I'm having a lot of difficulty wrapping my head around the Rally Step and I could really use some advice on it. I'm not entirely clear how often it's intended to be used. It seems to be between each "act" correct? But am I intended to divide each session into 3 acts, or each "adventure"? And either way, most of the things that are supposed to be done or can be done during the Rally Step seem to be things that are only relevant when in "encounter mode" and if I'm only having a Rally Step at significant times once or maybe twice a session, it seems highly unlikely these times would ever happen *during* combat or some other situation that necessitates "encounter mode."

It seems like I must be missing something here... can someone help me out?

Its not 3 acts per session or adventure. You could have a three act episode (encounter or scene) or an episode consisting of any number of acts. Encounters and acts are usually fast in game world time but not necessarily. Session usually has several episodes or at least one.

For example my last game had an episode Kill the Troll. First act was entering the swamp which was played in story mode with some skill tests. Player characters gathered some stress from mosquitos and approached a muddy pond. Rally step. Players attemp to recover some stress for their characters. In Second act Troll suddenly appears from the pond. This is combat encounter. After taking fatigue, stress, and wounds PCs wound the troll critically. Troll retreats and dives in the pond. Rally step. In third act PCs leave the swamp and observe a beastman who is spying on them. End of an episode. Spotting the beastman triggers encounter with the beastman (players choise). One of the PCs shoot beastman with crossbow and wounds it. Beastman flees. Wounded PCs decide not to chase the beastman. PCs travel to the village and GM decides that they recover all their stress and fatigue.

As you see the rally steps are important. Without recovery the PCs in my last game may have not survived the Troll episode. I think that this mechanic is smooth and adds depth to the game.

fnord3125 said:

The three act structure is abstract in nature.

Lets say you have an adventure in three acts (like the one in the Tome of Adventure). Each of those acts could be divided into three acts, each combat or social encounter could be divided into three acts. It's not something scientific... it's just convinient and a good way to have a healthy pacing of your sessions.

Three acts is as simple as: beginning, middle and end.

Everything in the world can be divided into these parts. The interresting thing however is that when you start to think that way about your game mastering in general you'll eventually see the light and make sure to structure things according to this natural order.

A conversation for instance. How does it start? That's important, the first impressions etc., How does it progress and how does it end. If you think about your story in this sense, it's can be easier to focus and keep players interrested.

Combat for instance also benefit from a three act structure. It can be different waves of enemies that signify the split into acts. It can be the fact that the players baricade themselves in a house that signifies a new act. Whenever something changes, the setting, pacing, curcumstances etc. you can consider a new act starting and give the players a rally step. It all depends on the scope of course. In a detailed mode like a combat encounter it takes smaller changes to move to a new act that when you look at the entirety of an adventure.

But the concept of everything being divided into three parts is a healthy one:

1. The beginning

2. The middle (the uncovering, investigation, struggle etc.)

3. The end

Thug said:

I'm wondering what's the point of making characters take stress and fatigue if you are to make them recover it before the next encounter.

It's not like you would make a character fall unconscious from mosquito bites...

Silverwave said:

Why not?

The first act simulates harsh conditions in the swamp. For some characters it can be stressful. Rally step is there for a chance of recovery. like you said, they are just mosquitos. It also rewards characters with strong discipline who have better chance to recover. Moreover, that extra little stress may cause problems later on because it cumulates. Troll cause fear, uses vomit attack, and so on.

Those pesky swamp and mosquitoes certainly did cause some problems for those building the Panama canal, for example. Don't underestimate the power of the mosquito in felling characters.

Well, it's just seems like bookeeping to me. You make them throw bunch of dices, fool around with stress/fatigue tokens, then tell them to make other throws to remove some of them. I would rather have them facing bad conditions/mosquitos in smaller proportion then make them facing the Troll BEFORE rally step. Saves game time and less bookeeping.

Splitting a session/adventure/combat encounter/whatever into 3 acts isn't a concept that bothers me. I'm pretty sure I can handle that. I'm still a mite confused on just how often the I'm "supposed to" have a Rally Step. As Gallows said, I could split all my combat encounters into 3 acts. But should I really have 2 Rally Steps in every fight?

Gallows broke it down pretty well. Things to keep in mind are that the GM can break acts into sub-acts.

Let's use Thug's example as an example ...

He did:

Act 1: Swamp Navigation

(Rally)

Act 2: Troll Fight

(Rally)

Act 3: Beastman Spy

Now... this could also be broken down further, depending on what the GM has planned.

Act 1: Swamp Navigation

(Rally)

Act 2: Troll Fight

Act 2a: Panic! (Where swamp animals, fleeing Troll, charge into/past the players, for example)

(Rally)

Act 2b: Troll! (Troll appears and attacks)

(Rally)

Act 2c: Escape! (Troll knocks over some trees to delay PCs, while it escapes)

(Rally)

Act 3: Beastman Spy

The first way only has a single Rally Step after the Troll fight and before the Beastman, whereas the second option has two Rally Steps. Another option would be to put the Acts in an even higher "order".

Act 1: Get mission in town

(Rally)

Act 2: Swamp and Troll

(Rally)

Act 3: Beastman Spy

Entering the Swamp does not have to be a separate Act (from the Troll fight), and therefore not triggering a Rally Step.

It comes down to what the GM wants to do and handle it.

This is a great post and really helps to explain how the rally step/act thing works.

This kind of pacing is really important to consider because it affects mechanical things like first aid checks, which can occur one per act during an encounter, as well as in the rally step.

Therefore depending on the options offered by Dvang, the PCS have more or less opportunity to heal during their encounter with the troll.

Next time you go to a movie, especially an action movie, pay attention, this is a great illustration as to how this system is supposed to work. There will usually be the seen where they start out, normally accomplished in story mode or social encounter mode. Then there is the suspense before some action starts, then you have a flury of action, in WFRP this is usually the fight, where you build up wounds, stress, fatigue. Then something big that either resolves the immediate threat, or give the characters a pause (this is usually where the main protagonist and the comic reliefe or antagonist exchange some witty remarks), this is where a really step would fit in, sometimes its minutes long, or hours, sometimes its just a few seconds, or even less, but why rally steps are so loosey defined. Then after this either the action/conflict is resolved, or it resumes, this cycle repeats a few times, until they reach a point where, instead of just some witty remarks, some actual diaglogue takes place, and the plot advances, these are the times that you use story mode, to move the story along. Just remeber that when the good guy and the bad guy have a shoutting match, or are laying low exchanging the occasional poorly aimed bullet, this can be a social enouter sandwiched by combat, or it can be a rally step.

Final thoughts, the acts/rally, episode structure the game uses is really setup to mimick a play, or movie style experience, when planning out your adventures, this of it this way, if story your telling as the GM were a play, where the cast was allowed to improve, when would the seens ends, when would there be a soliliquy, scenerey changes, curtain falls, etc, these corralate directly to acts, sceens, and rally steps.