Adjudication 2 ~ The Will
Posted by Runeslinger on August 12, 2010 · 1 Comment
If you were running a game with a mechanic to represent Willpower or Resolve, and I am thinking specifically of Storyteller in this case, where the use of the trait allows the character to void GM fiat for a period of time (resist Frenzy, etc) how would you deal with a situation like the following:
A character has engaged in combat and been beaten to Incapacitated, and so is technically so injured that they cannot take actions.
- The player wants to spend Willpower to enable their character to crawl after their opponent, speaking words of defiance, for purely dramatic and character-based reasons (high willpower trait, unwilling to succumb or surrender, death-before-dishonour, etc.)
How would you rule on the character’s ability to move? Does WP trump a smashed and ruined body?
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Filed under Running Games, Technical Questions, WoD ad nauseum · Tagged with running games, World of Darkness
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Casting Shadows 
In general I would allow good drama to trump absolute game mechanics. In the scenario you describe, the player-character gains no measurable unfair advantage from their actions, this is the sort of thing we see in movies/TV and it doesn’t undermine the group’s suspension of disbelief, so why not?
In other situations it may actually be more dramatic to have the player-character knocked completely cold, to heighten the tension, to make the other PCs in the party worry that their friend may be dead, and so forth.
If I were running NWoD and I was sitting on the fence as to whether a player-character should be able to act in spite of their mangled body, I would tell the player to spend a Willpower point for the opportunity to roll Stamina + Resolve, success allowing the player-character their desired action.