| From: | Paul Jonathan Adam <Paul@********.DEMON.CO.UK> |
|---|---|
| Subject: | Re: Character Quirks |
| Date: | Wed, 13 Sep 1995 20:11:33 GMT |
writes:
> Let me play Devil's Advocate for a moment here.. I like character quirks
> too, but they have their ups and downs. They make life very interesting,
> BUT if they get in the way too much, it can threaten the PCs' effectiveness
> as a team.
>
> It's great stuff. But when it gets past the planning and onto the run
> itself, they stumble. The ganger is picking up weapons, chips,
> paperweights, everything he can _instead_ of providing covering fire like
> he was supposed to. Because it's in character. The Troll has to constantly
> make Intelligence rolls to keep from doing things totally wrong. Because
> it's in character. Fire a shot at the Raven Shaman, and she'll put the rest
> of the plan on hold to hunt you down.
>
> Has anyone else had this problem? How do you get people to STOP playing
> "Look how goofy I can be in 2055" and get down to business when it's
> necessary, without crushing the role-playing spirit? Or is it that I'm
> seeing things wrong, and MY attitude is the problem? Any ideas or
> experiences welcome.. It's far from ruining my game, but it does bother
> me a bit.
Basically ask this question. "Would you pay these clowns twenty grand each
for a mission? Especially if the success or failure of that mission might
make or break your promising executive career?"
If the team are too weird, let them fail. Don't kill them, but when a
group squabble starts, have the enemy security arrive then while they are
distracted. (That's what the enemy *would* do if they had you under
surveillance and were preparing to attack...) Or, if they begin arguing
during an infiltration, have someone hear them! :)
Failure is a great motivator. Make sure they understand what got them
detected. That way, they'll keep the squabbles and the quirkiness to where
it can be amusing without too much consequence.
My Coyote shaman was a case in point: most of the time she was endlessly
playing idiot practical jokes and card tricks on her team-mates, running
a game of find-the-lady in the bar they were staking out, whatever.
But when the lead started to fly, her warped sense of humour was confined to
additional special effects on her Hellblast spell (removes and ignites
target's footwear... you HAVE to have smoking boots left!) because anything
else would be stupid, not funny.
--
"When you have shot and killed a man, you have defined your attitude towards
him. You have offered a definite answer to a definite problem. For better
or for worse, you have acted decisively.
In fact, the next move is up to him." <R.A. Lafferty>
Paul J. Adam paul@********.demon.co.uk
