Untitled - Index of - Free

Director - No way. Of course, you saved Scott, who
would have been a broken rag doll when this
guy hit. You look up to see if there's enough
time to get out of the way, and caught like a
deer, frozen in the headlights of an on­
rushing pickup truck, ...
Johnny - Oooh, that's gonna' hurt.
Abe - I'll
spend a Plot Point into 'Grounded' to help
take the impact. I don't expect to stop the
Colonel, so I'm not Activating it for a Success
in this action, but rather to become Grounded
for the rest of the Scene. Maybe I can slow
this guy down enough to let the others get
away.
Director - Well, you could drop a second Plot Point for
Abe -
a Success in this action, as well, which might
even up the odds a bit. If you could give me
a good reason to let you.
Good reason? What about Francois! This
stinkin', yellow, Nazi bastard killed Francois!
I mark off another Plot Point. I want to duck
just beneath the Colonel's mechanical arm,
and catch him in a bear hug, stopping him.
and absorbing the impact with my whole
body.
Director- Good. Just before the Colonel hits you, the
grappling hook releases from the floor, snap­
ping back into the Colonel's mechanical arm.
You've grounded your huge frame to meet
his charge, filled with rage over the death of
Francois. The impact is one of those audible
moments they describe in comic books with
a big 'THOOM!'. A lesser man would have
had his chest caved in, but your immense
size, fast reactions, and righteous rage have
saveo you. Still, the entire front of your body
is bruised. You almost manage to stay up­
right, but the Colonel's charge carries you
back several feet, and over at too great an
angle. You both topple to the ground, like a
great tree being felled.
106 Theatrlx - The Core Rules
And the Director gives the Actor portraying Abe a reason
for this self-sacrifice.
This is a good example of the difference between a
Descriptor Activated in its own right, for an entire Scene,
and a Descriptor Activated to gain a Success in a single
action.
However, you're cetainly allowed to do both, if you've got
the Plot Points.
Notice how the Actor is writing the script here. This is how
the Actor sees Abe's Plot Point driven Success. The
Director need not accept this version, but there's no
reason not to, in this case.
The Actor has spent a Plot Point. This is a special moment,
and the Actor deserves to hear how special it is.
Of course there may be some additions. The Director has
added a few touches to give the Colonel's impact more
reality, without removing the effectiveness of that Plot
Point. If there were no way to provide this Success,
without destroying genre or realism, then the Director
may have denied this Plot Point expenditure.