inky says, "ok, so I would like to know what the current state of the minion rules is" inky says, "so here is a version of Conan for the most-recent version of the rules:" inky | Great (+3): Weapons (Barbarian), Brawn inky | Good (+2): Athletics, Resolve inky | Fair (+1): Reflexes, Stealth inky | Average (+0): Community (Mercenaries), Nature inky | Untrained (-1): Academics, Fingersmithery, Riding, Sailing, Science inky | inky | Cimmerian Barbarian inky | Adventurer, Conqueror, King inky | inky | Ladies Love a Brawny Barbarian inky | Well-Traveled inky | Slavery is an Affront inky says, "(this is with the 8-10 partial success, 11-12 full success setup)" inky says, "ok, so Conan has come to a small inn off in the middle of nowhere. he heads into the common room, which he finds to be deserted except for a nervous-lookng innkeeper" inky says, "he demands and receives a mug of ale, and is sitting at a table by the fire when N guys burst in" inky says, "let us see what happens when N = 4 and Conan doesn't do anything to reduce those numbers" inky says, "so they burst in, and Conan draws his sword and comes at them" inky rolls 2 6-sided dice: 1 5 | 6 + 3 = 9 inky says, "ok, that's a partial success, which means that one of the four is injured" inky says, "Conan shatters the guy's shield and hacks into his arm, which starts gushing blood" inky says, "however, as he does so, the men surround him, and attack" inky says, "(Conan holds them off by slashing at them with his sword)" inky says, "so 2d6+3, -3 for 4 guys" inky says, "roll 2d6" inky rolls 2 6-sided dice: 2 6 | 8 inky says, "a partial success -- let's see" inky says, "Conan has 2 stress boxes, +2 for having a Great Brawn, and three consequences" inky says, "we will say everyone's weapons are treated as fencing swords (let's say they're all shortswords or something), so Conan takes 3 damage: 1 stress box remains" inky says, "he continues his assault" inky rolls 2 6-sided dice: 2 2 | 4 + 3 = 7 inky says, "man, dude can't get a break" inky says, "I can't really figure out what the rules are for failing during an attack -- let's see what happened last time" inky says, "apparently he takes damage himself -- bummer, dude" inky says, "(or I guess the GM makes a hard move, of which damage is a totally legitimate version)" inky says, "so Conan takes a point of damage and spends a minor consequence -- he's bloodied with a wound in his thigh" inky says, "he has no stress boxes left and two consequences" inky says, "the mercenaries press the attack" inky rolls 2 6-sided dice: 6 2 | 8 + 0 = 8 inky says, "(note that if the GM had used Conan's consequence, that would have been a failure)" inky says, "a partial success -- Conan takes a half damage (I guess 2 boxes), and has to spend his other consequence -- a deep cut in his ribs" inky says, "this is basically his last chance to rally -- he picks up the table and throws it at them" inky says, "(rolling Brawn)" inky rolls 2 6-sided dice: 2 1 | 3 + 3 = 6 inky says, "he lifts the table, woozy with lost blood, and his vision goes black -- when he wakes up, he's tied and bound in the inn cellar" inky asks, "but let us rewind time and give him another chance -- what if he had slightly better luck on his first attack?" inky rolls 2 6-sided dice: 1 2 | 3 + 3 = 6 inky rolls 2 6-sided dice: 4 5 | 9 + 3 = 12 inky says, "... like that!" inky says, "Conan charges in as the mercenaries enter the inn, and cuts one down before they can react -- but the three remaining men rally and surround him" inky says, "(but he's only rolling 2d6+3-2 this time and not 2d6+3-3)" inky rolls 2 6-sided dice: 5 6 | 11 + 1 = 12 inky says, "Conan holds them off with the fierceness of his attack - nice work, Conan" inky rolls 2 6-sided dice: 2 5 | 7 + 3 = 10 inky says, "now he goes back to the shield-splintering and arm-injuring, but at least he's got some momentum" inky asks, "and how do they respond?" inky rolls 2 6-sided dice: 6 4 | 10 + 1 = 11 inky says, "well, again, Conan holds them off (and this would have been a partial if there was one more guy)" inky rolls 2 6-sided dice: 6 4 | 10 + 3 = 13 inky says, "Conan cuts down another dude (and if we were using fate points, he could unlock the advanced success and take out both the injured one and a fresh opponent) -- two remain, one of whom is injured" inky rolls 2 6-sided dice: 2 6 | 8 + 2 = 10 inky says, "they finally get through his defense, but only two boxes, which he takes" inky says, "(a cut on the arm he barely notices)" inky rolls 2 6-sided dice: 2 4 | 6 + 3 = 9 inky says, "not a cut that would fell a full-strength man, but the one without his shield is vulnerable and can't block Conan's blow" inky says, "roll 2d6+3" inky rolls 2 6-sided dice: 4 4 | 8 + 3 = 11 inky says, "unsurprisingly, the one remaining guy can't land a thing on Conan" inky rolls 2 6-sided dice: 5 6 | 11 + 3 = 14 inky says, "and Conan slices him in half" inky says, "FLAWLESS VICTORY" inky says, "(more or less)" inky says, "so, right, the moral again is Conan gets lucky with his die-rolls" inky says, "let's see one more take" inky rolls 2 6-sided dice: 2 1 | 3 + 3 = 6 inky says, "Conan charges at them and stumbles -- he gets stabbed for two points right out of the gate" inky rolls 2 6-sided dice: 4 1 | 5 + 0 = 5 inky says, "then he fails to block any of their blows, and takes another three (I guess that leaves him with one box remaining and his minor used)" inky rolls 2 6-sided dice: 4 1 | 5 + 3 = 8 inky says, "he injures one, but that's all" inky rolls 2 6-sided dice: 1 2 | 3 + 0 = 3 inky says, "then everything goes black" inky says, "well, it's swingy, I will say that" inky says, "though presumably with multiple characters that'll sort itself out a bit" inky says, "also, obv. minions make it swingier, because if you get lucky early on, their attacks are much less fierce" inky says, "anyway, so let us see what happens if Conan gets tactical" inky says, "this time, as he sees them enter the inn, he pushes over the table at them" inky rolls 2 6-sided dice: 1 3 | 4 + 4 = 8 inky says, "(that's a brawn roll, +1 for a normal maneuver)" inky says, "so I dunno, let's say that limits their first attack to only one guy coming at him as the rest dodge, but it doesn't affect future attacks (arguably this is a break in Conan's favor, vs saying it's a longer-term effect that pins one guy, say)" inky rolls 2 6-sided dice: 6 1 | 7 + 3 = 10 inky says, "Conan is able to mostly fend off the one guy, but not completely (so it didn't help much, alas)" inky says, "he takes two boxes of damage" inky says, "then he stabs at that dude" inky rolls 2 6-sided dice: 4 4 | 8 + 3 = 11 inky says, "and slices him in half" inky says, "and the other three guys attack" inky rolls 2 6-sided dice: 3 5 | 8 + 1 = 9 inky says, "another two boxes of damage, no boxes remain" inky says, "he, I dunno, grabs a brand from the fire and lights his ale on fire, creating a wall which again gives him some cover" inky says, "that's probably athletics or something" inky says, "and let's say they're especially vulnerable, because fire is cool" inky rolls 2 6-sided dice: 6 5 | 11 + 4 = 15 inky says, "nice work, Conan" inky says, "well, let's say that keeps two of the guys busy for two rounds" inky rolls 2 6-sided dice: 4 1 | 5 + 3 = 8 inky says, "man, Conan, you can't get a break on the blocking" inky says, "Conan has to spend his consequence" inky rolls 2 6-sided dice: 3 4 | 7 + 3 = 10 inky says, "and injures the dude who stabbed him" inky says, "the other two guys are distracted for their second round" inky rolls 2 6-sided dice: 6 5 | 11 + 3 = 14 inky says, "Conan finally manages to block a single guy" inky rolls 2 6-sided dice: 2 3 | 5 + 3 = 8 inky says, "and re-injures him, killing him -- two guys remain, Conan has used up all the basics" inky rolls 2 6-sided dice: 3 4 | 7 + 2 = 9 inky says, "they surround and take him down" inky says, "(realistically he could have won, but let's not play it all out)" inky says, "let's see this same one again" inky says, "guys come in, Conan throws table" inky rolls 2 6-sided dice: 2 4 | 6 + 4 = 10 inky says, "still no luck, Conan!" inky rolls 2 6-sided dice: 6 3 | 9 + 4 = 13 inky says, "ok, there" inky says, "so Conan throws the table, and, I dunno, blocks the door after two of them have come in" inky rolls 2 6-sided dice: 6 5 | 11 + 2 = 13 inky says, "and then is able to parry their attacks" inky rolls 2 6-sided dice: 2 6 | 8 + 3 = 11 inky says, "... cuts one down ..." inky rolls 2 6-sided dice: 2 2 | 4 + 3 = 7 inky says, "... fails to block the remaining one's attack and takes three damage ..." inky rolls 2 6-sided dice: 6 6 | 12 + 3 = 15 inky says, ".. cuts him down, and readies himself for the other guy entering" inky says, "as those guys enter, Conan steps into a doorway where only one can approach at once" inky rolls 2 6-sided dice: 1 4 | 5 + 4 = 9 inky says, "he's slow, but he gets there" inky rolls 2 6-sided dice: 6 4 | 10 + 3 = 13 inky says, "... blocks a guy with the door-edge as he steps in" inky rolls 2 6-sided dice: 4 6 | 10 + 3 = 13 inky says, ".. cuts that guy down" inky rolls 2 6-sided dice: 3 2 | 5 + 3 = 8 inky says, "partly blocks the other guy's attack, using his consequence" inky rolls 2 6-sided dice: 1 4 | 5 + 3 = 8 inky says, ".. injures him" inky rolls 2 6-sided dice: 1 5 | 6 + 3 = 9 inky says, "partly blocks again, and I guess is actually out" inky asks, "again, dang, rough rolls, or is it?" inky says, "out of ten rolls, he had five above seven and five below" inky says, "I'm cool with people having to use aspects here, but the moral is four guys are pretty solidly equal to a PC at this point, and presumably six guys would be murder" inky says, "let's see six guys!" inky says, "Conan throws table" inky rolls 2 6-sided dice: 4 4 | 8 + 4 = 12 inky says, "three guys get in the room, three guys stuck out" inky rolls 2 6-sided dice: 5 6 | 11 + 1 = 12 inky says, "Conan parries them all" inky rolls 2 6-sided dice: 5 1 | 6 + 3 = 9 inky says, "injures one" inky rolls 2 6-sided dice: 5 5 | 10 + 1 = 11 inky says, "continues to parry" inky says, "throws flaming ale" inky rolls 2 6-sided dice: 1 1 | 2 + 4 = 6 inky says, "mostly ineffectually" inky says, "maybe catching the floor on fire" inky rolls 2 6-sided dice: 1 3 | 4 + 1 = 5 inky says, "fails to parry and is injured for three" inky rolls 2 6-sided dice: 5 3 | 8 + 3 = 11 inky says, "cuts one in half, leaving two" inky says, "(plus three outside)" inky rolls 2 6-sided dice: 1 4 | 5 + 2 = 7 inky says, "partly parries and is injured for two, using his consequence" inky rolls 2 6-sided dice: 3 5 | 8 + 3 = 11 inky says, "slices down another, leaving 1+3" inky rolls 2 6-sided dice: 4 6 | 10 + 3 = 13 inky says, "parries" inky rolls 2 6-sided dice: 4 6 | 10 + 3 = 13 inky says, "slays the remaining guy, and the other three guys enter" inky says, "Conan throws chairs" inky rolls 2 6-sided dice: 3 5 | 8 + 4 = 12 inky says, "two of the three are blocks off for two rounds" inky rolls 2 6-sided dice: 5 5 | 10 + 3 = 13 inky says, "Conan parries the third" inky rolls 2 6-sided dice: 1 4 | 5 + 3 = 8 inky says, "injures him" inky rolls 2 6-sided dice: 5 6 | 11 + 3 = 14 inky says, "parries again" inky rolls 2 6-sided dice: 5 5 | 10 + 3 = 13 inky says, "cuts him in half" inky says, "other two guys free themselves and come at Conan" inky rolls 2 6-sided dice: 5 4 | 9 + 2 = 11 inky says, "Conan parries!" inky rolls 2 6-sided dice: 2 2 | 4 + 3 = 7 inky says, "gets injured and is out, but let's say he uses his other consequence" inky rolls 2 6-sided dice: 4 6 | 10 + 2 = 12 inky says, "parries their re-attack" inky rolls 2 6-sided dice: 1 4 | 5 + 3 = 8 inky says, "injures one of the two" inky rolls 2 6-sided dice: 5 5 | 10 + 2 = 12 inky says, "blocks their attack" inky rolls 2 6-sided dice: 3 1 | 4 + 3 = 7 inky says, "gets injured and is out again" inky says, "still, pretty impressive" inky asks, "and how did he roll?" inky says, "8 and 14" inky says, "so I guess he got lucky again" inky says, "nice work, Conan" inky says, "anyway, this feels challenging but not impossible, and probably pretty straightforward with fate points and aspect abilities"