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Message: <blockquote data-quote="GMMichael" data-source="post: 9582006" data-attributes="member: 6685730">Thanks for taking a look, pemerton.  You've got me questioning my decision to leave "what's a GM" and "how to role-play" out of the module <img class="smilie smilie--emoji" alt="🤓" src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f913.png" title="Nerd face    :nerd:" data-shortname=":nerd:" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" />  But I'll set that aside for now.  Here are some attempts at clarification, in case a little clarity inspires you to let me know how I might word things differently:So, how the GM decides that a greywing shows up is that the GM establishes the setting, broadly, as a Star Wars-like universe that has villainous forces with starfleets.  This comes from the "creating a Campaign Theme" idea in the Getting Started section.  The greywing shows up in the game session because the GM thought it would be an interesting idea, as the GM is responsible for "setting the scene," also mentioned in Getting Started.  Since the GM's idea of greywings includes that they tend to shoot Allied starfighters on sight, the idea of getting "bested" is yes, ambiguous, but the implication is that some sort of contest will ensue.  So why the PC and GM are rolling contests isn't to establish what exactly happens - like picking events off a table of possibilities - it's to determine whether the encounter (the part that's been established) goes well or poorly for the PC.  What does "well" look like?  That's up to the GM and PC.  That's imagination and collaboration territory.  However, the GM could easily say something like, "a greywing shows up on your sensors, immediately followed by proton missile detection.  Roll to see if you avoid the missiles."  This roll, like the previous one, wouldn't explicitly determine "hits" or "misses," just whether the contest outcome is favorable or unfavorable for the PC.What the PC may establish or narrate is up to the GM.  That can stem from the Campaign Theme - if the game will be a collaboration or simulation.  But if the GM is "moderating" and "adjudicating" (again, from Getting Started), Rule Zero is in full effect.  Can the PC stipulate that the passenger on their starfighter is so impressed by the PC's display of skill that they fall in love with them?  That depends on the result of the contest and the aforementioned adjudication.  The PC can suggest that as a favorable outcome (if the contest was a Pro), and the GM takes it from there.  I guess the biggest factor in what the PC can suggest is what leads up to the contest, like if the PCs are having a relationship-building scene prior to the greywing arrival, or if the PC had been talking about combat formations with high command prior.  The PC could avoid the scopes and follow the greywing back to base too, if the GM sees that as a possible Pro outcome to the encounter.Re: future scene framing - nothing's binding.  The GM could say that "you blow up the greywing, but the others have left without you."  The rules are effectively guidelines to help the GM tell an unwritten story, to which the PCs contribute ideas.  The contests contribute ideas (specifically, the goodness or badness of ideas).  Even the Attack-Damage mechanism isn't very concrete; there aren't binding ideas of someone being hit or wounded.  Collecting damage just means that you're closer to the fight being over, and in an unfavorable way since collecting damage means not defending or attempting to defend but rolling Cons.I can see how rolls for Progress might leave you wondering.  I was trying to focus on everyone's favorite nitty-gritty, so I intentionally made that part short, which probably made it confusing.  A short answer is that Progress is the Damage of non-combat.  If you're in a scene and struggling against a competitor for the better outcome, you still roll Attacks and Defenses as the situation calls for it, but instead of progressing by doing Damage against your competitor (with a weapon), you progress with a Pro attack by rolling Progress.  The attack is any action that might help you achieve your preferred outcome.  How much Progress you need to collect to win the conflict is up to the GM (who can and should make that known to the PC, qualitatively or quantitatively).</blockquote>

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