I’m almost sure about this, just asking for a double-check.
You target number for all tests always includes your Drive value, right?
I mean whether the drive statement agrees with the current action or clashing with your action, and whether you comply with the clashing statement or challenge your drive, or whether you use a drive without statement - does not matter, the chosen Drive value will always be added to your Skill value for target number.
Just asking because in some specific cases, it is re-emphasised in the book (e.g. p.146 - ‘If
you challenge the drive, you can use it in the skill test’), but in other cases, it is not repeated.
I see one semi-exception: the wording mentions that if your dirve statement clashes with your actions, and you comply with your drive, you gain an immediate complication - ‘which could include being unable to carry out the action’. So, in some cases, you may skip the test altogether and fail with the planned action, but at least you gained a Determinaton.
Is this how you understand, too?
Yup, a target number is always made up of Drive + Skill.
If you challenge a drive or the like you might either be forced to use a different drive, give up on the action or take a complication to use the one you first went for, but the roll will still be Drive + Skill in the end.
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Perfect, thank you, Andy!
Additional, somewhat related question.
Reading through the section on Drives again, I have a feeling that I was using statement wrong. It now seems to be that
- Drives with a statement can only be used in a way that the statement supports that drive or clashes with it (choosing challenge/comply). You cannot use such a drive in a ‘neutral’ mode. If the statement looks simply irrelevant for the current action, it counts as clashing, and you must comply or challenge (or use a different Drive).
- Only Drives without a statement can be used ‘neutral’ (no possibility for Determination spend but no Determination gain either).
Is that right? Previously, I allowed ‘neutral’ use of a drive with a statement as well, if the statement did not seem to be relevant for the current action (not especially supporting the action, but not really hindering either).
Yup, that looks correct.
Basically, using a drive when it makessense generally but the statement doesn’t match represents a minor conflict in the attitudes of the character. So you can still use it but you suffer a complication as they are thrown a little sideways.
The lower drives generally represent ‘I’m not really invested in this/its not that important to me’ in terms of a test. So you use their numbers but the specifics of the drive itself isn’t really important in the test.
One other note I’d add is it is worth making each player pick a drive at the start of the adventure for the reason they are on the mission. This can then be a reasonable ‘default drive’ for anything that they need to do as part of that mission that doesn’t really seem important - like picking a random lock for instance.
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Great, thanks!
And, indeed, the ‘what’s your generic fall-back drive for this adventure’ method worked great for me, too.