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Host Overruling

The Host always has the power to overrule things like Assertions of Reality. The problem is, you don’t want to do this unless you absolutely have to, since it ticks off the players and discourages them from doing what they’re supposed to do.

Overruling really should be thought of in two forms. First, there is the straight overrule, in which you simply deny a player. You need at least a little explanation, but keep it quick and to the point. Start by offering more chances: “That really doesn’t make sense, you know; you want to try again?” Check to be sure that the other players agree with you—if they seem to think you’re in the wrong, don’t overrule, but try to figure out how you’re miscommunicating, because you are. If most people seem to agree with you, offer more chances. In the end, if the player sticks to, “No, but that’s my Assertion!” or, “No, I know I have a lot of Concessions, but I kill him anyway and my Concessions are that I take some minuses for a while, I get to do that, ‘cause I can Concede anything I want!” then overrule. “All right, forget it then. Here’s what happens.”

Then there’s the other kind of overrule, which happens when a player does something perfectly reasonable, appropriate, or even cool—but which will break your game. Stop and think. Hold up your hand and say, “Hang on, I have to think a second.” Ask yourself:

• Will it really break your game? Is there no way out?
• Are you really damn sure you can’t finesse it, or bend later events?
• Can’t you put that whole plot that’s being blown into another set of NPCs?
• Are you really, really sure?

If you still want to overrule, count to 10, then go through the list again.

If you still want to overrule, do it. There are two ways to go about it:

First, you can play a Trump and make it go from there. In a lot of cases, Trumping will get rid of the problem, because you get the Scene or the NPC or whatever back. If you can make this work, that’s a good way out. Consider telling the player that you’re doing this because she’s cold-cocked you.

Second, you can beg. Throw yourself on the players’ mercy, tell them they’ve out-cooled you, and tell them that this is going to break the game. You don’t need to tell them why. Ask them if (1) they can think of another option, or (2) would like to reward the player with a card. Take it from there. You could also try proposing your own possible solution, and see if they’ll buy it. If you’re going to beg, beg. Make a big fuss about tearing up your notes or screaming “Aaaaaagh!” or whatever. Make sure the players understand that you’re not punishing them for having done everything right: they have beaten you, and they should know it.

Once again, the best solution is not to overrule—bend the plot.

{Bidding on Scenes and NPCs <--> Character Advancement}

-- ChrisLehrich^? - 24 Dec 2004

This page is linked to by: SitfAdvancement, SitfDesignParametersANoteOnSecrets, SitfNarrativeBiddingOnScenesAndNPCs,