Author Topic: Issues with Aspects  (Read 1563 times)

Offline SerShrike

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Issues with Aspects
« on: June 22, 2010, 08:58:23 PM »
I am just starting up a game of Dresden Files, and for whatever reasons one of the Characters aspects seem off to me. I was wondering if I could get people's opinion on potential issues with these Aspects. I'm fine with the High Concept and Trouble, but most of the others just seem to throw me.

Marhsall Duprie
Template: Pure Mortal
High Concept: Warrior Documentarion
Trouble: Curiosity Killed the Cat
Aspects:
My Camera is My Shield
My eyes are Open
Righteousness is my Spear
The Triad wants my lucky Jade Pendant
The Supernatural tells me it's tales

Offline Mal_Luck

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Re: Issues with Aspects
« Reply #1 on: June 22, 2010, 09:18:48 PM »
Marhsall Duprie
Template: Pure Mortal
High Concept: Warrior Reporter
Trouble: Curiosity Killed the Cat
Aspects:
My Camera is My Shield
My Eyes are Open
Righteousness is my Pen
The Triad wants my Lucky Jade Pendant (?)
The Supernatural Tells Me It's Tales (?)

That's all I got without knowing more about the character...
DV Mal_Luck v1.2 YR3 FR1 BK++++ RP++++ JB TH(+++) WG(-) CL SW(+) BC(++) MC(--) SH [Molly+++ Murphy++]

Offline Kordeth

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Re: Issues with Aspects
« Reply #2 on: June 22, 2010, 09:21:16 PM »
Without knowing what the player means by those specific aspects, it's hard to say with some of them. I don't see any issues with them--what problems are you seeing?

Offline Tallyrand

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Re: Issues with Aspects
« Reply #3 on: June 22, 2010, 09:29:36 PM »
Well let's see here.

High Concept: Warrior Documentarion

Ok, you said you had no problem with this one, and I wasn't privy to the conversation you had with your player, but it sound like a cool high concept.

Trouble: Curiosity Killed the Cat

This one seems kind of obvious.  Use it to force the character to poke her nose where it doesn't belong or to create trouble when she does it herself.

Aspects:
My Camera is My Shield

So she can use this to force people into non-violent confrontations do to the fear of exposure.  Also you can use it to take her down a peg when she doesn't have her camera with her, make her lose her confidence.

My eyes are Open

Depending on how this is defined it could be easy (if it's just straight perception based) or hard (if it's more supernatural).  Reason being, if it's supernatural then 'open eyes' in a game like this is kind of assumed.  However you could use it to throw mental stress at her as she witnesses horrible acts, and she could use it for bonuses to lore, so it's workable.

Righteousness is my Spear

This I could see her using in a number of combat situations of course, especially against things with a holy catch, but also when dealing with people of similar conviction as a means of gaining their respect.  For you you could use this as a way to make her put her foot in her mouth when Righteous with a capital R isn't the right tact.  Also you could use it to compel her to play out her convictions even when they're disadvantageous.

The Triad wants my lucky Jade Pendant

Ok, so this one seems pretty straight forward as far as how it can work against her, working for her though I would have issue with it since it seems too broad.  Lucky can really apply to just about anything, you may want to talk to the player about the specific way in which it's a lucky charm (wearing it at her first job interview, wearing it when she narrowly escaped fire-breathing ninjas, something like that that limits the luck's spectrum).

The Supernatural tells me it's tales

Is the supernatural a specific entity or just in general.  This one seems...odd.  You should have a conversation with the player about what they mean by this.  Assuming that it means she is good at investigating the supernatural, she could use it to make declarations and such or even make a villain monologue if you're feeling generous, but not really sure how you'd use it against her.  Also, it seem like in a lot of ways this overlaps  with "My Eyes are Open" so unless the player has a really specific angle for both of these you might recommend changing one.

Offline SerShrike

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Re: Issues with Aspects
« Reply #4 on: June 22, 2010, 09:39:28 PM »
The Character is a word travelling documentary film maker who has recently returned home to San Francisco. He has seen elements of the supernatural and is attempting to learn more. As the game opens, he has begun putting together an expose on a family deeply involved in the sex trade and Occult, that goes by the name Raith.

For the life of me I can not think of any decent Compel's for 'My Camera is My Shield' and  'Righteousness is my Spear'. I also have a hard time picturing how the player  is even going to be able to use these aspects in game. To a lesser extent I am having a similar difficulty with 'Warrior Documentarion'. The rest of them I have a decent handle on.



Offline TheMouse

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Re: Issues with Aspects
« Reply #5 on: June 22, 2010, 09:40:08 PM »
I'd want a quick chat with the player about the last two, but all the others seem fine to me. I can see good and bad sides to all of them. I'd just want to be sure that what I'm reading is what the player is writing.

Offline Kordeth

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Re: Issues with Aspects
« Reply #6 on: June 22, 2010, 09:47:48 PM »
For the life of me I can not think of any decent Compel's for 'My Camera is My Shield' and  'Righteousness is my Spear'. I also have a hard time picturing how the player  is even going to be able to use these aspects in game. To a lesser extent I am having a similar difficulty with 'Warrior Documentarion'. The rest of them I have a decent handle on.

Compel "My camera is my shield" to have bad things happen to the character when he hasn't got his camera around (if he doesn't have the threat of public exposure, bad guys are more likely to hit him), to force him to use that threat in negotiations even when it would bite him in the ass, to force a consequence of something like "busted camera," etc. Invoke it in any situation where having a camera is useful--especially when it prevents conflict.

Righteousness is My Spear is ridiculously easy to compel: any time the character sees something that offends his sense of right and wrong, compel him to do something about it. Compel him to refuse to negotiate with monsters, or to have things prey on his sense of righteousness.

Offline John Galt

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Re: Issues with Aspects
« Reply #7 on: June 22, 2010, 09:49:41 PM »
The compel for "My Camera is My Shield" and "Righteousness is my Spear" would be pretty similar in my opinion.  For the first one, in a social situation that's about to turn to a physical confrontation, your compel him/her to pull out his/her camera try and scare the aggressor into backing off.  Instead the aggressor takes that opportunity to strike at the defenseless character.

For the second one, again, instead of doing the smart thing and setting up for a block after gaining initiative on an incoming attack, the player wastes his initiative trying to tell the attacker to back down in the name of God.