thread: 2006-01-10 : Pulling Coplayers In
On 2006-01-10, JAK wrote:
That game that I'm working on translating/releasing in the US called Tenra Bansho has something like this. I'm no where near done so this isn't a plug, just a shout out. First edition was released in 97, second in 2000, and though this mechanic was definitely in the rules in the 2000 edition, they may have been in the 97 edition as well, I'm not sure.
ANYWAY, the game is structured like a Japanese Opera (Kabuki), complete with mechanics for setting the scene, acts, and taking intermissions. During the game, you get what can be described as Fan Mail for doing Fan Mail Rewarding kinds of things. On your character sheet, on the right hand side, is your "Karma". In the Karma section you write down Spiritual Attribute-style things like "Love of the Princess", "Horrible Repressed Memories", etc. Playing off those in game lets you convert Fan Mail into points that let you do things like improve your character or roll a bunch of dice for an attack roll.
But the cool thing is that that area, Karma, is totally open for people to fuck with. You spend a Fan Mail point to fuck with someone's Karma. Also, for major NPCs, there's this chart where by the GM can award you fan mail for fucking around a bit with your Karma. However, the real magic happens when players spend their Fan Mail to fuck with each other's Karma.
GM: (in character as The Princess, she chews out Andy's player for not being a loyal knight).
Andy: I'm taking this chewing-out, thinking, "Damn, I'm protecting this friggin selfish bitch?"
Tony: "Oh yeah, she's a bitch, but deep down (SLAPS DOWN A FAN MAIL CHIP) you're In Love With her. BOO-YAH!"
Andy: What the fuck? Uh, ok...
Tony: "Yeah, I'm thinking some love-hate going on here."
Andy: "OK, ok, I'm feeling it... I guess. I'll play along." (WRITES "LOVES THAT BITCHY PRINCESS" under Karma section of character sheet)
And later, in play, if Andy plays up that love for the princess, just like Spiritual Attributes in TROS, then more XP and bonus die flow. Andy gets to taste a new character aspect, and play it up for points or reject it in the long run, because other people can spend Fan Mail to fuck with each other's Karma.
From actual play replays I've read of this mechanic in the game, there's a lot of "GOTCHA! HA HA!" that happen, which lead to really cool drama and story.
-Andy
This makes TLB go "Boo-YAH!"
This makes BR go "Sounds interesting!"
It also sounds like its very much a PUSH mechanic. The other people don't bribe or influence you to take it, they force you to take it. Once its on your sheet you can play it or not, but it is on your sheet either way.
This makes TLB go "'course it's a bribe"
BR: So it's on your sheet? So what? Things on my sheet don't mean anything until I play them. If I am encouraged (but not required) to play them by a reward then that's a bribe, pure and simple.
This makes BR go "Maybe"
The credibilty issue still rears its head, however. I have to wonder why both putting it on the sheet if it isn't going to be played?
This makes TLB go "Well..."
How's the player going to remember that they can get a reward for something, if nobody ever wrote it down anywhere?
This makes BR go "Then why not make it a suggestion?"
If they are deciding whether or not they want to use it, why make it something that "fucks with" rather than something they chose to put down or not?
As it is I see no point in the whole "GOTCHA! HA! HA" other than making a push mechanic that doesn't have a lot of actual push.
This makes BR go "Of course"
It may be that you're right Tony, and I'm over reacting to the rhetoric of the statement and not paying enough attention to the structural logic. I must think on this.
This makes JAK go "Weel, this also happens..."
It's hard to be light on the Karma mechanic, because it's really bound into a... let me call it Dark Jedi mechanic. Essentially, when someone writes something on your character sheet, it's there for "good". Later on, the more you spend the Fan Mail to do earthly things like get bonus rolls and the like, the closer you get to that Dark Jedi threshold. So, say someone slaps "Love the Princess" on your sheet. You can do four things to lower your "Dark Jedi points", one of them lowering and removing these Fates (sorry, I said Karma above, that was my misnomer. Karma are the "Dark Side Points", and Fate are the Spiritual Attributes in this game). Anyway, if you REALLY don't want to Love the Princess, you can through effort remove it and lower your Dark Side points. However, if you're feeling it, you cna instead raise that Fate up really high, which also chews up those Fate points.
(cut)
This makes JAK go "Therefore..."
crap, I meant you can raise that Fate up really high, which also chews up those Dark Side Points.
So slapping a Fate on someone that they may not be too interested in is a narrative opportunity ("I want to see you try to act this out"), and a gamist opportunity ("I see you're getting close to Dark Side. Here, have a chit and maybe this will ease the pain a little"). So it's a chance to support each other... WHILE fucking around with each others' characters.
This makes JAK go "And one last thing"
Not player to player, but the GM has these things, too, called "Desinies", which look a lot like Fates, save that the GM hands them out. It's weird, they're basically like Kickers from Sorcerer, but the GM hands them to the players in their first act. Any time that "kicker issue" comes into play ("Protect Mayu", "Hatred of the Asuka Clan", etc), the players can frame those into the conflict to gain, yep, more Fan Mail and bonus dice. But that's not such a hot item as the rest of the stuff, because traditionally GMs fuck around with the PCs characters all the time, it's just that it's never really codified. Man, I should have just taken this to a new Post. :-)
