Party Conversations Rules for the Game Master and Players

CONFLICT     Players should understand that all of their character's actions have consequences. Thieves will be arrested, tried, and sent to jail if caught. Encourage players to think beyond the two hours of the game. Example: Amy has accomplished her goal. She decides to remain in the game and help Sandy achieve his goal of obtaining a valuable piece of jewelry. Amy thinks that she would like to attempt to pick the pockets of Jackson, the owner of the jewelry. The Game Master should tell Amy that she would be removed from the game instantly if she would be caught because Amy's character is not a thief. Sandy, on the other hand, is a thief. He may attempt to pick Jackson's pockets. If Sandy fails, it is up to Jackson to decide what to do with him. Perhaps Jackson has better plans for Sandy than sending him off to jail.

    Of course there are many exceptions to this rule, but a good rule of thumb is that only the characters that have the means to commit a crime be allowed to commit it. This is evident if the character has a weapon or a poison. Some characters also have the ability to steal things. All of these traits are highlighted in the different Party Conversations games. We will cover them briefly here.

    All special abilities are listed in the GOALS section of the character sheet because those abilities will most likely be necessary to complete the goals.

THEFT
    The only players allowed to commit theft are the ones who have that ability written into the GOALS section of their character sheets.

    In order to steal anything, a player, such as Sandy, must take a small piece of paper and write what he is stealing on it. Sandy must then give the piece of paper to the target person who has what Sandy wants. The target should be unaware of the piece of paper. Sandy, the thief, should then call the Game Master, so the Game Master can confirm that the object has been successfully stolen.

    One suggestion is to stick the paper to the bottom of a glass from which the target is drinking, or attach it with tape to the target's back. This method is used because it offers an opportunity for both the target of the theft and any other player to detect the theft. The Game Master will remove the note while the thief is not present.

    At the time the Game Master removes the note, the item should not be taken from the target person. Instead, make another labeled index card with that item on it and give it to the thief. The Game Master should inform the target of the theft to contact the Game Master if he or she wishes to use the (stolen) item.

    The reason for all this complication is that the target of the theft should not know that his/her item is missing until he/she tries to use it again. When the target of the theft tries to use the item, the Game Master will take the "stolen" item away from the player and inform the player that he/she has "lost" the item.

COMBAT
    Each character sheet has a BASE COMBAT STATISTIC on it such as 2d6. This is read as roll a 6-sided die twice. Combat is simple, harsh, and designed to make players avoid combat. Here is how combat is conducted:

    Weapons also have their own combat statistics. The WEAPON STATISTIC is transferred to any player possessing the weapon, unless otherwise noted in a game. All combat is based on a six-sided die for convenience. The WEAPON STATISTIC appears in the ITEMS section of the character sheet immediately after the weapon.

    Only players with specific weapons are actually allowed to initiate combat. It is not necessary for the Game Master to be present during combat between experienced game players. However, first time players need the Game Master present during combat. The players in the room leave the real world time and enter a simple round-based combat system. The higher die roll wins. In the case of a tie, nothing happens.

A. If the attacker draws their weapon in the same room as the defending player, then the defending player can also draw their weapon. In this case both players compare rolls using the WEAPON STATISTIC. The person with the highest score lives, and the person with the lowest score is removed from the game.

B. If the attacker has his/her weapon drawn before entering the room, then the attacker uses the WEAPON STATISTIC for their roll.

C. If the defending player does not have a weapon in hand at the start of combat, the defending player can choose to:
    1. Run (Win or tie the die roll).
    2. Try to fight with their bare hands (Win the die roll).
    3. Draw their own weapon (Win or tie the die roll).
    All three actions use the BASE COMBAT STATISTIC.

If the defending player wins the die roll using their BASE COMBAT STATISTIC then the defending player accomplishes their task of either running, fighting with their bare hands (defending player wins, attacking player is removed from the game), or drawing their own weapon (another round of combat is initiated using rule A).

D. A player that successfully runs out of a room cannot be attacked by the same attacking player for the next five minutes of game time.

Example: Assume that Martin has a Laser gun with a WEAPON STATISTIC of 4d6. He decides that he is going to "shoot" at an unarmed Rita who has a BASE COMBAT STATISTIC of 1d6. Martin roles his die 4 times with a combined score of 6. Rita wants to run out of the room. Rita rolls once and gets a 6. Nothing happens for this combat round. Rita runs out of the room and Martin misses.

But say for example, that Rita rolled a 4 instead of a 6. In that case, she is "shot" fatally, and her character is removed from the game.

    At this point, the Game Master informs all players that Rita's body is lying on the floor dead. Steve and Bob look in the room and see Martin standing over her "dead" body.

What happens if there are more than 2 people involved in combat?

All battle takes place simultaneously for a round. Each player chooses one player that he or she is attacking. Let's look at the example on the right. Let's say that Steve, Martin and Bob all have their weapons drawn. Steve and Bob are attacking Martin, and Martin is shooting back at Steve.

A character may attack only one other character per round (unless specifically stated on the character sheet). If two or more characters attack Martin, then Martin rolls 4d6 (laser gun) for his attack against Steve. His BASE COMBAT STATISTIC of 1d6 is used to defend against Bob.

Example: Both Steve and Bob choose to fire at Martin. All three of them have the same gun (4d6). Martin fires at Steve. Martin roles a total of 18, and Steve rolls a total of 6. Simultaneously Bob fires at Martin and rolls a total of 12. Martin rolls a 5 since his BASE COMBAT STATISTIC is 1d6. Therefore, both Steve and Martin are fatally shot and removed from the game.

    This is a rather harsh combat system because it is designed to encourage people to try to resolve conflicts in a nonviolent manner. Many traditional combat systems embolden people to ignore the consequences of their actions.

    Even if a character has a goal to eliminate another player, tact must be exercised in order to accomplish this objective. In one example, Martin attempted to eliminate Rita discreetly in a private room. Unfortunately for him, Steve and Bob took an interest in the battle and at the end of the night three players were removed from the game.

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