Duels with TN

[Dizdemona777]

I use a tactical action which reads: CA 5, TN 12, RST WP. 

I flip a 5 and my opponent a 2. My Casting totals 10 but I fail beacause of the TN and my opponent's WP totals 7  which is lower than mine.

What happens? Who has the chance to cheat Fate first ?

 

Thanks in advance!

[Dogmantra]

Whoever currently has the lowest Duel Total cheats first, even if the attacker isn't meeting their TN.

 

"Whoever's losing the duel" is a common shorthand for who cheats first but is technically incorrect, or at least a bit misleading in this case.

[Adran]

The person losing the duel will cheat first, so in this case it will be the defender. Following the process on page 26/27 of the manual, the lowest total cheats first (step 3), and its not until you determine success (step 5) that the Target number needs to be looked at. 

I'll always remind the defender that whilst they are cheating first, I still need to reach a Target number so if your case, it would be pointless for the defender to cheat a 6, since it puts them at a level that if I cheat to succeed, then I will already be beating their total. 

 

[Fetid Strumpet]

Mechanically, all a TN is is an additional requirement to win the duel, or have an ability work. It is a resource requirement that helps limit the power of something. All the TN means at all is that when you determine a winner of a duel, or see if an action was successful, that the player taking that action used an appropriately high enough card to do so. It has absolutely no effect on the order a duel proceeds in. It's just an extra check at the end.

Attacking player has a value total equal to or higher than the defender? Check

Attacking player met the TN requirement of the ability in question? Yes, ability goes off. No, ability fails.

[Dizdemona777]

Thanks for the quick and precise answers guys!