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Message: <blockquote data-quote="hawkeyefan" data-source="post: 8267225" data-attributes="member: 6785785">Not exactly hit points, although if you run out, the character is out of play, so they have that in common. But aside from that, it's more like "effort" or "will" or "stamina", or some combination of all of that. It is the resource used to: activate some special abilities, Push an Action to roll an extra die OR to increase the effect of the outcome, Resist Consequences (including Harm), Assist Others, and Invoke a Flashback. So Stress really affects so many different elements of the game....to put it in D&D terms it's a bit of a combo of HP, AC and Saves, Inspiration, Aid Another, and Spell Slots/Ki Points/Battle Master Dice/Other Class Ability. If all of those things were managed by one pool of points, then you'd be closer to what Stress means for the game.I think it's a rather small element of the game that becomes the focus of much discussion to a disproportionate amount....so I agree in that sense. However, they can be very exciting and engaging in play, and they represent a different take on skilled play.As an example, the big one I can think of in my game with [USER=6993955]@Fenris-77[/USER] which [USER=6696971]@Manbearcat[/USER] runs.....our crew was basically assaulting a tavern that had been taken from one of our contacts by a rival gang. We were going to take it back. Upon setting the scene, MBC placed the tavern (which had previously only been mentioned, but never actually "shown" in play) alongside a canal, with a bridge that spanned the canal nearby. Prior to that point, we didn't even know of the bridge.We decided to strike at the time of a shift change from one group to another in order to get an advantage (they're a little vulnerable at that point) and also to do twice as much damage to the gang. So essentially, we'd need to take out one group outside as they depart, and then the other group inside. This would be a pretty tough thing to pull off. So I came up with a Flashback for my character, a Leech or tinkerer/alchemist, to have rigged the bridge to explode when the gang was crossing, and that this would look like an accident due to a faulty electroplasmic streetlamp. This would (hopefully) eliminate one group entirely, and also not arouse suspicion that foul play was involved (you can't really kill willy nilly without piling up some bad consequences). The Flashback cost 2 stress, and then I had to make the roll to see if it worked. I rolled a Success with Consequence, and that left that group decimated (most were killed outright), one was wounded badly but alive, and another was thrown into the canal. So we still had to deal with those two guys, but we were able to do so without too much trouble. So this decision to use the Flashback meant that for the cost of 2 Stress, the Score was almost halfway completed, and without much blowback at that point. If we instead had decided to engage in a direct fight, or even tried to sneak up on them to take them out, we likely would have used more Stress and perhaps added some other consequences to the situation. So this was a skilled move on my part, I'd say. But I couldn't plan this ahead of time, because until he started setting the scene, we (the players) didn't know the layout of the site or similar details. But once that bridge was mentioned, it was free game for me to use and incorporate it into a Flashback. I think I added the detail of the Streetlamp in order to make it look like an accident, but I may be misremembering.Now, this isn't something that really presents itself all the time. As I said earlier, I think we've done 2 or 3 Flashbacks of this kind in our entire campaign so far, and we've done 7 or 8 Scores at this point.So no actual example then? Gimme a situation where my party is fighting a monster and I try to recall some lore about the creature to help us, and instead I get nothing. Why would a GM do that to the players?So ignorance is bliss? That's your argument?If I want to know something, it's better to know it than to not know it.No, they don't, and that's fine. I'm not trying to convince you to like the mechanic. I'm just saying that D&D is not this one way linear trip that many are saying. That there are non-lineaer elements like Blades' Flashback going on in D&D all the time. That's all.</blockquote>

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