Query re spending hope to protect Fellowship Focus

[wraithben]

Hi all,

I'm a little confused by what would actually count as 'protecting' your fellowship focus - to allow you to get your hope point back.

I know it covers the Defensive Stance special move, but would anythign else count as well?

Many thanks,

Ben

[Stormcrow]

Whatever the Loremaster agrees counts as protecting the Fellowship Focus!

Could be nearly anything. Pushing the Focus out of the way of danger, for instance, especially if it puts oneself in danger.

If you have to spend a point of Hope to keep your Fellowship Focus from being harmed, the Loremaster should refund that point.

[wraithben]

I guess where my confusion comes is around how often this can be done per session? I've read things that suggest you can safely spend 2 hope per adventure - 1 protecting your fellowship focus and 1 which you'll get back from fellowship points.

However as written my reading of the rules suggests that any hope spent protecting your focus is immediately regained, so careful choice of focus could give you an almost infinite resource. Especially if your focus is a front line fighter and you're an archer. If you kill the creature that is abou to attack your focus you've protected them from harm so why not spend hope?

[Rich H]

However as written my reading of the rules suggests that any hope spent protecting your focus is immediately regained, so careful choice of focus could give you an almost infinite resource. Especially if your focus is a front line fighter and you're an archer. If you kill the creature that is abou to attack your focus you've protected them from harm so why not spend hope?

I don't think that's a problem; remember to read the rules as to what happens if your focus gets hurt, etc!

[SirKicley]

I differ from Rich on this. My tendency is to allow this 1 time per game - since you gain back one per game if your focus isn't hurt.

Now the definition of HURT plays into this.

IF Hurt mean "Suffered a wound" then I feel 1 time per game of getting the point immediate restored is appropriate.

IF Hurt mean any damage to endurance - then I could allow room to consider the argument that this should allow all Hope Points in a game spent to protect your focus is replenished.


Robert

[Rich H]

Agree with this so I should have clarified. I define Hurt not as any damage to Endurance but it does apply if the focus is Wearied or made Miserable. This also includes things like Poisoned as well so it's a bit more common in its occurrence than just getting Wounded.

[wraithben]

There's kind of two sides to Hope & Fellowship focus though isn't there?

If at the end of session they are unhurt (and in another thread Francesco has said he considers hurt to mean injured, waery, miserable & significant endurance loss) then you regain a point of hope. The flip side of this of course is that if they do get injured you gain a shadow point.

However it also says in the rules (Fellowship pages in Adventures book - at work so don't have it in front of me) that if you spend a point of hope that obviously protects or benefits your Fellowship Focus you immediatly get that fellowship point back. One of my players has pointed out that this makes it better to have a front ranker as a focus as by attacking their attacker you're protecting them.

I'm thinking of house ruling this one a bit so it has to be proctecting them from a proper threat. If their attacker is a lone goblin, I don't see this as a viable threat, if it's something stronger then a case may be there for the hope point reclaim as above. As mentioned above poisoning etc should also come into this.

[Stormcrow]

I'm thinking of house ruling this one a bit so it has to be proctecting them from a proper threat. If their attacker is a lone goblin, I don't see this as a viable threat, if it's something stronger then a case may be there for the hope point reclaim as above. As mentioned above poisoning etc should also come into this.

Yes, I wouldn't consider simply ganging up on the enemy attacking your Focus to be worthy of free Hope points to spend on the ganging up. If there isn't an "oh no!" moment involved that calls for Hope, it's not worth a refund. That's not a house rule; that's just the Loremaster's judgement used in executing the rule.