[UA] Risking It

[Patrick O'Duffy]

----- Original Message -----
From: "Ratoslov Lenev" <jrandomusa at yahoo.com>

> In each situation, does the adept gain a charge? Why?

The following is only, of course, my opinion:


> Consider the following situations:
> 1. A bodybag lies down on the median line of a highway for one hour,
> when the highway has a traffic rate of 2 cars per minute.

Median line... that's the part of the freeway where cars don't go, right? In
that case, he's still at risk, but a fairly low risk, because it'd be
unusual for a car to cross that line and possible hit him.  Maybe a minor
charge; the penalty of the risk is high, but the probability of risk fairly
low.

(Assuming I'm right on what 'median line' means. I don't drive, so I'm not
up on the terminology.)

> 2. A bodybag takes six identical pistols, and loads one of them. He
> puts them in a bag, mixes them up, draws one, and fires it at his head.

Exactly the same as Russian Roulette, both in probability and effect. No
problem.

> 3. A bodybag gets an assistant, and before leaving for the day on
> buisness, tells him to roll a six-sided die and load a pistol only if
> the die comes up six. When he gets back, the bodybag takes the pistol
> and fires it at his head.

Again, this is the same as RR. One chance in six. The chance/risk is not 'is
this gun loaded', but 'did the dice come up six'. _That's_ the event that
will 'provide' the charge, but the 'circuit' won't be complete until the gun
is fired.

As GM, I'd say he gets the charge. Assuming the dice _was_ rolled...

> 4. A bodybag finds a pistol in the hands of someone who committed
> suicide, and decides to test if he committed suicide on purpose, or
> while playing russian roulette.

Hmmm... I'd say no. There's no real understanding on the adept's part of the
risks involved; he's making a supposition, then seeing if it's true. That's
a little like saying 'there's a risk I could get hit by a meteorite and die
today, so I should get a charge for just standing here' (although a little
less drastic).

Remember, unlike some avatars, adepts _always_ know what they're doing, and
will know if they're blowing risks out of proportion or commiting acts that
don't have any real meaning.

> 5. A avatar of the Mad Statistician places a bomb in a bodybag's
> apartment that will explode when he opens the door 1 in 6 times. The
> other five times, it will simply deliver a message. Unknowingly, he
> opens the door.

No charge. The adept doesn't know about the bomb, so he can't 'accept' the
risk. No meaning is invested in the act of opening the door, so no charge is
gathered.

--
Patrick O'Duffy, Brisbane, Australia

What are you fucking looking at? What? You think I'm one of the nutless
freaks you peddle your watered-down gnat's piss to? One of your mental
barflies gone bad? I'm a fucking journalist! I am working!

 - Spider Jerusalem, TRANSMETROPOLITAN #34


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