Difference between revisions of "SatCoC player Bill"

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The final act of play for each player, including the one that
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Endgame is a climactic series of scenes that culminates with
just ended the The Batman’s life, is to narrate an Epilogue for their
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the dramatic death of the The Batman at the hands of a minion. It
character.
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is triggered when a minion successfully resists a command
There is one global constraint on Epilogues: the narrations
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from the The Batman, and the sum total of the minion’s Love is
may not deprotagonize another minion. That is, an Epilogue
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greater than Fear plus his own Weariness.
cannot be narrated in such a way that undermines the emotional
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LOVE > FEAR plus WEARINESS
and intellectual investment that other game participants might
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From that point forward the The Batman’s fate is sealed; the
have in a given minion’s endeavors. Most typically, a violation
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triggering minion and the The Batman are locked in a violent
of this constraint would be a player trying to say how the minion
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conflict that will likely comprise several scenes, intercut
of another player is killed off, or how significant foils of that
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with the struggles of the other minions, before producing
minion are killed or ruined in some way.
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the death of the The Batman. It is the only situation in which
And there is one interpreted constraint, which is determined
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violence perpetrated upon the The Batman has a tangible effect.
according to the following scheme:
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So, when the above-described triggering occurs, the GM
1. Weariness greater than Reason plus Self-loathing:
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dramatically suspends the conflict with the The Batman and cuts
The minion flees/runs/wanders off, giving up on
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to each of the other players in sequence, aggressively framing
his struggle. Long work for the The Batman has
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them into dangerous and threatening scenes of their own, which
discouraged the minion to where it just cannot bear
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they must resolve without the benefit of Fear. If they’re in a fight
to go on.
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with Townspeople, for instance, during Endgame they roll only
2. Self-loathing plus Weariness greater than Love plus
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Self-loathing to act with hostility. Fear no longer contributes to
Reason: The minion is killed
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their effectiveness. One round of scenes that way, and the
3. Self-loathing greater than Weariness plus Reason:
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action returns to the minion locked in conflict with the The Batman,
The minion destroys itself
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with the minion’s player testing for death of the The Batman by
4. Love plus Reason greater than Self-loathing plus
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rolling Love minus Weariness against the The Batman rolling Fear
Weariness: The minion integrates itself into the
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plus the minion’s Self-loathing.
society of Townspeople
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minion (LOVE minus WEARINESS) vs.
5. Love equals zero: The minion emerges from the
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The Batman (FEAR plus SELF-LOATHING)
ashes of the Endgame as a force of Fear in his/her
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If the minion wins, the The Batman is killed, and the game
own right
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proceeds to Epilogues. If the minion does not win the roll,
Volya is torn apart by a mob
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another round of scenes is had with the other characters,
6. Self-loathing plus Weariness equals Love plus Reason:
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except that this time the players get to call for scenes. And
The minion finds a new The Batman to serve
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then another test for the death of the The Batman. Each time the
If two or more of these six conditions are satisfied by a given
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The Batman wins the roll against the minion, the minion gains a
minion’s traits, the choice of which one of them to use for the
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point of Weariness, and the GM and player negotiate the
character’s Epilogue rests entirely with the player. It’s also not
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events of that scene. The GM alternates, after each such
a bad idea to figure out which of these six conditions apply to the
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roll, between rounds of framing scenes without player input
minion responsible for the death of the The Batman before that
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and rounds of framing scenes called for by the players.
death actually gets described, just in case that minion’s player
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Presumably it could take a few cycles of this before the
wants to incorporate his character’s self-destruction or
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The Batman is dead, all the while the players are sorting out the
something in with the The Batman’s own final scene.
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final trait values that will inform their individual Epilogues,
And note that beyond the two constraints, a minion’s
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A minion will cause the demise of the The Batman
Epilogue is entirely open to whatever the player wishes to
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likely working with intent toward having certain desired
include. So, the minion destroys itself. How does it do that?
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outcomes available to their characters.
Who discovers the body? The minion is killed. Who does
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And note that there is nothing precluding a player from
the deed? Love letters can be discovered by favored
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using his turn for a scene request to ask for entry into the
Connections, whatever the player wishes, as long as the
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conflict with the The Batman, so that his character can provide aid
constraints are satisfied.
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to one side or the other. The player is effectively delaying
 +
and foregoing his own scene until things get around to the
 +
minion vs. The Batman action again, but it’s a choice that makes
 +
a lot of sense for a player who’s concerned perhaps about the
 +
creep of Self-loathing his character might be experiencing
 +
from the GM’s framing of threatening scenes, and how
 +
protracted it could become if the Weariness of the minion
 +
grappling with the The Batman were to continue to grow. And it’s
 +
an option that tends to produce quite dramatic and Othelloesque
 +
Endgames, with minions, and Connections, and mobs
 +
of townspeople and outsiders showing up for the throwdown.

Revision as of 10:42, 8 August 2008

Endgame is a climactic series of scenes that culminates with the dramatic death of the The Batman at the hands of a minion. It is triggered when a minion successfully resists a command from the The Batman, and the sum total of the minion’s Love is greater than Fear plus his own Weariness. LOVE > FEAR plus WEARINESS From that point forward the The Batman’s fate is sealed; the triggering minion and the The Batman are locked in a violent conflict that will likely comprise several scenes, intercut with the struggles of the other minions, before producing the death of the The Batman. It is the only situation in which violence perpetrated upon the The Batman has a tangible effect. So, when the above-described triggering occurs, the GM dramatically suspends the conflict with the The Batman and cuts to each of the other players in sequence, aggressively framing them into dangerous and threatening scenes of their own, which they must resolve without the benefit of Fear. If they’re in a fight with Townspeople, for instance, during Endgame they roll only Self-loathing to act with hostility. Fear no longer contributes to their effectiveness. One round of scenes that way, and the action returns to the minion locked in conflict with the The Batman, with the minion’s player testing for death of the The Batman by rolling Love minus Weariness against the The Batman rolling Fear plus the minion’s Self-loathing. minion (LOVE minus WEARINESS) vs. The Batman (FEAR plus SELF-LOATHING) If the minion wins, the The Batman is killed, and the game proceeds to Epilogues. If the minion does not win the roll, another round of scenes is had with the other characters, except that this time the players get to call for scenes. And then another test for the death of the The Batman. Each time the The Batman wins the roll against the minion, the minion gains a point of Weariness, and the GM and player negotiate the events of that scene. The GM alternates, after each such roll, between rounds of framing scenes without player input and rounds of framing scenes called for by the players. Presumably it could take a few cycles of this before the The Batman is dead, all the while the players are sorting out the final trait values that will inform their individual Epilogues, A minion will cause the demise of the The Batman likely working with intent toward having certain desired outcomes available to their characters. And note that there is nothing precluding a player from using his turn for a scene request to ask for entry into the conflict with the The Batman, so that his character can provide aid to one side or the other. The player is effectively delaying and foregoing his own scene until things get around to the minion vs. The Batman action again, but it’s a choice that makes a lot of sense for a player who’s concerned perhaps about the creep of Self-loathing his character might be experiencing from the GM’s framing of threatening scenes, and how protracted it could become if the Weariness of the minion grappling with the The Batman were to continue to grow. And it’s an option that tends to produce quite dramatic and Othelloesque Endgames, with minions, and Connections, and mobs of townspeople and outsiders showing up for the throwdown.