Crunching the numbers - a sample "combat"

[Da_Gut]

Alright, to start figuring out the game, I decided to run a sample combat between a Hellhound (OW, page 46) and a Malk (OW, page 48). Here is how it "went down".

Scene - Woodland clearing - aspects -     Huge old mossy tree trunk
                  Bramble bush
                  Trees
                  Medium Grass


Each fey has 2 fate points.

The hellhound is roaming through the woods, hunting. A malk is doing the same. Both come within perception range of the other. A roll will be made to determine who notices who, first.

I decide difficulty for the Hellhound is 4 (the malks stealth). Difficulty for the Malk is 2 (the Hellhounds survival).

Hellhound rolls a -1 against 4 (alertness against a value = to malks stealth) This results in a 2, or a failure of 2 to notice the malk. (Hellhound has good (+3) alertness.)

Malk rolls a 2 against 2, which results in 5, or 3 shifts (significant success) Malk has a good (+3) alertness.

GM rules that this lets the malk add an “oblivious” tag to the Hellhound.

Round one: Hellhound is unaware that it is in combat. Malk makes a stealth roll - free tagging the oblivious, to set up an ambush. rolls negative one. add +6 (2 for tag, 4 for stealth). Ends in 5. Hellhound rolls alertness (+3) against a 5. Rolls 0, so fails.

When an Ambush  succeeds, the target can only defend at mediocre. Cannot take standard action.

Malk spends a fate point to tag oblivious for attack. Rolls a 1. +5 (+3 for fists, +2 for tag), Hellhounds rolls a 0. Since its a being ambushed, defends at mediocre (0) instead of good (+3). Malk gets a 6. With a +2 for claws, thats a total of 8. More than enough to take down the hellhound. The Hellhound decides to take a moderate consequence (belly slash), and a minor consequence (torn ear), to reduce the attack to 2 stress. It marks off its second box. On the bright side, oblivious is now gone.

The Hellhound wants to offer a concession. (And neithers Malks, nor Hellhounds are beasts, so its doable). So he offers the following concession: (its a 3 parter) Bring food to the clearing and leave it every other day for a fortnight, enough for a malk and a cluster of cubs. Be indebted to the malk, until the debt is called in. And lastly, not reveal the debt to anyone.

Notes: Reading back over it, I think the oblivious tag being granted for the significant success is overdone. At the least, it should have been a fragile one. Perhaps sticky on a potent success.

But, do I have the basics right?

[Deadmanwalking]

For an ambush? Mostly. A real fight would look somewhat different.

That's really not how Concessions work, though. A concession is a game mechanic, not something the two parties agree to in-character. The kind of thing you describe would just be shifting the contest to Social Combat or out of combat altogether. A Concession is the Hellhound being knocked unconcious, but not killed. Or taken captive. OPr something like that.

[luminos]

Actually, a concession can very well be something the parties agree to in character.  A concession is simply a result that is bad for the conceeder, but not as bad as a taken out result, and that still somehow plays into the stakes that the opponent is seeking from the conflict (meaning that he probably could have gotten a better deal on the concession, since stakes on a fight are typically win or lose, rather than extended contracts). 

[crusher_bob]

Of, for example, if there was a kill/dead animal nearby that the both wanted to eat, the hell hound could run away (a concession) and the malk could decline to chase him because it didn't want to leave the kill behind (explanation of why the concession works).

More sample conflicts:
sample physical conflict/ambush
sample social conflict
sample magical fight

[Da_Gut]

Thank you all for the replies.

And many thanks for the links.

Another, related question.

Lets say an Thug1 puts a "blinded" aspect on hero1. Yet Thug1 has no fate points.  After that first free tag, how does the blinded aspect effect hero1? Is it up to the GM to enforce blinded with compels? If the GM does nothing, does hero1 fight as effectively as he would unblinded, because there are no fate points in play?

[Saedar]

Depends on fragile or sticky. If it is fragile (from dust/sand/etc) then his vision would clear. If sticky, it would be compel territory, I believe.

[Deadmanwalking]

Yeah, after the free Tag, it's up to the GM to use Compels to make it stick...but bear in mind Tagging for effect. That could cause a sc eene long effect of some sort (like having been redirected at another foe) rather easily.

[CableRouter]

Hellhound rolls a -1 against 4 (alertness against a value = to malks stealth) This results in a 2, or a failure of 2 to notice the malk. (Hellhound has good (+3) alertness.)

This would be a good time for the Hellhound to spend a Fate point to invoke it's Hellhound aspect to smell the Malk, giving it the +2 it needs to avoid the ambush.

[Crion]

Yeah, after the free Tag, it's up to the GM to use Compels to make it stick...but bear in mind Tagging for effect. That could cause a sc eene long effect of some sort (like having been redirected at another foe) rather easily.

I'd like a bit of clarification on this one, Deadmanwalking. Is there a way to Tag an aspect more than once (i.e. after discovery) for story-driven purposes? Or are you referencing the Sticky Aspect idea?

Just getting cleared up on the wording, as I'm trying to get a better feel for this before I prep my players for a game.

[DFJunkie]

No, a tag is a one-time only cookie for discovering or creating an aspect, further bonuses or rerolls require a fate point.  On the other hand, there's no reason not to compel the crap out of "blinded" or a similar aspect any time an affected character wants to do practically anything.

[crusher_bob]

Another possibility is that particularly extreme environmental effects may do something like  refresh themselves every now and then, providing another free tag, or provide a free tag every turn or something.  iirc, another FATE based game has 'persistent aspects' that do something like this.

[Deadmanwalking]

I'd like a bit of clarification on this one, Deadmanwalking. Is there a way to Tag an aspect more than once (i.e. after discovery) for story-driven purposes? Or are you referencing the Sticky Aspect idea?

Just getting cleared up on the wording, as I'm trying to get a better feel for this before I prep my players for a game.

I'm referencing "Invoking for Effect" with a Tag on a sticky Aspect.

Invoking (or Tagging) for effect allows ongoing approprite effects from something like blinded, at least potentially.

[Crion]

I'm referencing "Invoking for Effect" with a Tag on a sticky Aspect.

Invoking (or Tagging) for effect allows ongoing approprite effects from something like blinded, at least potentially.

So, the invoke/tag for effect won't require a constant expenditure of Fate points?

[Deadmanwalking]

Not as a rule. It won't impose direct mechanical penalties on rolls either, but it could potentially last the scene free of charge, yeah.

[JesterOC]

Yes. At least that is how I read it. Tagging for Effect gives you Narrative control. It allows you to control and limit story.

This is how I understand it how it could be used in play.  

Setup: you are at a party and are trying to get into a back room to search for a MacGuffin. The hostess of the party starts to engage you in a social conflict to demoralize you.

The conflict starts and you happen to go first.
 Lets say you use a maneuver to spike her drink. (You offer a toast and when you are touching glasses, so manage to slip in a mickey.) It was successful and you place the aspect of "Under the Influence" on the subject.
On her round she tries to us a maneuver to remove the aspect and fails.
On your turn tag the aspect for effect and state that the host starts to feel ill and must run to the restroom to "freshen up".
The conflict ends with no winners or losers, and you try use this time to get to the back room.

As page 99 of the book says different play groups will have different views on how powerful these declarations can be. This case seems to me to be fair because the conflict was only delayed and other interesting issues can still come up from this.

JesterOC

p.s. I am not certain you can use physical skills such as slipping a mickey during social conflict, but I would assume so, I see no reason why not. If anyone has an opinion on this please let me know.