle for that test. The dwarf, helped by the human, would either have met the obstacle in which case the player would narrate what happens next. Or the dwarf would have failed to meet the obstacle in which case the GM would narrate. We had not set stakes ahead of time--stakes in the sense of both success and failure: "X happens if I (the player) make the roll; Y happens if I (the player) fail the roll."
In the case of failure, any of these options are possible: characters are overwhelmed by the horde; characters find a passage but the horde harries them through it; dwarf finds a passage and escapes while his companion is overwhelmed by the horde (really just an opportunity to see how loyal is the dwarf!); or the dwarf and human escape into a secret tunnel that leads...down.

And, sure, if in any of these cases the players set an intent of 'to get away', then if they achieve the most successes or beat an obstacle set by the GM, then the characters get away--whether by finding a secret passage, fighting their way through the horde, or melting into the darkness and escaping by stealth.

I've rambled on more than may be useful to you, but I've enjoyed thinking about your scenario!

Mel

[Odie]

With my group, I think I'd end up using a linked test. Have the human roll Sword (or whatever) to try and hold the horde off, and have the dwarf search for a way out with Perception (maybe Observation, if he's got it, or Tomb-wise, or what have you). If the human does well enough, he drives the horde back and buys the dwarf a little extra time to search (+1D); if not, the dwarf's got to hurry (+1 Ob) while his human buddy shouts nervously down the tunnel: "Ah, Brogar -- it's getting a little crowded in here!" The human's roll modifies the details of the scene, but it's the dwarf's roll that really determines whether or not they get away. (Edit: Presuming the dwarf succeeds: ) If the human succeeds, I'd probably say they got away scot-free, or at least with enough of a lead that they can take a breather. If he blows it, I'd lean towards "OK, you two got away, but you can hear the ravenous undead horde shambling after you in the darkness. What now?"

(Edited to add: ) If the dwarf fails, it doesn't matter how well the human does: they're trapped with no way out. If the human blew it, they're probably in the process of being captured and dragged away. If he made it, well, they better think of something fast, or they're headed in that direction anyway.

My group seriously loves linked tests.

-B

[MadJay]

Good stuff - I like both your takes on this. I don't use linked test near enough - though I like when I have, and the amount of drama they can open up.
Mel - thanks for your view for using Helping and I like your re-telling of my example!

[Hirram]

I like these suggestions- but if you, the GM, don't mind there being a way out, I would use a link test (as suggested above- those descriptions rock!) with the stakes being "do you find the exit without a Fight!". If they do, narrate it as such ... if they don't, perhaps you can set up a dramatic fight at the barred exit (can you get that thing open?), or directly under the tunnel out (which is up on a ledge- how do you get up there?)