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The Dresden Files => DFRPG => Topic started by: ZMiles on February 06, 2012, 07:46:37 PM
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So it seems like my PCs are about to head off into the open plains during a massive snowstorm. I'm wondering, how best to RP the effects of cold and such? I'm thinking of treating it as sort of a physical attack on the characters every few rounds, with warm clothes functioning as armor. Does that sound right?
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Yeah, that's pretty much how the game book suggests it, usually as a compel of a scene aspect. You planning to have it roll vs. their Endurance skill as defense?
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So it seems like my PCs are about to head off into the open plains during a massive snowstorm. I'm wondering, how best to RP the effects of cold and such? I'm thinking of treating it as sort of a physical attack on the characters every few rounds, with warm clothes functioning as armor. Does that sound right?
I'd be wary of making repeated attacks; the stress could add up quickly, and I'm guessing you don't actually want to kill anyone. I'd personally treat it as a maneuver to place a CHILLED TO THE BONE aspect, defended against by Endurance, and with appropriate declarations of Resources (to buy warm-weather gear) and Survival to boost defenses. That gives you something you can hit people with when they arrive at their destination, but doesn't risk a PC dying of pneumonia and frostbite. If you're going to make it an attack, I'd just make a single high-value zone attack with no Weapon value associated with it, to make better distinctions between cold (stress, goes away easily), slightly hypothermic (mild consequence, can be restored in a single scene of warmth), and frostbitten (moderate or worse, requires significant medical attention).
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Depending on how much time or emphasis you want to spend on their trek, you could run it as a single roll (a consequential contest), with failure resulting in an exposure-related consequence. A series of "attacks" works well, as others have said. Except I'd argue that you don't need to worry about killing the PCs; you decide what happens if you take someone out, so they only die of cold if you say they do. The PCs could "attack" a stress track representing the distance to their objective with Endurance or Athletics or Survival, or set up Blocks with Survival as they create makeshift shelter or Declare emergency gear, and so on.
If I were to run this as a scene where I wanted to endanger the PCs but didn't want to spend time on it nor really, really threaten them, I'd run a 2-step content. The first roll would be the storm's attack against Survival rolls; I'd inflict stress/consequences here as normal, and to me this would represent taking proper precautions, knowing which way you're going, staying out of the worst of the storm, wearing the right gear, and so on. PCs who failed the Survival check would then be subject to a second attack against Endurance. Difficulties would vary according to how bad the weather would be, I suppose. I'd probably set them at 3 or 4; anything less and I don't think I'd bother making it a contest at all; just place a scene aspect and keep moving.
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Additionally you could run it as an extended consequential simple action, giving them X number of survival or endurance rolls to get to a certain difficulty, and then inflicting consequences based on how much they missed the mark (though I probably wouldn't stick to mild for two shifts, moderate for four, etc because depending on that difficulty it could be likely that they would miss by a fair amount). To get the difficulty that you want just take the average roll that you would like and multiply it by the number of rolls.
This would give you a situation with several rolls, but it would be more likely to injure rather than take them out.
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One more method of running it would be as a block. Call it a two point (or whatever is appropriate for the conditions) block which they must pass each day to make progress. If they fail the endurance roll they can choose between holing up and not making any progress that day or taking declared aspects related to the conditions to move on. Aspects won't last more than the scene but will give you something to tag / invoke / compel when appropriate. This may work best if they have a time limit.
One thing I like about fate - there are lots of potential mechanical solutions to almost any issue. :)
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when my players get to set foot on the icy plains of forbidden leng next session, i will make them fill the smallest consequence due to the cold, should represent that they are not as up to a fight as they would be in their home environment. and i know they will complain :-)
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Contest between groups endurance and the strenght of the snowstorm. That would be how i run it in Mouse Guard...