Obviously this 2nd Gobbo battle is unwinnable... and I've got a crazy (maybe even treacherous) idea for stage 2 to try and lose the item. I doubt it'll work, but who knows... and if it somehow does work, I jump right back into contention...
As for looting in future IBTs, the option to accept/decline Gobbo loot is one way to go about it. Another way would be to give Gobbo a separate loot table that has only beneficial items, plus a Gobbo-exclusive epic or two. Accept/decline is the simplest way, and it also just makes sense when considering the other aspects of looting.
In PvP the attacker declares an item they want to play for, and if the defender wins, they have the option to take one of the attacker's items, or they may decline; also if the attacker had no items to begin with then obviously the defender could not loot. In the case of a player pickpocketing an enemy NPC, the player is always the attacker and they've essentially declared for an "unknown item in the NPC's inventory". Then in the case of Gobbo, Gobbo is always the attacker and the player always defends, therefore as the defender it only makes sense that the player has the option to accept or decline Gobbo's loot.
So yeah, quite a bit to mull over. I hadn't thought about or seen through the possibility of what the Gobbo loot table might have been, so it's on me that I'm in this situation now. Oh well, let's see what happens...
Yeah...I'll think some more on gobbo (its really a bit of a balance question in a way). I think bots may adv a bit in future IBT's, pends on finding a way to link them to players score win/lose..I'll think some more.
Cheers and good luck
Gobbo tells me he doesn't need a 6 - he could kill you with his eyes closed...he really is trying to bait you...and seems he will test you again
Don't listen man.. @gobbo
Gobbo sneaks in and steals all the dice.
He laughs like a jerk and throws a die.
The sneaky git rolls a 5.
If only Gobbo was an actual player and not an NPC...