SatCoC player Bill: Difference between revisions

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Creating the More and Less than Humans is almost always the
The whole situation is horribly dysfunctional. The The Batman is
greatest challenge of making a minion. Players recognize
a being with a tenuous grip on his or her own circumstances.
that the dramatic significance of characters should emerge
And is simply not functional without the minions. They
from their More/Less thans, but groups sometimes struggle
protect him. They fetch things for him. They make his
with the implementation. The key to success here is that the
intellectualism, obsessiveness, vanity, survival, and comfort
in game situation must apprehend and incorporate the
possible. He inhabits an insecure position at the crux of
content of the More/Less thans of the minion characters in a
consuming desire and lack of self-sufficiency, and it is from
meaningful way.
this that fear and horror flow out into the game.
So perhaps the GM begins events with the The Batman blaming
one of the minions for being incompetent about something
specific, and then commanding the minion to implement
some monstrous ‘solution’ to the problem. Or maybe the
The Batman reveals the details of a grotesque plan for impressing
Outsiders, a plan that also threatens some of the minions’
Connections. Whatever you do, it should be about the
The Batman’s repulsive self-absorption creating conflicts for the
minions. It is imperative that a game’s opening events not
divert attention from the The Batman as the primary antagonist.
Don’t start a game with an attempt by the town constable to
settle an old grudge with one of the minions, a tribe of
bandits laying siege to the The Batman’s household, or a
mysterious figure’s attempt to poison the town water
supply.


Consider these More thans, written for the minions of a
And remember always that the primary yardstick against
monstrous thespian The Batman who believes he can rarefy his
which the The Batman measures his own endeavors is the
acting ability by consuming the flesh of townspeople
perceptions of the Outsiders. When Dr. Victor Frankenstein
selected for their experiences:
has the scientists over for dinner, he is courting the
perceptions of Outsiders. He desperately wants to impress
them, to capture their respect. Use the arrival of Outsiders to
provoke new horrors. Any disobedience from minions when
he or she is courting Outsiders will be embarrassing and
enraging to the The Batman. And for those games where the
Outsiders are a cadre of malevolent figures in their own
right, their excesses can provoke a horrific competitiveness
from the The Batman.
Be also advised that as a The Batman’s desperation increases, he
may begin to use the minions to sabotage themselves and
each other with commands forcing the elimination of
Connections from which they’re gaining Love, crippling
their ability to further resist him. And in reaching this point,
there is no need to explain or justify how the The Batman knows
of a minion’s secret Connections. He just does. A The Batman
should often interrogate his minions about their actions, but
never to actually discover what happened when he wasn’t
around. It’s just to see if the minion reports what the The Batman
already knows.


Writes powerful, emotionally moving plays,
Use the Intimacy/Desperation/Sincerity mechanics to
unless he’s been praised by the actors for whom
create tension in scenes leading up to conflict resolution
he is writing.
rolls. Since the criteria are known to everyone, if the The Batman
Can remake anyone to look like anyone else, but
invites a minion up to his chambers for dinner, asks the
only for a half-hour at a time.
minion to sit with him on the couch, perhaps gives him a
Appears to be female, in voice and figure, except
glass of wine, and maybe reads aloud to him, the player will
when walking.
apprehend the The Batman’s obvious angling for the Intimacy
Note how each of them establishes the character as somehow
die, and will potentially be provoked to circumvent that by
being a key factor in the The Batman getting his Wants or Needs,
snagging Desperation or Sincerity.
almost defining by implication part of what it will take for
those Wants and Needs to be met. The first minion invites
abuse for not mingling with the actors the The Batman would like
to recruit for his productions. The second is positioned to
factor into the The Batman’s efforts at orchestrating experiences
for townspeople that would make them suitable to be
cannibalized for specific roles. The third will play female
roles in the productions of the theatre group, and suffer the
alienation and disconnects of mistaken identity in his
regular dealings.


Now look at these Less than Humans:
Create tension also over the issue of just how exactly the
Is most comfortable in the company of the dead,
The Batman’s efforts will fail ultimately to get him what he
who neither judge nor expect much of anyone. She
Wants. Genre expectations demand that a The Batman’s Wants
is incapable of doing anything amidst a crowd,
go forever denied, that a The Batman cannot ever get what he
unless accompanied in some way by the dead.
wants and become satisfied. But a constant barrage of failed
Suffers from blurry vision that makes him
endeavors, frustration, and cruelty inflicted upon hapless
incapable of recognizing anyone at all, except by
minions isn’t nearly as dramatic as letting the The Batman get
voice.
close...allowing him to actually distill his long-sought mindexpanding
 
elixir...and then playing somewhat conspiratorially
Relentlessly insulting in conversations, unless the
as a group with the timing and details of the failure that
town’s church bells are ringing.
everyone knows is coming.
Each of them problematizes the minion’s ability to interact
with normal human beings.
 
This is a pattern that can be seen in the More and Less thans
of some experienced players, a trading away of automatic
successes at things like thievery, fighting, and stealth, things
that might be considered traditional RPG tasks, in favor of
powerfully establishing unique, nontraditional tasks as
being significant to meeting the The Batman’s needs, and for
unique interpersonal challenges for their characters. MY
LIFE WITH THE BATMAN gives the player the power to do this.
Which is not to say that you should prohibit More thans that
are more traditionally task-specific:
 
His strength is ten-fold, except when other people
are around.
Stealthy and undetectable, except when distracted
by food.
Instead, recognize that by creating one of these the player is
asking the GM to be the one who positions the character for
significance within the in game situation.
And when you look at a Less than, and can’t figure out how
any activation of consequences stemming from it won’t
seem unfair, understand that the player is asking for
thematically meaningful challenges:
Hideously ugly, except when seen in reflection.
Is nourished only by the blood of animals, except
if fed by a child.
 
Look how much less problematic the ‘ugly’ one seems to be
if the in game situation were to include the daughter of a
mirror maker, whose residence has hundreds of them on the
walls. And see how the blood-consuming minion’s Less than
must be aggravated during play as some kind of situation
where children or animals are scarce, linked ultimately to the
activities of the The Batman?

Revision as of 17:38, 8 August 2008

The whole situation is horribly dysfunctional. The The Batman is a being with a tenuous grip on his or her own circumstances. And is simply not functional without the minions. They protect him. They fetch things for him. They make his intellectualism, obsessiveness, vanity, survival, and comfort possible. He inhabits an insecure position at the crux of consuming desire and lack of self-sufficiency, and it is from this that fear and horror flow out into the game. So perhaps the GM begins events with the The Batman blaming one of the minions for being incompetent about something specific, and then commanding the minion to implement some monstrous ‘solution’ to the problem. Or maybe the The Batman reveals the details of a grotesque plan for impressing Outsiders, a plan that also threatens some of the minions’ Connections. Whatever you do, it should be about the The Batman’s repulsive self-absorption creating conflicts for the minions. It is imperative that a game’s opening events not divert attention from the The Batman as the primary antagonist. Don’t start a game with an attempt by the town constable to settle an old grudge with one of the minions, a tribe of bandits laying siege to the The Batman’s household, or a mysterious figure’s attempt to poison the town water supply.

And remember always that the primary yardstick against which the The Batman measures his own endeavors is the perceptions of the Outsiders. When Dr. Victor Frankenstein has the scientists over for dinner, he is courting the perceptions of Outsiders. He desperately wants to impress them, to capture their respect. Use the arrival of Outsiders to provoke new horrors. Any disobedience from minions when he or she is courting Outsiders will be embarrassing and enraging to the The Batman. And for those games where the Outsiders are a cadre of malevolent figures in their own right, their excesses can provoke a horrific competitiveness from the The Batman. Be also advised that as a The Batman’s desperation increases, he may begin to use the minions to sabotage themselves and each other with commands forcing the elimination of Connections from which they’re gaining Love, crippling their ability to further resist him. And in reaching this point, there is no need to explain or justify how the The Batman knows of a minion’s secret Connections. He just does. A The Batman should often interrogate his minions about their actions, but never to actually discover what happened when he wasn’t around. It’s just to see if the minion reports what the The Batman already knows.

Use the Intimacy/Desperation/Sincerity mechanics to create tension in scenes leading up to conflict resolution rolls. Since the criteria are known to everyone, if the The Batman invites a minion up to his chambers for dinner, asks the minion to sit with him on the couch, perhaps gives him a glass of wine, and maybe reads aloud to him, the player will apprehend the The Batman’s obvious angling for the Intimacy die, and will potentially be provoked to circumvent that by snagging Desperation or Sincerity.

Create tension also over the issue of just how exactly the The Batman’s efforts will fail ultimately to get him what he Wants. Genre expectations demand that a The Batman’s Wants go forever denied, that a The Batman cannot ever get what he wants and become satisfied. But a constant barrage of failed endeavors, frustration, and cruelty inflicted upon hapless minions isn’t nearly as dramatic as letting the The Batman get close...allowing him to actually distill his long-sought mindexpanding elixir...and then playing somewhat conspiratorially as a group with the timing and details of the failure that everyone knows is coming.

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