S&S, pg 69, Bonus Dice: Price

[Eric]

Ego assertion I understand and I like, but while I understand the mechanics of Price, I don't see the link to the source material.  Can I get an example from the literature?

[Ron Edwards]

Hi Eric,

Sorry about the delay; I haven't been home for a while to check my mail.

I'm thinking about the times about 2/3 or 3/4 of the way through a story when a character "ramps up" his personal flaws, or more accurately, when story events exacerbate those flaws intensely. Usually this is correlated with throwing himself into the situation with such intensity that the story comes to a climax.

In The Broken Sword, Skafloc's Price is Unlucky in Love, and Frieda leaves him when they discover they are brother and sister. He basically becomes a very dark and driven character at that point, and drives toward the final confrontation with his changeling/twin mainly in frustrated rage. He also becomes - it seems to me - much more effective in every possible encounter and action during the rest of the story.

I think this idea also applies well to Myal Lemyal in Kill the Dead (goofy), to Kane in Bloodstone (arrogant), and to Tomoe Gozen in The Golden Naginata (cold-hearted).

Best,
Ron

Best,
Ron