Re: [BNW] Weak Powers

["D. Stacy" <dstacy@3wave.com>]

    I believe the game is intended to be more realistic than fantastic for the
reason that the game is not about having powers. The game is about dealing with
more responsibility because, for whatever reason, you ended up being more
powerful than the guy next to you. It about intrigue and conspiracy, two real
things that exist in your world to some degree. The powers aren't all that
impressive? The Goliath, starting off anyway, can lift what? A few tons. That's
'inhuman' but hardly that fantastic. A blaster's blast is about on par with a
gun shot, give or take a little bit. None oft these powers are truly that
spectacular. True, we've seen no Alpha stats yet but then... there are likely
less than 10 alphas in the world currently and most of them are in prison. Matt,
and co., don't want to use them yet.
    If the players don't specifically buy the language, which is their choice of
course, they don't have the language. Very simple. Some players are gonna go off
the hook role playing languages and spy type stuff. Some players are gonna say,
screw that they can translate for me. Some people will want to -not- know a
language to enhance their RP purposes. Yes, not knowing something can enhance RP
as much, if not more, than knowing everything or most everything. personally, if
I were running a WW2 campaign... I'd tell anyone whose an American (and most
players in America play Americans) that they can't have foreign languages unless
they justify it. It is okay to say this kind of thing to your players. It IS
okay to say, 'No you can't'. I promise, most of them won't mind.
    A hyper cinema movie is more like... Hong Kong action flicks or your
American action movies rather than say... Red October. Movies where the heroes
always know the language, always know who to talk to and stuff like that.
Basically, mindless action flicks where the outcome is never in doubt. A
perfectly fine genre, everyone needs some mindlessness.

Steve Crow wrote:

> >     However, you forget that Matt has based this game on reality. These
> >characters are like real GI's except they have some sort of special power.
> >A
> >bullet can still kill most of these guys and such. If you want to play a
> >hyper
> >cinema version of the game, where every always has the all the basic
> >skills,
> >then yes the Translator is pretty much useless. If you want to play it in
> >the
> >more realistic context that the game is intended (Yes, it is intended to be
> >more
> >realistic than fantastic) then the Translator becomes an invaluable tool
> >necessary to survive in enemy territory.
> >
>
> How do you come to the conclusion that Matt has "based this game on reality"
> or that the game is more "realistic than fantastic"?  You really think a
> Goliath or Bomber or Charger are more realistic than fantastic?  At best I'd
> say it's 50/50.
>
> "Hyper cinema" has nothing to do with the basic use and handling of
> languages, whether it be in a movie (I never considered Witness "hyper
> cinema" - we're talking the movie With Cher, Dennis Quaid, and Liam Neeson,
> right...?) or a RPG.
>
> I have no desire to have everyone have all the basic skills, but it seems
> odd and unwieldy to deprive the hypothetical multi-national PC group
> mentioned of the basic ability to communicate with each other without having
> to role-play or otherwise act out translation mechanisms.  And if you're not
> going to do that, what's the point of providing the package when that is its
> primary function.
>
> A Translator in the examples provided would either A) slow down game play as
> he plays out translating between PCs, b) be an unnecessary fifth wheel as
> the PCs talk among themselves normally despite language barriers, or C)
> limit the Translator to stuff that only he can do for extended periods of
> time where the other characters sit around and watch him do it.  These may
> be "realistic", but IMO if a game mechanism simulates a "realistic"
> real-life facet at the cost of hurting game play, then skip it.
>
> ---
>
> Steve Crow
>
> "Logic merely enables one to be wrong with authority."
>
> Check out my website at:  http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Stargate/4991/
>
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