Blooded of the Falcon rejoice! I have made your Virtue cool! Take a look below and check it out.
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Before any ven can take an action that may cause serious physical injury or death, he must first make a Courage risk. Jumping across rooftops, challenging a superior swordsman to a duel, or even flirting with your enemy’s wife. Danger. Injury. Death. Risk.
Most Courage risks are simple risks. The only thing you are competing against is your own fear. Target number 10.
FAILURE
If you fail the Courage risk, a couple different things happen.
First, if the dangerous action you are about to undertake is not a risk, but an action (no dice rolled), you must spend a style point to perform the action. You have to overcome your fear.
Second, if the dangerous action you are about to undertake is a risk, you lose two dice from your pool. Your fear influences your actions.
SUCCESS
If you succeed the Courage risk, a couple different things happen.
First, if the dangerous action you are about to undertake is not a risk, but an action (no dice rolled), you convert your wagers into style (two wagers per style, remember). This represents the panache with which you perform the dangerous action in question.
Second, if the dangerous action you are about to undertake is a risk, every wager you make adds an additional die to your dangerous risk. If you cannot use your wagers in the subsequent action, you can convert your wagers into style as usual.
For example, Shara’s been insulted by Duke Rinheld, a known swordsman of great skill and little mercy. She has a choice. She can accept the insult or challenge the man to a duel. The GM tells me doing so requires a Courage risk.
Shara’s Courage is 3. I get three dice to roll against a 10. I look at Shara’s aspects and find nothing to help me. I get three dice.
Roll. 3, 2, 2. A total of 7.Because Shara’s next action—challenging a superior swordsman to a duel—is not a risk, but an action, I have to spend a style point to do it. I can opt not to spend the style point and let Shara back down, or I can spend the style point and have Shara slap the Duke’s face.
I decide to spend the style point. Shara has to overcome her fear. That costs her a little. Even if it is a little bit of style.
Another example.
Shara’s been cornered by a jealous Lady Talza. Lady Talza’s swordsman stands behind her, his hand on his pommel. The wife asks, “Did you sleep with my lover?”
Shara actually wants to tell the truth in this circumstance, but everyone is watching. And that swordsman is right behind the Lady Talza. So, the GM says, “Make a Courage risk.”
Again, Shara has three dice to roll. But, I announce that one of Shara’s intentions in telling the truth is breaking Lady Talza’s heart. I point at one of Shara’s aspects. I Know How to Hurt You. The GM admits this is an appropriate aspect. I spend a style point to invoke the aspect (because I already used it at the party once) and I get to roll six dice. Three for my Virtue and three for my aspect. I tell the GM I’m using two of those dice for wagers.
Roll. 6, 5, 4, 1. More than 10.
“Of course I did,” Shara says. “And I have to say, I’ve had more difficulty convincing my butler to bring me a cup of mead.”
Not only does Shara get to do what she wants without penalty, but I get two style points for doing so as well.
ORKS
Some orks have a Terror rank. This represents the terror they invoke. When a character first sees an ork–ripping through the treeline, its jaws drooling, its claws wet with blood–we call for a contested roll. The ven’s Courage against the ork’s Terror. Roll dice.
If the ork rolls higher, the ven loses one die from every risk it takes against the ork. The ven loses an additional die for every wager the ork made with its Terror roll.
If the ven wins, he gains a number of bonus dice in every risk he takes against the ork equal to his wagers.
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I think I finally got it.
Anyone who takes Strength or Cunning or Prowess as a weakness is at a serious disadvantage. Now, whoever takes Courage as a weakness is also at a serious disadvantage.
But the advantage is there as well. Its no wonder the Falcon are who they are. They’ve got Courage on their side.