Offscreen NPC Battles

[Mr. Death]

Sometimes NPCs get into fights offscreen--so how do you guys resolve the results? Do you actually make the rolls, compare the relative skill levels and powers, or just make it up to whatever's more dramatically appropriate?

[Silverblaze]

Sometimes NPCs get into fights offscreen--so how do you guys resolve the results? Do you actually make the rolls, compare the relative skill levels and powers, or just make it up to whatever's more dramatically appropriate?

I haven't run this game yet.

However: in other games if it happens off-screen (not where any player can see it I assume?)  I do what my plot requires/story needs/is most dramatically appropriate.  Regardless of skill level, unless one is clearly outmatched I just decide, I never roll.

If the PC's can see and therefore in theory change the outcome of said fight, I will roll out the fight. The caveat being if the npc;'s are all mooks then I just roll a die and compare higher results to speed such things along.

[sinker]

Yeah, every time that I've had offscreen conflicts I usually just do what's best for the story. If it's better for the underdog to impossibly come out on top, then that's totally what's going to happen.

I think if I was pressed to stick to some solid representation though, I would likely compare strengths and simply have the stronger come out on top. No need to roll.

[admiralducksauce]

If i have an outcome in mind, that happens.

If I can discern that my players don't much care, and I don't have a stake in the outcome, and it's an evenly-matched battle, I'll just roll a high/low die or have 1 opposed roll decide it.

If I can tell my players are invested in 1 or both NPCs, then what I've done in the past is have the players roll for the NPCs.  It changes from an offscreen battle to a "cutscene" of sorts, and the players stay engaged.

[GryMor]

How it's handled depends on what you are trying to get out of it. The middle ground between player aided cutscene and knowing what you want to have happen is usually done as an aspect/consequence generator to extrapolate PC intervention beyond direct involvement. At that point, either play it out yourself if you have the time and interest or abstract it down to a character per side (best applicable attack ability, worst applicable defense, bonuses for applicable aspects) with one attack each treating the threshold as consequence levels to spread among the members of each side.

[HumAnnoyd]

However: in other games if it happens off-screen (not where any player can see it I assume?)  I do what my plot requires/story needs/is most dramatically appropriate.  Regardless of skill level, unless one is clearly outmatched I just decide, I never roll.

In a recent game I ran many supernaturals in the city attacked a huge force of enemies while the PCs sneaked by them to attack the Big Bad.  I simply narrated the results of the NPC fights based on Aspects and how they would fight.  For example the RCV and his cronies were kicking some ass until they got a chance to leave their biker werewolf rival's flank uncovered by charging ahead which nearly caused the wolves to be overrun.  This will lead to some serious repercussions later on.   

[Sanctaphrax]

I BS shamelessly when the fight's offscreen. If it's onscreen, I play it out round by round.