[IAWA] Particular Strengths questions
Filip Luszczyk:
After playing a few games with different groups, I have some questions about the way Particular Strengths work. It's the one thing that people seemed to be doing differently. Note that I still don't have my own book, so I might be missing something obvious - but my regular group is likely to play the game more, and after the first session we're a bit confused.
1. Is there only a single, shared, PS sheet? For every PS or should a separate PS sheet be created for every individual occurrence of the same PS on character sheets?
Say, if there are two elementalists in the game, and both have Elemental Sorcery PS, should both work the same way both in fiction and mechanically?
If the player improves the Significance of his Elemental Sorcery PS, does he improve it for Elemental Sorcery in general, or only for his own copy of Elemental Sorcery? I.e. does it mean we now have two elementalists with Elemental Sorcery 2, or one of them has it at 2, but the other still at 1?
If it's the former, when a new elementalist appears in the game and is given that PS, does he get it at 2 (or 3, or 4, depending on how powerful it currently is), or does he get a new Elemental Sorcery sheet with Significance 1?
Otherwise, when I take PS that someone else has as well, do I have to make it mechanically identical? When I increase its Significance, and someone has the same PS at a higher Significance already, must I choose one of the same benefits?
2. Is it possible to negotiate gaining/draining/stealing/borrowing/whatever another character's PS in a way that would grant it's mechanical benefits?
3. Is it possible to give another character mechanical benefits of a PS without getting involved in the conflict on one's own? Say, the elementalis creates a fiery sword for another character to wield - does the other character get to roll it's dice?
4. If we negotiate that the character loses a PS, is it gone permanently, or will it become available again in the next chapter? What if the player decides to refresh the sheet for the new chapter?
5. Is it possible to roll the dice for more than a single PS in a conflict?
Also, If I use a given PS in the first exchange, can I use a different PS in the second or third exchange? Can I do it only in fiction, or would I get the mechanical benefits?
6. When I use a PS in the first round, do I automatically roll it's dice in the second and third sequence, without having to narrate its use later (i.e. as with the forms)? Or, do I have to "activate" it again in every subsequent round to get the die, and once its activated, always include it in my narration?
7. Can I decide to use a PS, and roll its dice, after the first round of rolls?
8. Does the die gained for PS count towards determining whose name gets written on the We Owe list?
lumpley:
In all cases, follow the logic of each particular strength individually. Mostly your questions don't have absolute exception-free rules. That's why different groups do them differently. You should do them differently too, case by case.
1. Each individual PS should have its own sheet.
If the two elementalists both practice the same elementalism, they should use the same elementalism PS. If they practice different elementalisms (including elementalism at different significances) they should use different elementalism PSs.
Quote from: Filip Luszczyk on March 13, 2008, 03:40:47 PM
If the player improves the Significance of his Elemental Sorcery PS, does he improve it for Elemental Sorcery in general, or only for his own copy of Elemental Sorcery?
Usually only his own, but it depends on the PS, exceptions are easy to come up with. This is prime "follow the logic" territory.
2. Strictly, no, but it's a technicality. Practically, yes. I can explain the technicality to anyone who thinks it's important, but consider going with "practically, yes," and not worrying about it.
3. Sure.
4. I don't know. Did you negotiate that it's gone forever, or only for this session?
When your character comes back, if you refresh your dice, you keep your PSs - you only refresh your dice. If you create a new parallel character sheet, you don't transfer them, they stay on the old sheet. The new parallel character might have a PS of her own, of course.
5. No. Choose one. Choose the one you're going to use first, or the better one, or the one that makes most sense.
In rounds 2 and 3, do whatever you want in your fictional actions, including using any or all of your PSs, but always roll just the same dice you started with.
6. Yes, as with the forms.
7. Nope. Don't change dice midsequence. Again, you can do whatever you want in fiction, but leave the dice alone.
8. Yes.
If that makes it unclear who's rolling bigger dice (is d12 d10 bigger than d12 d8 d8? Who knows? I could crunch it out, but I don't know offhand) then treat them as the same dice - neither goes on the owe list.
-Vincent
Filip Luszczyk:
1. Ok, could you give some examples of PSs that would better be treated and improved as separate and contrast them with some that would better be treated and improved as shared/global? I can imagine PSs that represent concrete objects would be public, but what else?
2 & 3. So, having a given PS written on a character sheet is not necessary to use it, if one gains an access to it only temporarily for some reason?
Also, is it possible to create a new PS in the middle of the game and give it to an NPC or player character, applying the "follow the logic" rule?
lumpley:
1. I guess so. Concrete objects are the obvious ones. Um. "Command of the demon Paarishu." You recur, you bump it up to significance 2, you make it doubly potent, saying that your sacrifices have given Paarishu great power. Since it's not unique, I also have it as a particular strength - the demon Paarishu being one of those denizens of some other earth who can appear wherever, whenever summoned. It makes sense that since your character made Paarishu himself more powerful, it becomes doubly potent for me too.
Compare with, say, "command of demons," where you might bump yours to doubly potent, saying "I know ALL the cool demons." There's no reason for that to affect mine.
But I guess Paarishu is kind of a concrete object. How about this? What if the events in the previous chapter included, like, a powerful sorcerer breaking open the seal that holds closed the bloody moon, so that its obscure red light washes the world and all demons draw strength? Then you're like, "well obviously I bump my 'command of demons' up to doubly potent," and it WOULD affect mine too.
2 & 3. Sure. Also, sure.
Should I talk theory a little? Since you count particular strengths' dice when it comes to who goes on the owe list, and since particular strengths don't contribute as much to winning as the advantage dice do, I'm entirely comfortable with people throwing particular strength dice around as liberally as they like. The game's self-balancing where it matters, so the rules for who gets what particular strength at what significance can be quite free.
A character with no particular strengths is as much fun to play as a character with abundant particular strengths, and more likely to come back in the future, so I don't even worry about a particular strength arms race. Selective pressure is against too many particular strengths.
Particular strengths add a lot to the color and texture of the game without reaching very deep at all into its real functioning. Do what seems fun with them, case by case. They can't break the game.
-Vincent
Filip Luszczyk:
Ok, it seems clear now.
Thanks!
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