Does the Ward ritual only apply to enemies?

Does the Ward ritual only apply to enemies? I'm picturing the players setting up a Ward around their campsite at night, and then wondering about how many stray deer, squirrels, and so on cross the border and grant +1 momentum. My first thought was that it applied just to significant characters, but I don't think it's intended for PCs to be able to walk back and forth a couple times to build up momentum.

Also, how long does a Ward last? Is there anything preventing a PC from making several of them? I'm picturing it lasting maybe 24 hours, or until sunrise or sunset, or something like that, with a PC only able to make one at a time, but I'm not sure what was intended.

Comments

  1. Shawn TomkinAugust 7, 2018 at 1:07 PM

    Hah, Joel Britton. I never even considered that, but I guess some wily players could pull some shenanigans. Please consider any mentions of the intruder as a "foe" (i.e. "When a foe crosses the boundary"). I'll consider rephrasing that one.

    And, no, your players can't punch each other to make themselves foes and run back-and-forth across the boundary :)

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  2. Joel BrittonAugust 7, 2018 at 1:14 PM

    Yeah, I hadn't either! One of my players saw that and was asking about it. And did you have anything in mind in terms of limitations for the ward, like how long it lasts or how many one PC could have at once?

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  3. Shawn TomkinAugust 7, 2018 at 1:22 PM

    I'd say once they set up a ward, "tripping" it and triggering the momentum/harm/containment will essentially sap its magic. If a player wants to set up multiple wards at once ... sure! The thing about rituals is that there is always a risk/reward component. The more moves you make, the more likely you end up rolling a miss. But trying to stack wards on top of each other to multiply the effect or other such shenanigans, I'd call foul on that. There are ways for players to apply the letter of the law to "game" the assets, but the goofiness of it versus the actual intent will usually be pretty obvious.

    Good points on the ritual in general, though. I'll flag it some polish. Thank your player for me.

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  4. Joel BrittonAugust 7, 2018 at 1:27 PM

    Ok, that all makes sense. Yeah, mostly just trying to get a picture of the ward as a constant "always on" sort of defensive measure that works against any number of enemies, or more of a one shot item. I like the risk vs. reward about making multiple wards though. And yeah, definitely no about stacking them on top of each other. Next to each other would be fine, but they'd be triggered in succession, not all at once.

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