Re: [HoE] (Side)Kicking an Idea Around

[Matthew Steflik <grifflik@stny.rr.com>]

Kitten a.k.a. Kociak wrote:

> In my group, two of the players work as a master/sidekick team -- we
> decided that it'd be better to let them _just_ roleplay it, without putting
> any points into it (you could have the sidekick edge, the loyalty
> hindrance, or some kind of a "mentor" edge, or whatever).  When we keep the
> mechanics out of the interplayer relations, it makes it easier for the
> players to play it out whichever way they want, and if push comes to a
> shove, they *can* split up without bothering to sort out the mechanics.  In
> our case, it seems to work just fine -- the arrangement is that a
> librarian/tale-teller lugs around his apprentice -- but, of course, YMMV.
>
>
Hey, Kociak!  A belated thank you for the heads up on Amnesia Moon by
Lethem.  Great book, and I understand what you were talking about now
with the ghost storm idea!  Did you go any farther with it?  But that's
getting off topic, isn't it?  Anyway, your suggestion is actually
roughly the way we've been handling it.    This works if you've got good
role players (which I do), but what if you had mechanics buffs?  Just
playing devil's advocate here.  Thanks for the input!

Darrin Bright wrote:

> This is doable, but you wouldn't actually use the Sidekick edge. Here's
> how to do it:
>
> Create two characters as normal. Decide which one is going to be the
> Sidekick, then give that character a 3-5 point Obligation hindrance. The
> sidekick is obligated to follow the other guy around, do what he says,
> lend him money, jump in front of bullets, and so forth. If done right,
> it should create a little tension between what he wants to do and what
> he's told to do... but at least he'll get chips if his partner orders
> him into harm's way.
>
> For the other character, give him a 1-3 point Obligation or Oath
> (whichever seems appropriate) to protect the Sidekick. Actually, you may
> want to make this optional... maybe the character doesn't want a
> sidekick and can't seem to get rid of the one he's got... you know, that
> whole "I owe you my life! I will never leave your side!" sort of thing.
> But you'll need to work out some sort of background for how they met,
> why the sidekick sticks around, etc.
>
>

Hey Darrin!  Yeah, I was thinking something more along these lines.
Mechanics-wise, this would work nicely.  Thanks for the input!  Funny
character concept BTW (nice running gag)! Any other takers?

Matt Steflik
Master of Yahoo
Gimme Shelter - http://www.geocities.com/grifflik/