[ReCoil] Preparation questions

[Ron Edwards]

Hello,

I'm prepping for a session of ReCoil for the campus club group, and I've come up with a number of questions for you, Lance. If anyone else has read this game, especially if you've played it, please chime in.

1. What are some suggested values for starting Paradigm? Am I reading correctly that a given scenario may include several Paradigm values for different locales? And similarly, do you have any suggestions for setting Oblivion levels for scenarios? It's quite hard to estimate how much is "tough" or "easy."

2. How are skills and host scores used in dice pools? If, for example, my character Bishop has Guns 3 and his host happens to have Precision 6, am I rolling nine dice? The examples in Chapter 3 seem to indicate otherwise. Are scores like Body and Precision used only for "unskilled" actions?

If that's the case, I suggest revising that as soon as possible. "Attributes for unskilled actions like dodging or lifting, Skills for skilled/trained actions" is a very flawed model for resolution systems.

3. What happens when the host is killed, but the Agent's Conviction is above 0? Is the Agent whisked back to the Penumbra, such that he or she must recoil again (much as if their Mortis Points hit 0)?

4. The terminology for Power, Mortis Points (which I gather are the same as Power), Mortis Pool (which is a "bank" outside of individuals' Mortis Points or Power), and Character Pool (mentioned only on p. 20 and never defined) is all wonky.

I guess that Character Pool, Mortis Points, and Power are all the same thing, all distinct from the shared Mortis Pool. Is this correct? The whole manuscript needs a fine-tooth revision to clarify these terms.

5. What are good guidelines for the GM to have a Naughtwraith active in a scene? As written, it seems awfully improvisational - "Oh, I just decided that this guy happens to be a Naughtwraith host ... why? Because you're facing him alone, and I decided to give you a good kicking." Given that the players have a great deal of power to affect the scenario's content, it strikes me that the GM's standards & procedures ought to be locked down a little more solidly.

Best,
Ron

[Lance D. Allen]

Two things initially:

Yay and Argh.

Yay because someone is playing my game.

Argh because your questions and comments really illustrate how much I need to rewrite ReCoil to put in all the elements I assume or simply forget. But I'll see what I can do for helping you out.

1. What are some suggested values for starting Paradigm? Am I reading correctly that a given scenario may include several Paradigm values for different locales? And similarly, do you have any suggestions for setting Oblivion levels for scenarios? It's quite hard to estimate how much is "tough" or "easy."

Paradigm will vary from location to location fairly widely. You step a few paces down a deserted, smelly alleyway where people rarely go from a busy thoroughfare, and the Paradigm changes abruptly. The best I can really do is give you a few examples to use as guidelines.

A busy, often seen and well-know location, Times Square, the Champs Elysees, Disneyland's Mainstreet - Paradigm 10+

A person's home, very familiar to a small group of people, and currently occupied: 7-8

That same home, unoccupied: 5-6

The aforementioned alleyway, unoccupied, and infrequently visited: 2-3

As for Oblivion Points, I'm having to readjust my preconceptions on that. The first game I ran was for a single player, against a single Naughtwraith at 5 points; And the power level was insufficient. Right now I've run two games (single session of each so far) at 15 Oblivion points for 2 characters, and this appears to be working better. For the now, I'd recommend playing it at 15 OP per two players, rounded up to the nearest multiple of 5.

2. How are skills and host scores used in dice pools? If, for example, my character Bishop has Guns 3 and his host happens to have Precision 6, am I rolling nine dice? The examples in Chapter 3 seem to indicate otherwise. Are scores like Body and Precision used only for "unskilled" actions?

Agent and host stats do not stack. Precision is only used if the host has free-rein at any time, such as in the case of a Synch 5 where the agent can give them free-rein, or at Synch 0, where it's possible for the host to wrest control. Or, hell, even if the agent releases the host, and the host chooses to act as a voluntary assistant.

If that's the case, I suggest revising that as soon as possible. "Attributes for unskilled actions like dodging or lifting, Skills for skilled/trained actions" is a very flawed model for resolution systems.

I am strongly considering redoing the host stat system. My original intent was just to keep it simple, but I'm finding that I dislike how it works in play. I'm resisting the urge to fiddle with the game until I get a little bit more data, when I can tackle it as a full re-write.

3. What happens when the host is killed, but the Agent's Conviction is above 0? Is the Agent whisked back to the Penumbra, such that he or she must recoil again (much as if their Mortis Points hit 0)?

Yes, the agent is whisked back to Penumbra, and must ReCoil again. This same thing is what happens if the Agent is "killed", in other words, if their Mortis stat is reduced to zero. They may attempt to find the same host again in this latter circumstance, assuming the host survived past the agent's removal.

4. The terminology for Power, Mortis Points (which I gather are the same as Power), Mortis Pool (which is a "bank" outside of individuals' Mortis Points or Power), and Character Pool (mentioned only on p. 20 and never defined) is all wonky.

::rueful smile:: Yeah, I know. As I said, a full re-write, to cover stuff that I missed, revise several rules, add in the character advancement system, and streamline and change terminology is in the cards. Just to go ahead and clarify for your use, though:

Power: a stat which is rolled.
Mortis points: a pool of points available to the agent, which cannot exceed the Power stat, which acts as fuel for their abilities and as "hit points" for the agent.
Mortis Pool: as you stated a bank of Mortis points from which all agents draw during the mission.
Character points: Currently defunct, as it involves the character advancement system. It has a few uses outside of advancement, but for now I'm going to have to offer apologies, as it's still highly in development.

5. What are good guidelines for the GM to have a Naughtwraith active in a scene? As written, it seems awfully improvisational - "Oh, I just decided that this guy happens to be a Naughtwraith host ... why? Because you're facing him alone, and I decided to give you a good kicking." Given that the players have a great deal of power to affect the scenario's content, it strikes me that the GM's standards & procedures ought to be locked down a little more solidly.

For the most part, I find it a good guideline to have the Naughtwraiths originally hosted in some of the original archetypal figures from the situation web. Thereafter, if it seems appropriate in play, they can jump hosts just as an agent can; essentially on a line-of-sight basis.
As for their inclusion in a scene.. I've run 3 games that reached a useful state. Only one of those, for varied reasons, has been completed to date. In that one, the single Naughtwraith, having not been spotted prior through player influence, was brought in at the climax of the scene. In the one I ran for my RL gaming group (which includes the player from that first online game) one Naughtwraith was spotted, due to player influence. Essentially, he made a Perception roll, and told me that he saw a Naughtwraith. Then he destroyed it. The third game, also still in progress, has seen a good amount of set-up, but no Naughtwraith sightings yet. My recommendation is to leave Naughtwraith participation largely to the players, except where it seems dramatically appropriate to you. Remember also though that Naughtwraiths will generally not attack the Agents head-on, as they aren't the match of agents in direct conflict. the Naughtwraith will be more likely to try to get the agents to use their powers in ways that are destructive to reality, rather than destructive to themselves.

Essentially, I expect that the game would run like most "typical" games, where the GM calls the shots for the most part, until one of the players decides to make a roll, and use the results of that roll to affect the direction of the story. If you wish to simply give the agent "a good kicking" I figure that's within your rights and powers as a GM.

I'm not sure I answered that last issue very well. I know what I mean, but I'm not sure I'm saying it clearly enough.

[Ron Edwards]

Hi Lance,

Thanks! One quibbler:

Character points: Currently defunct, as it involves the character advancement system. It has a few uses outside of advancement, but for now I'm going to have to offer apologies, as it's still highly in development.

It's also part of the Player Influence rules. What do you suggest that players spend in order to influence the situation, if not "character points?" Mortis Points (seems reasonable)?

Best,
Ron

[Lance D. Allen]

Well, originally Character Points were intended to be the left-over Mortis Points after a completed mission. The only problem with doing it that way is that it limits the player influence abilities of first-session agents. Also, I'm seriously beginning to think that there will be a lot more points left over than I'd anticipated from the 1 complete and 2 incomplete missions I've had. Character Points will be undergoing a large revision when I do the rewrite.

However, I see no reason why you can't use Mortis Points for now. I'd recommend that Mortis Points used for this meta-game influence be pulled from the Mortis Pool, rather than the agent's individual Mortis.

Y'know, the more I discuss the game, the more "wonky" the terminology seems. ::grins wryly::