Editing Xanderan the Wizard Slayer (section)

==Character Types and Drama Points==

Drama Points are taken right out of Buffy: The Vampire Slayer RPG and work in much the same way as in that game. The only real difference is that Plot Twists cost a variable amount depending on what you want to do, and work like Dramatic Editing in Adventure!.

Gaining DP in play is also as in Buffy – but with a S&S amoral twist. Heroic action is about "Great things" things beyond normal human accomplishment, rather than "good things" that are nice and sweet. Quotes that get rewarded are less glib and pop-culture and more baroque and pulpy. Getting screwed by the plot still works the same, as does supporting the Wizard Slayer when he gets all catatonic and murder-machiney. Finally, I give DPs when players come up with good ideas for sub-plots, interesting kickers for the start of a game, or toss out a good bang when I’m getting stuck on what the plot should do next. (I can hear Ron Edwards screaming at my mangling his terminology right now….) That dovetails nicely with the Dramatic Editing aspect, as players can sometimes get an essentially "free" Dramatic Edit if what they edit becomes cool enough to generate a subplot of its own.

Character creation is based on type. Heroes are made according to the "Heroic Fantasy" rules on pages 428-429 of the Tal book, Henchmen are done as standard archetypes. Heroes get 5 DPs, Henchme get 10. Heroes buy them with XP at 2 to 1, Henchmen at 1 to 1 (because you get more XP in Tal than Buffy).

Mooks never have DPs. Minor Villians have 1 to 3. Big Bads can have 10+. Big Bads have one extra advantage in that they don’t have to be present to spend a Drama Point, nor does it have to effect only themselves. Anything that is in their domain can be effected, with the DP boosting the trait opposing the character by 10. So sneaking into a castle might normally be easy for the PCs, but when they sneak into the Big Bad’s castle things seem to go wrong, and everything gets more difficult.