I was looking at Insanity. Your insanity can go away at the end of an encounter. Fatigue goes away at the end of an act. WTH is the difference?

jh

Here's the entry for the expanded index:

time, game
- Episode
- Act
- Encounter
- Turn
- Phase, beginning of turn
- Phase, end of turn
- combat step

Emirikol said:

Encounter is the short time, thats normally battles.

An Act is in WHFRP probably meant as an Scene, but we trake it as act's. And an act would be normally in three parts pr. session, the beginning, middle and the end of it.
But if we take them as scenes - they become variable: It can be the part you are gambeling in Skulls Den, but when you get thrown out and hear about the Blood Gang in the sewers, is a new scene, and crawling around in the sewers until you find the Blood Gang is another scene and etc.

Yes. Encounter is a relatively small amount on (game)time that (I think) can be summed up with "that was that" after it has happened. It can be a combat, talking with an NPC, weeks of long travel that's skipped in narrative mode etc. No matter what anyone says I think that the vagueness of measurements in WFRP3 is a great tool for GMs. It gives you the possibility to concentrate on what's important for the game and not what's important from the point of rules.

The game refers to Story mode as action taking place when "zoomed out", while encounter mode is action taking place while "zoomed in." Significant events during encounter mode are often presented as episodes, made up of connected scenes. So the way I read it is encounter (normally) = episode. Episodes are made up of Acts, with the 3 Act structure being the recommended structure, although you are not limited to it. So a combat encounter would need to be split into 3 parts with Rally Steps in between to qualify as an ideal episode. This is the structure used in the demo. Most of us are used to running a combat encounter as a single event, so this change in structure is something of an adjustment.

For example, the PCs get into a fight with someone in a bar. Normally, we would think of this as just a single scene; however, in the new structure it might be more appropriate to have Act 1 be the PCs start a fight with an NPC or group of NPCs. Initiative is rolled and a single round of combat is fought. The barkeep yells at them to stop, but the characters pay no heed. A second round of combat takes place, then the other patrons start making motions to join the fray on one side or the other. Rally Step. Act 2 then starts with additional NPCs becoming involved in the fight. Another round or two of combat takes place while the barkeep or another staff person goes to summon the watch. A group of Watchmen show up and order everyone to cease and desist. Rally Step. Now Act 3 begins after the PCs decide how to react to the arrival of the Watchmen. If they quit fighting, the Watch proceeds to question everyone, which can be run as a social encounter as the PCs try to talk/bribe their way out of spending the night in jail. If they continue fighting, the Watchmen become embroiled in the fight as well. In this case, the episode ends when the fight ends, but with the more likely result of the PCs being carted off to jail. Depending on how things turn out, this could lead to an episode where the PCs have to try to break out of jail or escape from the Watchmen on the way to it. Or it could back out into Story mode if the PCs successfully avoided getting arrested.

Again, all encounters don't have to be done in the three Act structure and the ToA says that not all events that occur in encounter mode must be part of an episode with individual Acts. It notes that actions can be resolved in encounter mode in a single scene or even in Story mode, but clearly the designers spend a lot of time selling the three Act approach and it's largely (IMO) just an excuse to have Rally Steps.The accumulation of Stress and Fatigue quickly puts the PCs at risk for Insanity and/or passing out. Without the three Act structure and Rally Steps to recover Stress and Fatigue, the PCs options for maneuvers in an encounter become limited since they will quickly reach the point where they won't be able to take additional maneuvers beyond their one free maneuver each turn.

Anybody got some page references that define what an encounter is? Act, scene too please..

jh

Emirikol said:

Have you checked out the 'A Day Late, A Shilling Short' sample adventure on this site? The layout there might help you visualise what Acts and Episodes etc are.

Oh, I know the difference. I'm just working on the index, so I need actual references to all the terms used in the game. Since "until the end of the encounter" or "until the end of the act" and "Until the end of the episode" are referenced specifically as game terms and parameters for rules/actions/talents, there probably ought to be a definition of some kind in the FAQ as "guidance for a GM." It doesn't need to be rigid..we're not playing D&D afterall

I've found some other fun inconsistencies in the rules that only a moron could confuse, but are nonetheless leftovers from a weak editing process:

party tension meter = party friction meter

talent sockets = talent slots

checks = tests

character development (FAQ) = advancement (Core) = character improvement (Core and FAQ?)

encounter = or /= act

party sheet = party card

career card /= career sheet

distressed /= stress /= having some stress

fatigue /= fatigueD /= having some fatigue

adversary dice = A/C/E budget

passing out = exhausted, passing out = unconscious, BUT exhausted /= unconscious /=KO'd, BUT KO'd = unconscious from taking wounds

character rank = rank (just rank)

Sigmar's Comet symbol (indexed) = comet symbol (not indexed)

soak + Tou + shield soak = Total Soak (T.S.) (Not yet coined, just assumed..don't use Damage Reduction (D.R.) unless you want a headache with DR because Damage Rating is DR

soak = soak value = armour soak /= "soak from toughness"

Special Ability = a whole bunch of things that do not equal each other

passive talent = inexhaustable [talent]

damage SOMETIMES equals wound(s)

Some of them are just adjectives, others may genuinely confuse a newcomer.

jh

Nice list.

As an Arkham devotee (and dabbled in Descent) I see far too much of the sloppy editing and proofing.