Opposing PRE Attacks

[Steve]

In the case of a target getting hit by two opposing PRE attacks, how would they be resolved?

 

Example 1: A Vampire Lord appears and uses a terrifying PRE attack on a fighter and gets +30 over his PRE, but a priest ally uses a bolstering courage PRE attack at the same time, getting +20 over the fighter's PRE. Would the terrifying PRE attack be reduced to only +10 in effect?

 

Example 2: An ogre appears and uses a terrifying PRE attack on a fighter and gets +10 over his PRE, but the fighter's sergeant uses a bolstering courage PRE attack at the same time, getting +10 over the fighter's PRE. Would the terrifying PRE attack be cancelled out or would both have some kind of mixed effect, maybe both at +0 level?

[Steve Long]

This is a sufficiently broad topic that I am leery of trying to cover it here in a brief answer — it probably deserves more time and consideration than I can give it right now (when I’m preparing to attend a con this weekend), and a section discussing it in APG3. Therefore I’m going to answer briefly here, but I reserve the right to change things going forward once I have the time to really dive into the subject. (And of course, the GM’s discretion is particularly important in this case, given the unusual and cool nature of Presence Attacks.)

 

First, the order of Actions is important in these situations — in game terms things really can’t happen “at the same time” as your hypotheticals posit. You have to resolve the various attacks and whatnot in proper order. If the GM finds this unrealistic, unbalancing, or otherwise problematic, he should find another way to determine the overall effect of various Presence-affecting actions. For example, he might “combine” the two attacks in some way, determine an overall effect, and then apply that effect to the target’s PRE. (This is definitely something to cover in APG3.)

 

Second, in the case of conflicting Presence Attacks (PAs), if PA 1 achieves Target’s PRE +10 or higher, then the Target’s PRE increases by 5 or 10 for purposes of resisting PA 2 (as noted on the Presence Attack Table on 6E2 136). If PA 1 achieves less than Target’s PRE +10, the target may get bonus PRE against conflicting attacks, or may not, as noted on the Table; if he doesn’t, then you can simply resolve PA 2 normally. 

 

Third, in the case of other situations that may affect the target’s PRE (typically an Aid or Drain), resolve PA 1 normally. When the second effect takes place, resolve it normally as well, but it does not change the result of PA 1 (any more than an Aid CON would make a Stunned character become un-Stunned). Again, the GM can alter this if he sees fit.