The Dresden Files > DFRPG
Frustrated Question on Morality and denied characater concepts in Dresden RPG
iago:
Compels aren't a force, they're constraint. It's important to recognize that. They eliminate options, but they don't say you can only do this one specific thing. Your Anger aspect might get compelled, and you'd have to act angrily/in anger, but what that action is is still determinable by the player.
Telum Voltas:
--- Quote from: TheMouse on May 29, 2009, 09:37:02 PM ---I imagine that those people would be in the minority. Most of the folks I've played with haven't liked being absolutely forced to do something without an option.
--- End quote ---
I suppose I phrased my idea poorly.
What I mean is, you're only FORCED to do the action if all your OTHER choices are worse ones (or if your choices leading up to your quandry are so bad that there's no other option). It's like dying in an RPG: You don't LIKE dying, but sometimes the things you do make it unavoidable to die. As I showed in my example with not feeding on clergy, you don't necessarily HAVE to act according to your Compel, but it DOES provide a moral quandry that wouldn't be there if you could just ignore your Compel. The fun isn't in being backed into a corner from which your only egress is the Compel; it's about making you choose between the monster that's in your nature and whatever the alternative is.
Harry faced similar distasteful choices when dealing with Lash. His cooperation with her on various occasions was distasteful, but he decided that the cost of NOT cooperating would be too high. That's what I'm talking about. Not "here is your adventure. Minute 1: you must do this. Now you may resume playing your character" sort of things. Just "If I do this, will I be in a hole so deep that my only choice will be to ____?"
TheMouse:
--- Quote from: iago on May 29, 2009, 11:25:17 PM ---Compels aren't a force, they're constraint. It's important to recognize that. They eliminate options, but they don't say you can only do this one specific thing. Your Anger aspect might get compelled, and you'd have to act angrily/in anger, but what that action is is still determinable by the player.
--- End quote ---
I worded what I meant poorly.
What I meant is probably closer to: Some people wouldn't like having their options limited in that fashion.
Rel Fexive:
Even when it's to their advantage i.e. they get a Fate point? They've chosen the Aspect - might as well take a disadvantage/flaw/complication in another game system and subsequently complain about their character being a pacifist/having no legs/being alcoholic. They got on the game train - they knew which stations it would stop at. Of course, some GMs might keep throwing leaves on the line at every opportunity, but-
Okay, I'm going to stop the train metaphors now before the topic gets derailed.
Knave:
Role Playing in general and Fate in particular isn't about playing perfect characters who always win the day - it's about making fun stories playing interesting characters who struggle through.
Aspects are both a character's passions and flaws - they can be engaged or taken advantage of by both the character and others. Just like real life.
Navigation
[0] Message Index
[#] Next page
[*] Previous page
Go to full version