Standing Upkeep and Undertaking Question

[jmartinclass]

Hi, last game session some questions came out.

1. Do the characters have to do the standing upkeep every FP, or just years end?

2. To do some general undertaking (not the ones the the hero needs to be in sanctuary or some specific place like Rivendell for example) can the characters be anywhere?

Thanks a lot

[Robin Smallburrow]

In answer to your questions:

1. At Year's End only do they need to do Standing upkeep - the game assumes there are about two or three Fellowship Phases per year, with the Year's End one being the longest.

2. See my document below (also available from my sig):

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/656 ... ptions.doc

As you can see from the document, the Undertakings that can be done anywhere are Spend XP & AP, Gain New Distinctive Feature or Specialty, Raise Standing (Lose Standing if not at home), Open New Sanctuary (obviously needs to be a 'safe place'), Search For Answers (depends on what the search is for), Tend to Holding (depends on where the holding is!.

Robin S.

[jmartinclass]

wow, thanks Robin

I was doing something like this:

1)Choose Destination
2)Standing Upkeep (if year's end)
3)Spend Experience Points
4)Spend Advancement Points
5)Choose Undertaking and Narrate Events

I dint't think that spend XP and AP ponints count as an undertaking, assuming that the player may choose one undertaking per FP and two by year's end.

[Stormcrow]

Here's a complete session sequence, including what happens during the Fellowship phase:

Session Sequence

[jmartinclass]

Thanks Stormcrow

that was the most helpful event sequence I've ever read.

Thanks a lot, no more questions.

[Majestic]

Stormcrow's list is awesome (and very nice to have).

I wouldn't hold rigidly to the order shown, however. Otherwise one would spend Experience Points a few steps before earning them for the adventure.

[Stormcrow]

That is correct. You earn Experience points at the end of a session. You spend Experience points during a Fellowship phase. Fellowship phases happen during sessions. Thus, you spend Experience points you earned in PREVIOIUS sessions.

[Majestic]

That is correct. You earn Experience points at the end of a session. You spend Experience points during a Fellowship phase. Fellowship phases happen during sessions. Thus, you spend Experience points you earned in PREVIOIUS sessions.

I've never seen anything in the rules that says you can only spend previously earned EP. The way it's actually worded seems to suggest you take what you earn (during play, in the Adventuring Phase that just preceded the Fellowship Phase) and then spend it during the subsequent Fellowship Phase. It reads "In The One Ring, characters earn Advancement points during play that will let them develop their Common skill scores, and gain Experience points at the end of every session, to spend them to improve their abilities or to acquire new ones."

It also suggests one gains Experience Points at the end of every session (rather than adventure), which for some groups (like mine) doesn't work as well, since we don't play shorter sessions. So it depends on how the adventure breaks down for us. Sometimes we end up playing a really long session (the equivalent of a couple of different sessions for another group), and waiting to only award EP at the end of the session would end up penalizing my players for playing longer sessions.

[Glorelendil]

I'll believe it when I see the RAW that states it, and Francesco confirms that's working-as-intended.

The idea that you wrap up an adventure in an hour or two, then go to Fellowship Phase, but don't get to spend the XP from the completed adventure during that Fellowship Phase is...is...'counter-intuitive'?

[Majestic]

Exactly. There's actually some RPGs where you can only upgrade skills you've used in the session preceding it.