[While We Were Fighting] Character Generation

[Peter Nordstrand]

I am designing this game. It is called While We Were Fighting. I've scheduled two playtest sessions next week with different groups. Problem is that character generation is flawed. I'll do my best to explain my predicament. (Note: I this post does not describe the current, flawed, version of  chargen at all. I'll just concentrate on what I want to achieve rather than yapping about something I don't like.) The fllowing does contain a series of specific questions, but you are free to comment on anything regarding character generation. 

First a little something about the game.

The Game

While We Were Fighting is set in a fictional city state controlled by a number of rivalling bloodlines. Think Italian city states during the renaissance and you are spot on. Player characters are influential members of their bloodlines, and they all have a stake in what is going on in the city. They are also part of a couple of other groups, such as guilds, religious institutions, circles of friends, etc.

Characters have the option to use their communities to further their own personal agendas, by influencing them to take part in the conflicts that emerge during the game. In this way, conflicts that start out small and personal in nature have the potential to escalate into much larger confrontations that may eventually involve the entire city. It is an explosive situation, and player characters must tread carefully.

At the very core of While We Were Fighting is this the fact that any conflict can get out of hand. No matter how trivial, it can easily grow to destroy everything you know. Confronted with such harsh realities, we have to ask ourselves this: Is it worth it?

Design Goals

What do the characters do, then, in this game? Well, essentially they all have stuff that they want, need or believe in. Then it is the GMs job to provide adversary to the characters' objectives, thus creating conflict. Naturally, it is imperative that the characters' desires catch the intrerest of the players. We don't have to agree with our characters, or even like them, but we must care about their actions.

Ideally, character generation should give the players a fairly good idea about what to do. Once it is finished, they should know what this particular instance of While We Were Fighting is going to be about. Examples of games that handle this especially well include One Can Have Her and Sorcerer. Old school dungeon crawling games (D&D, Tunnels & Trolls) are also good at preparing the players for what's next. After you have given your character all that armor and weapons, figured out his hit points and to hit chance, it is pretty obvious what you are supposed to do next. And I like that.

Finally, I want character creation to be enjoyable. And fast.

In conclusion, character generation should

* provide stuff for characters to want, need, and believe in.
* provide the players with an opportunity to get invested in their characters.
* give players a good sense of what this game will be about.
* give the GM material with which to provide adversary.
* take no more than fifteen minutes, tops.
* be fun.

Wants, Needs, and Beliefs

If this is a game about conflicts potentially getting out of hand, then we need something for characters to quarrel about. This is what I have in mind.

Ambitions. Goals may range from the personal and private to the public and political. They may concern the character's themselves, or reflect the hopes they have for someone else. They may be about people, institutions, bloodlines, or the entire state. Goals may never ever concern things that happen outside the city state. Shall I make a list for the players to chose from, or will some general intructions suffice? I don't know.

Assets. Player characters will need to protect and maintain the assets they already have. Economic assets include marketplaces,instruments of debt, goods & merchandize, precious metals, mines, farms, real estate and other property, vehicles. Human assets comprise of bodyguards, advisors, soldiers, scribes and notaries, artisans, household priests, astrologers, hired killers, lawyers. Assets can also be related to social status such as fancy titles (duke of the baths), certain social responsibilities ("we never miss the new years party at the Graccus House"), privileges based on tradition and inheritance ("the Pentenelli's always take young men of the Graccus family as lovers").

A sudden realization: I think I should let the players pick a certain number of assets from a pre-written list. What's more, the choice will allow players to define their characters, which ought to get them invested. It also ties the characters closer to the setting, as well as giving a clear hint of what the game will be about. What do you think?

Relationships. Characters need relationships with some other people. When I say  relationships, I am thinking strictly of the sex & blood type, i.e. parents, children, siblings, lovers and spouses. I want the game to be slightly claustrophobic, and I think a strict sex & blood policy may help create that feeling.

Enemies, Rivals, and Adversaries

I'm not sure if adversaries should be provided by the players during character generation, or not. Right now I'm leaning towards the latter, leaving the opposition entirely in the hands of the GM.

Questions? Comments? Suggestions?

Thank you.

[hix]

Hi Peter,

How much player vs player conflict are you expecting? If it's a lot, I'd think about doing something like Oaths in Agon, which do a great job of binding the players in webs of competition right from the start.

Are you expecting there to be contradictory demands from the characters' bloodlines, guilds, religious institutions, circles of friends, etc? Demands that the characters have to choose between. Or is a game more about having a goal and trying to achieve it?

[Peter Nordstrand]

Hi Steve,

Thank you for asking these questions.

I'm sorry to say that I have no experience with Agon, but I understant that it's blatantly competitive. What little I've read about Agon's Oaths seems similar to corresponding mechanics in both The Mountain Witch and Poison'd. The latter is a big influence for the conflict resolution system in While We Are Fighting. (Did I say influence? Nah, I've ripped it off.) Now, neither The Mountain Witch nor Poison'd has much inter player competition, but is rife with confrontation between characters.

I don't expect any player vs. player conflicts at all in my game. As for player characters clashing, I see it as a distinct possibilty, perhaps even likely, but its not neccessary, or even worth striving for. The conflicts are only important insofar as they facilitate Story Now. And stories in While We Were Fighting aren't about loyalty or trust at all. Here's the thing: Whenever a character stands up for what he or she believes in, disaster is waiting around the corner. Because the loser of a conflict can always go talk to his family, friends, guildmates, or whatever, and ask them to help him out. Naturally, his opponent will not hesitate to do same, and before long we have this huge messy feud involving several bloodlines, guilds, and mercenary bands, while everybody is using their Vatican contacts to have the opposing side excommunicated. And all this over what exactly? The game is meant to very explicitly ask "is it worth it?"

Are you expecting there to be contradictory demands from the characters' bloodlines, guilds, religious institutions, circles of friends, etc? Demands that the characters have to choose between. Or is a game more about having a goal and trying to achieve it?

I imagine that it's the player characters who will be making the demands. They are bishops, guild masters, family heads, and so forth. And the game is all about answering the question above.

I've been working on character generation a bit since my first post. The bit about adversary is quoted, below. You will no doubt note a qouple of peculiarities. Hopefully it will promote precisely the kinds of conflict I am looking for. Worth noting is that in this version all player characters have an enemy in the Gherardini family, which ought to affect the dynamics quite a bit.

Adversary
Your character has an adversary. This person, who is a member of the powerful Gherardini Family, has wronged you in some way. Roll a die to determine your adversary's name, then select his offence from the list below.

1. Antonio Gherardini
2. Orsino Gherardini
3. Palmieri Gherardini
4. Petruccio Gherardini
5. Simona Gherardini
6. Uberto Gherardini

List of Offences
The scoundrel has

• convinced the pope to excommunicate a loved one.
• killed a loved one.
• lent you money.
• made advances to a loved one.
• mocked you in public.
• mocked your sister in public.
• plagiarized your work.
• rejected your love.
• stolen your lover.
• stolen a valuable asset.
• tricked you into a bad investment.

So what do you think?

All the best,

/Peter

[Peter Nordstrand]

I've started a playtest thread. Check it out here. My first post is all about character generation.