Temptation and RPGs

[screwtape]

hello!
i've been a member of Story-Games.com for about a month but now that i'm trying to work on my RPG idea with renewed vigor, i was directed here for a more workshoppy attitude towards making games.
so here goes...

i have a game skeleton of about 2-3 pages of a game based on The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis.
the idea would be for 6 players, 3 of which play humans in some sort of situation, the other three play their respective Tempters, twisting and obstructing the human's goals.

i think i have a good mechanic for the character creation and the conflict resolution. but so far, it seems like i have no mechanic to help the players move the story to the next conflict.

what kind of options do game designers have for driving plot along?

[soundmasterj]

[Ron Edwards]

Hello, and welcome!

I suggest that a conflict resolution procedure that does not "move the story forward" is not actually resolving conflicts. Can you describe what you have in mind? I'm especially interested to know what fictional content lets the group know that the conflict resolution procedure needs to be employed.

Best, Ron

[Dementia Games]

A lot more detail is needed, indeed, but I do like what I hear so far. 

[screwtape]

ok so i tried this once and the computer died so here goes again.
the character creation is based on Screwtape's assertion that a person is "a series of concentric circles, his innermost being his Will, his Intellect coming next, and finally his Fantasy"
the Will is the true heart of a person and when the Virtues reside there they are acted upon automatically. when they are in the intellect, they are admired and justified but not automatic. when they are in the fantasy the human imagines he embodies such an attitude but it really has little to nothing to do with his life.   the same goes for the Vices. a tempter cannot expect to simply banish all the Virtues from all three circles but must coax them out towards the Fantasy while pushing the Vices inwards at the Will. so if the tempter succeeds, the human patient believes himself to be virtuous while actually embodying a completely different set of priorities.
there are two people involved in creating each patient personality. the Patient and Tempter. the Patient begins by choosing 3 of the 7 "heavenly virtues" and the Tempter chooses 3 of the 7 "deadly vices" and they place them on the circles as they like, with one of each on each circle. for instance:

we now have two items that the character acts on instinctually, (humility/envy) two things he admires or justifies, (temperance/sloth) and two things he believes are big players in his life but in reality he's all but eliminated them from his life.

the conflict system works on that, a temptation works by either attacking a virtue, advancing a vice, or attacking a virtue with a vice. i also set up the die pool system so that a virtue in the will is very difficult for the tempter to touch and a vice in the same place is a major stumbling block to the Patient.
                    Tempter    Patient
Virtue on circle 1   1 d6   3 d6
Virtue on circle 2   2 d6   2 d6
Virtue on circle 3   3 d6   1 d6
Vice on circle 1   3 d6   1 d6
Vice on circle 2   2 d6   2 d6
Vice on circle 3   1 d6   3 d6

four dice are rolled in a conflict plus various advantage and helping dice for both sides.

the results of the conflict will most likely leave a lasting effect on the placement of virtues and vices in the circles.
like if a patient loses a conflict, she may now have Lust moved from out of her intellect into her will and she suddenly starts acting on it as a matter of course.

i hope this makes sense. and thanks for the encouragement.
-dan

[soundmasterj]

You described conflict mechanically, but what does it mean? What do we narrate before and after we roll dice? Could you give an example of a c onflict and a followup conflict?

[screwtape]

[soundmasterj]

quote]The conflict is there. No question about that. My issue is how I allow the human characters to interact without making that the focal point of the game. I want the gameplay to focus on the Tempter/Patient relations, not Patient/Patient. However I still want the humans to be able to influence one another both positively and negatively.

[Dementia Games]

I think I get the gist of the system and concept.  This is definitely an intriguing idea that is no doubt going to prove a challenge to implement.  It sounds like we're working on the assumption that a patient with a virtue or vice in the Will circle is literally going to automatically follow it until opposed, is that correct?  That may be putting it too simplistically, I don't know. 

I really like the potential for interaction here.  Too, for those interested in the Judeo-Christian concept of demons (as tempters rather than possessors, in this case), it provides a potentially awesome vehicle for exploring the ideas involved.  Probably best of all, though, if implemented effectively, the game could hold very true to C. S. Lewis' idea, especially if plenty of flavor from the stories is thrown in.

I'd like to hear more about the philology die and whether there is some working equivalent available to the patient for resistance, assumedly dependent on narration.  That area I'm not clear on.

Before going any further though, can you give a walkthrough example of how one conflict, based on the characters you just posted, is resolved?  I'm talking from the GM to the players, onward.  I'm curious to see how you envision these elements working.