The Three Phases

Challenge negotiation is played out in up to three phases. At the end of each phase, the Challenger chooses how to continue the challenge. The Hunter should do his best to impress her with his solution to the challenge so that the Challenger will "give", which means granting that the Hunter has overcome the obstacle without the need to use dice. Here's how it works:

Phase One (Solution): First, the Challenger spells out the exact challenge. For example, the local guards don't want to allow the Chel'qhuri access to the villa, and the Challenger describes the guards, the villa and surroundings, and anything else that could be useful. The Hunter asks clarifying questions (and can make suggestions) and presents his solution for the challenge. Maybe the Beast Hunter tries to trick the guards, sneak past them, or even knock them out. Depending on how the Hunter wants to overcome the challenge, the Challenger now declares whether the challenge is a mental, physical, or social challenge (this is called the domain of the challenge). Next, the Challenger can call for rolling dice (Conflict Resolution, see next chapter), ask questions about the solution and for use of traits (go to Phase Two), or "give", which means accepting the solution and thereby concluding the challenge.

Phase Two (Elaboration): In this phase, the Challenger asks the Hunter questions regarding the proposed solution to the challenge. This includes pointing out potential flaws and asking the Hunter which trait he will use to ensure the desired outcome. The Hunter gives his answers and preactivates the trait he wants to use; each trait can only be preactivated once during an adventure. The Challenger can then give, go to Conflict Resolution, or accept the solution partially before introducing complications (leading to Phase Three).

Phase Three (Complication): The Challenger accepts the Hunter's solution to a certain point. Then the Challenger introduces one or more complications that the Hunter had not foreseen. Either the Hunter's plan did not work out at some point, or the Beast Hunter didn't know about surprises that would come up during the conflict. The Hunter now reacts to the complication(s) and modifies the rest of the solution accordingly. If the Challenger is satisfied with how the Hunter handles the complication, she can give. If not, the only choice is to resort to Conflict Resolution. The Challenger is allowed to have one trait active at the beginning of Conflict Resolution, and the Hunter's potentially preactivated trait from Phase Two will also be active.

Throughout these three phases (solution, elaboration, and complication), there are different consequences for the Challenger's choice. Calling for dice early is costly, as it directly rejects the Hunter's solution in favor of playing it out with dice and traits. However, if the Challenger calls for dice at the end of phases 2 or 3, the Hunter already has activated a trait and now gets bonuses for the conflict rolls.

The following list shows the consequences of the Challenger's choice:

• Phase One: Giving costs 2 adversity pool points and grants 1 reward point to the Hunter; going to conflict resolution costs 2 times the regular adversity pool points; traits have not been activated yet (they can be activated during the actual conflict).
• Phase Two: Giving costs 2 adversity pool points and grants 2 reward points to the Hunter; going to conflict resolution costs the regular adversity pool points; the Hunter has the opportunity to preactivate one trait.
• Phase Three: Giving costs 2 adversity pool points and grants 3 reward points to the Hunter; going to conflict resolution costs 1.5 times the regular adversity pool points per obstacle introduced; the Hunter and the Challenger each can have one preactivated trait.

We can put that all in a little table like so:

Giving During Negotiation

If during any of the three phases the Challenger believes that the Hunter has covered all bases and provided a fitting solution to the challenge, the Challenger can give. That means the Hunter wins the challenge and achieves the associated goal. The Hunter also receives reward points for challenges he won, which he can use to develop traits, resources, and other aspects of his character.

Cost for Giving: Giving means that the Challenger thinks the solution proposed by the Hunter is good enough (and cool or creative enough, or whatever other standard the Challenger wants to use) to overcome the obstacle. The Challenger always has to expend two points from the adversity pool in order to give. If only one point is left, giving simply reduces the pool to zero. If the Hunter gives, the Challenger expends nothing. If the Hunter gives during conflict resolution, the Challenger regains the points for the adversity introduced in the conflict.

Reward for Giving: The Hunter receives a number of reward points according to the phase in which the Challenger gave: giving at the end of Phase One grants 1 reward point, Phase Two grants 2 points, Phase Three grants 3. This is getting higher because of the increased effort the Hunter has put into addressing the challenge and its complications.

If the Challenger does not give, the players will use dice, traits, and actions to play through the challenge. This is called Conflict Resolution and is described in detail in the following chapter.