After asking an actor to try doing something

Authoring Inform 7
#1

So, if you’re asking a character to try doing something, Before and Instead rules work fine. After rules, however, I can’t seem to trigger.

[code]startroom is a room.

Harold is a man in startroom.

Persuasion rule for asking someone to try waiting: rule succeeds.

After asking a person (called instructee) to try waiting: say “[instructee] looks distinctly bored.”[/code]
But if you turn on action listing, the asking-Harold-to-try-waiting rule succeeds, and I don’t see any other rules that would interfere. What’s going on here?

#2

At some point (not exactly sure where) the asking action changes into the action that is requested, i.e. the “Harold waiting” action, and the asking action stops. This works:

After a person (called instructee) waiting: say "[instructee] looks distinctly bored."
#3

Thanks. And that also works with kinds of action, although the right phrasing messes up the natural-languageyness:

[code]startroom is a room.

Harold is a man in startroom.

Persuasion rule for asking someone to try waiting: rule succeeds.

Waiting is tedious behaviour. Taking inventory is tedious behaviour.

After an actor tedious behaviour: say “[actor] looks distinctly bored.”[/code]

edit: but of course it also works when the player waits. Though that’s easily avoided.

#4

We seem to have coalesced around “behaving tediously”, rather than “tedious behavior”, as the comfortable way to phrase kinds-of-action.