Resolving Trials

Terminology evolves.

At some point you will say, "I have struggled mightily against this ordeal. I wish for my progress to be measured in the annals of myth and history." You will thus initiate a Trial.

A Trial is a small turning point within an Ordeal. The event of resolving a Trial is a small moment of revelation where the players learn the scope and impact of a character's actions.

To determine this, the protagonist's player rolls one six-sided die for each Trait his character has, and the Ordeal's creator rolls one die for each point of Importance the Ordeal has. Each player discards any die that rolled 4 or greater and adds up the pips on those that remain. Compare the results (soliciting terms for this value here); the character wins if his result is greater than the Ordeal's. Else, the character loses.

Complications

Torch Offerings

When a Trial is declared, before the dice are rolled, each other player has the opportunity to offer one Torch to either the protagonist or the antagonist. Should that player accept, then the player offering the Torch will first narrate some event that shows how the Torch's principle gives that player an advantage, and then hands him the physical representation of the Torch. This action grants him an additional die to his roll.

Layering (desperately seeking words!)

When a Trial is declared, before the dice are rolled, noninvolved parties may spend Fuel to transform the Trial into an Ordeal; the Ordeal has 1 Importance per drop of Fuel spent to transform it. If several people want to transform a Trial, then only the person who wants to spend the most Fuel does so. Once an Ordeal's Importance has been set, it cannot be further altered by Fuel.

This new Ordeal is contained inside the previous Ordeal.

Alliance

When a Trial is declared, before the dice are rolled, a noninvolved party may spend as much Fuel as the current Significance of its Ordeal. In doing so, he becomes involved in that Ordeal, and fights against it alongside the other character, though for his own purposes. From his perspective, the Ordeal is contained inside whatever Ordeal he is currently opposing. Alliance allows both characters to add their Traits together when rolling Trials.

Results of Trials

Character Victory

When a character wins a Trial, subtract the Ordeal's result from his, and divide the difference by 2. Round up. This gives you the Trial's depth; it tells you how far-reaching its impact is. The victory drills through that many layers of Ordeals nested within each other, reducing the Importance of each by 1.

Winning a Trial also resolves one of the character's Traits; he loses that Trait. The player chooses which Trait is resolved thus, and it's his responsibility to explain, in narration, how the loss of this Trait came about and how the affected Ordeals came to be influenced. The other players will be excited to offer suggestions about these events, and the player should not feel embarrassed to use them.

A character's allies do not reduce the Importance of their Ordeals, but they do lose Traits.

Obstacle Victory

When a character loses a Trial, he finds that his journey has become a little more complicated. The instigator of the Obstacle assigns him a Trait, and narrates how this Trait came about.

All the characters in an alliance gain Traits when they lose a Trial.