Re: [DL] Harrowed - Am I Missing Something? (Repost)

["Chris Aniballi" <aniballi@mc.net>]

I have added a few mild spoilers











> <<Snip>>
This is for one simple reason (in their minds), no matter how useful
> the posse member was and no matter how much MORE useful he is now with
those
> neat-o Harrowed powers that they've heard whispers of, they'll never be
able
> to let their guard down with him/her ever again.  They know
> that, eventually, that Manitou is gonna grab dominion and make a ruckus.

Well, that is an unfortuante problem you have dug yourself into. That kinda
why you need to only let slip with the dominion checks and all that only to
the person who's harrowed, and only after they crawl back. All isn't lost,
you just have to be a bit more careful.

> If a posse member becomes Harrowed, why shouldn't the posse put him back
> down as quick as possible?  Why should they ever trust him?

Well, you can always alter what they think they know. Try to get them to
think that the odds of a manatou gaining dominion is light. Remind them they
can spend chips to roll high for dominion checks. As for why they might ever
trust him again, that's up to them. What happened before he went down, and
what were the circumstances of his death? If he went out a good way, maybe
they have no reason to distrust him at all. Here he is, evadently alive and
well. All his workings seem in order, etc. Only by his actions should it
ever arise that the group has true reason to distrust him, and that ever
happening is up to you, and the harrowed player.

I have a harrowed player myself, and he's about to get killed by his group.
Y'see, at the start of the last seesion I had him roll for dominion as
usual. He only has a 1d12 spirit, and he rolled a one. A bust, bad enough.
Couple that with the fact that he has Bad Luck from a "lucky" rabbits foot
(read: Jackalope foot (he he, I love being the marshall)) and you see what
his problem is. I ruled that he lost all his dominion points, and hence
control of the character. I give him top points on roleplaying, too. He's
done a great job on being sneaky.

Remember, the rules state that the manitou is always careful when in
control, one slip and they might get busted, and if they get caught, thy get
killed. When a harrowed goes down, so does the manitou. Death to the dead,
so to speak. Make him be sneaky, and make him do things that he doesn't even
know about. In my game when the manitou has dominion I have murders happen
around the group, without the harrowed doing a thing. I takes suspicion off
the player, yet he's still at fault. I top all that off with little tiny
hints that the harrowed did it. Sneaky, not over the top.

>  And when should
> the Manitou make an attempt to gain dominion?

(I assume that you mean by you spending chips)
Easy. Whenever you think it would be fun, that's the right time to do it.
When it suits your needs. Or, if you wish (though it's no fun) don't have to
do it at all. It's up to you.

> I don't see how the posse can
> NOT know when a member has come back from the dead since, thus far, they
> have given a proper burial to all dead humans (including the bad guys)
> primarily due to brow-beating (or Bible-thumping) from the Blessed member.

Yes, they may know he's back from the dead. That's gonna be obvious. What
they don't know it the manitou/dominion angle of the undeath. Enforce that
like a Marshal should. It's all player knowledge / character knowledge. If
they can't follow that, the problem is on the other side of the screen, not
yours.

I'm thinking this: "Look, it's Bubba Joe! He's Not dead after all!"  -
"Maybe he's Harrowed!" - "Maybe the Manitou has dominion!" - "Kill him!"

If you hear this, you have a character knowledge problem.

> And how do y'all go about doing a dominion test without letting the rest
of
> the posse know it is occurring?

I do it right at the start of the session, and I do it behind my screen. I
also never tell the player what his dominion status is, I keep track. I just
give him the Marshal's Eye(tm), tell him to roll for his.... and let him
tell me the results. I roll, write my changes in the notebook, etc. I only
ever tell him what his status is if it's absolutely nessasary, such as when
the Manitou has dominion (like last week - woo!)

> Seems to me that as soon as the Manitou gains control and tries something
> fishy he's a gonner.  Is a Manitou nuts enough to grab dominion and tip
his
> hand just to say, push one of our heroes in front of a speeding train
> knowing that, assuming he was seen, he's done for?  Or does it prefer to
be
> more subtle like allow an Abomination access to the camp while he's on
guard
> duty?  (Not that my posse would ever let anyone they didn't trust
compIetely
> be on guard duty to begin with!) I guess I just can't seem to get inside a
> Manitou's head (no pun intended!) and see why he would take such a risk.

Sneaky, and subtle, the Manitous credo. If they can do something completely
evil and get away with it, they do.  They'd never go nuts and soot everyone.
But, as the rulebook (or tBotD, I can't recal) says, if he was near a cliff
with another character and he could push him off, he would. 100% of the
time.

> I mean, correct me if I'm wrong here but, isn't a Manitou basically
immortal
> unless he enters a human and creates a Harrowed?  Now he's very
vulnerable.
> Just doesn't seem worth it.

It is worth it for them. It's more fun than sitting on the Hunting Grounds
doing nothing. The trick is to be subtle, and make the most of the ride. If
they tip their hat, they will end up dead. They need to be careful, and
that's an understatement.

> As if I'm not asking enough questions, I have one more... what advice
should
> I give a player about how to play it once he becomes Harrowed?  4 of my 5
> players have the roleplaying skills and experience to pull it off without
me
> having to take control.

I think what I posted above sums up the answer to that question.

Chris Aniballi
Manitou on the brain, literally
===============
"The Grim Reaper's ridin' high tonight. Last call, everyone." -CL