When a player uses advantage to pass a boost die to another player, must they choose then and there which player to pass it to?

I've been reading some good examples of GMs encouraging players to describe WHY the other character gets a boost, and I think that's a great idea.

In our last game I wasn't sure if the player could hold on to the die and pass it to somebody based on the situation or if they should say right then and there who they're passing it to.

Thoughts?

I have my players choose to pass it to any player, but that player who receives the boost die still chooses which slot in which to act. As you mention, I also have the player creating the boost kind of narrate why that player gets it "he was standing closest to me and was able to benefit from my miss as I told him "shoot high!"

I don't allow them to hold it and wait for the best situation. The characters actions happened then so the resolution of their actions happen then as well.

Depends on how much advantage is spent to gain that Boost die.

If it's the 1 Advantage option, then it's simply "next ally to act," which can even include yourself if you were the last person on your side to act in the round that generated that Boost die, but the first PC to act in the following round.

If it's the 2 Advantage, you do kinda have to specify which ally gets the Boost die when its generated, but as mrvander noted it has to be on their next action, so it's a "use it or lose it" proposition.

I think the jury's still out on being able to generate multiple Boost dice on a single roll, such as spending 6 Advantage to provide a Boost die to three allies (one of whom can be yourself). I allowed it in the games I've run, but I think that one's up to the individual GM to determine.

Conversely, sometimes if they opt for a "boost die" I will allow them to give a boost die "to the next person to attack X bad guy."

For example, they roll 2 advantage during an attack against the bartender.

The player may opt to say, " my blaster hits him in the chest, knocking the wind out of him and causing him to stand up, making him easier for the next attack."

But I don't limit their options.

Conversely, sometimes if they opt for a "boost die" I will allow them to give a boost die "to the next person to attack X bad guy."

This, or "the next person to attempt X skill check." IMO it shouldn't be relegated to a distinct player, but rather "the player of your choice," who just might be "whoever goes next."

Therefore, 3 advantage could be used to give 2 Boost dice to "the next player to act." But I don't think I'd allow any more than that, even for lots of advantage. I'd tell my players to be more creative, and think outside the Boost die

Having had kidney stones before, passing a boost die sounds really painful.

But no, in all seriousness, the advice above is pretty solid. The book (and GM screen) do a good job of calling out the difference between 1 and 2 Advantage when granting boost dice to checks, and Away's suggestion about applying to the "next X check" is a good one that I'd allow as a GM, too.

our group metagames a little bit when it comes to passing a boost die.

They sorta plan who is going next and typically pass the boost die to them. Or, if they know two more actions are required they'll plan ahead and give the boost die based on the situation, (like, "the next player is going to do an astrogations check, then after that we're doing a pilot check, so pass the boost die to the pilot, since the astrogation guy might give him a boost, too")

our group metagames a little bit when it comes to passing a boost die.

They sorta plan who is going next and typically pass the boost die to them. Or, if they know two more actions are required they'll plan ahead and give the boost die based on the situation, (like, "the next player is going to do an astrogations check, then after that we're doing a pilot check, so pass the boost die to the pilot, since the astrogation guy might give him a boost, too")

our group metagames a little bit when it comes to passing a boost die.

They sorta plan who is going next and typically pass the boost die to them. Or, if they know two more actions are required they'll plan ahead and give the boost die based on the situation, (like, "the next player is going to do an astrogations check, then after that we're doing a pilot check, so pass the boost die to the pilot, since the astrogation guy might give him a boost, too")

I like that, in a narrative system like this, examples like the above are totally okay. In earlier d20 editions, it would've been called metagaming cheese. In this system, it's just being strategically narrative.

Yeah, in a game where you can determine initiative on-the-fly, that's practically the definition of metagaming. How else would you decide who to go next without considering the gameplay importance of it.

our group metagames a little bit when it comes to passing a boost die.

They sorta plan who is going next and typically pass the boost die to them. Or, if they know two more actions are required they'll plan ahead and give the boost die based on the situation, (like, "the next player is going to do an astrogations check, then after that we're doing a pilot check, so pass the boost die to the pilot, since the astrogation guy might give him a boost, too")

I like that, in a narrative system like this, examples like the above are totally okay. In earlier d20 editions, it would've been called metagaming cheese. In this system, it's just being strategically narrative.

Yeah, in a game where you can determine initiative on-the-fly, that's practically the definition of metagaming. How else would you decide who to go next without considering the gameplay importance of it.

Or the narrative importance of it. For example, you corner a crime lord to try and petition his help, but he doesn't take kindly to the unannounced arrival and tells his minions to take care of you. This situation really obviously calls for diplomacy to be tried first, because you stand to benefit from the crime lord's help. But he's currently hostile, and so the GM calls for initiative checks.

in d20 with your initiative scores, you'd have your first player up and he's the heavy hitter, But the heavy hitter has crappy Charisma and no trained social skills. And he has no idea what to do to contribute to the scene. Everyone else has a great idea, but he doesn't, but he feels like he has to do SOMETHING because it's his turn, so he's like "Uhhh I throw a grenade."

Rather than the Noble who really wanted to go first and try to intimidate the bad guys, or the Scoundrel who wanted to try and deceive the crime lord into thinking they actually had an appointment with him.

I know there's the Delay mechanic in most d20 games, but really, how many players do you know that have EVER delayed an action? I can count them on one hand, myself.

The passing of the boost die represents a narrative act that gives a mechanical bonus. Another words, that boost die represents an action the player chooses to take or a result he gets from an action that benefits someone else. Hence, it should be a case by case thing and not a flat "you must choose first" or "you can pass to anyone" because its a narrative thing, not a mechanical thing. Its just represented mechanically but the effect is actually formed in the narrative.. in the story

The book does say "Add blue to the next allied active characters check" which suggest the next person that take initiative but as a narrative game, it may not make any sense to pass a boost die to someone that you cannot somehow assist.

So I would say the rule of thumb when handling boost dice is, if it makes story sense, then it makes sense to pass it, otherwise I would say either someone else takes it who can take advantage of the resulting narrative situation or its lost, aka, the opportunity passed because no one acted in time to take advantage of it.

So .. don't make it a fast, hard rule.. its meant to be a dynamic thing.

The passing of the boost die represents a narrative act that gives a mechanical bonus. Another words, that boost die represents an action the player chooses to take or a result he gets from an action that benefits someone else. Hence, it should be a case by case thing and not a flat "you must choose first" or "you can pass to anyone" because its a narrative thing, not a mechanical thing. Its just represented mechanically but the effect is actually formed in the narrative.. in the story

The book does say "Add blue to the next allied active characters check" which suggest the next person that take initiative but as a narrative game, it may not make any sense to pass a boost die to someone that you cannot somehow assist.

So I would say the rule of thumb when handling boost dice is, if it makes story sense, then it makes sense to pass it, otherwise I would say either someone else takes it who can take advantage of the resulting narrative situation or its lost, aka, the opportunity passed because no one acted in time to take advantage of it.

So .. don't make it a fast, hard rule.. its meant to be a dynamic thing.

This came up in the game I ran last night. The table was having such a great time that I didn't bother to speedbump play, but at one point I noticed that advantage started being spent on boost die in a purely gamist/mechanical fashion, and not really tying into the narrative. I'm going to bring that up next session and see if I can encourage a little more interesting use of advantage in that manner, but this thread has been good to read. I'm sort of on the fence about how to handle that.

I just read the titile of this thread and my first thought was 'that sounds painful but not as bad as passing a gall stone"