Guidance of unknown and false supporting cast

[Garvey]

So, in my group's PbP Polaris game (which is just getting started), we had a question that we thought we bring here to get some more experienced feedback on.

In the scene in question, one of the Knights (my protagonist) is possibly having a dream or hallucination (there is a possibility of it being real as well), and in it there is supporting cast character whose identity is unknown.  I assume in this case that the Mistaken controls the character, at least until the character's identity is revealed.  Is this right?

Also, the character is then revealed to be somebody in the one of the Heart's Moons.  Does that Moon then immediately take control of the character?

What if there is a very strong, but not definitively stated, indication that character is not who they appear to be.  That they may in fact be one of the Mistaken or something else (even just a delusion).

Do the Moons guide their respective characters if they are just illusions?  If they are disguises?  What if they are tricks of the Mistaken (and thus would seemingly be under the Mistaken's control)?  What if it isn't at all clear?

I know the first answer is likely to be "Whatever works for your group" or something along those lines, but I'm interested in a more official answer, or in answers based on previous play experience.  In practice I'm sure we'll work out something internally so that we're all happy, but I'm hoping to get outside opinions from all of you.

[Ben Lehman]

Actually, the answer isn't "whatever works for your group."

If you want a specific thing, here's a checklist in order for "who controls what?"  Higher questions take priority over lower ones.

Is the character a protagonist?  If so, the Heart controls the character.
Is the character a demon or possessed by a demon?  If so, the Mistaken controls the character.
Is the character written in the Cosmos?  If so, the appropriate player controls the character.
Is there a clear, established relationship between the character and the Heart?  If so, the appropriate player (Mistaken, Full Moon, New Moon) controls the character and add the character to the Cosmos.
Is the character male?  If so, the Full Moon controls the character.
Is the character female?  If so, the New Moon controls the character.

It should be impossible to take a character through this entire checklist without classifying a character.  I suppose one could have a minor, unimportant hermaphroditic or androngenous character, in which case I would give control to whichever Moon wants it.

Note that none of these specify that the protagonist knows about the character's condition, whether the character is appearing in a dream or vision, or anything of the sort.

yrs--
--Ben

[Garvey]

That makes sense for visions, illusions, and such.  Thanks!

Well an unknown character (ie one whose identity and gender are not known) easily falls through the checklist.  This happened in the first scene in our game.  In this case, the character's first action, as narrated by the Mistaken, revealed the character's identity, and then it fell easily into the checklist (the Mistaken in this case).

If I am understanding you correctly:  If you have a (supporting) character whose identity is unestablished (they are hidden by some disguise), but their gender is known to be male, then the Full Moon controls the character.  If they are then established by later narration to be a known character, who according to the checklist is controlled by somebody else, then guidance would then switch.  Is that correct?  Or does guidance stick with the original controller of the character in that scene?

[Ben Lehman]

That makes sense for visions, illusions, and such.  Thanks!

Well an unknown character (ie one whose identity and gender are not known) easily falls through the checklist.  This happened in the first scene in our game.  In this case, the character's first action, as narrated by the Mistaken, revealed the character's identity, and then it fell easily into the checklist (the Mistaken in this case).

If I am understanding you correctly:  If you have a (supporting) character whose identity is unestablished (they are hidden by some disguise), but their gender is known to be male, then the Full Moon controls the character.  If they are then established by later narration to be a known character, who according to the checklist is controlled by somebody else, then guidance would then switch.  Is that correct?  Or does guidance stick with the original controller of the character in that scene?

Well, the primary thing is the relationship of that character with the knight.  So if we have a character who is not a demon and of unknown gender / identity but is primary to the story, the player who controls depends on where they are written in the Cosmos.  If their relationship with the knight is primarily antagonistic, they belong to the Mistaken section.  If their relationship with the knight is primarily formal / hierarchical / structured, they belong in the Full Moon section.  If their relationship with the knight is primarily informal / personal, they belong in the New Moon section.

The Heart can revise the Cosmos at his discretion, of course, so any such placement is provisional.

Only in the case of characters who are not important / interesting enough to remember from scene-to-scene do we consider male/female.

yrs--
--Ben

[Garvey]

Thanks, this really helped clear things up for us.

BTW, our play-by-post group is really loving Polaris, though its taking us a while to get all our heads all wrapped the rules and the power they convey.  Kudos on creating such a great game!