Thus Spake Zaraborgstrom/ForceDecision
rebeccaborgstrom - 11/18/2003 05:20:16
Personally, I figure that they can make you decide anything. They can't make you stick by that decision, though---it's a roleplaying matter when the victim wakes up and says, 'no, that's dumb,' and that depends on the nature of the choice. In some cases, the realization may occur in the same instant---
ECLIPSE: "I'm being attacked by a four-person Wyld Hunt, and I'm not dressed!"
SIDEREAL #1: "You'd better invoke Armored Scout's Invigoration in case you manage to get to your armor!"
ECLIPSE: "That's right! I'd better invoke Armored Scout's Invigoration in case I manage to get to my armor! Or possibly Dipping Swallow Defense!"
SIDEREAL #2: "No, you don't want to activate Dipping Swallow Defense."
ECLIPSE: "Do you think I should skip straight to Flow Like Blood?"
SIDEREAL #3: "No! You want to invoke Armored Scout's Invigoration!"
ECLIPSE: ". . . wow. How many Sidereals are *on* this Wyld Hunt? I'm invoking Avoidance Kata, damn it."
SIDEREAL #1: "I hate Eclipses."
SIDEREAL #2: "What Eclipse?"
SIDEREAL #1: "You don't want to tease me right now."
SIDEREAL #2: "I don't want to tease you right now---HEY! You don't want to Force my Decisions any more!"
SIDEREAL #1: "You're . . . HEY! I attack you!"
SIDEREAL #2: "I'm not here!"
SIDEREAL #1: "Me either!"
SIDEREAL #3: "Heck with this. I left last WEEK."
DRAGON-BLOODED: ". . . how odd. I appear to have . . . randomly wandered into an empty Anathema tent. . . . No doubt she was too terrified to face me, even though I came alone. . . . Er, booya!"
**
In other cases, though, the decision can stick a long time.
ECLIPSE: "I'm being attacked by a one-person Wyld Hunt!"
SIDEREAL #1: "Er, I'm not a Wyld Hunt, I'm just here to give you some useful advice."
ECLIPSE: "Oh. Well, fine. You have what's left of two minutes to make your case."
SIDEREAL #1: "I'm a Sidereal Chosen of Venus, and I'm here to tell you about your destined love interest, who is imprisoned in a cage of ice in the Mask of Winters' living room."
ECLIPSE: "Hm! I *do* want to follow the plot, but I don't want to follow Sidereal advice. A dilemma!"
SIDEREAL #1: "You want to go get your destined beloved."
ECLIPSE: "I want to go get my destined beloved! It's not like a puny Sidereal can get me into any real trouble ANYWAY."
SIDEREAL #1: "Yeah!"
ECLIPSE: "Yeah! They're useless wimps!"
SIDEREAL #1: "Yeah!"
ECLIPSE: "Am I naked in this scenario too?"
SIDEREAL #1: "Yeah."
ECLIPSE: "How embarrassing! I'm not here."
SIDEREAL #1: "Damn it, I've been tracking that Eclipse for *NINE DAYS*, and she's not even here."
ECLIPSE: "Actually, I'm hiding under the bed, where I rolled when you came in."
SIDEREAL #1: "Oh. Well, good. Then, er, consider my advice as given."
ECLIPSE: "I don't know if it actually happened. I mean, technically. Maybe you could advise me again?"
SIDEREAL #2: "I'm not here!"
SIDEREAL #1: "Who was that?"
ECLIPSE: "I don't remember."
Rebecca
Kasumi - 11/18/2003 06:18:15
So in the less comedic example I was originally tossing about, you could Force the die-hard Paragon-lover to decide to leave, but he'd have a chance to snap out of it when he went to pack his bag, then again when he went to walk out the door, again at the city gates...
...essentially necessitating the Sidereal to repeatedly
Force him out of the city like some demented Exalted
version of hackey sack? ^_^
rebeccaborgstrom - 11/18/2003 06:54:58
Pretty much, yup.
Some people make decisions quickly and don't revisit them, out of efficiency or pride. These are most vulnerable. The indecisive wafflers are the least vulnerable.
The Paragon-lover probably revisits the decision whenever confronting something that reminds them of their love for the city. Or, depending on personality, on packing the bag, reaching the gates, etcetera. If they're proud, or driven by a temporary tragedy, or don't believe in changing their mind, then maybe they leave. Otherwise, it's hackey-sack.
In combat, I suspect that sufficiently stupid decisions are instantly revisited, but that reasonably valid tactical choices---ones that don't jump out of the context of your thoughts---are forcable. In other words, your brain is going to discard the choice to invoke Armored Scout's Invigoration at random, whether you've been Forced into it or just randomly toyed with the notion.
Rebecca
rebeccaborgstrom - 11/18/2003 06:13:21
Hm!
You can in fact Combo Force Decision and Harmony of Blows, but I'm not sure it's legal to invoke the resulting Combo. You'd have to use Force Decision with both extra actions, but Force Decision is not an attack action using Archery, Brawl, Melee, or Thrown, so you can't.
Combos with Harmony of Blows really need to pick their simple/supplemental Charm set from exactly one of Archery, Brawl, Melee, or Thrown.
Rebecca
Note: You only have to activate charms that are legal to use when you activate a combo. In the example above both extra actions are incompatable with force decision and it may not be activated for them.
