We Hate God, Part II (Pretender Playtest)

[xiombarg]

Okay, I'm actually running Pretender tommorrow, so I figured I'd post about the full chargen session. You may want to look at the original thread to refesh your memory about this.

So, I'm going to go over this step-by-step, like it is in the rules. Our players are Russ (our token grognard), James (aka Mr. Melodramatic), Emily (lover of all things fantasy), and Jamie (our sharp-brained whirlwind). I was GM.

I should note that everyone except Jamie had a chance to look over the rules before we started. I volunteered to take notes.

0. Brainstorm.

We started out with a free-wheeling discussion -- all over the map, discussing character concepts and ideas, with no particular oganiztion. I let this go, and it was useful until it got out of control, when I reeled things in and tried to follow the rule outline. Feedback from the players indicates to me I should explicitly mention this in the rules, as it worked well. (I also want to explicitly encourage the GM to act as "moderator" during this process.) Plus, some of the players (Emily in particular) thought there should be some discussion as to themes of play. Emily wanted more buy-in and agreement on to the Biblical theme we ended up with. Many things were bounced around at this point -- at this point, James was still thinking about playing a spirit created by the rage of raped women that punishes rapists, Emily had the Death thing 90% fleshed out already, Shawn wanted to play a being that existed ONLY on the Internet (and I reminded him the Internet wasn't that big in 1985, and that Pretenders usually could be humanoid at least SOME of the time), Jamie wanted to play Lilith, and Russ had some vague concepts based on an old Nightbane character of his.

Another thing we would often do is back up a step or two in the process when we had an idea, while remaining reasonably on-track.

1. WHAT is Everyone Playing?

We started with Lilith. Since she is a unique "creature", were were kinda defining the character to a certain extent, tho I tried to keep the discussion, for this step, centered around what she could DO. As the evening wove on, we often returned to Lilith and asked questions about how she worked -- for example, after some discussion of different possibilities based on the myths about Lilith, we decided that Lilith was fertile, with a long gestation period, and that her children were monstosities. She could also lay eggs -- Jamie had this snake-like lamia angle she was going for. This was a result of a question I had later on in the design process, after we'd passed this step.

Regardless, Jamie wanted her version of Lilith to be able to shapeshift into a serpent, a serpent-person hybrid, or a woman. Lilith could read men's minds (to be extra explicit, tho with a bit of a tongue in cheek, we defined "male" as anything with a Y chromosome), and she could manipulate men's minds in a wide variety of ways -- I just wrote "various mindfucks". Jamie wanted to have weaknesses, so Lllith grew torpid in the cold (the lizard thing again) and human (i.e. non-Pretender) women had a subconcious hadred of her.

Later on, when we defined the Cainites (see below), there was some discussion of how Lilith "fuels" her powers, if she does at all, and we decided that she could drain men's vitality through their semen -- tho she did't HAVE to. There was some discussion surrounding this whole-hog sexual angle, but that's what we eventually went with.

We also decided that as the "Mother of All Monsters" Lilith got a simple tingly feeling (think "Spider Sense", tho in this case probably more like "Lizard Sense") around other Pretenders. Also, Lilith was immortal, because God wouldn't let her die, as her punishment for being cast out of Eden before anyone/anything else.

Emily had nearly the whole Death concept as mentioned in the original thread fleshed out from the start. We decided that the "dealer" who created Deaths was the Angel of Death, and it was at this point that James decided to play Uriel, the Angel of Death, after some further discussion. Later discussion about ghosts (see below and the original thread) made us decide that one out of every ten Pretenders were Deaths.

Posters to the previous thread thought Shawn's character didn't integrate well with others, but he at least at a clear idea of how his character worked, even down to an explicit mechanic, once we told him needed to be able to possess people as well as computers. Specifically, he could possess only as many people/computers in total as his Spirit, and spreading himself out made him weaker.

We then nailed down how earth-bound angels worked, as per the original thread. Angels still in God's graces were 100% spritual but manifesting according to God's will and schedule, with unlimited power except to interfere with free will. Later on we got into some serious discussions about this, in a long theological sidetrack -- Russ seemed to want to define God, while the majority of the players (including myself) wanted to leave that up to a theme to be developed in play.

Then we discussed Russ's character, which as I mentioned in the original thread, benefitted the most from brainstorming. Not much to add to the original thread, but I'll note that in human form the Un-Named Animal was going in 1985 by the name Terry, and that's how I refer to him in my notes.

2. Link Everyone, Flesh Out Your World, and Create GMCs

The way this worked is we started out linking everyone together, got into a discussion about the problems the group would face (and returned again to this later), and created NPCs as we went. We used a whiteboard to draw a relationship map, and later I re-wrote the map on butcher paper.

There was some discussion as to where to set the game. Jamie was dead set against New York, and someone else suggested Seattle, but Jamie decided that was cool cold for Lilith. Someone (I forget who) suggested New Orleans, and everyone liked that idea. I asked if there was such a thing as a Pretender-only club and if they frequented one, and they came up with a Pretender-only nightclub that catered to Pretenders that didn't like God, which was sort of our theme. I suggested the name "Purgatory" for this club and everyone seemed to like that.

Before I got into the relationsip map, I'd like to talk about the conflicts. The group decided that Legion (who was originally invented as simply someone to point Uriel to the nightclub), was trying to take over Hell, and was manipulating all the non-demonic, but anti-God supernaturals to this end (i.e. including the PCs). Later on, since a dislike of God seemed to unify the group, they also decided they needed a holy group to oppose them, and they came up with the Knights Templar.

In essence, the Knights Templar are a secret societ of holy warriors, formed by the Archangel Michael, whose job it is to keep Pretenders in check. Knights Templar count as Pretenders because in gaining supernatural powers, they get proof of God's power -- and this removes their ability to truely have faith and doubt, making them in some sense less than human. (I forget who came up with that idea, but I really like it. I want to claim it for myself but I dunno if I can.)

When discussing the powers for the Knight Templar, especially in relation to the main Knight Templar NPC for the game (see below), Emily really wanted a Pretender who could heal. So we gave the Knights Templar powers similar to paladins in D&D -- sensing unholiness, healing, etc.

We also discussed other "common" Pretender types. We decided there were vampires, sort of. Called Cainites, there were literally descendants of Caine (who, after all, had a wife and kids in the Bible). Being a Cainite is a recessive gene that makes one highly sensitive to sunlight (think xeroderma pigmentosum rather than "turning to ash") and places the "mark of Cain" on your body (a cross-shaped birthmark, we decided, after much discussion) -- they show up as "slightly unholy" Pretenders to most Pretender senses. After joining the Cainite organization, they could be taught magickal rituals that require the blood of a non-Cainite (i.e. a "son of Seth") allowing them vampire-like powers -- turning into a bat, immortality, etc. Of course, these rituals can only be performed at night. Because they're supposed to be protected by the Mark of Caine, a Death gets no rush from the death of a Cainite. Cainites hold Cainites who act like traditional vampires in utter distain as "poseurs".

(Obviously there was some World of Darkness influence on the Cainites, but in a very creative way, IMHO.)

We later decided that Cainites and the Knights Templar were in an eternal clandestine power struggle, tho the PCs weren't involved with that -- the group thought the Legion issue and Father Jeremy (see below) were enough of a Situation for the group, especially as God might get involved somehow eventually.

I asked about ghosts, as I like ghosts. We decided, after a bit of discussion, that ghosts came about when a Death (or Uriel, before his exile) wasn't around to reap the soul when someone died. That's why Deaths are so common -- to prevent ghosts. A Death can reap a ghost, but it's a very weak fix -- like a heroin addict taking methadone. It takes the edge off the craving, but that's it.

Okay, the relationship map. I don't have it scanned in, and I might do that at some point, but I'll try to capture it in text, one character at a time.

Lilith was dating a man named Denzel, who she had used her mind powers on to convince he was named Adam -- as she does to all her boyfriends. "They're all Adam to me." The Cookie Monster possessed Adam, and he and Lilith became fast friends -- he's a party kind of guy, and technically has no gender at all, which Lilith kinda likes. Lilith and Terry left Eden together, all those years ago. Lillith and Lola are friends -- Lilith likes Pretender women, since they were never male and are technically not really a human female, either. Lilith and Uriel like to bitch about God together.

Lola likes to spend time with Terry, because Terry is involved in the snuff film industry. IIRC, tho I don't seem to have this written down, Lola and Lilith met when Lilith was dating Lola's brother, who died at Lilith's hand -- which would have pissed Lola off, except that she became a Death at that point due to Uriel's intervention, and the rush from her first serious hit -- from the death of her brother -- sort of changed her perspective. Lola's connection to Uriel is, of course, the fact that he's responsible for her being a Death. (Actually, looking at Emily's notes confirms this.)

Speaking of Uriel, aside from the connections mentioned so far, Uriel has an odd curiousity about the Cookie Monster, since he registers as unholy, and yet isn't really a demon. Uriel was introduced to the club soon after arriving on Earth by Legion, who spends most of his time possessing a local rabbi. The Archangel Michael has it in for Uriel. (Michael runs the Knights Templar, remember.)

Legion, of course, is the secret villian of the piece. Aside from the connections mentioned so far, the Cookie Monster was created from a piece of him, and Legion is trying to gather all his fragments together to prepare for his coup in Hell.

Speaking of the Cookie Monster, aside from the connections already mentioned, the body he is in happens to be the brother of Father Jeremy. Also, he has a personal enemy -- the witch whose spellbook he ate when he was "only" a computer virus. He's never seen her face-to-face, but he goes by the handle of "WICCAGRRL".

Ah, Father Jeremy. The group didn't want a "kill 'em all" zealot, so instead he's targeted the PCs for conversion -- he wants them to repent and accept the mercy of God. He's particularly anxious to get his brother to do this, as he senses his brother's unholiness. As a Knight Templar, he has supernatural and holy against the usual wiles of the PCs.

(You'll notice I left Terry out. Not out of spite, but because I've already mentioned all his connections.)

3. Define Characters Further.

Okay, we fleshed out a lot of small details here -- a lot had been established during the previous steps. Reading from my notes:

* Lilith is a majority shareholder in the men's sin industry -- porn, sports, men's magazines, etc.
* Lilith keeps dating men -- though she hates them -- because she is looking for perfect love. Love that, perhaps, only God, who she hates, can give.
* Uriel has only been on Earth for 6 months, but thanks to Lilith he has money, due to a job as a "consultant" for a men's magazine.
* Uriel, like all exiled angels, has some powers that are unique to him. His touch creates plague and death (more or less at will), an dhe is immune to plague and pain. He used to be able to heal, but God took that away from him (as well as his ability to create Deaths) as a punishment for being too zealous in his duties, and OOC Emily wanted James to drop the healing power so Lola would have less of a problem with Uriel. [James also wanted to be "fast as death", i.e. supernaturally fast, but we talked him out of that as not making a lot of sense -- death is often slow.]
* Lola is a young Death -- she's only been a Pretender for five years now, and acts like your basic heroin addict, as modified for the nature of her addiction.
* Terry influnced the creation of gargoyles in medieval Europe, as well as Gothic archetecture. He feeds on fear, but he's become "refined" about it -- he's a strong believer in "terror through art".

I have in my notes that I need to add something in the rules to this step about money -- characters can be as rich or poor as they like, it's just that most Pretenders hide among the homeless because it's easier. This doesn't mean they're actually homeless -- this is up to the group.

Defining Enemies was a big stumbling block during this step. I had to keep explaining the concept over and over, and it came out that a mechanical Enemy has to be someone the character knows and hates -- not a secret enemy the character doesn't know about, like Legion is for the group, and especially for the Cookie Monster virus.

Since this was so difficult I suspect I'm going to have to explain it better in the rules, or get rid of the concept entirely. We'll see how it goes in play. The original reason it's in there is to give a default stick to push the charcter forward, like the "melodramatic hook" in Feng Shui, and because Sonja Blue was defined by her hatred of vampires.

Regardless, we came up with the following Enemies for everyone...

Lilith: Adams (i.e. each man as she individually dates them, or as they act like Adam), God
Terry: scientists and philosophers (by exploring the unknown, they push back the boundaries of fear)
"Cookie Monster" virus: "elite" hackers, WICCAGRRL
Uriel: Uriel, all immaculate (i.e. non-Fallen, non-exiled) angels
Lola: the Knights Templar (because they can heal people)

4. Put Down Statistics

This went relatively smoothly, though we had to talk Jamie out of a Water of 100 (she didn't realize stats correspond to number of dice rolled) and Russ out of some unusually high statistics. Also, I had to re-explain Specialities a few times. Brainstorming was especially useful for coming up with the required Specialities tied to an emotion or personality trait.

Also, something clicked when I told people negative things could be Specialities. I need to emphasize that in the rules.

Final character sheets, stat-wise:

Uriel
Earth 4 resiliant, dedicated
Air 3 overwhelmed, hypet-sensitive
Fire 4 flight, anger
Water 3 cold confidence
Spirit 5 spread plague/pain, enigmatic, regeneration

Lilith
Earth 4 can't die, desperation
Air 6 carries grudges, gross manipulation, pragmatic
Fire 4 sex, relentless, dance
Water 8 seduction, manipulation, reptile empathy, stupid faith
Spirit 2 seeks pure love, all powers (i.e. bonus die when actively using her powers)

"Cookie Monster" virus
Earth 4 determined
Air 6 logical, recalling information, problem-solving, storing data, calculating match functions
Fire 4 humorous
Water 2 curious
Spirit 3 fiendish

the Un-Named Animal (Terry)
Earth 5 resilient, determined, predatory
Air 5 calculating, predatory, cunning
Fire 5 furious
Water 6 artistic
Spirit 6 terrifing, shapeshifting, nihilistic

Lola
Earth 3 numbed, empty
Air 2 tunnel vision, finding dying
Fire 1 lethargic, finding dying
Water 5 empathy, searching, intuiting triggers
Spirit 5 hour of death, obsessed

Emily underlined Specialties which were emotional or personality traits (rendered above in italics) -- I think I may suggest that everyone do this in the rules, so people know about Bonus Dice they ALWAYS get.


Anyhow, that's what we ended up with. Questions, comments, rude remarks? Even given the rough spots, I think the process worked quite well. I just need to capture the process a little better in the rules. It took a whole session, but I think it was worth it. Tommorrow we actually play with these characters and this Situation.

[ADGBoss]

Wow. Impressive as always.  New Orleans is a great setting but Las Vegas may have been more fitting for this group. City of Sin etc.

Its fascinating to see people handling sexual situations in an adult manner.  I know with some of the people I know it certianly would not or could not be handled as such.

I will be interested in seeing the direction the game goes but that sounded like one hell of a Chargen session

Sean
ADGBoss

[furashgf]

And you all said "no, don't post 'Can't You Design a Narritivist Version of White Wolf games'".  ;-)  Kudos to the author.

[xiombarg]

Thanks guys! I should have a post on the actual game up soon.