Another look at the Strategicon HotBlooded Larp from 

paintscribe.

I just finished the last section in Blood & Tears, the Houses of the Blooded larp rules.

I’ll be posting them up on the HotB website for everyone to check out.

And soon, very soon, we shall have a little booklet and pdf to purchase! 

 (see this post for context)

Style Suggestions & Challenges

There are really two ways to spend Style. The first is a suggestion. This is me offering you one Style to say, “Didn’t we face each other in a duel two years ago?” This is an out-of-character suggestion. This is one player suggesting to another player a possible addition to the play environment or their characters’ collective pasts.

A challenge occurs when two characters come into conflict. When my character tries to convince yours that he’s telling the truth or when your character tries to pick my character’s pocket or when my character tris to intimidate your character into helping him. These are in-character conflicts.

Out-of-character suggestions cannot be escalated to challenges.

In-character conflicts can be escalated to challenges.

In the tabletop game, players settle their scores with risks. Here, in Blood & Tears, we settle things with challenges. There really aren’t any dice or playing cards or any other random number generators. Nope. What we’ve got is spending Style.

The key to the Parlor Game is Style. If you want something to happen in the game, spend a Style and it happens. Want to add a secret door to the room you are in? Spend a Style. Want to say Lord Willford is your uncle? Spend a Style. Jump across rooftops or pick a lock? Spend a Style.

Spending a single Style gets you what you want, regardless of what it may be.

If you modify any existing character or object in the game with a Style Point, you must give the owner of that character or object the Style Point. If he accepts your suggestion, he gets the Style. If he doesn’t, you can either submit or take your Style back or you can issue a challenge. Let’s go through it, step-by-step.

Rule Zero: No Roleplay, No Style

First, an important rule. In fact, it may be the most important rule.

You cannot use Style to replace roleplaying. In other words, if you want to convince another player to act against his better interests, you cannot simply offer Style and be done with it.

If you don’t roleplay a contest, you cannot spend Style.

Let me say that again in bold and italics.

If you don’t roleplay a contest, you cannot spend Style.

If another player tries to give you Style without making an effort to roleplay the reason for spending the Style, you may ignore the entire contest. I give you permission. Now, on to the system.

Step 1: “Is it True?”

First, remember Rule Zero.

Next, if you want to say something is true in the game—that you and another character were once lovers in a younger and more innocent age, that a secret panel exists in the wall, that a library contains a particular book—offer a Style to the appropriate player, explain your suggestion and ask, “Is it true?”

You may offer as much Style as you want: one, two, three, fifteen. Offer all the Style you want.

If your target says, “Yes,” give him the Style you offered and your request is fulfilled.

If your target says, “No,” you have three choices. You can persist, desist or insist.

·        If you persist, you simply offer them more Style, upping your original offer. If your target says, “Yes,” the contest is over.

·        If you desist, you give up the attempt and put your Style pack in your pocket or pouch. The target has said “No” and that’s enough. The contest is done.

·        If you insist, move on to Step 2.

Step 2: “But, I Insist…”

This is where you step up the game. Your target has refused a friendly offer of Style. We now move from Friendly Game to Cut-Throat Game… but only for a moment.

As soon as you say, “But I insist…” any Style spent by any player involved in the contest is lost. No player gets any Style after “But I insist…” is invoked.

The acting player (the one who started the challenge) and the reacting player (the one the challenge is about) both spend Style as they wish. You can wait to see how much Style your opponent is willing to spend to outbid him or you can make an offer of your own.

Whoever spends the most Style has privilege (as per the core game) and may narrate the outcome of the challenge.

Again: all Style spent after players invoke “But I instist…” is lost.

Contest Examples

Desist

I am playing Tomas Yvarai—an infamous rake from ven literature—and Jess is playing “the only honest ven in Shanri.” Jess confronts me about a plot to defame his beloved wife. We roleplay the scene. I insist I had nothing to do with any such plot, but Jess does not look very convinced. I offer Jess a Style: “Is it true that you believe me?”

Jess looks at the Style. “I do not,” he says.

I nod. “Very well,” and put away my Style, not wishing to take the issue any further. If Jess does not believe me, then he does not believe me.

Persist

I am playing Tomas Yvarai—an infamous rake from ven literature—and Jess is playing “the only honest ven in Shanri.” Jess confronts me about a plot to defame his beloved wife. We roleplay the scene. I insist I had nothing to do with any such plot, but Jess does not look very convinced. I offer Jess a Style: “Is it true that you believe me?”

Jess looks at the Style. “I do not,” he says.

Jess has refused, so I persist. I offer another Style—two now. “Are you sure, sir?”

Jess shakes his head.  “I am sure. You have not convinced me.”

I continue to persist. I offer two more Style for a total of four. “Are you sure, sir?”

Jess looks at the Style and nods. “Yes, I have been convinced. You are telling the truth.” Jess accepts the Style and his character believes what I have told him regarding his wife and my part in the plot to humiliate her.

Insist

I am playing Tomas Yvarai—an infamous rake from ven literature—and Jess is playing “the only honest ven in Shanri.” Jess confronts me about a plot to defame his beloved wife. We roleplay the scene. I insist I had nothing to do with any such plot, but Jess does not look very convinced. I offer Jess a Style: “Is it true that you believe me?”

Jess looks at the Style. “I do not,” he says.

Jess has refused, so I persist. I offer another Style—two now. “Are you sure, sir?”

Jess shakes his head.  “I am sure. You have not convinced me.”

I continue to persist. I offer two more Style for a total of four. “Are you sure, sir?”

Jess crosses his arms. “I am unimpressed,” he says.

Okay, I’ve gone through all the offers of Style I’m going to make. Now, I can either desist and give up—leaving Jess’s character unimpressed with my argument—or I can insist and turn this into a real contest.

“But, sir, I insist,” I tell him.

Jess nods—understanding what is about to happen—and we both get our Style together. After this point, any Style Jess and I use to win the contest is lost: we give it to a Narrator.

I put up one Style. Jess puts up two. I put up three. Jess puts up four. I look at my remaining Style and determine I don’t want to spend five, so I say, “Enough.”

Because Jess spent the most Style, he gets privilege and can say whether or not he believes Tomas. Because Jess is Jess, rather than saying “Yes” or “No,” he says, “Tomas’ lies are a bit too clever and I cannot decide whether or not I believe him.”