General resistance rolls

Games Discussion Ars Magica
1

I know how Magic Resistance is working but what if the source of a certain effect or emotion is not magical? How do you resolve if a character can resist it or not then? None of the characteristics or Abilities seem to cover that area.

An example: A group of companions and a magus meet a dragon or some other monster for the first time in their lives and I imagine this should be a very frightening experience in itself without the monster even using any special power. What would you do to resolve this to see if the the characters pee in their pants and run or dare to stay and face the monster?

I know grogs have the Brave trait and can roll against that, but since companions and magi does not need to have this trait according to the rules i wonder if there is some other better way to solve it?
Maybe i should just make all players set a figure for their characters Courage, but then there might be other emotions like withstanding charm attempts and such.

2

If you do not have a personality trait, it is considered that you have it at a value of +0. In general is a good idea to give your combat companions the brave or loyal trait (Or even reckless) if you plan to face odds against you and not pee as you said :slight_smile: It makes for quite fun scenes when the grogs stand their ground and the ultrapowerful mages flee in terror :laughing:

Cheers,

Xavi

3

Yes - slap your players around and get them to realize that just because it's not in the rules doesn't mean it's not a ~very~ good idea, depending on the character. :unamused: