Burial at Crossroads: Take a Stand Revisions

Take a Stand

You take a stand when the Governor tells you to, when you want to take control of the group, when another player doesn’t like the action you’re taking or when you want to force a character to take an action. During take a stand, you try to win enough support from the other players to have a majority. Once you have a majority, then stand is over and you become the leader, and the other characters assume new group dynamics. If you fight to a point where a majority is impossible, then you lose. As long as there’s a leader, the group must work together to deliver the skinner.

To take a stand do this:

• To start say why the group is being asked to take a stand. Ultimately, all stands are about leadership. Say what trait is being used during this stand. If the stand is because an action, use the trait that would be or was used in that action. Say why other characters should stand with you.
• Place your token on together. If the Governor forced the stand, the person who failed her action places her token on together.
• Others place their tokens where they want. Together if they agree with you. Apart if they disagree. Alone if they don’t care.
• You try to win others over by bargaining. Others can bargain, too. You can bargain in-game fiction, with XP or with bonus dice. No dice are rolled during bargaining. Move around based on the bargains you make. When bargaining goes on too long, the Governor ends it. Five minutes is plenty.
• You fight to force others to your side. Because you’re taking the stand, you select who to fight. You fight one other character at a time. You only need to fight those not on together with you. You roll the trait used for this stand plus anything risked against the other character’s trait and things she risked. Whoever rolls highest wins. If you win, the character you’re fighting moves to together, and she loses everything she risked. If you lose, you lose everything you risked, and the other character stays where she was. You can only fight a character once per take a stand.
  During a fight, you can raise the stakes by risking wounds, desires and actions to gain more dice.
  • Gain dice by raising like this:
  • An action gains 1 die or 2 for those listed under “Take these last.”
  • You can sacrifice a desire and let the desert take away part of you if you lose; doing so gains 2 dice.
  • You can risk up to three wounds for 1 die each.
  • You can risk your life for 5 dice.
  • You can spend bonus dice. If you roll it, you lose it.You can fold at anytime before rolling the dice. If a character folds, she joins the your side. If you fold, she stays put.
• To fight:
  • Say what you do, roll the dice and set the trait dice in front of you.
  • The other character says what she does, rolls the dice and sets her trait dice in front of her. She can gain extra dice by saying what she does towards you, raising the stakes, rolling the dice and keeping them hidden from you. She has to match the number of dice you laid down for your trait.
  • You can see her (by equally her dice), raise (by risking something for more dice) or fold (by letting her stay apart) by saying what you do. If you add dice, roll them and keep them hidden.
  • Go back and forth until all raises are seen or someone folds. Then show the dice. The person will the more high dice wins.
  • At the end of a fight, everything that was said happened, but the costs only fall on the loser.
• You deal out costs. You win and become the leader by having more characters on your side. Anyone on the together box becomes a follower of the leader. Anyone left on the apart box can select disrupt or divide. Those left on alone, just stay there. Any other outcome and you lose, the leader remains the same and you are placed on the contempt box. The rest of the characters can organize as they wish on alone or follow.
• If the current leader faces a Take a Stand and loses. The group dynamics dissolve. There is no leader until the next Take a Stand. Because there is no leader, the group can quit working together.

Think of the costs as temporary desires that go away when the group dynamics change. When you hit them, you gain an XP.

Alone: You preferred to stay out of this stand and didn’t take a side. You’ll stay with the party. Nothing to hit and no penalties.

Lead: You worked hard to show everyone where you stand. Now, as a leader, they’ll follow. When you show or demonstrate that you’re leading, you hit this desire. Because you risked, you gain 2 XP instead of one. Until you lose this desire, you function above your normal skill level; add 1 to the highest roll result.

Follow: She stood up for or were convinced by what she believed in. For that, she deserves to be followed. When you follow her lead, you hit this desire.

Disrupt: You don’t agree with the way she’s leading, so you’ll try to disrupt her plans. Hit this desire when you take an action that disrupts what she was planning. Because you risked, you gain 2 XP instead of one. Until you remove this desire, you function below your normal skill level; subtract -1 from the highest roll result.

Divide: You don’t like the way she leads, and you’ll try to peel off her support. You hit this desire when you convince someone not to hit their follow desire. Because you risked, you gain 2 XP instead of one. Until you remove this desire, you function below your normal skill level; subtract -1 from the highest roll result.

Contempt: You lost your challenge, and because you did, you can’t stand to follow the current leader. You know you can’t make a challenge again, so when you show contempt, you hit this desire. Until you remove this desire, you function below your normal skill level; subtract -1 from every roll result.