Re: [BNW] What is the spirit of BNW?

[Mark Kilfoil <kilfoilm@nbnet.nb.ca>]

At 09:16 AM 18/04/01 -0400, you wrote:
> > 1. What makes Superhero-Roleplaying special? In what regard does it
> > differ (in mood and tone) from e.g. modern rpgs (agent or even
> > Shadowrun)?
>
>Super-powers. The ability to do something that no one else can (even other
>super-heroes, a blaster can't fly, a tough can't run super-fast). I think
>it's a loaded question though as BNW was never really billed as a classic
>super-hero game. In BNW people generally DON'T run around in skin-tight
>outfits, striking poses and fighting for truth, justice and the American
>way (they don't exist anymore).

I think that in BNW, the characters are underdogs, and that may
mean that they are heroes or antiheroes.  In any case, no Delta
should sit on the sidelines:  you are either part of the state,
or you are against the state.  Those who don't choose sides are
looked down upon by both sides, either called a traitor to their
country or a traitor to humanity/Delta-kind..

To dissect the term and reapply it:
  Super:  in relation to "normal" humans, there is something
          fantastic or extraordinary about the character

  Hero:   to do what needs to be done, to rise above the
          circumstances and protect the innocents and the
          innocence.

An important aspect about BNW is that both sides pretty much
view themselves as heroes:  Delta Prime thinks that they are providing
a necessary regulating force to stem the tide of incredible power,
enforcing the belief that "with great ability comes great
responsibility";  the Defiants believe that freedom of will is
paramount to existance, and that infringement upon that can be
unreasonable and must be objected to.

> > 2. What can a player do, to represent his role in a fun and
> > "Superhero" kind of way?
>
>Be heroic dispite the fact that:
>1. Everyone hates you because you had the nerve to survive a near death
>experience and actually come out better for it.
>2. The gov't wants to lock you up for life our put you into indenterd
>servitude.
>3. You can never see your family again because it would probably get them
>killed, or jailed at least.
>4. Your life generally sucks, and the only way you can get any kind of
>good feelings to flow through your brain is to either get into drugs or do
>whatever you can to try and make the country a better place.

Or, another take on this is the antihero, who does right because doing
wrong costs too much, or pays off worse in the end, or because they
have their own reasons which have nothing to do with being altruistic
or empathic and everything to do with extracting revenge, bit by
bleeding, tortured bit..

> > 3. What can a guide do, to enhance the mood and make BNW special?
>
>Don't try to play it like a super-hero game. Try to play it like an
>alternate modern-day game with the addition of super-powers. Look to some
>of the lower-powered comic lines like the Punisher and what not. Try to
>instill a sense of gritty reality despite the fantasticness of the group's
>abilities (striking contrasts are always good to get a point across).

I tend to think of BNW in terms of an alternate present with some
of the oppressiveness of CyberPunk with little of the "cyber" and the
Punk being a true scream against Big Brother or The System or The
Government.

You can make BNW black and white by having Delta Prime be especially
"diligent" in their duties, to the point of brutal efficiency or
uncaring, unsympathetic, "just following orders" action.

You can insert a little grey by focussing that characterization on
a few of the leaders of a local office of Delta Prime or some of the
foot soldiers; you can also have the Defiants meet a Primer out of
uniform, and get to know him or her before discovering that they
are on the other side.

You can insert a bit of righteous indignation, provided by NPC
leader or "evangelist" types, who preach the virtues of a free and
open state, where individuals are treated equally, regardless of their
colour, their creed, their race, the religion -- or their
"extraordinary" abilities.

Or, you can take the other side, and have the players be Primers,
who are asked to do some hard things in order to make sure that the
people they protect are kept safe, or are asked to ferret out a
true menace to society, the runaway, unregistered, frighteningly
powerful (or powerfully frightening), random Delta.  You can
insert a little grey here, too, as they are asked to do some
things they know are wrong, and are caught between duty and
morality.

You could even play a reg or two, caught up in a dangerous game
between many larger, tougher opponents, gripping tightly on that
pistol which you hope makes things more "equal"...

For atmosphere, think more Dark Angel than Superman, more Captain
America than Silver Surfer.

A BNW game should be filled with opportunities for the characters to choose
to do good -- or to walk away.  Heroism isn't about having super powers --
it is about doing something with them.

It should be filled with morality:  immorality, questionable morality,
apparent morality, mistaken morality, amorality, a moral state, a moral
being, a moral question, moral indignation, moral blindness, moral
justice, moral injustice...

... but not so much that players are never having fun.  Even in the darkest
of areas, humour finds a way.  It has been said that humour is the
greatest invention of mankind -- and it has also been said that humour
far exceeds mankind.

It should be a society that is filled with conflict, physical, mental,
spiritual, societal, political, environmental...

... and it should be filled with resolutions, senses that the characters,
through their actions -- and more importantly, through their choices --
are making a change in the world.  No, they can't save the world in an
eyeblink -- but they can help the local grocer who is being threatened
for "protection money", or stop Delta Prime from exterminating a
10-year old boy, or stopping the Defiants from bombing a Primer training
camp...

It should be filled with despair, about lost loves, lost children, lost
chance...

... and it should be filled with hope, about a brighter future, about
getting back the lost sister, about changing the world, one COFFEE at
a time..

All this, IMHO, of course...

EVER DEFIANT!

MK

Saving the world one COFFEE at a time...
* * * the encaffeinated ONE * * *

<http://www.geocities.com/encaf1>