[Rustbelt] A betrayal & shooting at angry mobs twice

[Krippler]

Hello there! This is Wilmer reporting from session three of my Rustbelt campaign. We played draft 2 of the Rustbelt rules plus a new set of psyche dynamics PM'd by Marshall Burns (author of the setting and rules). You can read the other two sessions here and here.

Still the same players and characters. Freeman finally decided on the Hunger Civilization. Konrad took on a Woe seeing his truck so hurt.

The child who had survived the massacre hours earlier awoke and was confused that her legs hurt and were missing. Konrad sighed at the sight of the grenade wound his truck had aquired and because of his shot up arms he didn't even consider trying to repair it. Jane was like "haven't I read something about truck engines?" and I was like "have you?" (trait = All knowing 3) so she tried to repair the truck. She was high in Sweat and pushed in Time (6 hours). The blizzard returned after sunset and it was a cold night in the truck for our protagonists and the poor girl.

The next morning Doc went up early to scavenge the burnt out library and the surrounding area. All of the weapons left by the dead were too burnt to be useful but the machine gun that he found in the snow outside was lightly damaged by the grenade blast. Jane discovered that the Book was back, stacked with her other books, she promptly throws it out in the snow. Doc notice the boy who fled the day before is watching them from a distance. He tries to lure the boy closer even carrying the girl out trying to show no harm. The night before he had tried to pump her for information regarding their attack on Rosa and her companion, there was a deadlock regarding the detection of a lie which Doc lost and he chose not to escalate the interrogation. When the girl sees the Book she asks for it but Doc takes it away. He and Benisto ventured down to into the dark basement level of the library which had not been touched by the fire. The girl urges Jane to give her the Book and Jane tells her "whatever, it's gonna return in time anyway". There is complete blackness in the basement level but Benisto's eerie way to always sense what is where (Cagey 10) lets them find the steel door (and a stack of books, now he's the proud owner of ~10 books in good condition all written by people who's last names start with Le) and with a cooperative Tough check they manage to turn the rusted wheel and open it. Feeling their way through the small room they find the pedestal and chain the Book in place, not to return till some other poor scavenger release it. It blinks and them through the darkness before they shut the door.

Jane feels entitled to drive as it was her work that fixed the truck. They find the highway and slowly keeps driving to the closest town and the goal of their expedition: Harrison. Doc treats Konrads wounds so he regenerates an extra box of blood. During the second night everyone is exhausted because of the bumpiness of the road (easy Tough check but no Sweat regenerated). I tell Jane's player that the girl is gonna try take her knife stealthily and ask is she oppose it. Jane does not but Benisto does "I have been waking over her all night, not trusting that child of the Rust with a moment of privacy". Cagey vs. Slick. The girl pushes and there is a deadlock which ties, I explain that the next bid must be higher than the last and there's another tie before Benisto finally pays something like 15 Sweat and waits so he can catch her hand just as it closes around the knife. She struggles to get it free and wins (Benisto gave) and tries to stab him. Benisto does not oppose ("it's more exciting that way") and is stabbed in the chest, his breastplate absorbing some of the damage. He pulls out his shotgun and the girl curls up in the corner. Benisto states he wants to shoot her and I that she tries to dodge the shot. After the dice are rolled but before any pushes are made Jane sees what is about to happen and states she wants to help by suddenly braking. I was a little confused but she wanted to help the girl (awesome imo) so I added their rolls and it was just too much for Benisto. He tries to shoot her again, cursing wildly and the girl plunges at him with the knife stabbing him in the leg (nasty injury) just as the swarm of lead splash her entrails all over the entire cargo space of the truck. Jane is feeling sick and stumble out into the snow to smoke and maybe throw up a bit. Konrad too, covered in blood and guts stumble out to smoke and calm down (yay Vice increase). Benisto crawl out of the truck, weilding his bat and unholy rage limping towards Jane. Doc wrestles him to the ground (Benisto, almost 20 in both Blood and Sweat, did of course not push). Doc takes on a Woe related to the death of the girl since she died just as he finally took a nap after 30 hours of being awake treating Konrads and her wounds. He leads Benisto back inside the truck and sedates him and tries to sterilize his wounds (hard with rusty tools!). Konrads Woe about the truck being hurt is pressured and he chose to surpress it (making the deepness of that Woe as severe as the one about the loss of his family, lol I really need to pressure that one more perhaps driving him into Vice or trying to redeem the Woe).

This is about as big a bite I could squeeze out from my fading memory at this point, I'll post the rest tomorrow or the day after. This game happened last friday starting close to midnight and didn't end till about 4 in the morning and it was much tighter than the other two sessions. I did a quick reading of the fresh psyche dynamics before we got started, handed out the new character sheets (the last ones sucked). Everyone has really gotten comfortable with the system now and were eager to play. I don't know how much of this I can tribute the system and how much my lurking on RPG design/theory forums (still purging the last remains of the old GM behaviour) or the growing maturity of our game group.

[Marshall Burns]

Damn, this makes my day.  Have I mentioned that I love PC vs. PC conflict?  Well, I do

There's a neat thing going on here, with everyone's Sweat and Blood way up.  They're not Pushing as much, so they don't perform at maximum.  I really get the impression that they are bruised, bloodied, and generally fucked up, like a pulp character on a bad day (pulp fantasy, detective, adventure, whatever; they all get beat up at least once per story).  Which is really cool, if you ask me; I love seeing fictional characters at their worst.  Is that the way it felt at the table, or did it seem to be sortof an inconvenience rather than a cool Color/System interplay?

Speaking of pulp and characters getting fucked up, I was watching Raiders of the Lost Ark the other day, and I realized that it was a big influence on the Rustbelt.  I wasn't aware of it before, but Indy is a great Rustbelt-style hero.  If you watch, his heroics emphatically do not come from accomplishing awesome feats and looking good doing it; on the contrary, he makes a ton of mistakes and suffers unpleasant consequences of various accidents and circumstances.  And he gets beat the fuck up.  What makes him heroic is the way he responds to all of this, with guts and wits and determination.
Just a random thought.

-Marshall

-Marshall

[Krippler]

Damn, this makes my day.  Have I mentioned that I love PC vs. PC conflict?  Well, I do

There's a neat thing going on here, with everyone's Sweat and Blood way up.  They're not Pushing as much, so they don't perform at maximum.  I really get the impression that they are bruised, bloodied, and generally fucked up, like a pulp character on a bad day (pulp fantasy, detective, adventure, whatever; they all get beat up at least once per story).  Which is really cool, if you ask me; I love seeing fictional characters at their worst.  Is that the way it felt at the table, or did it seem to be sortof an inconvenience rather than a cool Color/System interplay?

Speaking of pulp and characters getting fucked up, I was watching Raiders of the Lost Ark the other day, and I realized that it was a big influence on the Rustbelt.  I wasn't aware of it before, but Indy is a great Rustbelt-style hero.  If you watch, his heroics emphatically do not come from accomplishing awesome feats and looking good doing it; on the contrary, he makes a ton of mistakes and suffers unpleasant consequences of various accidents and circumstances.  And he gets beat the fuck up.  What makes him heroic is the way he responds to all of this, with guts and wits and determination.
Just a random thought.

Good because there will be more up ahead, not much dice wise but plot wise. And I think Indy (or perhaps too many ww2 computer games) have influenced my game too since at least in my head most of the clothes, weapons and vehicles are straight out of naziland when they aren't from the spagetti west or Fallout. And they sure got beat up, at least Jane and Benisto. I even managed to introduce them to using Danger as a price. Konrad was too hurt from the start to do much actively besides crying over his more and more shot up, blown up and beat up truck. It might be time for some time skipping letting his wounds heal or perhaps introduce him to some very addictive miracle drug (or just regular pain killers, giving him lots of dice to overcome the Tough check from the arms adding more and more Vice ). But now sleep is calling!

[Marshall Burns]

I think it's wicked awesome to see Jane take decisive action, against someone as scary as Benisto, after being passive for so long.  As audience, I feel like I've just watched a great twist; I'm riveted, and I'm on the edge of my seat.  And then Benisto, limping, battered, and bloodied gets mad and is about to beat her down with a baseball bat!?  No! Yes!  Fucked up!  Awesome!  And Morgan has to tackle him!  Then he dopes him!  Then he treats his wounds anyway because that's the civilized thing to do!

I mean, damn, I wanna know what happens when Benisto wakes up!  I am so happy with this

[Krippler]

They drive to the town. It's rather big, sprawled out in the valley, flanked by a dam, a nasty polluted lake and a forest of dead trees and thorny bushes. The houses have been build from wood upon old factory buildings and the main factory building acts as a palace. Wrecked cars clogg the streets in the towns perimeter and act as walls. They pass a guard post and chats a bit about the upcoming market, tolls ect. before they enter and park. The earlier hot feelings have cooled off into bitter and sour ones. Jane want to buy books and Benisto want to sell books. She suppress her Hunger as Benisto carry away the stack he looted. Doc says it's a shame the library burnt down, her Woe about it is triggered and she has an outburst (Woe at deepness 5) telling him to shut the fuck up. He responds something like "Wouldn't your mother be ashamed hearing you talk like that?" and her other Woe (being cast out of her family, deepness 9) is triggered and she punches Doc in the face and walks away.

Docs player takes me aside and tells me he is planning to betray Benisto and that he keeps a note within his pockets that say "I was killed by the priest". I frowned upon this but didn't say anything since that betrayal would happen out in the open anyway and that the note is actually a Player vs. Player move and not a PC vs. PC one. Doc walks to the guard post and asks to be taken to the ruling body of the town. The guard says Lord Harrison is out hunting but Doc says it's urgent and tells him about the Silver Legion marching on Harrison and that Benisto is here to spy for them. A runner is dispatched. Benisto and Jane are both browning the market (Benisto buying a crutch) and Konrad is away drinking and being depressed when about an hour later Lord Harrison and his cortege return from the hunt. It's dogs and horses, fine rifles and a shabby deer and the lord himself truly looks noble on his steed and with his leather and lamb coat. Doc explains the situation to them (but doesn't mention Konrad or Jane) and Harrison order his second in command to prepare the torture chamber and his third in command to organize the search for the spy. At this point Doc was like "oh shit what have I done?" and I probably should have urged him to consider his Hunger denied since his attempt at saving the town and making sure justice hits the murdurer results in brutality. Benisto does of course sense that something is wrong when he sees the patrol of militia hurrying down the street. He heads for the church which he spotted earlier and is greeted by the priestess there. He has to push to make sure she doesn't spot his weapons under his coat and asks for a set of clerical clothes. She see through his obvious lies about why he's there but lets it pass and observes when the militia bang on the door. Benisto gets it facing 5-6 armed fellows asking to search the church for the infiltrator Benisto. While the militiamen walk in Benisto slips by them out in the street. Here my thought was letting sister Miriam try stall the search party and later find Benisto and be like "you owe me". Benisto is furious: since they had his name someone had sold him out. Back at the truck he encounter Jane reading. Konrad smell danger and is quickly there to save Jane. Benisto interrogates them, always on the verge of pulling out his shotgun. Konrad and Jane try reassuring him that they're both "with the Party" when they're interupted by the patrol returning. Benisto slip into an alley and the others pretend it's raining. The patrol ask them about Benisto and Jane says she travelled with him. Two brutes drag her away for interrogation. Doc intercept them and manages to have them let go of Jane and interrogate him instead since he's willing. They enter a derelict building. Two brutes, obviously not hoping for a willing subject quickly learn that Benisto is armed and dangerous (grenade launcher!) and hurry away. Konrad and Jane enter and the three of them try figuring out what is going on. Benisto has shadowed them and listens in on their conversation. Jane and he has a conflict, he wants to hear their conversation and she wants to detect his presence. Benisto wins but Jane pushes. Benisto wants to go into deadlock but can't since their goals weren't mutually exclusive. Jane doesn't tell the others about the eavesdropping. Doc tells them that he sold Benisto out because he is a madman (but not that he told Harrison about the imminent attack by the Legion) but he didn't expect it to get out of control like this. They agree going in to hiding might be a smart move but when they head out in the street they encounter both Benisto crouched outside the window but also a large amount of armed men gathering by the city gate preparing for a full scale man hunt. Two men are looting the truck. Jane informs them that they can't take their stuff but the men just grin and start walking away with their claimed mg, kicking some books in the process. She waits till their backs are turned and promtly slashes one guys throat when he tries to elbow her as a reflex response. The other man takes up a metal pipe and she runs for the alleys. Doc intercept the man and disarm him with a swing of his crowbar, the man tries to grab his crowbar but fail and run away as Konrad approach them. Doc tries to save man with the slashed throat who's bleeding out in the gutter. He gets difficulty 30. Konrad wants to curb stomp the dying man and they have an interferance, mutually exclusive conflict. Doc wins but doesn't push to actually save the man so he bleed out before Konrads boot hit him. I'm not sure what caused the sudden murderous outbreak from Jane and this sure showed Konrad is in fact not at all a nice guy.

Benisto takes the driver seat of the truck planning to escape. The others head back to the truck and notice the mob moving towards them, shouting and firing their weapons. Benisto push the pedal to the metal with his crutch as the others climb into the back of the truck and Doc opens fire with the old mg to try supress the mob (Slick check to Not hit anyone). The chase is on and it really feels like that truck is torn and slow to accelerate. They turn into a dead end and back towards the river and a bridge made of planks clearly not intended to work with cars much less trucks. Benisto prays to God that is will hold and with the extra dice he backs over the bridge without cracking it. More dead ends on the other side and they are close to the "palace" now so they chose not to abandon the vehicle but instead to drive back and try make it out of town. They of course being Benisto and the other people just sitting tight. The mob is crossing the bridge as they drive towards it. Benisto initially wants to shoot at them with the grenade launcher but regrets it and tries to drive over it (gunshots hailing over the truck, cosmetic effect). He's so high in Blood and Sweat now that he can't even pay 4 in price and I suggest he pays with Danger, accidently firing the grenade launcher straight up in the air. The players are like oh shit that is gonna hit us when we least need it and obviously it did, a corner from the gate it lands and blows the tires to hell making steering a challange. Benisto doesn't even try it and they abandon the truck. The single guard is at the gate and pulls out his revolver and tries to halt them. Doc, carrying the mg fire at him from the hip (there was a bit back of forth here changing goals and tasks since he really didn't want to kill the guard but in the end he chose to fire at him and the guard to take cover behind his booth). Obviously the machine gun turns the booth and him to swiss cheese. It is night, the snow is still laying there and they hear the distant barking of dogs. Doc drops the mg and they scatter and flee into the shadows. Benisto head out from town, walking patiently with his crutch. He has gotten out a few hundred meters when he see Lord Harrison on the horse behind him and two large dogs running at him. Harrison aims his pre-rust rifle and says "I'll put this dog down!" (actually said in english) He shoots and Benisto yell a prayer and fire his grenade launcher. Lord Harrison and his horse are instagibbed and Benisto take a hurting 26 damage in the head.

There was a long discussion on how to take the damage. Benistos player didn't want him to die, so he sacrificed both his eyes, explaining how he turned his head just as the bullet hit. Total darkness. The dogs approach. Benisto prays silently and fire his shotgun. High Cagey versus high Spry (better name than Mercurial imo, I'll keep this stat for sure!) but the dogs don't push and he slay them both and then collapse. The rest of the lords cortege are deathly afraid of this demon and doesn't head out to face him.

The others hide, sneak and run in the dark alleys till dawn. Doc drops the machine gun somewhere to escape and Jane scrapes her arm on some rusty barrels standing around. The town is in what amounts to anarchy the next morning, news are out that the despot is dead and that the Silver Legion will arrive soon. The despots henchmen try supress any Legion friendly attitudes, Jane sneak into a crowd and start rallying it. Harrisons second man spots her and tries to shoot her but she ducks and some random person in the crowd takes the bullet. The out part of the crowd is sent into rage and tries to get to the shooter and the inner part is paniced and tries to flee. The truck is beeing looted by many persons. Konrad head there to try save his stash of money hidden away in there. His Woe about the truck gets triggered and he channels it into more zeal for his Faith "Everything will turn out bad in the end". A short wrestle with some bag lady and he gets his box out of there.

Doc heads out to search for Benisto's corpse, giving himself out to be a timberman and pushing really hard to trick the new guard. He find the dead horse, parts of Lord Harrison, the two dogs and finally Benisto in the snow and gives him first aid. Because the priest relied on his Faith so many times the night before it has went from some 13 to 20. The blind, crippled zealot is nursed by the causer of his torment as the gray flag of the Legion is spotted by the horizon.


The players were thrilled actually, already talking about possible ways this scenario could head. Benistos player saw it was probably a good idea to write a new role but I reminded him that he could very well play two characters, having Benisto in the background as he probably will become a martyr/crazy prophet for the Silver Legion. I'm thrilled too because I have no idea where this will head and how they handle Docs betrayal and how Doc handles his thirst for Civilization. Will he actually side with the Legion or is he still convinced they are a worse choice than the isolated and despotic city states? There was alot of psyche mechanics used now too, especially Konrad and Jane were really alert when it came to having their Woes and Hungers triggered. Benisto really got crazy about the Faith dice in the end and he really needed them. I'm not sure if it was his gamist side speaking but it sure didn't matter because it turned Benisto from being a devout (although twisted) believer into a full blood fanatic. I hope he really plays on that change in the future. Jane has turned out being capable of murder and takes an active role in furthering the Legions goals. Konrad had trouble with his injuries, not being able to do much but talk, walk and stomp. I think either doing some time skipping letting his wounds heal or better yet having him take pain killers to be able to use his arms. That way he can be tied to the doctor and develop a steadily growing Vice. How will Doc react to Konrads growing addiction and how will Konrad himself react to it?

[jag]

Sounds like the new revisions to the Psyche rules were good!  So tell us them.

[Krippler]

psyche.
The Psyche components paint a general picture of who the character's internal makeup.  They are interrelated and can influence each other during play and can potentially feed into the Condition stats below (see the Character Dynamics chapter).  Psyche components can also be added to freely during play. 
   Note:  for convenience, I will be using the pronoun "you" to refer to the character in this section.

Hunger - This is a basic, fundamental need that drives and motivates you.  This is the shining goal you quest for.  It is a hole in your personal fabric that yearns to be filled.  Freedom, true love, power, truth, honor, acceptance, salvation; these are Hungers.
•   You need not necessarily be conscious of your hunger. 
•   The desire to live is implied and does not qualify as a hunger.
•   If you want wealth, fame, or power as a means to some end, it does not qualify as hunger; however, if you want one of these things for its own sake, as an end in and of itself, then it does qualify. 
•   Hunger comes with a numeric rating called Frustration that increases when Hunger is ignored or resisted.
•   All characters should have one Hunger each; no more, no less.

Who wants money just for the sake of money?  Well, f'rinstance, there's misers, and probably some insane people who are psychotically driven to collect money.  Then there's the Treasure Seeker's Union, about whom you can read further on.

Vice - Coping with the brutality of the 'Belt is not easy, and most people turn to Vice to help them.  Now, Vice is kind of a loaded word, so it needs some definition for the purpose of the game:  if its an activity or substance that helps you cope and there are times when you might run out or have to avoid doing it, it's a Vice.
   Each Vice's influence over you is measured with a numerical rating called Grip.

Faith - This includes beliefs, hopes, and any concepts that you give credence.  Religion, the power of love, the bonds of friendship, human decency, the validity of science; these are examples of things people might have Faith in.
   But it's not limited to that.  Being in denial is a kind of Faith, and so is racial prejudice.  Every concept you put stock in, every axiom that guides your worldview, and every rationale you use to justify your actions is Faith.
   Your devotion to and reliance on each Faith is measured with a numerical rating called Zeal.

Woe - This is grief, sorrow, guilt, regret, or remorse.  The death of a loved one, the loss of a friend, failing in the eyes of your father, an act of cowardice, a crime, a sin; these are the sort of thing that produces Woe.  Anything that the character beats himself/herself up over inside, whether it produces depression, rage, disgust, longing, or something inbetween, that's Woe.
   The grievousness of each Woe is measured with a numerical rating called Depth.

Limits - Limits are the lines you are unwilling to cross, the prices you are unwilling to pay, the chances you are unwilling to take, and the sacrifices you are unwilling to make in order to attain your goals.

The Psyche components serve two important purposes.  One is that they feed into the Character Dynamics (read about 'em further on) systems.  Another is that it's very useful to have these things written down about your character on a sheet, where you can see them.  Visual association is a powerful tool.  The other use is as "flags," to throw a touch of jargon at you; that is, they are signals of sorts to the GM.  It is the GM's job to shape situations such that they provide opportunity and adversity relevant to your PC's Psyche.

~-~

hunger.
If you decline a chance to pursue Hunger or are prevented from pursuing it, choose one:
•   regret it and take on Woe, or Deepen Woe (see below) if already taken
•   Cope using Faith (see below)
•   Cope using Vice (see below)
•   have an Outburst (see below)
•   Suppress it:  add 1 to Frustration and take Tears equal to Frustration (in that order)

Reduce Frustration by pursuing Hunger or having an Outburst.  When in doubt, take half.
   Hunger can Motivate you (earn 5 extra dice in resolution) when you need to get through an obstacle or problem in order to pursue your Hunger.  If you use this Motivation and fail, however, it counts as being prevented from pursuing your Hunger.

vice.
If you kick a Vice or run dry, you go into Withdrawal:  take on special effects as applicable, and Sweat equal to Grip; this Sweat cannot be removed, changing only when Grip changes, until Withdrawal ends.  Withdrawal ends when Grip hits zero or you succumb to temptation. 
   What sort of special effects might Withdrawal have?  It depends on the Vice.  Nicotine withdrawal tends to make people fidgety, nervous, and irritable.  Morphine withdrawal first produces a sensation of all-encompassing need, then typically causes debilitating cramps, nausea, diahrrea, and occasionally symptoms similar to allergic reactions (hives, itching, the sensation of "crawling skin").  Alcohol withdrawal brings on hangover (headache, sensitivity to light and sound, nausea, fatigue) plus, in extreme cases, the delirium tremens:  the shakes, auditory and/or visual hallucinations, and paranoiac delusions.  And, of course, you can always borrow William S. Burroughs' bag of tricks and invent strange, new drugs with equally strange withdrawal symptoms.

You can reduce Grip by doing any of the following during Withdrawal:
•   resisting temptation.  Every day reduces Grip by 1.
•   relying on Faith that the Vice is wrong:  add X to Zeal, then reduce Grip by X.
•   substituting another Vice:  add X to the other Vice's Grip, then reduce the initial Grip by X.

You can Cope with Woe, Hunger, and horrible experiences by indulging in a Vice.  Every time you use a Vice to Cope, add 1 to its Grip.
   Vice can Motivate you if there's the promise of indulging after getting through an obstacle or problem.  However, if you use this Motivation and fail, you go into Withdrawal. You can also earn the Motivation dice if you use Vice to steady your nerve just before taking a dangerous or frightening action (this counts as Coping).   

faith.
If your experiences run counter to Faith, choose one:
•   reduce Zeal (when in doubt, take half).  If Zeal hits zero, the Faith becomes Lost (see below).
•   modify or add Faith to "explain away" the experience.

If you break your Faith, choose one:
•   Lose the Faith
•   regret the action, and take on Woe related to that regret with Depth equal to the Zeal
•   feel good about it, take on Vice related to what you did with Grip equal to the Zeal, and reduce Zeal to zero and Lose the Faith (in that order).

You can Cope with Hunger, Woe, and horrible experiences through Faith.  Every time you use Faith to Cope, increase its Zeal by 1.  You cannot use Lost Faith to Cope.
   If you Lost a Faith, put an X next to it on the character sheet.  If it had more than zero Zeal, it creates Woe related to the bitterness over the Lost Faith, with Depth equal to the Zeal.  Lost Faith can be regained when that Woe is Healed, at player discretion.
   Faith can Motivate you if it would provide some inner strength in facing an obstacle or problem.  However, if you fail in such a task, your Faith has let you down, which counts as experiences running counter to Faith.  You can also earn the Motivation dice if you use Faith to steady your nerve just before taking a dangerous or frightening action (this counts as Coping).

woe.
If Woe is Triggered (circumstances remind you of it in a hurtful way), choose one:
•   have an Outburst
•   Cope using Faith
•   Cope using Vice
•   Suppress it:  add 1 to Depth and take Tears equal to Depth

The Depth of a Woe can be reduced through appropriate absolution, redemption, or salvation in-game.  When in doubt, reduce it by half.  If Depth is reduced to zero by this, the Woe becomes Healed (put an X next to it on the character sheet).  Healed Woe can no longer be Triggered as normal, but it's still there as a scar that can be reopened if the event that created the Woe or something suitably similar to it happens again.  If this happens, the Depth should immediately be set at 1 point higher than it ever was before, and it should be immediately treated as Triggered.
   Woes should be added anytime you do something you regret and cannot justify by Faith.  You may set the starting Depth of the Woe anywhere between 0 and 20, as you see fit based on how intensely you regret the action.  When a Woe is added in this manner, it should be immediately treated as Triggered.
   Woe can Motivate you if there's a promise of redemption or absolution after dealing with an obstacle or problem (this includes having a chance to prevent a recurrence of the event, or an event similar to it, that created the Woe.   "I can't allow these people to die in a blizzard like my brother did" and similar "stretches" are perfectly fine).  If you use this Motivation and fail, however, the Woe becomes Deepened.

limits.
If you break a Limit, you Lose it (draw a line through it on the character sheet) and choose one:
•   regret it and take on Woe
•   justify the action with Faith (add or modify Faith if necessary)
•   feel good about it and take on what you did as a Vice

If you perform an action that is regrettable and/or of questionable morality, and it is not justified by your Faith, it is treated like a broken Limit.  In fact, if you like, write it down under Limits and put a line through it.
   A Broken Limit can be regained at player discretion if the Woe, Faith, or Vice produced is Healed/Lost/Kicked.
   Limits can Motivate you when facing a problem or obstacle wherein success means keeping in line with the Limit and failure means breaking it.

outbursts.
Outbursts are when your emotions get the best of you, and you act out in some manner.  This could be a crying jag, or a murderous rage, or anything in between; as long as it's sensibly derived from the in-game event that prompted the outburst, it's fine.  Outbursts can be prompted by Frustration, Woe, and unpleasant experiences.  They can also be used to purge yourself of Tears.  The intensity of an Outburst should be based on the intensity of whatever prompted it—although if you've got pent up emotions (i.e., Tears), it's perfectly fine to add them onto what would otherwise be a minor Outburst, transforming it into a major one (and probably one with an intensity that will surprise the people around you—I'm sure we've all had such an outburst in real life, where something small set off a huge reaction due to pent-up frustrations).
   As we probably all know from being people, outbursts can cause all sorts of problems; they tend to figure negatively in people's opinions of you, and they tend to prompt you into doing things that you regret.

(As you can see, Faith is now quite parallel to Vice, which I find really cool because it raises some interesting questions)
-Marshall

[jag]

(As you can see, Faith is now quite parallel to Vice, which I find really cool because it raises some interesting questions)
-Marshall

I've been wondering for a bit about how similar Faith and Vice are.  Have you toyed with the next step and seeing if there's a nice way to combine them?  Consider that both:
1. Are mechanisms to cope with the horrors of the 'Belt.
2. Are motivations and driving forces for the character.
3. Can be used to help oneself in dire times, but at a cost of deepening.
4. Can be whittled away, but through effort.
5. Can be overcome, but still lies there latent to be triggered.
6. Can be exchanged for one another.

One could also imagine at high levels they trigger outbursts when frustrated/contradicted (nic fits, righteous indignation...).  I think this fits with the way that Benisto has been using it -- he's growing deeper and deeper into his fanaticism to survive and cope, becoming more and more irrational and contentious.  That could be heroin just as well as it could be religion.

They could both be represented by a more general conflicted gauge called, say, "Need", which as you use it to help you it gets stronger, but the stronger it is the more it becomes an influence on your actions.  One of the things i like about this is it allows you to focus on intense and consuming Needs, instead of having an obligatory Vice/Faith that may or may not be that much of a driving factor (after all, a couple packs a day doesn't seem to be something too dramatic given the nature of the rust-belt).

I'll admit i'm a bit biased in this direction because it's vaguely reminiscent of a mechanic of mine (but sort of opposite in intent).  And i'm internally pondering whether Woe could also be represented in this way, but its purpose seems to be different.

james

[Marshall Burns]

James,

Yeah, the function of the two is pretty much the same.  But I think that the Color is different, and I kinda want to preserve that.  I like it when System creates Color.  I'm not seeing what the benefit of combining them would be.  Which isn't to say that I wouldn't listen if you tried to show me.
(Oh, and they aren't obligatory; you don't have to have both, or even either, when starting out; it's just a sort of conjectural recommendation to start with one of each).

Wilmer,

The players were thrilled actually, already talking about possible ways this scenario could head.

Awesome.  Just awesome.  The whole thing, just awesome.  I love this game.

Also:  I've realized that, here and there throughout all the Rustbelt threads, you've mentioned specific applications of the mechanics with a questioning tone, as though asking if you were doing it right, and I've failed to respond to many of them; sorry about that.  But, for the record, if I didn't say anything about it, then you handled it well.  Allowing Jane to throw in her Cooperation after Benisto's dice had already been rolled is technically against the rules, but forgivable because the players are new to the IIEE; I think you handled it just fine.

-Marshall

[Marshall Burns]

James,
I wanna explain a little more about the granularity and Color issue.

When Wilmer said he was going to split the Slick attribute, I said, "okay."  Functionally, it changes nothing.  You could double the amount of attributes.  Or, you could cram Tough with Slick and call it "Body," cram Cagey, Savvy, and Thorough together and call it "Mind," and cram Personable, Grizzled, and Uncanny together and call it "Spirit," and all the rules would still work.  Or maybe you want to put Personable under "Mind."  You could use the SAN! attributes, Brawn, Brains, Personality, Finesse, and Talent.  Or, hell, call 'em Strength, Constitution, Dexterity, Charisma, Intelligence, and Wisdom.  Whatever; it doesn't change anything on a functional level, because of the way the resolution mechanic is structured.

The reason the attributes are divided into the 8 they are is purely to provide Colorful detail (this is reinforced by the way that they're named, being words that people in the 'Belt would actually use to describe someone) and give players a bit of inspiration in generating the Color for their PC's actions.  That's it.  The differentiation between Vice and Faith is the same kind of thing.

Mind you, all this is coming from a former Purist-for-System, who "got better" in that he now believes that it is impossible to model a fictional reality (but completely possible and desirable to model a kind of fiction).  I'm kindof desensitized to unnecessary granularity and the baroque--that is, it's gotta be pretty damn baroque for me to think of it as baroque.  Eight attributes plus free-form traits, as an example, looks very simple to me, although someone else might think it's too much.

[Lance D. Allen]

I'm with Marshall on the separation of Vice and Faith.. Functionally they may be identical, but how the players think of them will be different, just because of the different names.. which will have an effect on how they're used.

"I need to have a smoke." is different in color and flavor than "God's will be done."

Killing someone for a cigarette is much different in tone than killing someone because they don't believe that Christ's middle initial was 'H'.

Functionally, both have the same effect. In the former, you calm down and accept something you can't change. In the latter, you've killed someone over something others might think is very minor.

[JoyWriter]

I don't think they are identical, as faith reacts to the world in a very different way, it adds an important distinction by encouraging people always to consider the philosophical implications of events, rather than just what objects are in them, underlining the theme of metaphysical corruption.

Also I like the way that zeal in an idealistic concept can be readily applied as bonus, but causes woe all over the place. Limits don't have any effect as far as I can see so far, but perhaps other people can become aware of them, and so manipulate/trust you. I really like how the psych rules don't have any rolling: Every time I do a psych system I end up building it with drives, where you internally conflict by using ideals and habits as skills against persuasion, other desires and even mind control. This system is totally different: It's all coping strategies with built in consequences, that you choose to use or not. Now are there built in game rewards for laudable hungers or limits? Apart from the wearing results of playing a horrible guy obviously. I'm trying to decide what I think about that, because the way the GM seems encouraged to make hell for people, it seems like it would be nice to pay them back for resisting it. But then you seem to have a total lack of traditional experience in this system, so this may just be a familiarity instinct to bring that back in!

I've never seen this system before, but I love the blood/sweat/tears idea. It's like that phrase was built to be an rpg sub-division for strain, seriously impressed you spotted it! I have a reservation though; dodgily it seems the draft 2 rules may encourage self harm: I mean if a player has a harsh GM who won't give her much tears back for her outbursts, then the only guaranteed mechanic is damage. For this reason it seems important to give clues about quantifying it, so people have a base to work from. How are different values going so far? I can tolerate someone taking it as a vice, but incentives mean something! Also, how do you stop people building up a million injuries without taking any blood, like if failed tests to cope with injuries raised your blood?

Oh and something that seems slightly awesome; love seems to be a vice in this game! The thing about the mother seems like a vice with massive grip, any other relationship could be treated as a weaker one with limits required to maintain it. That's a twist of perspective for you!

[Krippler]

I've never seen this system before, but I love the blood/sweat/tears idea. It's like that phrase was built to be an rpg sub-division for strain, seriously impressed you spotted it! I have a reservation though; dodgily it seems the draft 2 rules may encourage self harm: I mean if a player has a harsh GM who won't give her much tears back for her outbursts, then the only guaranteed mechanic is damage. For this reason it seems important to give clues about quantifying it, so people have a base to work from. How are different values going so far? I can tolerate someone taking it as a vice, but incentives mean something! Also, how do you stop people building up a million injuries without taking any blood, like if failed tests to cope with injuries raised your blood?

Oh and something that seems slightly awesome; love seems to be a vice in this game! The thing about the mother seems like a vice with massive grip, any other relationship could be treated as a weaker one with limits required to maintain it. That's a twist of perspective for you!

Injuries hurt, that's why. Also, the hit locations can make them hell if you want to, like I did with Benisto in his last fight. The only bad injuries he could take to avoid death were either blindness of muteness. He wanted to lose only one eye for like 10 price but I told him no since it really wouldn't hurt him at all since he never snipes with the shotgun anyway. Konrad hurt both his arms bad in the session before as mentioned and that made his screen time very low in practice, and if you see screen time as the candy gained from gaming death is a much much sweeter option than injuries. Since both benisto and Jane have been up to 19 in blood there is no problem.

There is no need for a reward mechanic for being good in my opinion looking at how Doc behaves. Managing to act good and compassionate in this world seems reward enough, spitting the Rust in the face. Benisto has an agenda to fight the Rust and the corruption spawned by it but as you all see he is the most corrupt of them all.

There is a clear enought divide between Faith and Vice. Not following your Vice leads to withdrawal and Sweat while not following your Faith leads to Woe.

[Marshall Burns]

There is no need for a reward mechanic for being good in my opinion looking at how Doc behaves. Managing to act good and compassionate in this world seems reward enough, spitting the Rust in the face. Benisto has an agenda to fight the Rust and the corruption spawned by it but as you all see he is the most corrupt of them all.

Wilmer, I agree entirely.  Those two have some awesome going all over the place.  Seeing the Doc try to stay good in the midst of all this, while Benisto (who probably slid from good a long time ago) slides from ugly to fuckin' crazy, Jane turns from not-much-of-anything to ugly, and Konrad goes from ugly to bad--I mean, that's pretty cool, and exactly the sort of thing I wanted from this game.  Now, the game makes it very difficult to play a good character, but that's just the nature of the setting; the good die first, the bad die not long after that, and the ugly live the longest. 

Now, this game does have a reward system, although it's not in any sort of points.  The reward is not something that is given to you; your reward for playing this game is the thing you have created in the process of playing it.

And, for the record, I'm perfectly fine with people building up a million injuries; the penalties will cripple their performance, so it's not like Injury is the easy-out.  Actually, I consider B/S/T to be the easy out; f'rinstance, Injury doesn't enable you to ignore Blood, Blood enables you to ignore Injury.  I also agree with Wilmer that death is a better option than a million Injuries; for one thing, you get to go out with a bang if you use the Last Push.

However, I do think that I need a clear system for the recovery of Injuries; B/S/T are pretty clear, but there's nothing for Injury.  I think that their healing rate would be slow, like Blood, but that there should be a way to mitigate the Challenge that they add.  F'rinstance, putting on splints or casts to mitigate broken bones.  Wilmer, how did you handle Benisto's crutch?

Oh, and I don't know if anyone's caught it yet, but stuff like Zeal and Depth on the Psyche components has no upward limit.  You could have a Woe with a Depth of 60, in theory.  ...Have I mentioned that 60 Tears will kill you?  [evil laugh]

And, JoyWriter, thanks for the compliments, and for reading!

-Marshall

[Marshall Burns]

Oh, I suppose I ought to mention why there's no experience or other effectiveness-improvement mechanic in the game.  It's because your character won't last long enough to improve significantly.  If I give you experience points, and then your character ends up dead or incredibly maimed or so corrupted that there's probably no redemption in sight within one or two sessions, making him more-or-less unplayable--well, it's just a mixed message.  I want your character to end up dead or incredibly maimed or so corrupted that there's probably no redemption in sight, at least over the timeline of a few sessions. 

Characters are a short-term thing in this game, partially because that's just the nature of the 'Belt itself, but also because of the campaign structure I'm shooting for.  Now, in most games, you'd play the same character and the same story (or a linear sequence of stories) all the way through a campaign; that's not what I'm designing for here, though.  What I'm looking for is a campaign made of interwoven yarns.  Shorter pieces that are intertwined and related, even if characters do not recur, and even if they jump around chronologically.

Now, there's tricks to giving the interwoven yarn structure a sense of continuity, so that it feels like one big narrative or campaign.  Some of the best examples of these tricks can be found in the various works of William S. Burroughs, Voice of the Fire by Alan Moore, and the Sin City comics by Frank Miller.  Repetition is the key.  Well, "repetition" sounds bad; let's call it "tesselation."

This comes on several levels.

Tesselation of characters
Have characters recur from yarn to yarn (sometimes PCs, sometimes NPCs).  This is all over the place in WSB and Sin City.  When you're doing this, you can jump chronology all you want, and explore all sorts of conflicts and situations.  Jumping chronology is neat because it enables you to put little twists on the characters; "What was Benisto like in his youth?" and stuff like that.

Tesselation of situations
Repeat situations from yarn to yarn.  F'rinstance, if you've got people trapped in a blizzard in one, introduce a blizzard in a later yarn.  Then, later on, throw a twist on it by making it a sandstorm or something.  This is also all over the place in WSB.

Tesselation of conflicts
So, maybe there's an abusive relationship conflict in one yarn; introduce one into another yarn.  Or a conflict between friends over a lover, or a conflict between business partners over greed.  Look at Sin City; how many of those conflicts are based on someone doing something for a (usually dangerous) woman and suffering for it?

Tesselation of symbols
This one's a little trickier, because it's subtle.  Voice of the Fire has it in spades; it can explain by example better than I can in words.  But, basically, this is picking out some sort of symbol or trope that was evocative from one yarn, and interpolating it into another.  F'rinstance, in Wilmer's campaign, it might be neat to introduce a blind preacher into a later yarn.  Not Benisto; a different blind preacher.  Or another strange book.  Wilmer, your idea of using the faceless child is exactly this sort of thing, but it's best to repeat something that the players have seen before.

Tesselation of phrases
This one's also subtle, but easy.  It's just what it sounds like:  repeating whole phrases.  WSB does this all the time.  In sessions of the older versions of this game, I used the line "Things that make that kind of sound have exoskeletons" over and over.  Repeat descriptions.  Repeat lines.  Introduce them in different circumstances, put them in the mouths of different characters.  (Wilmer, "I'll put this dog down!" is a great candidate)

This process of tesselation has a really neat effect.  Not only does it lend a sense of continuity when the narrative is not a single, continuous story, but it has another effect that's a bit hard to explain, but I'll try.  See, everytime something is repeated, and someone recognizes it, they'll automatically recall the last time it cropped up.  The third time, they will remember both previous times, and so on.  Each repetition is not only colored by the previous ones, but it colors the previous ones as well, retroactively.  Each time it's repeated, it gains meaning.  You end up with whole that is greater than the sum of its parts.

I used this technique successfully in older versions of the game; I should find a way to get it into the text.
-Marshall