You ever have one of those, oh yeah, I was gonna have that in my game" moments way down the line? Years ago, even before what is now Galactic was proto-PTA, I had this idea of there being Sorcerer Demon-esque factions that the characters could call on for support, but it'd lead to problems down the line.
So what I'm thinking is that, like in Sorcerer, these factions have wants and needs, translated into what larger thing they're after, and what darker consequences can result in their influence over a location. When you call upon a faction, you run a greater and greater risk of the location's future becoming bleaker.
My goal, I think -- and here's where those of you at home can help out -- is to provide some general 1- or 2-word descriptors that the players can choose from when creating their factions.
The question is, what are those descriptors? I could do stuff like "greed," "paranoia" and stuff, but that seems maybe too bland. Or I could provide a set list of governing types and list their negative sides, but that might be a little too heavy handed. Like maybe you don't agree with me that unregulated capitalism is bad, and therefore my game will annoy you, and it's only a small part of the game's premise.
Any suggestions or ideas? I'm in kind of a cloud about it.
Wednesday, January 04, 2006
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I think it has more bite, and works better if you want to push the unchecked exploitation factor if you give it specific needs- not generalized ones.
"Spinal cords. Fresh & healthy. We can't clone'em, too complex. But man, if you get us a good source..."
"We need a fresh ecosystem to test out our terraforming bacteria. Don't know what'll do the the world, but that's really the point of the experiment, right?"
"Stars. We're testing a new weapon, it causes a star to die out over the course of 10 years."
I don't know if any of that fits mechanically with Galatic, but man, scary stuff.
Hmm.. Interesting ideas. Yeah, they'd need setting tuning, but definitely evocative. And I like how that would work with the increasing chance. The more you have them show up, the more notice they take of the location, and the more likely they'll be to find it ideal for their needs.
Cool. Thanks!
Can this be tied to the thing you mentioned earlier, where you invest points to create a happier endgame? Whereas if you draw on "greed" resources your investing towards a darker future.
As for generating these key phrases: suppose there was some mechanic where, in the course of a conflict, you can point out some fact and say "THIS! My character is against TORTURE/GREED/TAXES". And then that's written down, and you now are able to use that trait to create a faction that works *towards* that goal, that you can tap into at any time.
Does that make sense? In-play you develop flags for those issues that you've taken a stand on already, which then work as free-standing temptations to becoming a cycnical power-monger.
That new edition of World of Darkness has a (ham-fisted) mechanic for each player to work off their virtue and vice to regain willpower. Basically, playing to your virtue for an extended period grants you greater power, but playing to a vice gives you a little bit right now.
Is this the sort of thing you're looking for? A vice resource that the player can fall back on, but at the expense of their morality?
What about, instead of "greed" and "paranoia," you provided a list of mental illnesses? Drawing on a faction is going to increase the incidence or severity of that illness in their chosen location--presumably as a means to an end.
Like, you beat the baddie, sure, but somewhere else people are starving themselves, or stealing little things, or forgetting facial expressions. And because of that, the shadowy group can ultimately corrupt the idea of beauty, or destroy notions of property, or lead a country without sympathy to war...
I'm confused about the mental illness thing. You mean, instead of them moving in and setting up sweatshops, everyone gets Downs Syndrome?
Can this be tied to the thing you mentioned earlier, where you invest points to create a happier endgame? Whereas if you draw on "greed" resources your investing towards a darker future.
Yeah, that's actually what I was thinking. Probably how that'd work is you'd have the "Concordance" being sort of a UN equivalent, at least with the UN's ideals at heart. But if things go poorly, it fails to achieve enough power and support and instead becomes bureaucratic and ineffective, much like how some people view the UN now.
That new edition of World of Darkness has a (ham-fisted) mechanic for each player to work off their virtue and vice to regain willpower. Basically, playing to your virtue for an extended period grants you greater power, but playing to a vice gives you a little bit right now.
It's not totally unlike that. Except it's tied to the faction as a whole. More like if you enlisted the help of one of the "frats" in a WW game, and then you'd have to deal with the consequences of that. Like, great, now the damn Ventrues want to make everyone wear clown makeup. But a little heavier than that.
Matt,
What do you think of my idea of creating those new factions in-play?
What do you think of my idea of creating those new factions in-play?
You don't have to squint too hard to tell that I considered doing this as a Sorcerer mini-supplement. In that light, creating new factions is right on target. I figure there's non-human ones that your character can get tangled up with, as well as secret society kinds of things.
It means I gots a lot of writing to do.
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