thread: 2009-06-22 : Secrets: the Smelly Chamberlain
On 2009-06-23, Vincent wrote:
Simon, my take is that those rules you're talking about, who has authority over what, they serve to push the group toward one outcome or another. The more systemic authority the GM has over the NPC's qualities, the more strongly the GM can object, the more systemic weight his simple objection carries.
In the "Betty's character is paranoid, shh, don't tell Betty" example, the group presumes that Betty will respond well and give the group outcome 1, but nevertheless she might respond badly and give the group one of the other outcomes. If she does, that'll be socially expensive, because they've set her up well and because systemic authority is on their side.
In other words, outcome 1 - Betty runs with it - is most likely, because of the thorough setup and the systemic authority. If Betty fights it, though, outcome 5 - Betty fights it and the game busts up - is far more likely that outcome 3 - Betty fights it and the rest of the group relents.
I don't think that rules about who has authority over what can change when things become true. I think that they can change which outcomes happen.
