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Episode 1873: 'Cause A Kylo Ren Party Is Mandatory

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There are many instances in which GMs would roll dice in secret so the players don't have insider knowledge (that their characters wouldn't know) of what is going on.

For cases like this, it can make it tricky to interpret the results. You have a method of coercing someone to tell the truth, but they have a method of resisting, and so you're still not sure if they're telling you the truth or not, despite you having that method. While we've used it that way here, there is an alternative way to handle it within game rules:

If a character has a game-mechanical method of coercing someone to tell the truth, the game could not provide any way to resist. And then the interrogator would know for sure that what is being said is the truth. This gives the power more utility and certainty, making it potentially a lot more useful than a version that can be resisted without the questioner knowing for sure.

Of course, if you go with this concept, you can still make things tricky by having the subject tell the literal truth, but in an incomplete or deceptive manner. For certain groups of players, that may even be a more fun way to deal with truth-coercion powers. If truth coercion is going to be a thing in your campaign, maybe discuss with your players which approach they'd prefer: resistible or not.

Commentary by Keybounce (who has not seen the movie)

Ok, now we're seeing the player vs player rolling. Or, at least, half of the rolling. And a note. And we see two players doing what players do best. Asking questions of someone that doesn't know the answer, and getting prompts/responses from the GM.

Sally's mask has that very strange nose section. I wonder what species she is. That's not a human nose. ... Hmm, getting back to the whole "Is that Jar-Jar under the mask" theory. It was her character after all. ;-)

Kylo, Phasma, Vader, all the stormtroopers. Clearly, the Empire/First Order is trying to eliminate racial/special prejudice.

Wait, that's a horrible word. Racist/Specist? Anti-race/Anti-species?

Clearly, the Empire/First Order is trying to eliminate all anti-race/anti-species prejudice by making all troopers look the same, and all leaders look the same. How progressive of them.

Commentary by memnarch (who has not seen the movie)

A twelve. Just at the level where the player knows the result could go either way. Unless Sally's Force proficiency is super high, I think Jim had a pretty good chance of saving against it. Not that it'd matter either way in this case; coercion isn't the same thing as persuasion. Personally, I think the note said that Jim had to tell the truth, but that there was no obligation to nicely present it. Technically true doesn't mean you can't phrase it like it's false just to make the interrogator unsure about what they're hearing.

And Jim's always wildly overconfident, Sally! You've seen how his plans usually go. Admittedly I dont think he's ever worked against the other players when they've know about his duplicity, but Jim's still got a pretty good track record at sticking things through and pulling a success out somewhere. So you're probably best off setting him loose with a promise of lots of cash on delivery.

Out of the context of any sound to provide a menacing air, this looks very silly. I mean, it looks like a winter gloved hand is about grab Poe's shoulder but it can't decide if it should or not. And Poe just looks very confused by the whole situation. Immunity to Force powers doesn't seem like a thing the movies would do, so I'm guessing that movie-Kylo is just as insistent about movie-Poe knowing something that he actually doesn't.

Transcript

Kylo Ren: So you don’t have the map to Ahch-To?
Kylo Ren: Force Coercion. 12.
GM: Poe, save versus Mind Control. Don’t let Sally see it; show me the number.
[SFX]: roll
GM: Okay, Jim. Take this note.
Poe: I do not have the map.
Kylo Ren: You don’t know where Ahch-To is?
Poe: I have abso-luuutely no idea.
Kylo Ren: Do you really think you can get information about Luke Amidala from the Resistance?
Poe: I’m sure I can.
Kylo Ren: Are you wildly overconfident?
Poe: Uh...
GM: <nod>
Poe: You betcha!!


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Published: Sunday, 02 August, 2020; 03:11:29 PDT.
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