Re: [HOE] Lost Edges

[Darrin Bright <darrin@neobright.net>]

At 02:18 PM 8/13/00 -0700, you wrote:
>   my question is should the character be able to find
>another animal companion (he did pay the points
>initial) or should he have to gain the edge again? 
>Let me know what you guys think.

He should be able to find one again, but make sure it's important to the
character rather than just handing him a new dog and saying "Here, his name
is Bama II." Don't worry about the points... once a character moves out of
the creation stage and enters the campaign, you want the player to be
thinking about the character as a person with feelings, goals, and motives
rather than edges, hindrances, and abstract points. 

In a Deadlands game, one of our players acquired an animal companion just
through roleplay. He picked up a "truffle hunting pig" from an NPC farmer
(I think it was a written adventure, not sure which one). The pig "wasn't
working out" or the owner got killed... but Zachariah Queeg, reformed
gunslinger turned preacher, found a warm spot in his heart to adopt and
care for this pig, and dubbed him "Eustace". My character helped train the
pig on how to say "mama." Zachariah didn't have to spend any points, it
just seemed the natural thing to do with a pig nobody wanted. (Good thing
our harrowed US Marshall had a hankerin' for horseflesh and not pork.)

First things first, take the player aside and say "I'm sorry about Bama,
but sometimes the dice just come up that way. Tell you what, I'll make it
up to you sometime later." That way the player won't get bent out of shape
over the points, with the idea that he's got a favor coming to him sometime
in the future. Some GMs even give out some sort of tangible coupon, calling
it a "GM Fiat" or just a "favor" that they can cash in later to save their
bacon.

Anyway, you want to insert the new animal into the campaign without making
it looked like you're forcing it in on purpose... then the player gets the
idea that he doesn't have to work for it. 

Try this: create a new animal for the player, but then create the animal's
current master. Make him a mean sunnova', a real cruel bastidge who beats
this poor animal silly for no good reason. Then set up a few encounters
where the PCs witness this animal cruelty going on. The player can then
challenge this master to a duel or some other contest. PC kills the master
and adopts the animal. That way he doesn't get it "for free", but hey, the
player gets to kill something and then gets a reward... well, players like
killing bad guys anyway.