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Okay, I've been reading the game with the intent of running it, and my first question is: When adding the d6 or d8, do only 1s and 2s still count? How does the bonus work? IS it just really another die in the pool?

An example of play would be really helpful, BTW.

Kurt,

I'm speaking out of turn here, but it's my understanding that the total value of the d6 and d8 are added, not just the 1's and 2's.

- Scott

Just to confirm, yep, full value.

Yes, those dice make all the difference. In play, quite often you cannot succeed at all unless you get one of these dice. Which means that the players spend a lot of time thinking about how to act intimate, desperate, or sincere. At least I did. :-)

Mike

Quote from: Mike HolmesJust to confirm, yep, full value.

The d4 as well? Okay, that SO needs to be clearer in the rules. :)

Yep, and yep.

Mike

Oh, cripes. How did that fall off the cart? It was clearer in an earlier draft. I'll fix it.

Paul

Quote from: Paul CzegeOh, cripes. How did that fall off the cart? It was clearer in an earlier draft. I'll fix it.

While you're at it, you may want to clarify and amplify on what you mean by Intimacy/Desperation/Sincerity, what qualifies for the die.

Quote from: xiombarg

Quote from: Paul CzegeOh, cripes. How did that fall off the cart? It was clearer in an earlier draft. I'll fix it.

While you're at it, you may want to clarify and amplify on what you mean by Intimacy/Desperation/Sincerity, what qualifies for the die.

Ouch, that's a toughie. Again, it calls for a lot of GM subjectivity. Nothing more deprotagonizing, than pouring out your heart ttrying to get that Sincerity die, only to have the GM say, nope, that's not it.

Again, I'm for a player defined interpretation. Perhaps in each session a player has three intimacy dice, two desperation dice, and one sincerity die. He still has to play these out, and the GM still has a rarely used veto for abuse control, but it's the player's decision when it counts as sincerity or whatever.

Or, maybe more interesting, and keeping with the idea of players having to make their play appealing to the other players is that the players have these dice to give out to other players. So, if I as a player think that something was Sincere, I can cough up my Sincerity die to another player. But I can't take it myself. What this does is create an economy of what level of participation is acceptable. If I am stingy with my dice, the other players will act the same way towards me. If I give mine away too easily, then they are gone, and play will not have those elements. Thus I have an incentive to be stingy. The balance of the two motives makes it possible for the game to come out with some level that is determined by the group through play.

I am a fan of this sort of mechanic. In any case, this means that the GM is unencumbered by having to make these decisions, which is a good thing for a number of reasons. Another advantage is that players will only try these tactivs when they really want to succeed, rather than at every turn. As it stands, I found that I was constantly trying to figure ut how to get one of the dice. If I know that there are few available, I will only make plays for them when they are most appropriate. This keeps play varied.

That said, some starting characters in some Fear/reason situations are crippled without these dice. This is a separate matter that needs to be adressed, but I bring it up here to note that limiting the availability of these dice excerbates this problem.

Mike

Hey Kirt,

Mike's right, this was a tough request. Here's what I've got for you:

Intimacy, Desperation, and Sincerity are, in the context of My Life with Master, understood as ways that people work to influence other people and the outcomes of conflict situations. More specifically:

Intimacy

Intimacy is a potentially emotionless effort to provoke favorable emotions from another person by making use of some combination of physical proximity, touching, shared physical comfort, spontaneous grooming behaviors, shared food or drink, gifts, or approbatory language. A few roleplayed behaviors that fit the bill include: combing another character's hair, sharing a glass of wine, having a conversation under the same quilt, and gripping another character by the deltoid to say, "You're my number one."

Desperation

Desperation is an emotional effort to provoke a more favorable outcome from a conflict through sheer emotional distress. The character uses language, primarily, in an effort to give ownership of his or her emotional distress to the other person: "Master, no! Don't make me. Twice already this evening I have crossed the swamp. I shall not survive another encounter with the hounds!" Unlike Intimacy, Desperation works just as well on animals and inanimate objects.

Sincerity

Sincerity is the real deal. It's showing genuine concern and feelings for the other person. It can be demonstrated through actions that destabilize a Minion's tenuous situation with the townspeople or the Master, or acts of self-sacrifice, but it doesn't have to be. It's having influence over the outcome, rather than provoking it, if that makes sense. All I can say is, you'll know it when you see it. And the Master is incapable of it.

How's that?

Paul