The Throne War:Resolution

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Non-Random Mechanics

A roleplaying game where characters have stats but no random element--no rolling for successes or to beat a difficulty--may seem counter-intuitive but, in a way, we've all been doing it since we started playing Storium! When we make a move and play a card on a challenge, we're describing our character's actions according to how we understand their abilities. We don't question whether Draega can hit something with a throwing knife, we know that the only reason he would miss is if there was an extenuating circumstance in-story--he's going up against a foe with vastly superior skills, for instance, or perhaps he's been poisoned and is fighting off a weakened state! In Storium, we narrate what our characters can do and what they're trying to accomplish, only narrating their success (or failure) once all the cards have been played.

Make your moves in The Throne War the same way you would in any Storium game, just without the cards. Your stats will tell you what your character can and can not do. When success is called into question--when you are fighting a closely matched foe, for instance--your choices in-game, i.e., your strategies, will help me, as narrator, decide who wins. I will make it obvious in my narration which direction a conflict is moving, allowing all parties involved the time to try different strategies and pull different tricks from their sleeves. In the end, though, the narrator is the final arbiter of the outcome of a conflict; no different than if a challenge in standard Storium was completed with a Neutral outcome.

Some Examples

One on one combat

Sanek is an ancient dragon warrior, Second Class in Prowess and Might but Olympian class in Fortitude and Ego. His foe, a Khaos-worshipping madman who is called, most often, simply "the Beast," is First Class in Might, Third Class in Fortitude and Olympian in the others. The Beast has tracked Sanek to his jungle temple with one goal: the destruction of his rival.

The Beast has no hope of sneaking up on Sanek--he knows he is greatly outclassed in Prowess, the ability to analyze and detect incoming threats, even subconsciously--and so, prideful as always, he marches out of the jungle into the courtyard and loudly invites Sanek to die. Sanek has seen the Beast fight first hand, and knows he is know match for the madman's strength--in hand to hand combat, he will lose--so he picks up his sword, a massive claymore that a mortal would barely be able to lift but is light as a rapier to him, and walks down to the courtyard to fight.

After unpleasantries are exchanged, the Beast lunges for Sanek's throat. Sanek fights cautiously, giving away ground as needed to keep the Beast at sword's-length away. He's counting on the nicks and cuts he deals to the Beast to begin adding up, hoping the blood loss will lead to him making a mistake and give up an advantage. The Beast charges in for a full attack, heedless of the danger, only trying to get his hands on Sanek. Something's not right... Sanek has scored a dozen hits on his opponent yet he hasn't slowed down; he's not even bleeding! Sanek realizes that the Beast has used Metamorphosis to give himself a thick, scaly hide on his arms and his chest; he couldn't see it, before, because of the Beast's clothes! Now he understands why the Beast rushed headlong! It would take a strong, decisive strike for Sanek to pierce the thick hide with his sword... and the Beast would welcome such an attack since it would allow him to get his hands on Sanek! A mad glee spreads across the Beast's face as he watches the realization dawn on the dragon warrior: if Sanek does not go on the offensive, it becomes a battle of attrition, and the Beast's Fortitude is much higher than Sanek's. But if Sanek goes on the offensive, he'll leave himself open to counterattack, giving the Beast an opportunity to grab him! Things are not looking good for the dragon warrior. He goes completely on the defensive, no longer worrying about trying to inflict injury, now he's just doing everything possible to keep the Beast back while he thinks of something. The Beast will not give him that opportunity, though; using Metamorphosis, he's slowly elongating his arms with each swing, soon the length of the sword will be irrelevant! Sanek's mind races; he's on his home turf, what could give him an advantage? Yes, that's it--the strangle vines! Animate, voracious vines that reach out to ensnare prey exist in this jungle; they won't stop the Beast, but they could impede him enough to give Sanek the opening he needs!

It's too late, though, he can't make it in time. If he had planned it from the beginning, it'd be different, but the Beast's arms are now long enough. He rushes Sanek, grabbing the warrior's arms--ignoring the cut he gains in return, he wrestles Sanek to the ground. Sanek is no weakling--the Beast can't simply snap his neck and be done with him--but, try as he might, Sanek can't escape, and he can't overpower the Beast. He can, however, still move, and he's strong enough to move the Beast, too. As the Beast chokes him towards unconsciousness, he starts rolling and the two of them tumble towards the vines--if they're both ensnared, he'll be able to get away!

The Beast may be mad, but he's not stupid; he sees what Sanek is doing and faces a choice: get tangled up in the vines and give his prey a chance to escape, or let go. He waits until the last possible moment and lets go... but he uses his superior strength to shove his foe ahead of him and his self away! Sanek is now trapped in the vines--though he will be free soon, the Beast decides not to stick around. He knows that Sanek's wife is back in the temple; this fight will get a lot more interesting with a hostage in play...

• Analysis: Here we have an example of how planning and quick thinking can both affect the outcome of a conflict as much as actual ability ratings. The Beast should have been dead going up unarmed against a fighter with Second Class Prowess, but thanks to his reputation as a prideful madman, Sanek did not suspect him to have prepared ahead of time. Later, when Sanek realized he was in trouble, his quick thinking allowed him to use his home turf as his advantage. The player need not have ever mentioned "strangle vines" before; Sanek's home had already been described as a dangerous jungle in a fantasy-type world, it would be entirely reasonable to assume something like that lived there. Finally, unwilling to give Sanek any more time to come up with something clever, the Beast plays dirty and goes after a mortal that means something to his foe. If he hadn't studied Sanek, if he didn't know his wife was there, the Beast wouldn't have been able to pull that trick.

A clash of armies

Jules has decided to take over Olympus by force. He is High-numbered class in all four abilities, and has gathered armies from all across the multiverse who believe they're in a holy war to retake Heaven from wicked gods and put Jules on his rightful throne. His enemies know he's coming, however, and Hermes has used World-Walking Mastery to plague Jules' army with dangers along the road--diseases, natural disasters, even guerrilla warfare whittles his forces down to half what they once were. Jules doesn't care; with his high Fortitude and Might, these dangers don't bother him, and his armies are just means to an end. He marches on.

They get to Olympus and the battle starts in earnest. Jules fights at the head of his army, and cuts through the defenders like a sickle through wheat. The soldiers are mostly mortals, maybe a few Heroic mortals, at best. They stand no chance, and so he cuts through them. His own soldiers are also mortal, however--he spent no points on them, he just traveled the roads between worlds until he found as many as he could--so they are, at best, evenly matched with the defenders; at worst, they are slightly disadvantaged since they are unfamiliar with the land and are an invading force. They lose about as many as they kill. After fighting all day, Jules' force is down to about a quarter of what it once was as they approach the base of Mount Olympus. He is not even tired yet, so he presses on. Now that they're ascending the mountain, the path is narrow and Jules can face his opponents by himself. He cuts them down, one at a time, as his forces follow. The defenders rain down arrows and rocks upon the invaders, though, so Jules' army still suffers losses. All night Jules presses forward, and all night his enemies and his allies tumble from the path. At dawn, his force is all but depleted yet he has reached the summit. Even with his great Fortitude he has started to grow weary, but he still feels he can take any god one on one.

The gods who hold Olympus have no such plans. Hermes speaks an Ineffable Name that weakens Jules for but a moment, but it is in that moment that Hecate casts a spell that slams Jules with a mighty burst of wind. If he was in his top condition, Jules might've been able to shrug it off. However, the Ineffable Name combined with Jules already being weary means that he was knocked back, and from the summit of Olympus, there is only one direction to go. Jules tumbles, like so many of his men before him, back down the side of the mountain. What took him all night to climb passes by in a minute. When he finally comes to a stop upon the piles of the dead below, he still lives but he will not be fighting again for a long time.

• Analysis: Here we see Jules falling victim to his on hubris. He sees his own mighty abilities and believes himself invincible; indeed, even a fall from Mount Olympus didn't kill him so, in a way, he was right. But no planning or forethought was put into his attack. His opponents--though weaker individually--held a position of defense, attacked him from afar whenever they could, and allowed Jules to expend all his energy proving how badass he was.

Strategies for Effective Actions

Various games we've used in the past have sought to encourage descriptions beyond "I hit him with my sword" for actions. In this game, it's not just about bonuses, it's about doing anything at all.