[TSoY] (June Retreat) Five Keys in need of Feedback

[JMendes]

Ahey, :)

A'ight, then, here's a bunch of Keys that came up during this play session, which stemmed from this initial situation.

I'm gonna post these on the wiki, eventually, but I wanted to give everyone a chance to throw some feedback my way before I do.

Key of the Master
Your character views himself as a spiritual and/or moral leader. Gain 1 XP every time a named character does something that you grant you XP from another key, if you had done it. Gain 2 XP every time you have to convince them to do so. Gain 5 XP if their actions bring you great harm or inconvenience.
Buyoff: Convince someone to act against another key of yours.

Key of the Disciple
Your character has someone they call Master. Gain 1 XP every time you are in a scene with your Master. Gain 2 XP every time you actively do something which would grant you XP if you had one or any of your Master's keys. Gain 5 XP if you put yourself at great risk or make a great sacrifice in order to follow your Master's beliefs.
Buyoff: Act against your Master's beliefs.

Key of the Winner
Your character revels in victory. Gain 1 XP every time your character wins a roll that was clearly established as a one-on-one adversarial contest. Gain 3 XP if your opponent used a skill at a rating equal to or greater than the one you used.
Buyoff: Willingly give on such a contest.

Key of the Coincidence
Your character strongly believes that the world is full of strange coincidences. Gain 1 XP every time you point out a weird coincidence. Gain 3 XP if that coincidence really is extremely unfathomable.
Buyoff: Actively attempt to disprove a coincidence.

Key of the Curious
Curiosity killed the cat. Gain 1 XP every time your character follows a need to dig into something. Gain 3 XP if there is a real possibility of harm coming to your character because you digged too deep.
Buyoff: Ignore an opportunity to dig further.

Personally, I particularly like that the 2 XP award from Key of the Disciple kicks in under the exact same circumstances as the 1 XP award from Key of the Master.

That's it. Thoughts?

Cheers,
J.

[Twobirds]

I like the Master/Disciple bit (especially acting against each other's Keys), but it seems odd that the Master gets 5 XP if the named character brings them harm.  How does that relate to the idea of the Key?  It would seem to be opposite from the idea of having someone do what you want.  Also, can you reword this bit?  I don't get it.

Key of the Master
Gain 1 XP every time a named character does something that you grant you XP from another key, if you had done it.

I'm not sure about Key of the Winner, mostly because it doesn't tell the GM anything.  if it was more specific, it could be Key of Bloodlust (or a Key of Social Dominance?).  That tells the GM what kind of conflict the character likes.

George

[JMendes]

Hey, George, :)

First off, thanks for your feedback.

Key of the Master is not so much about having someone else do what you want, as in My Life With Master, but rather about having someone else follow the same spiritual/ideological path as you, as in the Padawan and the Master, or the master and the grasshopper. I'll explain better if I switch your first two points around.

can you reword this bit?  I don't get it.

Key of the Master
Gain 1 XP every time a named character does something that you grant you XP from another key, if you had done it.

I'll explain with an example. Suppose I have both Key of Conscience and Key of the Master. Suppose you're in a scene with me and you help someone that cannot help themselves. I get 1 XP from Key of the Master because if the helper had been me, I would have gotten XPs from Key of Conscience. In other words, whenever a named character in a scene with me does something that addresses my Keys, I get XP, because that's someone following my "teachings", so to speak.

it seems odd that the Master gets 5 XP if the named character brings them harm.  How does that relate to the idea of the Key?  It would seem to be opposite from the idea of having someone do what you want.

I'll just expand my example. Suppose your helping that person caused me great harm or inconvenience. (Hey, maybe I was the one who put that person in a situation they couldn't help themselves in the first place. Now, when you help them, I get 5 XP. Why? Because you were adhering to my principles (my Keys), although you were bringing me harm or inconvenience.

Here's hoping I made sense...

I'm not sure about Key of the Winner, mostly because it doesn't tell the GM anything.  if it was more specific, it could be Key of Bloodlust (or a Key of Social Dominance?).  That tells the GM what kind of conflict the character likes.

Interesting point. I'm not sure how to respond. Key of the Winner popped up during play for us, and we were already half-way through the story arc, so there wasn't that much flagging involved. However, it was a drive for me to help the player in question, namely, Rogerio, to establish more one-on-one "hey, I'm better than you, so stuff it" type deals. I can see the key being a weak flag at game start, though...

I'll ponder this, and maybe discuss it with the other players before I post this particular key...

Cheers,
J.

[Twobirds]

Key of the Master makes a lot more sense now.  I was thinking the 5 XP reward would 'progress' from the others.  I guess there are a couple choices in that regard if people wanted to switch it around.

Obviously, I can't argue with a player who wanted exactly what the Key of the Winner gave him. :)  Were the 'flag' situations very straightforward?  Like arm-wrestling challenges in taverns and stuff like that?

[JMendes]

Hey, :)

I seem to recall a number of them, though I can't quite put my finger on them any more... (it was two months ago, after all)

I do recall a tavern challenge, but it wasn't arm-wrestling. Rather, it was a Reason pool refreshing board game...

Cheers,
J.