When du you make your players roll Cool and when do you let them roll Discipline against Fear effects?

Do you stick with one, vary, let them choose themselves all the time or depending on the situation?

I would let my players choose the one that makes sense to them and their characters in a given situation.

I could even see myself awarding 1 xp, in some situations, for choosing the one they are baddest at for rp reasons.

Example: My upcomming Big Game Hunter is a huge monster fan-boy with only G in Discipline, but GGY in Cool.

He would love to meet(and eat) as many big beasts as possible, so if the group encounter a huge monster-like creature and the gm asks for a fear check.

Should he be able to choose between Cool and Discipline, get blue dice or not have to roll at all in that situation you think?

The character was once swallowed by a huge sea-creature and could therefore have claustrophobia(except space ships) and maybe a fear of darkness.

In closed space situations the character might have to roll Discipline, maybe even if others don`t even need to roll against Fear at all, or even just take fear effects automatically.

What do you guys think? It`s up to the gm in every given game of course:)

With straight-up Fear effects I always go with Discipline. I feel that skill best represents the inner fortitude required to withstand the kind of direct terror that would require you to make a Fear check in the first place.

Cool I use when it's important for a character to keep their head straight in a tense and dangerous situation (but not one that calls for a Fear check). Examples of situations I've used in my campaign is trying to defuse an explosive device liable to go off at any moment, and two swoops racing neck-to-neck against an opening that's precisely one swoop wide.

I agree with Krieger22. Discipline to me seems to be the ability to "keep it all together", while Cool is "yeah, we bad."

I see your points and I kind of agree. But I also feel the Fear rules are more open than that. The RAW say that it isn`t necessary if you are afraid or not, but if how you react to being afraid, if you can keep cool while you are afraid and so on. Both Discipline and Cool are mentioned in the Fear rules... That being said, the rules also say Fear shouldn`t be overused and not rolled when characters encounter things and situations they are used to or have encountered before, so I guess in the Big Game Hunter example, the character wouldn`t necessary have to roll at all when facing off with a creature he is really exighted about meeting in the first place.

This got pointed out by one of my players a while back, that Cool was listed as a skill that could be used to resist Fear checks.

However, the rules carry the caveat that Cool can only be employed when the PC know about the source of the Fear check ahead of time. For instance, if the PCs know they're going to have to tangle with a Rancor to get out of a crime lord's private dungeon, they can use Cool to keep it together when it comes time to face the beastie.

Obviously it's your game, but bear in mind that Cool is already a useful skill, being used to opposed Charm checks and for initiative checks when the PCs get the drop on the bad guys. If you're not a Force user, then Discipline generally isn't that useful in comparison.

However, the rules carry the caveat that Cool can only be employed when the PC know about the source of the Fear check ahead of time.

I just read through the Fear rules again and I didn`t see that. I know that is a thing with initiative, but I couldn`t see it under the Fear rules.

It says that Fear is about the character`s ability to act in the face of fear, not necessarily the level of fear the character may feel. I would say cool makes a lot of sense here, keeping your gead cool while being afraid.

You can use cool to oppose charm even if you are not prepared for it, so I think you would be able to use cool against Fear too, even if you aren`t prepeared.

I would let it depend on the situation and how the player roleplays it and what would fit the character in that situation.

I appreciate hearing other takes on it, so keep it comming:)

Cool is mainly used to resist giving into your own desires. Examples include not going for your gun too soon in a duel, not springing the ambush too soon just because you have "the perfect shot" and ruining it for your team, not giving into that charmer with the gorgeous smile, not impulse buying that "great deal" that's available for a limited time only.

Discipline, otoh is used to resist things that impose things onto you that are not what you really want to do, whether through orders, lies, coercion/fear, or similar.

I'm more inclined to go with Discipline in most cases, but if a person were to make a good argument I could see using Cool.

The Confidence talent lets you decrease the difficulty of Discipline checks against fear. That kinda says to me it should be a Discipline check.

The Confidence talent lets you decrease the difficulty of Discipline checks against fear. That kinda says to me it should be a Discipline check.

And usually it should be. But then ranged light should usually be used with agility. But if I wanted to recognize a gun it would be Intelligence plus ranged light. Or possibly trying to be intimidating might be presence and ranged light. This system is very flexible. So don't be too rigid with what skills are used how. Look at the circumstances and how the player is trying to accomplish something then decide how to build the dice pool. In some situations cool is the right skill for a fear check. Usually it is discipline.

Cool is mainly used to resist giving into your own desires. Examples include not going for your gun too soon in a duel, not springing the ambush too soon just because you have "the perfect shot" and ruining it for your team, not giving into that charmer with the gorgeous smile, not impulse buying that "great deal" that's available for a limited time only..

.. not giving into your fear?

Cool is mainly used to resist giving into your own desires. Examples include not going for your gun too soon in a duel, not springing the ambush too soon just because you have "the perfect shot" and ruining it for your team, not giving into that charmer with the gorgeous smile, not impulse buying that "great deal" that's available for a limited time only..

.. not giving into your fear?

Does giving into your fear really seem like something you want to do? Try taking the "not" out and then work it into the samples I gave.

Cool is mainly used to resist giving into your own desires. Examples include not going for your gun too soon in a duel, not springing the ambush too soon just because you have "the perfect shot" and ruining it for your team, not giving into that charmer with the gorgeous smile, not impulse buying that "great deal" that's available for a limited time only..

.. not giving into your fear?

Does giving into your fear really seem like something you want to do? Try taking the "not" out and then work it into the samples I gave.

No, not more than any of the other examples you gave. Keeping your head cool seems just as relevant to me. I would use Discipline against Coercion and threats, but Fear and Coercion are not the same , but easily confused and mixed up with eachother. Sure I would use Discipline in some Fear situations, but I would use Cool in others(like the Fear rules, page 298 of the CRB , suggest) and sometimes I`d let the player decide or even argue that his character shouldn`t have to even roll.

However, the rules carry the caveat that Cool can only be employed when the PC know about the source of the Fear check ahead of time.

I just read through the Fear rules again and I didn`t see that. I know that is a thing with initiative, but I couldn`t see it under the Fear rules.

It says that Fear is about the character`s ability to act in the face of fear, not necessarily the level of fear the character may feel. I would say cool makes a lot of sense here, keeping your gead cool while being afraid.

You can use cool to oppose charm even if you are not prepared for it, so I think you would be able to use cool against Fear too, even if you aren`t prepeared.

I would let it depend on the situation and how the player roleplays it and what would fit the character in that situation.

I appreciate hearing other takes on it, so keep it comming:)

Edit: The last paragraph of When To Make a Fear Check(Page 298 and 299 of the CRB) says that most often Fear is countered by Discipline, but if the character has had time to prepare or are not surprised, the GM may allow the character to use Cool instead... Sooo, I guess that settles it then. My bad:p