Making the Protagonist Special
Sometimes it can be hard to tell who the protagonist of a story
is. Sometimes the story gets overcrowded with so many supporting
characters that the main plot gets lost.
These Add-ons suggest a few ways to make the Protagonist more special
if you find yourself in such a situation. Most are player submitted
and represent great examples of how to use Rules Gimmicks to achieve the
style of play a group prefers.
Protagonist Refresh Boost:
Submitted by Ralph Mazza
After any scene in which the identified main character
was present (i.e. Introduced), the standard Coin Refresh is 7 Coins
instead of the normal 5 (or whatever level you've set your group's Refresh
rate to).
Inspired by a game where it was suddenly realized that
the main character of the story hadn't been present in the last several
scenes; this Add-on provides a mechanical incentive for not forgetting to
include the protagonist more frequently.
Additionally the main antagonist could be included in
this rule.
No New Traits During Complications:
Submitted by Alan Barclay
No buying new Traits during a Complication. The ban
covers all components, whether they're in play or not. Once the dice are
rolled and results tallied, the ban is lifted.
This moderates a tendency for surprise traits to appear when needed. It
encourages players to think ahead and add Traits carefully during regular
play. Since main characters are the ones players will be spending
the most time thinking about and interacting with, they will tend to have
the most complete set of Traits, which helps to distinguish them as the
protagonist. It also forces players to rely on purchased dice (and
creative descriptive justifications for them) during Complications.
---Alan has noticed that often times during
Complications players will add Traits to characters that are amazingly
just what the character needed at the time. Mike Holmes points out
that this is actually a feature of many movies and TV shows that reveal in
the thick of the action some new skill or talent we didn't know the
character had. But for some genres this can be inappropriate.
Also at times Traits of questionable legitimacy may be purchased just to
boost a dice pool. While Challenges are the best way to handle this,
if it becomes habitual a Gimmick like this can put an end to it.
OPTIONS
As an alternative to a complete ban, I suggested differentiating
between set-up scenes and climactic scenes. The Framing Player can
buy a Trait of "Climactic Scene" if desired. During such
scenes the above ban is enforced. During set-up scenes,
Complications can be thought of as a vehicle for illustrating the
characters abilities and Trait purchases during them may still be allowed.
Named Character Limit:
Submitted by Alan Barclay
No more named characters may be Created.
I bought this gimmick halfway through a a game. I thought we had enough
major characters and wanted play to focus on them, instead of new,
last-minute creations. Limiting the ability to name characters did
indeed limit the creation of new major characters.
---An effective technique in games experiencing a
good deal of character bloat. This gimmick forces players to think
in terms of using existing characters rather than to keep inventing new
ones. Of course, for an newly thought of important character, it is
a simple matter to propose another Rules Gimmick which permits an
exception be made.
Only 1 Trait per Turn:
Submitted by Alan Barclay
No character may gain more than one neutral or
advantageous Trait per turn (or even per scene)..
This is intended for introduction after major character's have been
introduced, to limit burgeoning casts. The limit makes it difficult
for any new characters to achieve the same number of Traits (and hence
Importance) as the main character(s) were able to pre-gimmick.
No Purchasing the Same Trait
Multiple Times:
Submitted by Alan Barclay
No component may purchase the same Trait multiple times
(e.g. Marksman x3), except to represent numbers.
Instead of Marksman x3, this Gimmick encourages more creative thought
like: Marksman, Eagle Eye, Combat Reflexes, or the like. The goal
here is 1) for the additional variety of Traits to flesh out main
characters in more detail, and 2) to make it more difficult to suddenly
invent a minor character who had a high degree of proficiency in just one
thing
---This Gimmick is a direct replacement of a rule
from the book which expressly does allow for Traits to be purchased
multiple times. Which is entirely acceptable for a Gimmick to do.
Protagonists Must be Most Important Character:
Submitted by Ralph Mazza
One character is named as the "Main Protagonist"
(by buying this as a Trait). No other
character in the story can ever have an Importance higher than the
"Main Protagonist" except for the "Main Antagonist".
A variant would allow each player to select 1 main character for an
ensemble cast. No other character can have an Importance higher than the
highest Main Character (or alternatively the lowest Main Character).
Again, except for the equivalent antagonists.
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