[HOE] Something New

[Sean Gore <sgore@midlink.com>]

    Hey all, tried something with my posse in last night's session that
I thought went over rather well.  The players really seemed to like it,
so I figured I'd let everyone know about it, see what they thought, and
maybe even pass on a neat role-playing aid.
    I don't know how many (if any) of you might possess them, but, for
this you need (in addition to your poker chips) a set of Destiny Decks
(I believe they were put out by White Wolf, and came in a few,
thematic-style packs.  Each "theme" (be it intrigue, horror, whatever)
had four "types" of cards:  Atmosphere, Bonus, Challenge, and
Setting...initially, they were designed to help a GM put together a
night's RP).  So if you have the Destiny Deck, excellent, we figured out
a great way to put it to use.
    Basically, each player is dealt one Atmosphere, one Challenge, and
one Setting card.  These cards, once looked over by the player, are
placed, face down, in front of them.  Right now, they are "inactive."
Plus, it gives the players the option of keeping them a secret from
other players (surprises are always fun, don't ya know?).  A chip is
randomly drawn for both the Atmosphere and Setting cards, and placed on
that card itself.  The Challenge card has no chip drawn for it.
    Each card displays different information, depending on its "type."
Atmosphere cards list four, similar "emotions" or feelings.  The Rage
card, for example, lists Rage, Anger, Ire, and Annoyance; all just
shades of one another.  If the player decides to play this card (i.e.
flip it over and make a go for getting that chip on it), he can do so at
any time.  There is only one catch to getting that chip, and its not one
that is based on die rolls.  The emotional reaction, feeling, whatever
MUST be out-of-place.  The example I used with my posse when proposing
this idea was being at a party, and playing that Rage card to take great
offense at something that would otherwise have been a harmless joke.
The "activating" of the card must heighten the drama and role-play, not
just be an anticipated or "typical" action.  In otherwords, no playing
the Rage card in combat, unless you suddenly went berserk.
    The Setting card lists, as can be expected, a mundane (or not so
mundane in some cases) location.  The idea here is for the players to
insert and exert a greater degree of influence on the story.  Again, the
player is free to "introduce" this setting at any time (although the
Marshall is free to take as long as he wants actually getting them
there) and make a play for that chip.  The hitch here is that the
location must logically or seamlessly fit into the story line.  No
playing the Merchant's Shop card to run to the local drug store (or what
passes for it) to nab a pack of smokes.  Play that Merchant's Shop card
to set up a rendezvous with a contact at said drug store, and you can
expect to get that chip.
    The Challenge card works a little differently than the other two.
It gets activated the same way, but tends to stay in play far longer.
Each Challenge card outlines some obstacle that must be overcome, a
bramble in the posse's path.  When a player plays a Challenge card it
can be targeted towards himself, or any other character in the area when
"activated."  So, yes, you can inflict Challenge cards on other posse
members.  Now, it is important to understand that "challenges" are not
necessarily combat, or even violent.  The two most prominant examples of
their play last night would be 1) when the Syker played the Sensory
Skills Challenge on herself; the idea being that she was now attempting
to figure out where a particular, puzzling device originated.  There was
nothing in the original plot that called for investigation into this,
but is a good subplot for the character, and a good minor goal.  And 2)
when the Templar played the Natural Object or Feature Challenge card on
the entire posse.  Coincidentally, I already have it set-up where the
posse has to try and find a way around a huge chasm, but it just so
happens to coincide with this card.  So voila, both worked in without a
hitch.
    Now, the Challenge cards don't give you any chips, instead this is
where the Bonus cards come into play.  When a player activates a
Challenge card that the Marshall approves, he gets to draw a Bonus
card.  Each Bonus card lists a specialty, ability, or skill mastery
(like Master of Armaments or Extraordinary Alertness).  Basically, these
Bonus cards can only be played in pertinance to the Challenge they were
issued for.  They can only be used ONCE, and are then gone.  But, in any
situation that pertains to that Bonus card, one time only, the player
can play that card and get a full, automatic success, no die rolls
necessary.  This must be played before any resolving die rolls are made,
however.  If there are varying degrees of success, like automatic
weapons' fire or the results of an investigation, the player still needs
to make a roll, but, no matter what, even if they roll a botch, they
have one success.  If they do succeed, the Bonus card adds one raise to
their total.  Once the Bonus card is used, it is discarded.
Furthermore, only the person who activated the Challenge card gets to
draw and use that Bonus card, although others can benefit from its
effects, of course.
    At the end of the session, all cards that are not currently
"activated," are put back into the deck and new ones will be issued next
session.  At no time can any player have more than one of each type of
card (although, in the case of Challenges, a player can have any number
placed on him at any one time, done so by other posse members).
    This whole thing seemed to work very well, the Atmosphere cards
providing depth and dimension to the characters in ways not normally
exhibited (the Templar playing the Confusion Atmosphere card and getting
confused about the town's plight, is a good example) and has brought
into play some story elements that I had, otherwise, not included, but
are things that the players wanted to see or thinks would be good
additions (the Syker's investigative subplot, or the Witch's playing of
the Magic-User's Home Setting card to introduce a geezerly old witch in
the area that she wants to go meet...poor player's been trying to get
some new spells for aeons, but ABs are relatively rare (outside of the
posse) in my campaign, so there have been no other witches to gain
spells from).
    All in all, the players seemed to really like it, I thought it
enhanced RP nicely, and with the caveat that the Marshall can disallow
any card for any reason keeps the whole thing well in check.  It flowed
easily, intuitively, and without causing any hiccups or pauses in the
game.
    Sorry this was so long, but I thought there might be those of you
out there that migh benefit from this, or might have your own little
"rewards" for unique role-playing, and means of stimulating said gaming.

    Thanks for the time, attention, and space.

Sean "Mojo Jojo" Gore