[Universalis] A first session
Valamir:
Yeah, on the other hand, I've played many a game where we never needed to use Masters and Subs, so its in no way mandatory.
Where you might find it helpful is after some extended play where Frank has been used a ton and accumulated a bunch of Traits over time...some of the other key characters might also have a ton of Traits...the Inquisitor, Mr. Adams, etc. At that point "Soldiers x2" won't be much of a threat to Frank.
But Soldiers x2 as a subcomponent of:
Soldier:
Military Training
Assault Rifle
Personal Communications System
Rucksack full of Gear
Hand Grenades
have a better chance of throwing down some serious dice.
In play, it rarely makes sense to use a Master Component for soldiers that are only going to appear once. But it can make things alot quicker if you're going to have soldiers in nearly every scene.
You can also do groups as a Master Component, thusly:
Squad of Soldiers
Military Training
Assault Rifle
Personal Communications System
Rucksack full of Gear
Hand Grenades
Machine Gun Team
NCO
Radio
Can Call in the Artillery x3
aya_aschmahr:
I will consider the idea. So far we didn't need it, but I'll definitely try it out. I can then see, if this will be a problem or not. I suspect not, because in the end, everyone can do it, and thus: same chances for everyone :D
David Artman:
It's always and only an option (every rule is an option, with Gimmicks, after all).
I suspect, however, that you've got some semi-gamist habits you're having trouble breaking. I read some of your talk about Master Comps and it almost seems (to me) that you're worried or afraid of someone (who?) "winning" (how?) "too easily" (why?). You are not the characters; their dice are not yours (outside of conflict); and Trait accumulation is merely the means by which elements of story are given "weight" or "durability." As Ralph says above, if your players really start digging these character AND want them to have solid opposition or challenges that aren't trivially destroyed BUT don't want to hemorrhage Coins to introduce every Villain-Of-The-Moment... you're gonna turn to master Comps.
aya_aschmahr:
You may be right - after all Universalis is my first venture beyond the "normal" ways of roleplaying. You may be right, but not neccessarily. I think my primary worry is, that with this kind of components everyone can easily gain Coins. So the single Coin is worth less, since your stack is usually greater. There's more "money" in the game, which can lead to something like inflation. Coins are more easily spent even on minor details and thus it all serves only to distract from the focus of the story.
We might find workarounds/rules gimmicks to deal with that, IF it happens. I can only theorize here, because I did not yet experience it.
You see there might be worries beyond simple "gamist" issues, that are to be considered here. I do have some gamist issues, too, but, when I think further about them, they are more about an imbalance in storytelling, and... when everyone learns to use Complications the right way, everyone can overcome those problems. I still have to embrace this realization. Might take me some time. :)
David Artman:
I am concerned you might see my last post as accusative; it was not meant to be. I don't judge any play style (or agenda), I just reached for a (poor) adjective, to try to explain that you are worrying about what seems to me to be a non-issue.
What is "too many Coins," anyway? Inflation self-corrects: for every player trying to lock-down plot or component elements with a fistful of Coins, there's two or more others with fistfuls to Challenge. Evoke a stack of Traits to get a stack of Coins at the end of the Complication? No big deal: recall that those Coins are going to end up draining away to narrate the outcome (and there's always a rules Gimmick you could use which limits the percentage of post-Challenge Coins which can be kept by their recipient). If your group starts to feel like there are too many Coins and what should be (or had been) mere Color is now getting the weight of Importance, then just go a bit more granular in what you permit as a Fact--see the rules which describe how "he shoots the bird" could cost from 1 to 4 Coins, depending upon the group's sense of "worth" for a Coin versus a Fact. And don't forget about adjusting the refresh rate, if your group gets super-savvy about milking Complications for heaping mounds of Coins. Or not (let the economy self-correct).
HTH;
David
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