Complications

[Valamir]

I'm working on a way to integrate Complications more closely with the normal scene framing turn.  These are my current thoughts on it.

Instead of spinning off into an entirely new Complication session I want to try and keep the resolution "inside" the scene.

While a player is taking their turn and framing their scene I want another player to be able to interrupt him and Introduce his own Components and characters to the scene.

I want each player to have control over the Components they Introduced, so that only the player with ownership can draw upon that Component's Traits during that scene (this will also make it easier to insert more traditional roleplaying concepts of Player Characters and the like, by formalizing ownership over Components on the game level than scene level).

At any rate, the concept of what I'm thinking works like this:  

The controler of the Component can narrate events and add raise or reduce Traits as desired (exactly as the scene mechanic works now, only each player can do this for Components they contol within the scene not just the player who framed the scene).

Any time a player wishes to narrate an event or alter Traits on a component they do NOT have control over the dice come out.  The player competes with the controler for the power to effect the controler's components.

The dice pools are bought simply by buying dice with Coins...this includes the ability to Draw on Traits for free Coin and use those Coins to buy dice with.  This eliminates the whole Activate / Draw distinction as well.  Each player is free to draw on Traits the Control for their pools and other players who control Components within the scene are free to do so as well.  The puchase of dice has to be justified of course as to what that represents.  Thus, while the player is competing with another player for control, the mechanism is Component vs Component.

Now I will note that the above IS essentially how the Complication as it stands now COULD be used, its now just a little more seperated and formalized, but I think this adjustment will accomplish essentially the same thing in a much simpler manner.  You still have the ability for giant sprawling Complications if the involved parties keep introducing more Components and so forth, but its also much clearer that Complications can be used for just quick one-offs like facing off a river's "Raging Current +4" Trait with a characters "Swimming +2 Trait".

Now here are the two areas I'm still thinking of how best to do.

1) So I want the ability for a player to actually take control of a Component another player currently has Control of.  If so is it as simple as the player paying the current owner 1 Coin for the privelege, and going to Challenge if the current owner resists?

2) Motivation:  This is an area Mike and I went around and around on.  Lets say you're Framing a Scene with our Hero John the Grey.  I want John the Grey to get assaulted by a gang of orc thugs.  What is my motivation to do this using a Complication to introduce the thugs into your scene and then compete with you for the outcome.  Why wouldn't I simply wait until my turn and frame my own scene with John and the Thugs and resolve it exactly as I like.  

There has to be some reason why I'd choose (at least some of the time) to use a Complication rather than simply wait for my turn.  Otherwise Complications will never get used and might as well be left out.  Which would be a shame, because quite frankly I think they're alot of fun.

But if the game provides a mechanical motivation that encourages Complications, how do you prevent that motivation from being so good that Complications are constant and everybody is motivated to do everything via complications.

This struggle is basically the whole reason behind the Bonus Pot and the Voting Mechanic.  The Bonus Pot is there to serve as Motivation as the Prize to be won, the Voting mechanic is there to make sure that Prize doesn't drive the whole game.

Thoughts?

[Ayrizale]

Hello,

I hope that I'll be able to play my first game this Saturday, so I might have more to say about the complications Saturday night or Sunday.  I would appreciate it, however, if you could provide one or two examples of how you see this newer system playing out.  Having not yet played, I'm having some difficulty picturing the way this new system would actually work, so an example would help greatly.

Thanks,

Lael

[Valamir]

I'm hoping to have this fully written up tonight or tommorrow night so I'll be sure to send it to you.  I probably have your email, but go ahead and PM or email it to me anyway to be sure.

Conceptually I envision it working like this.

Its my turn, I'm framing a scene "A dark deserted ware house, two trenchcoated figures are standing in the gloom"  blah blah, I've introduced a location and two characters.  I start paying for events such as a package drop our working an illicit deal.  I am in "control" of the 2 characters.

You Interrupt my turn.  Its now your turn.  You Introduce Jack Spence a private eye into the scene, hiding in the shadows who is now a witness to these events.  You are in "control" of Jack Spence because you introduced him.

Player John Doe Interrupts your turn to take control of Mr. Trenchcoat #1 from me and describes how Mr. Trenchcoat #1 hears Jack Spence and raises the alarm.

"Wait a minute" you say.  "Jack Spense has a Stealthy+3 Trait"

At this point since John is attempting to define an event that effects a Component he doesn't control (Jack Spence) a Complication has occured, and dice are now called for.

You Draw the 3 Coins from Jack's Stealth Trait and get 3 Dice.  John notices that Mr Trenchcoat has Alertness +2 and Draws those Coins to get 2 dice.

You notice that the Warehouse has "Dark and Gloomy +2" as a Trait for the location, so you draw those Coins and add them to Jack's attempt to remain stealthy Jack now has 5 dice.

This continues similarly to the way Complications work now until nobody wants to add more dice.  The dice are rolled and Coins are rewarded.

Lets say you win by a fair margin.  You might use the Coins you recieve to add the Traits "Jack is well hidden +2" and "in position to see and hear everything +2" to the scene.  

Thats a little rough, and some of the details might change a little as I work out how to fit this into the rules.  Its essentially exactly how Complications work now (though I think I may have a way to eliminate Complication and Bonus Pots), its just more tightly integrated into the scene itself rather than be a seperate kind of sub game.  I'm hoping that this makes Complications more intuitive as it would be more like simply adding up modifiers for a traditional RPG skill roll.

That make sense?

[Ayrizale]

Yep, that makes sense.  I look forward to seeing the new rules.

Thanks,

Lael