[wine dark sea] mortality & wanderlust

[redivider]

This is the 3rd posting of draft ideas for Wine Dark Sea: the final voyage of Odysseus

design goals for the game at: http://www.indie-rpgs.com/forum/index.php?topic=17850.0

These fate rules, now split into Mortality and Wanderlust, are the heart of the game mechanically, so I'd appreciate any comments on the 5 functions I assign to them.



C. Fate: Mortality & Wanderlust

Through Mortality, characters cheat death. With Wanderlust, they win back to the open seas. Players wield them to end lives, strand crew, and recruit new companions. Together, Mortality and Wanderlust trace a geometry of destiny that determines when, where and how Odysseus's last voyage – and the game – will end.

[design note:] My initial concept for the game included a Fate system to determine when and where Odysseus died. A comment to my initial posting suggested I make Fate less one-dimensional. While I still like the stark, 'inevitability of death' vibe of my original concept, I've decided to split Fate into two related systems:  Mortality and Wanderlust. Now the journey can end with Odysseus dying or settling down. With players controlling both of these sub-systems, they'll have more choice as to the hero's final destiny.

Mortality is a measure of life remaining. It can also be viewed as distance from death. Each character is fated to die at a specific time and place. This destiny can guard and slay. If a character is destined to die at the age of 50 on Crete, then he is invulnerable as a young man living in Athens. But when the time comes, there is no escape from the predestined end.

Consider two examples. Each illustrates an opposing face of mortality. When Odysseus journeyed to the underworld to confront the shades of the dead, the prophet Teiresias told the wanderer: "At the last, amidst a happy folk, shall your own death come to you, softly, from the salt sea, and make an end of one utterly weary of slipping downward into old age. All these things that I relate are true." If Odysseus was destined to die peacefully, at home, and in old age, then Polyphemos the Cyclops could never hope to catch and slay the 'no man' who blinded him; and Poseidon could send storm after storm but not drown the hero. This is Mortality in its protective guise: it shields you because you are fated to die somewhere else at some later time.

Jean Cocteau's short, short story 'The Look of Death' shows Mortality's deadly logic:
"A young Persian Gardener said to his Prince: 'Save me! I met Death in the garden this morning, and he gave me a threatening look. I wish that by tonight I might be far away, in Isaphan.' The Prince lent the gardener his swiftest horse. That afternoon, as he was walking in the garden, the Prince came face to face with Death. 'Why,' he asked, 'did you give my gardener a threatening look this morning? 'It was not a threatening look,' replied Death. 'It was surprise. For I saw him here this morning, and I knew that I would take him in Isaphan tonight.'"

Wanderlust measures a character's urge to voyage and seek new experiences. It can also be viewed as distance from settling down permanently. As long as a character's Wanderlust score is above zero, they will resist all temptations to abandon their wandering ways: be it a new love, an ideal community, a lucrative opportunity, or the lure of friends and family. When wanderlust zeros out, they will abandon their ship and fellow sailors, for they have found their place in the world.


Mortality and Wanderlust have five functions in the game.

1. Show how far characters are from dying or settling down. Mortality and Wanderlust scores are given as pairs of numbers. The score is the total of the pair (so a character with a Mortality score of 2,2 has 4 Mortality points.) The scores are written as pairs of numbers because they are coordinates that are graphed on the character sheets and can move independently. The X axis (horizontal) measures time. The Y axis (vertical) measures distance.  A character's remaining Mortality score shows at least how far in time and space the character is from their appointment with death. The remaining Wanderlust score shows at least how far in time and space a character is from ending their travels, turning their back on the beckoning sea, and settling down permanently. Both the time and distance axis measure in units of 'islands.' A time value of 1 is the equivalent of 'the next island you're going to visit.' A distance value of 1 means 'an island adjacent to the one you are on now.' Note that these can be but aren't necessarily the same place. If we view the 50 U.S. states as islands and we are currently located in California, Nevada is one island away in space. But if my road trip takes me from California to Oregon to Idaho to Utah to Nevada, then Nevada is four islands in my future. It is critical to remember that a score of 1,1 means that a character is at least one island in space or time from dying or settling down. The character will not automatically succumb on the next island they visit. As long as that score stays at 1,1 or higher, a character is always at least one island away from their fate.

2. Helping succeed in conflicts & combat.  Players can spend Mortality or Wanderlust points to help characters succeed in conflicts or combat. Anytime that a character is involved in any combat situation or in a conflict that carries with it the chance of bodily injury, the player controlling the character can choose to spend one or more points of Mortality before dice are rolled. The player chooses whether to subtract points from the X and/or Y axis of the character's Mortality graph. Each point subtracted gives a player two additional dice to roll: the equivalent of declaring 'I'm not fated to die here or now.' Points spent are lost whether or not the character wins the conflict or combat. Players can spend Wanderlust points to help characters succeed in any conflict that carries the threat of entrapping, enslaving, hindering their free movement, or otherwise delaying them from leaving their current location. The threat can be physical entrapment or moral suasion (for example, resisting the plea of a small town to stay and help defend it against pirates that attack every summer). The mechanics of spending Wanderlust points are the same as for Mortality points. Note that spending Mortality or Wanderlust can protect short term but they bring characters closer to their fated end. Spending these points in effect "uproots" a character's destined place and time of death or leave-taking and draws it closer to the here and now.  It makes it more likely that a character will, like the gardener in Cocteau's tale, schedule a trip and find that they've double booked with death.

3. Saving Odysseus. Whichever character is controlling Odysseus can spend Mortality or Wanderlust points to grant Odysseus extra dice. Because he is the single main hero of the game, the two resources also automatically 'spend themselves' whenever Odysseus fails a roll in a dangerous situation. If Odysseus is targeted in combat and the result of the roll indicates that he is killed, then Odysseus automatically loses two Mortality points and he is wounded rather than killed. The player controlling Odysseus gets to decide whether to take the two points from the X and/or Y axis. If Odysseus has only one Mortality point remaining, then that point will suffice to switch the kill to a crippling wound. If he is targeted in combat and the result is to cripple Odysseus, one point is automatically removed (player's choice of which axis) and the result becomes a wound. If Odysseus is in a conflict with the potential to kill him and loses the roll entirely so that the result indicates his death, two Mortality points are removed. A fatal result of 'attempt fails' becomes 'attempt succeeds' and a fatal result of 'attempt is fully successful' becomes 'active player gets part of their desired result'  Wanderlust works similarly. If Odysseus loses a roll so that the result indicated by the dice would cause him to be permanently enslaved, trapped, or stranded, then two wanderlust dice are removed and the result is changed to 'attempt succeeds' or 'part of desired result.' Example: Odysseus and his men are camped on a beach on a remote, uninhabited island. A carelessly placed watch fire spreads to the ship. Odysseus leads a frantic effort to douse the flames. The result of the dice roll (regardless of whether Odysseus is classified as an active or resisting player) shows the complete destruction of the ship. Two Wanderlust dice are removed from Odysseus and the result is changed so it is no longer a complete loss (perhaps enough of the ship is saved to build a raft.)

4. Players gain and assign Mortality & Wanderlust after each island. At the end of the major action of each island setting (but before Odysseus and his crew leave the island), the player in charge of that island awards the other players Mortality & Wanderlust points. If the epithet that a player assigned to Odysseus was drawn upon by another player for purposes of bonus dice in conflict or combat, then the first player receives one Mortality point. If a player's Motivation was used by another player for bonus dice in conflict, then the first player receives one Wanderlust point.  Finally, each player chooses between an additional Mortality point or Wanderlust points. Each player therefore receives between one and three points after every island. Players immediately spend these points to influence characters in the game.

Mortality points can be spent to:
·   Increase or reduce Odysseus's Mortality score. Each point spent moves one half of the score (either time or space) by one. For example, 4,4 can be changed to 5,4.
·   Increase or reduce any of the Mariner's mortality score. Each point spent moves one half of the score (either time or space) by one. Mariners' scores can never be raised above 3,3. If you lower a Mariner's Mortality to 1,0 (zero distance) then they cannot leave the island since they are doomed to die here at some point in the future. You narrate why and how they remain on the current island when Odysseus and the rest of the mariners leave. If you lower a Mariner's Mortality to 0,1 (zero time) then they immediately leave the island before Odysseus to rendezvous with death. You describe how they depart. If you lower a Mariner's Mortality to 0,0 then you describe the unfortunate manner of their sudden death.

Wanderlust points can be spent to:
·   Increase or reduce Odysseus's Wanderlust score. Each point spent moves one half of the score (either time or space) by one. For example, 4,4 can be changed to 5,4.
·   Increase or reduce any of the Mariner's wanderlust score. Each point spent moves one half of the score (either time or space) by one. Mariners' scores can never be raised above 3,3. If you lower a Mariner's wanderlust to 1,0 (zero distance) then they cannot leave the island since they are doomed to die here at some point in the future. You narrate why and how they remain on the current island when Odysseus and the rest of the mariners leave. If you lower a Mariner's wanderlust to 0,1 (zero time) then they immediately leave the island before Odysseus to find their new home. You describe how they depart. If you lower a Mariner's wanderlust to 0,0 then you describe their immediate adoption of a new position in life on the island.
·   Recruit a new Mariner. Spending two Wanderlust point allows a player to recruit a new mariner from among any non-player characters that Odysseus interacted with on the island. The player describes how and why the person joins the crew and creates a new Mariner character following the same character design rules as at the start of the game.

For both Mortality and Wanderlust points:
·   If any Mariner characters were reduced to zero scores on either axis by the use of Mortality or Wanderlust points during combat or conflicts, and no player raises the score above zero during this end of the island phase, then the game master player narrates how the Mariner leaves/ stays/ or dies.
·   If more than one player spends points on the same subject, then they can add or cancel out. For example, if a Mariner has a Mortality score of 1,1 and player A adds one point to the distance axis and player B subtracts one point from the same axis, nothing changes. If players A and B both subtract one point from the Mariner's distance axis, then they collaborate and agree on how the mariner stays.
·   Scores can be lowered to negative numbers.
·   Players can choose to discard the points they receive rather than spending them. Players can also save one point (either Mortality or Wanderlust) after each island if they so choose and use them at the end of any later island. Players can build up a maximum of 3 Mortality Points or Wanderlust points by saving. These saved points cannot be used to intervene in conflict or combat.

5.   Endgame.  Odysseus' Mortality and Wanderlust scores determine how the game ends. Unlike his Mariners, Odysseus is not out of the game if one of the axis of his Mortality or Wanderlust are reduced to zero or below after the end of an island. He dies or settles down only when both scores reach and remain zero. A zero score does take control of the voyage's destination. If one of Odysseus time axisis zero following the distribution of points, Odysseus must leave the island and proceed immediately to an island located the indicated number of distance spaces away. He and his mariners must remain at this new island until the time axis is elevated above zero or the distance access is lowed to zero. If one of Odysseus' distance axis is lowered to zero, he cannot leave the current island until his time arrives at zero or the distance goes above zero. When both axis of Mortality or Wanderlust reach and remain at zero or lower, the game is over. The player(s) who made the final adjustment to seal Odysseus' fate narrate the his death or retirement, with the remaining players being free to suggest ideas and add details.