Any example of an Encounter?

[zedturtle]

I know this is really old, but I'm just getting caught up, and came across this outstanding example of an Encounter. Well done, DylanRPG! And I like your example from GoT, too, Falenthal!

Agreed!

As far as rolls, I don't find it to be too many. A typical Encounter for us goes to around 78 successes, with 1-2 failures, and might include all of those things (some Courtesy usually, perhaps Awe, often Song, and occasionally Riddle).

Clear evidence that the Encounter system is broken.

[Majestic]

I know this is really old, but I'm just getting caught up, and came across this outstanding example of an Encounter. Well done, DylanRPG! And I like your example from GoT, too, Falenthal!

Agreed!

As far as rolls, I don't find it to be too many. A typical Encounter for us goes to around 78 successes, with 1-2 failures, and might include all of those things (some Courtesy usually, perhaps Awe, often Song, and occasionally Riddle).

Clear evidence that the Encounter system is broken.

Whoops! Make that 7-8 (somehow missed the dash there).

Yes, punctuation matters!.

[Falenthal]

I was going to bold the same words than Zedturtle!

Impressive guys, your players!

[mica]

I have been pushing the encounter rules more strictly in recent encounters (playing through Darkening and meeting more and more big cheeses so seems appropriate).

Insight check - gives bonus dice for interaction but also a possible hint on how to handle the encounter (awe or courtesy).
Interaction - can continue until tolerance exhausted and total successes determines outcome. No problem there then.

Introduction - in principle seems straight forward - but what of the roll? It explains that a failed roll in courtesy usually prevents a character speaking but that's about it.
What happens when the spokesman fails his Awe check? Everybody fails courtesy checks? Does it effect tolerance? Has the encounter failed before it starts? Does it make everything harder?
Or somebody gets a great or extraordinary success? Do these count towards total success? Make the encounter TN's lower? Increase tolerance? What happens if multiple characters get great/extraordinary success?

Seems oddly lacking in mechanics (unless I have missed something) leaving it all to house rules or the roll effectively counting for nothing.

[Majestic]

Seems oddly lacking in mechanics (unless I have missed something) leaving it all to house rules or the roll effectively counting for nothing.

[I'm going to answer in multiple posts (as the site doesn't seem to like the utilization of too many posts]

There's some great examples of how to do Encounters in Tales from Wilderland, using the optional rules (from p. 189, Revised) to give different information based on how well the characters do. And after doing this a bunch, our Encounters tend to come to a natural conclusion (I suppose I somewhat "pace" things based on the 7+ successes idea as well). And I also use the part about a great success being equal to two successes, and extraordinary ones being worth three.

I didn't even realize (until just now, checking the rules) that these rules were optional, as it works so smoothly in adventures like Tales and other C7 published works.

As to your specific questions:

What happens when the spokesman fails his Awe check?

Depends on the narrative. It certainly starts things off poorly. It affects tolerance, and might preclude that character being involved any more.

Everybody fails courtesy checks?

The group is off to a horrible start. And they might already have exceeded the tolerance of the Encounter. If they all fail, the Encounter might be over at that point, at least for now, perhaps to be taken up again at a later time. This is extremely unlikely, I might add. (I imagine this is what happened to the Dwarves when they first visited the Woodland Realm).

[Majestic]

Does it effect tolerance?

It sure does (all rolls do; the Introduction is still part of the Encounter).

Has the encounter failed before it starts?

If everybody fails? Probably, depending on circumstances, and how important the information is to the story. I don't tend to have a failure cause the entire Encounter to shut down, but under certain circumstances, it might lead to the failing player(s) no longer contributing. Failures early on don't (usually) blow the whole Encounter, just reflect that it's off to a poor start.

Does it make everything harder?

It doesn't usually make things harder, though it really depends on the narrative. If it's a bunch of Dwarves meeting Thranduil for the first time? Future TNs might be much more difficult.

[Majestic]

Or somebody gets a great or extraordinary success?

See above. Great = 2 successes. Extraordinary = 3 (at least with the optional rule).

Do these count towards total success?

Absolutely. All rolls made during all parts of the Encounter (except for the preliminary rolls that precede it) count towards the tolerance and total successes.

Make the encounter TN's lower?

Not usually, thought it might in certain circumstances.

[Majestic]

Increase tolerance?

Nothing changes the tolerance, per se. You determine that at the beginning. Let's suppose the Encounter at the beginning has a Tolerance of 3. All failures then count towards that number, and when three is reached, the Encounter is effectively over. Nothing changes that total (of 3) once the Encounter begins, but when the group reaches a total of 3 failures, it ends (perhaps the person they're meeting with becomes angry, or chooses to end the meeting, or makes small talk and stops giving information, etc.).

What happens if multiple characters get great/extraordinary success?

See above. I think the optional rule (of greats being worth two successes and extraordinary being worth three) works great. It also gets players excited, as it's an actual mechanical advantage to doing well on social skill rolls.

Hopefully that answers everything. Don't hesitate to holler if you need anything clarified!

[mica]

Cheers for this - looked again that the evaluating the encounter and finally found a clear statement.

The confusion comes from the way the sections are laid out in the rules. Tolerance is described after both Insight and Introduction while in practice there are two potential tolerances before the encounter begins based on whether valour or wisdom ends up being the trait used:

[T]he Loremaster sets up a Tolerance rating for the encounter, indicating the maximum number of rolls that the companions may collectively fail before their behaviour puts an end to their chances[.]

Strict interpretation indicates that as Tolerance is 'for the encounter', rather than one subsection of it, even failed Lore, Insight and Introduction rolls count against Tolerance before it has been calculated.

That said, the only unambiguous comment on skill checks counting towards the results is found in the optional rule at the end - this at least supports the presumption that failed introduction checks count against tolerance:

Evaluating the Outcome of an
Encounter – Optional Rule
In addition to the rules for Tolerance, the Loremaster is advised to keep track of the number of successful rolls achieved by the player-heroes during an encounter’s Introduction and Interaction stages.

[zedturtle]

Yeah, the way I do it is that Insight rolls (preparatory rolls) don't count towards Tolerance but Introductions and Interactions do. Laketowners do have a Virtue that allows them to increase Tolerance, but other than that, I set Tolerance per the Encounter guidelines (usually highest Valour or highest Wisdom, modified by Prejudice). The Encounter doesn't end until the heroes have more failures than Tolerance, so it's possible (via the use of Traits and/or good dice luck) to successfully navigate an Encounter with a Tolerance of 0.