Anguish in Action

I'm stupidly proud of the Anguish rules, so let's try them out.

Douglas Flynn, a Wild Card who amazingly has the same statistics as a Skilled Duelist from Pirates of the Spanish Main (p. 224), is at a party with the haughty Maestro Sabatini, a Master Duelist extra. Flynn seeks to advance his fame by challenging the older man to a duel, but has so far failed to gain the fencing master's notice.

Round One:
Both characters have Quick and are able to discard Action Cards of 5 or less. Flynn draws a 3 and a Queen. Sabatini draws an 8. Flynn leads with a Taunt (d6) -- "Well met, grandfather! It is good to see an old man so lively in the dance." -- and rolls two 4s; Sabatini resists with Smarts (d6) and rolls a 2. Sabatini stands on his dignity -- "Do you know who I am, sirrah?" -- and counters with Intimidation (d10). He rolls a 2 and Flynn resists with his Spirit (d8); Flynn rolls a 1 and an 11. He is not impressed.

Round Two: Flynn draws a Joker and Sabatini draws a 4 and another 8. "Indeed, you appear to be the sprightliest corpse at the dance," Flynn taunts. He rolls two 4s again but adds +2 for the Joker and +2 for his successful test of will the round before for an 8. Sabatini rolls a 2 and is shaken. He rolls Vigor (d8) on his turn and scores a 7; he is unshaken but unable to act.

Round Three: Flynn draws the king of spades and Sabatini draws the king of hearts. "Have you not heard of me, old man?" growls Flynn, trying his luck at Intimidation (d6). He rolls a 2 and a 3 but still gets to add his +2 bonus from a successful test of will the previous round for a final tally of 5. Sabatini resists with Spirit (d8) and scores a 2. Damn, he's getting the bad rolls! "I am the Maestro Sabatini, the most feared swordsman in all of Westmark!" he snarls. Sabatini rolls a three on his Intimidation roll; Flynn resists with a 7 and 9.

Round Four: Sabatini draws a 10 and Flynn draws a 7. "But perhaps this country bumpkin is new to our city?" the maestro jokingly asks some hangers-on. His Taunt (d10) roll is a 4; Flynn resists with Smarts (d6) and gets a 4 and a 2. He spends a benny and gets a 1 and a 7. Unfazed, Flynn responds "'Tis three months since I came to Westmark and yet I have not heard of you. And hear I thought I'd dueled all the most dangerous blades in Illyria!" He scores another 1 and 7 (+2 for 9). Sabatini rolls a 10.

Round Five: Flynn draws a 2 and the 6 of clubs; the maestro draws the 6 of spades. "You are deaf as well as foolish, child. Run along!" he taunts. He aces and scores a 21. Flynn gets a 1 and a 2. He attempts to unshake himself and scores a 5. He steels himself for another exchange.

Round Six: Flynn draws a Joker again and Sabatini gets a 2. After waiting for the toadies to stop laughing, Flynn taunts, "I hear quite well, and yet I've never heard of your prowess." He gets a 1 and 5 for a 7. Sabatini scores a 5. "Continue this and you will needs taste my blade," Sabatini threatens. He scores an 8 but Flynn rolls a 3 and a 10.

Round Seven: Flynn gets a Jack and Sabatini a 9. Flynn taunts again (as Sean gets tired of writing dialogue) and gets a 5 and 3 for a 7. Sabatini gets a 1 and then a 2 on his Vigor roll.

Round Eight: Flynn has an ace and his opponent a king. Flynn taunts again with a 4 and 7 for a 9. The maestro scores a 3 and is shaken again! He is mentally Fatigued by the ceaseless sniping! Finally! On his own action he attempts to unshake but is now at a -1; he scores a 6 (for a 5) and is unshaken but unable to act. He does not recover his level of fatigue. He would have to leave the scene to recover.

Round Nine: An ace for Flynn and a 9 for Sabatini. Flynn continues to taunt because his opponent's Spirit is higher than his Smarts and scores a 2 and 8 (+2 for a 10). Sabatini sputters in rage as he gets a 5 and is shaken again. But his Vigor roll is a 5 (-1 for a 4) and he is unshaken.

Round Ten: Jack for Flynn and Queen for the maestro, so Sabatini attempts a taunt of his own and gets a 4 (-1 for a 3). Flynn resists with double 3s and the older man's wit hits home. Flynn rolls a 2 and 5 (+2 for a 7) and Sabatini rolls a 3 (-1 for a 2). He is shaken again.

Round Eleven: Flynn gets a 7 and Sabatini a 6. Flynn rolls a 2 and an 8 for 10. Sabatini resists with a 3 (-1 for a 2) and is shaken again. He is now Exhausted by the constant harping of this young jackanapes and is a -2 on his rolls. His Vigor roll on his action is a 1 (-2 for a -1?).

Round Twelve: A king for Flynn and an 8 for Sabatini. Flynn rolls a 2 and a 4 (+2) and gets a 6. Sabatini rolls a 3 (-2) and is shaken again. Since this is the third unbroken shaken result in a row, he takes another level of fatigue and is Incapacitated.

He slaps the young upstart with his glove. Flynn whispers in the master's ear "Dawn at the abandoned monastery" and smiles as his opponent storms out of the room.




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