Re: [DL] two general questions

[Dirk <darklord@dark-sky.net>]

Markus Finster wrote:

> At 20:14 12.08.2002, Fred Jandt wrote:
>  >> Now, could our tale tellin' player just
>  >> tell the townsfolk it was
>  >> just a band of CSA deserters, & we settled their
>  >> hash, & just leave out the
>  >> "dead" part?
>  >
>  >IMHO I would say sure, but it wouldn't help the local
>  >Fear Level any. The idea is to show the locals that
>  >you can fight and are winning against the supernatural
>  >menaces that are plaguing the countryside. Passing off
>  >the walkin' dead as normal bad guys just keeps them in
>  >the dark as it were, it doesn't strengthen their
>  >resolve against the horrors they have to face.
>
> Why wouldn't it help?
> To stay with the example above: A village is terrorised by undead CSA
> soldiers. Enter the posse that takes care of that problem. Now they tell
> the villagers that they were saved.
> Why would it be more effective (=fear-level-lowering) to tell them, "yes
> they were undead. Happens all the time now. But those Brainfeeders won't be
> up and around any longer" than "It was a bunch of CSA deserters. They
> didn't look alive? Yeah, nice decoy to scare you even more. Believe me, I
> killed their leader myself and he was a scumbag as regular as any."
>
> I guess both versions would work. And in the end it depends an the
> Tale-Tellin' role.
> The first version might backfire when one not-so-dull villager realizes "If
> the dead can rise, why shouldn't they rise again? Or what else is true from
> all the fairy tales?"
> The second might backfire with "Yeah sure, I saw them too and they were not
> normal and no lunatics. Lunatics don't try to crack your skull and eat your
> brain while it's still warm, I don't care how crazy they are!"
>
> Markus

Nice Dusk till Dawn Reference, reminds me of one of my favorite Tale Tellin
Stories.

The posse defeats a dragon and goes back to town to tell the tale. The player
botches the roll and says, "We have just battled the Dragon and..."
"There's a Dragon, oh my God, We're All Going to Die!!"
Panic spreads through the town as the character is left standing there with his
jaw open.

--Dirk