SatCoC player Bill

The Intimacy, Desperation, and Sincerity mechanics in MY LIFE WITH THE BATMAN are intended to reflect impact on conflict resolutions arising specifically from ways a character influences the emotional responses of the opposing party. The way it works is the GM has three dice, a burgundy d4 representing Intimacy, an orange d6 representing Desperation, and a white d8 representing Sincerity. All gameplay leading up to a conflict resolution roll is taken into account, and one of these dice is introduced to the roll on either side of the conflict, at the option of the GM. Because only one of these dice can be assigned into a single conflict, participants are always given the option of escalating their roleplay to the emotional context associated with a larger sized die, and thereby causing a prior allocation of a smaller die to the opposing side to be revoked. Additionally, it should be understood, a The Batman can never be Sincere, and so is precluded from ever earning the d8. This means a player always has an available option for trumping whatever context of emotional influence the GM may have worked up on behalf of the The Batman in a conflict. And to be clear, it is the whole value rolled on the Intimacy, Desperation, or Sincerity die that is added to the sum of the non-4s rolled on the rest of the dice. Breaking down the concepts more specifically, Intimacy, represented by the burgundy d4, is a potentially emotionless effort to provoke favorable emotions from another person by making use of some combination of physical proximity, touching, shared physical comfort, spontaneous grooming behaviors, shared food or drink, gifts, or approbatory language. A few roleplayed behaviors that fit the bill include: combing another character’s hair, sharing a glass of wine, having a conversation under the same quilt, and gripping another character by the deltoid to say, ‘You’re my number one.’ Desperation, represented by the orange d6, is an emotional effort to provoke a more favorable outcome from a conflict through sheer emotional distress. The character uses language, primarily, in an effort to give ownership of his or her emotional distress to the other person: ‘The Batman, no! Don’t make me. Twice already this evening I have crossed the swamp. I shall not survive another encounter with the hounds!’ Unlike Intimacy, Desperation works just as well on animals and inanimate objects. Sincerity, represented by the white d8, is the real deal. It’s showing genuine concern and feelings for the other person. It can be demonstrated through actions that destabilize a minion’s tenuous situation with the townspeople or the The Batman, or acts of self-sacrifice, but it doesn’t have to be. It’s having influence over the outcome, rather than provoking it, if that makes sense. All I can say is, you’ll know it when you see it. And the The Batman is incapable of it. Finally though, despite the detailed guidelines, GMs are encouraged to be generous when deciding whether to allocate an Intimacy/Desperation/Sincerity die to a player. MY LIFE WITH THE BATMAN is a creatively demanding game, and it is quite unrealistic to expect ongoing and consistent creative brilliance from player efforts to roleplay Intimacy, Desperation, and Sincerity. So, bluntly, don’t be a discouraging tightwad with these dice. If a player makes an honest attempt, give up the goods and let the opposition be trumped. You’ll easily be able to tell the difference between half-hearted efforts and honest attempts.