Re: [BNW] What is wrong with BNW?

[Matt Trent <mtrent@bigfoot.com>]

Steve Crow wrote:
> <massive clipping of stuff I could care less about>
> There is no secret about how someone becomes a Delta in BNW, so the analogy
> doesn't work here.  It's stated several times that the government maintains
> a watch on emergency wards, disasters, etc.

Okay this is going to raise big newbie flags across the list, and was
one of the things at annoyed me about the system The Origin line on the
character sheet is sitting right there but no where does it explicitly
say how deltas get their powers.  There is a two page discussion (that
doesn't really say anything) about why deltas have their powers, as well
as a few examples of deltas who had near death experiences, but do
deltas also get their powers from radioactive spiders? I don't know.

<clipping the night away>
> What I guess I'm not seeing here from your arguments is..._why_ do you need
> to know _where_ Deltas get their powers from to run adventures?

I don't want to know why. I want to know how.

<lots and lots of clipping>
> Your concern here, as far as I can tell, is what do you do if your players
> ask how they can become an Alpha?  Apparently simply telling them they can't
> do it is insufficient - you want to be able to tell them _why_ they can't
> become an Alpha (and correct me if I'm wrong here).

But you can do it!  I distinctly remember being told by the book to keep
the sheets of dead characters for later use...

> This strikes me as a somewhat irrelevant issue, relevant to the genre.  You
> don't see Aquaman asking how to or otherwise striving to become a
> Superman-level character, or Spiderman attempting to gain the powers of an
> Asgardian deity.

Ah, but I'm not playing in the DC or Marvel universes.  I'm playing on
the Brave New World where such things have happened in the past.
 
> *shrug* Overall, it is an editorial and design approach that Matt Forbeck
> has taken.  If you disagree with it, you disagree with it.  Fine.  Not every
> game is for every person.  I'm not going to sit here and try to convince
> anyone to like something they don't like.
> 
> However, I don't find it a "flaw" in the game.  The game doesn't break down
> over this lack of information as far as I can tell.  I've never seen it
> happen, and no one on here has ever mentioned it happening to date as far as
> I can tell.  If the game did break down over this lack of info, then I would
> indeed consider it a "flaw."
> 
> It's a style.  A style you don't like, and many others may not like.  Again,
> this is perfectly understandable and reasonable.  Someone who likes this
> kind of mystery, as opposed to having everything laid out from the
> beginning, may very well like this style.
> 
Fair points.  In fact I prefer the In Nomine style.  Reading the main
rule book tells one all the major powers who are running around now and
hints at what all 26 of the big boys (the Archangels and Demon Princes)
are up to. Though it isn't too hard Belial (Demon Prince of Fire) wants
to blow things up and Marc (Archangel of Trade) want's to make money,
Michael (Archangel of War) and Baal (Demon Prince of the War) want to
bring about Armageddon, Novalis (Archangel of Flowers) want's everyone
to just get along, etc., etc.  Though meanwhile we have Cycles (well
just one so far) that progress the timeline and make things happen to
keep the system from getting stagnate as well as highlighting various
locations and people in the IN universe.  Sure things will happen
differently but it isn't hard to just announce that Gabbriel just blew
her trumpet and get on with the adventure at hand if you want to keep up
with the system.

Matt Trent