Roleplaying Tips Weekly E-Zine Issue #298
Face Off - How To Get Your Group Emotionally Involved
Contents:
This Week's Tips Summarized
Face Off - How To Get Your Group Emotionally Involved
- What Is Face?
- Losing Face
- The Setup--The Unjust Loss Of Face
- Face For Those Who Don't Care About Face
- Closing In On The Truth
- Catharsis Minus The Violence
- Using Face To Best Effect
- Consequences Of Using Face In Your Campaign
Readers' Tips Summarized
- Create A GM Booklet
From: Loz Newman
- Free Keynote Software
From: Josh Evans
- TheAssiti Shards Series, By Eric Flint
From: David Dorward
- Frictionless Co-GMing Utilizing Each GM's Best Skills
From: Freederick
Return to Contents
Tome of Horrors 3
Necromancer Games brings you another volume in the series of
monster books that made 3rd-edition co-designer Monte Cook
say, "If a roleplaying game is a gun, then Tome of Horrors
is a case of hollow point, explosive shells!" Contains over
200 never-before-seen monstersÑ-from the devastation swarm
to the mortuary cyclone to the rakewood devourer to new
demons and devils.
Tome of Horrors 3 at RPG Shop
Return to Contents
A Brief Word From Johnn
Supplemental Issue #20 Now Available - Over-Resting PCs
Readers' tips about PCs resting too often are now available
in Supplemental Issue #20. Thanks to Leslie Holm for editing
the supplemental issue, and thanks to everyone who submitted
their tips and advice. There's some good critter tactics in
this supplemental, and even if you don't have the over-
resting problem as discussed in Issue #295, you might want
to check this out.
You can get the document by sending a blank e-mail to:
overresting at roleplayingtips dot com
Or by surfing over to:
Roleplaying Tips Downloads
Watch Out For Spoofed E-Mails & Viruses
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open attachments in e-mails sent from roleplayingtips.com
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with a faked From address, often another victimized e-mail
on that machine.
Cheers,
Johnn Four,
johnn@roleplayingtips.com
READER QUESTIONS REQUEST FOR ISSUE #300
I thought I'd try something a bit different for Issue #300
and make it a Q&A edition (thanks for the suggestion Leslie)
where I'd answer any questions you might have about the
Roleplaying Tips E-Zine e-zine - past, present, and future.
If you have burning questions or requests you've always
wanted to ask, now's your chance to get an answer. You can
send questions to me at:
johnn@roleplayingtips.com
Return to Contents
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Dundjinni Mapping Software at RPG Shop
Return to Contents
Face Off - How To Get Your Group Emotionally Involved
A Guest Article by Loz Newman
There are many ways to get a gaming group emotionally
involved in a campaign. Good GMs look for elements players
can relate to, such as when the PCs lose something and want
to get it back. A straight "NPC X stole your whatsit"
scenario lacks punch though, so a good GM looks for more
than mere baubles to steal from his players; he focuses on
what the players treasure most. This treasured thing is
face.
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1. What Is Face?
Face is a combination of honour, credibility, public
reputation, and ultimately, public status. It is gained by
meritorious action, virtue (modesty, charity, generosity,
diplomatic truthfulness), and skill (generally non-physical
skills related to knowledge, education, social grace, or
artistry). True face cannot be bought, sold, or stolen
(although it can be sabotaged). It is an intangible public
asset willingly given to those of merit.
Face can be a great asset or a great hindrance to PCs. If
they have no face, they cannot be trusted. Without trust,
few NPCs will willingly help them, which can manifest in
surprising ways to PCs who haven't given much thought to
their face.
- Servants won't make appointments for them.
- Shopkeepers specify outrageous prices for merchandise.
- Waitresses are slow to serve, or never come at all.
- Friends cross the street to avoid them.
- Guilds/orders have them thrown off the premises.
- Doors are closed in their faces and barred from the inside.
Worse yet, nobody will tell them why they are being treated
like this because nobody wants to talk to them.
[Tip: Perhaps a kindly old man takes pity on them and
explains they have forfeited the trust of the common people.
He then gains face for his charitable act. If they try to
argue with the old man, they lose even more face.]
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2. Losing Face
Resorting to bullying or physical violence might get what
the PCs want in the short run, but this will set off a chain
of events that could see them shackled in prison. Even if
this doesn't occur, conflicts might escalate, making life
difficult and causing the PCs to make even worse decisions,
which results in further damage to their suffering social
status. Consequences might include:
- High-level NPC groups might hear of their acts and start
tracking down the troublemakers.
- Humble militiamen and peasants are suddenly a major
threat. ("They're over here, Sir Paladin!", "There's a
tavern nearby that criminal scum like them hide in, M'lord
Inquisitor.")
- Weak NPCs confronted by the PCs might run screaming for
help, and the distinctive armour, weapons, and heraldic
devices become a handicap to the PCs as they are instantly
recognizable.
- In extreme circumstances, divine spells or other granted
or channelled powers might dry up.
What started all this? The PCs lost all or most of their
face. This might be something nasty the group did, or a
monstrous act one PC did and the others condoned, such as
not turning a felon over to the authorities and continuing
to associate with him. Without some kind of public penance,
the PCs are doomed to being treated as the dredges of
society.
A penance might cost them pride, but pride is a sin, so they
regain face by publicly renouncing their mistakes and
embracing virtue. Penance can come from a number of ways,
but it is not necessarily running out to slaughter the
nearest monster. The key is a display of virtue (selfless
bravery, generosity, concern for others), not a display of
power. Flaunting power is egotistical, and egotism is not a
virtue.
Warning: Using face can be badly received by your players.
They might feel desperate, or betrayed by the GM. They might
think, "I might as well BE Chaotic Evil, then!" Be honest
with yourself; can you handle this pressure? Will your
players get too involved, resent the social damage to their
characters, or despise the gullibility of NPCs? You also
need to be prepared for the possibility they will enjoy
being the bad guys. Are you willing to GM an evil party?
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3. The Setup--The Unjust Loss Of Face
The Unjust Loss of Face is a great way to introduce face
into an existing campaign. The PCs suffer a loss of face due
to little more than unjustified rumours. Somebody did
something and the PCs are being blamed (maybe on purpose,
proving a physically weak but socially-skilled opponent can
still be a nasty adversary). The benefit is the PCs have a
chance to get out of a hole without sacrificing pride, and
you have kicked off a social adventure--the PCs need to find
the truth and prove their innocence (remember, most or all
of the influential NPCs in town might now be hostile or
suspicious of the PCs).
[Tip: By this time, most players would welcome a straight-up
gang of thugs trying to intimidate or assassinate them,
which the PCs could take as proof they're getting close to
the truth and an enemy is getting worried.]
Sample mechanisms for kicking off an Unjust Loss of Face:
- A truth is distorted: someone attaches the PCs to an ugly
incident.
- Dopplegangers/doubles commit atrocious acts and blame the
PCs.
- A minor incident involving the PCs is inflated beyond the
truth.
- An enemy blames self-inflicted damage (physical, social,
or commercial) on the PCs.
- Rivals within a Guild/Order/Temple commit the crime and
shift the blame.
- A seemingly harmless act of the PCs is a horrendous
violation of perceived divine will and/or custom. For
example, letting their shadow fall across the Hierarch's
feet, or wearing a visible weapon on Dolphins Day.
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4. Face For PCs Who Don't Care About Face
Evil characters love having NPCs spread rumours of how vile
or powerful they are. It falls to the DM to reverse the
virtues their society expects of them. Don't bother accusing
them of doing things good guys hate; accuse them of things
fellow evildoers hate. For example, the PCs have:
- Sold cult secrets to the Avenging Order of Badguy-Mashers.
- Deflowered the evil overlord's sacrificial virgin.
- Skimmed the take from a recent heist.
Virtue is relative to the social rules of the culture to
which the PCs belong, and GMs running clever antagonists can
use whatever it takes to sully their names. Losing face in
an evil society might be more dangerous than losing it in a
good one, as the PCs find themselves in a shark tank and the
smell of blood is in the water....
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5. Closing In On The Truth
PCs need not only discover the truth, but also prove it to
large numbers of people--the same people who might no longer
trust them. GMs should help this along by providing a number
of ways for the PCs to prove themselves. For example:
- Witnesses to the real incident, or to the boastful
speeches that bad guys are prone to, surface reluctantly.
- Secret journals of the bad guys are found.
- Intercepted messages.
- Logical impossibilities in the false version of events.
Don't count on players discovering the one and only well-
hidden flaw; they might never see it, or they might not
interpret or exploit it to full effect. Keep scattering
those clues around until they start getting it right. Be
sure to prepare clues before sessions, which avoids
improvising clues that later seem implausible or
contradictory.
The occasional powerful NPC might be kind, altruistic, or
bribed, and cautiously help the PCs. A calm and well-
reasoned argument (possibly backed by previous good and
loyal service, or hard cold cash) might move the NPC to give
the PCs a last chance to clear themselves.
[Tip: If your gameworld includes psychic probe type spells,
powers, or devices, make sure it also includes mind shield,
induced amnesia, or mental illusions training, spells, or
protections. Your players might want to acquire these as
soon as possible to clear their names. You need to keep that
doubt alive in the minds of NPCs, or you have no adventure.]
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6. Catharsis Minus The Violence
When (if) the PCs finally manage to reclaim or regain their
unjustly lost face, there is often a backlash against the
evildoer who did them wrong, and a big part of this is the
PCs' face will rebound to original levels (or even higher).
A big, cathartic, final scene where the villain is
confounded (but not slaughtered), with a higher authority
recognizing the PCs as being right all along, is a
satisfying way to start wrapping up the adventure.
Wrongdoers will find themselves punished as the PCs were by
losing the trust of others, and by being snubbed by society.
GMs can now orchestrate a few public apologies from NPCs who
previously snubbed the PCs (they have lost face by lacking
the wisdom to discern the truth, and now seek to regain it
by a display of social grace, eloquence, or humility). PCs
who display virtue during these encounters (modesty,
humility, graciousness, or wisdom) gain face. PCs who
visibly hold grudges are displaying a notable lack of
virtue, which may translate into a moderate loss of face,
and the cycle begins anew....
[Tip: This might be a good time to award experience points,
maybe a bundle of them with each apology or post-adventure
encounter. Be sure to award extra XP for good ideas and
roleplaying, and tell players which bits deserved the most.
This will encourage them to repeat meritorious behaviour.
Finish on a positive note, with the PCs redeemed, and the
scenario will certainly be judged successful. That, as
always, is the goal: success for players and GM alike.]
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7. Using Face To Best Effect
Using face toward the middle of a campaign is ideal for a
number of reasons:
- The characters should know, and be known, by many NPCs.
- The PCs will enjoy face gained from previous (presumably
heroic) actions.
- The PCs won't be powerful enough to stand up against the
entire city guard or temple defenders.
Keep the following in mind for your face related adventure:
- Cities or large towns are fine settings as they provide
lots of hiding places for bad guys and good guys, and city
walls provide comfort even as they hold the PCs to answer
for their actions.
- Keep the adventure limited to one game session. This
prevents players having excessive downtime to calmly analyse
their situation, which helps them generate solutions but
diminishes their emotional engagement.
- During play, listen to group debates and encourage the
right ideas by handing out crumbs of info/reminders as
hints.
- Prefigure key elements, such as cultural taboos and
previous high-profile examples of lost face, and introduce
them into the game world gradually as you lead up to the
face session. This better equips players to deal with their
loss.
[Tip: Your game system doesn't have a stat for face?
Introduce one a few scenarios in advance, with a brief list
of items that gain/lose face. A basic list of virtues can be
found at:
School for Champions: Ben Franklin's 13 Virtues.
Call it honour, reputation, glory, karma, status, or
whatever. Give a brief explanation of its use and
usefulness. Give the players time to get used to it and feel
secure, then let the adventure begin.]
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8. Consequences Of Using Face In Your Campaign
By the end, your players should have more respect for the
rules of the society and the consequences of a bad
reputation, and they will probably be motivated to greater
displays of virtue. If the PCs have gone the other route--
embracing their darker selves--then a good DM will need to
be ready and avoid punishing them. Rather, you might decide
to provide more examples of the rewards of virtue versus
their current path.
Keep that spiked club handy though. A quick trip into a
harsher society might convince them to try to climb back out
of the shark tank. In any case, players will have a
heightened awareness of the social side of your campaign,
which is a great step toward good roleplaying.
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Legend of the Ripper - A D&D Dungeon Crawl Classic Adventure
The city is gripped in fear! The Ripper has returned after a
125-year absence and is once again carving a trail of blood
through the slums of Miller's Court. Also returned is the
ghost of Mari Kell, his last victim more than a century ago,
and she haunts the streets where she was killed. The city
watch is at a loss to solve this supernatural mystery, much
less apprehend the Ripper himself. All clues point back to
the hovel where Mari Kell was slain long ago. If the heroes
are brave enough to enter, will they find the Ripper
himself?
Legend of the Ripper - A D&D Dungeon
Crawl Classic Adventure at RPG Shop
Readers' Tips Of The Week:
1. Create A GM Booklet
From: Loz Newman
I don't like GM screens. I feel they act too much like a
castle wall, cutting off a GM from the players and hiding a
large part of his body language. Instead, I use GM booklets
(one per game). They are more discrete than GM screens, they
hold more info, reducing time fumbling through books, and
you get to arrange sections to your design.
My GM booklets include an index, rules sections, skills
lists, modifiers, poisons, drowning rules, equipment, magic,
a bestiary, and much more. Try fitting all that on a DM's
screen!
I keep maps and images in different booklets, often
accompanied by printouts of campaign-specific info, such as
local noble houses, and city maps.
There is a hard card sheet inserted before each section to
make them easier to find/jump to. Lately, I've added sticky
index tabs to the most important and frequently consulted
pages.
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2. Free Keynote Software
From: Josh Evans
I have been a reader of your newsletter for some time now,
and I have noticed you occasionally suggest software. You
suggested MyInfo, but it is not free, so I would like to
direct you to KeyNote. It is a similar program that supports
tree-style notes as well as multiple tabs, allowing the user
to have multiple trees in the same file. I use it for all of
my Dungeons & Dragons needs. One tab is used for session
notes, one for world notes, and so on.
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3. The Assiti Shards Series, By Eric Flint
From: David Dorward
re: Issue #280:Time Travel As Prophecy
Time travel as prophecy could cause problems where
uncertainty is removed, but there is a nice escape hole in
the form of the multiple worlds theory. This allows for the
creation of a new universe whenever time travel occurs. So,
when John Smith travels back in time, he creates a new
universe identical to the one he came from, but only up
until the point he travelled to. Everything thereafter is
changeable. The Assiti Shards series, by Eric Flint, is a
very nice example of this. The first two books in the
series, 1632 and 1633, are available from the Baen Free
Library at http://www.baen.com/library/eflint.htm - I
heartily recommend them.
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4. Frictionless Co-GMing Utilizing Each GM's Best Skills
From: Freederick
re: Issue #273
It has been my experience that GMs often come in two
flavours. There are GMs who immerse themselves heavily in
design work, work hard to flesh out the game world, and
provide realistic plots. These GMs usually pay much
attention to game balance and often homemade rules, along
with the rest of their beloved setting.
Unfortunately, their concentration on meticulous design
often goes hand-in-hand with unwillingness to improvise,
reliance on plot hammers to force pre-designed plots,
uninspired role-playing, and handling NPCs as GM stooges.
On the other hand, there are the free-wheeling GMs who like
to immerse themselves in the action. They enjoy
improvisation and off-the-cuff action twists, and can handle
NPCs creatively. While game sessions with such GMs are never
boring, consistency and realism often suffer. These GMs also
tend to identify with their NPCs closely, which makes for
better role-playing, but may result in NPC favoritism. They
also frequently skimp on design.
After reading the article on Co-GMing in tips issue #273, I
realized it would be possible to divide portfolios between
the two archetypes of GMs in such a way as to take advantage
of their strengths. The table below lists the proposed
division of labor. I tried to share the load more or less
equally, giving each GM what he likes best and is most
competent at. In this way, there is less motivation for
conflict. I designated the first type of GM as the primary,
since he is more likely to think of game balance and take
the long view of consequences of on-the spot rulings. XPs
are best awarded by GM consensus. Your mileage may vary.
[This chart is also in GIF format here.]
Co-Gamemastering Division of Labor
|
Primary GM
(designer/referee) in
charge of setting & rules |
Secondary GM
(Fun-meister) in charge
of personnel & action |
World & Campaign Design |
All except city design |
City design* |
Adventure Design |
Adventure plot
Site design & maps
Treasure |
NPC design
Encounter planning
Adventure hooks |
Between Encounters: |
Travel & camping
Environmental factors
Mapping |
Random encounters
Flavor text/narration
Tension & pacing |
Encounters & Roleplaying |
Mechanics (dice rolling)
PC action refereeing |
Directing encounters
Roleplaying NPCs |
Combat: |
Mechanics (dice rolling)
Keeping track of time and stats |
Tactics
Roleplaying NPCs/monsters
Flavor text/commentary |
Mechanics & Rules |
Organizing notes
Rule interpretation
Passing notes and handouts
|
--- |
Split Party: |
Runs splinter/idle group |
Runs main/active group |
* While city design properly falls under setting, it has
been shifted to the secondary GM to equalize the design
burden. It is the part of world design most closely
connected to NPC design anyway.
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Tigris & Euphrates Card Game
The fruitful region between the Euphrates and Tigris rivers
has long been an area of conflict. It is no different now
and was not different 5000 years ago. Neighboring rulers are
constantly scheming and fighting, always looking for the
upper hand in the region. Those with cunning, and a little
luck can become famous; those without that, infamous or
unknown to history. By taking his excellent board game to a
card format, Reiner Knizia has simplified some aspects of
the game, but it remains Knizia and Euphrates & Tigris! And
with 200 cards and 16 wooden discs, it is more than just a
card game!
Tigris & Euphrates Card Game at RPG Shop