[FLFS] Reward System at last!

[Josh Roby]

Hey, Mo!  I get to be the first to say "Welcome to the Forge!"

Charging Thematic Batteries means giving that character a die-check disadvantage based on the battery -- your Competitive character pushes the engines hard and may stall out the vehicle (fail the roll), for instance.  As it stands, the only person at the table who can give the character that disadvantage is the player playing that character, and I like that dynamic.  I think it will foster a sense that nobody at the table is gunning for you, and that players are safe to disadvantage their characters because they have control over that disadvantage in terms of when it crops up and how severe it is.

If players address each other's Thematic Batteries to sign the Scrip, that gives the other player the opportunity to charge up their battery, but does not require them to do so.  Control of the die-disadvantage still rests in the hands of the character's player, and instead of other players penalizing you, they are offering you opportunities you can utilize.  The contextualization of my character 'happens' either way, but I can use it to fuel the system and validate the characterization if I like.

From my reading, your questions mostly are about whether I accept the characterization that another player makes of my character, and that's a central concern.  I think that's addressed by the Scrip giving the opportunity and the player either using it for a charge or passing it by.  It's sort of a bump-set-spike thing, to use a volleyball metaphor.  It sounds like I'm denying your suggestion, but your suggestion put that interaction right there into sharp relief for me -- and I'll be explaining it in those terms when I write it up.

For reference, I also think the one minute narration / scrip-pass every ten minutes is way liberal, but it's my worst-case scenario.

[Thor]

I think that the players should get an imediate reward for referencing other players PLUS a bump to the group total. I love the idea that there will be more at the end for a big finally.

[Jason Morningstar]

A couple of thoughts -

You may be able to control the escalation of scrip narration through explicit regulation of the social contract.  In the Roach, which has no limit to the number or variety of mechancially advantageous NPCs that can be narrated into a scene, the rule is, "if everyone at the table agrees that your addition is grasping and sort of weak, drop it and immediately roll the dice for the conflict."  In play this has worked great; something similar would allow every group to set their own limits on how much tallying takes place.

That said, I really really like the idea of viewing the addressing of *every* character's issues as a benchmark of some sort - once we've checked off narration for every character, we are all rewarded.  This would level the playing field for players who take less glamorous (or just harder to incorporate) batteries.

Looking forward to seeing this game!

--Jason