Putting out fires

[Angelalex242]

Well, I'd say those with the fire making talent know what a fire fighter knows. That doesn't mean they have the tools on hand to fight the fire, but they know what tools you should use to do so. Fire making talent says you know things like the 3 components of a fire are heat, fuel, and air, and if you take any one of them away, the fire goes out.

Of course, a fire might need 20 successes to put out, so if the guy with firemaking has 1 auto success...it doesn't actually do a whole lot.

[Elmoth]

I would also give them a bonus to Lore, Battle, Awe or Inspire (to organize people) and Athletics rolls to fight the fire, but would not allow them to auto-put it down. Sounds quite good, in fact.

Cheers,
Xavi

[Evening]

Well, I'd say those with the fire making talent know what a fire fighter knows.

We'll just have to disagree. In our game everyone (npc's, etc) knows how to start a fire for cooking, warmth, etc., provided they have the proper sources, such as another flame or embers and everyone knows the best way to put out a fire is with water.

Fire-making on the otherhand is nothing more than a survivalist skill. Anyone with Fire-making can be empty-handed and buck naked in a forest and still have a fire going in about 45 minutes or hours depending on the weather conditions. I'm sorry but I can't equate that with a fire brigade and fire science.

Anyway the outcome is predetermined. The fire will eventually be put out (employing what Hermes and Elmoth suggested). The only variable is the extent of the damage.

Here's interesting quote that has absolutely nothing to do with anything:

1394 Sept. 28. Exemption, for three years, of the bailiffs, good men and commonalty of Shrewsbury from the payment of their fee, in consideration of their losses by the recent fire which burned the church of St. Chad and a great part of the town.

If I'm not mistaken, Shrewsbury has a large river running through it. And they had all those buckets too.

[Hermes Serpent]

While I applaud Evening's knowledge of the fire-fighting process it's influenced by many years of people putting out fires in increasingly sophisticated buildings. Faced with a burning thatched stable or house most people of the late Iron Age or early Medieval period (where technologically Rhovanion seems to be) the response is going to be 'pull off the burning thatch and stamp it out or pour water on it. maybe someone used to dealing with burning buildings might know to attack the root of the fire but probably not. There's also the flammable nature of clothing and a lack of protection, even treated leather can catch fire.

[SirKicley]

Meh - this is a fantasy roleplaying game, not a lesson in physics or other esoteric training.

True, but actual life professions and experiences influence how players resolve tasks presented in a game. For example, going back to the fire-making talent, if I stated with all solemnity that those with the talent are more adept at putting out a nearly fully involved structure fire and they can hand wave it (auto success), I'd be laughed out of the room.

I am very appreciative that our gaming group dumbs down their responses in terms of their character's capabilities and what they would and what not realistically know. I am not implying there is badwrongfun taking place here. I am merely pointing out that tempering a scene with a realistic outcome only completes the immersion.

While I don't disagree, I will say that I was not advocating the first be instantly doused with an invocation of the distinctive feature.

As it appears to be being designed, the encounter will require many tests/tasks/skill checks, prolonged skill uses, etc. My advocacy is that one with that particular feature, should be able to invoke it to have auto-successes along the way that lead towards the overall goal. That would not be unbalancing at all, and as we all know removes the chance of any great/extra success or APs earned. It is a way to encourage the roleplaying a bit and get some much of the much needed success to consider the encounter an overall success.

Perhaps for instance, the use of the trait will play a huge role in giving ideas on how to put it out, or ideas on how it was actually started (as opposed to just the intuition from observing the unsuspected culprit.


It's worth noting that many of the suggested uses of the trait invocation throughout the published literature of the game are in fact a bit on the wonky and not necessarily due to any real-world esoteric knowledge of the subject. The suggestion that "SMOKING" trait could be used to allow the hobbit to use the smoke as cover to slip out of an uncomfortable meet-n-greet is one such example. In end, I try not to stifle the creativity of the players who wish to invoke it. And I don't need them to be real-world firefighters to potentially imagine how they can creatively use their traits. It's just as common for a person to not have real-world proficiency in a subject as it is for a player to use real world examples. It's part of the fun of imagination.

But your examples are not wrong either. They're just difference of opinion and application. Whatever winds up fitting your style of fun is what matters.

Robert

[Stormcrow]

To be fair, the example of a hobbit using Smoking to slip away doesn't have him hiding in the smoke; he uses the walk to a torch as an excuse to move toward the door, through which he then slips unobserved.