I've got an area in which I'd like to learn what other people are
doing, or not doing.
I'm watching the third season of _Mutant X_ (mundane mutant
superheroes... it's mediocre, but it's superheroes).
Anyway, at the end of most shows, and especially after some loved
minor character dies (usually in a sacrifice for Mutant X, or because
Mutant X had to kill them to save someone else), we have this kind of
scene that reveals the characters' feelings and reveals or reinforces
some aspect of their personality.
Lexa's got what she calls her "list"... the list of people who won't
be walking away the next time she runs into them. It comes up in this
episode that she's got the opportunity to off one of the guys in the
top five, but she jeopardized the mission to get him and discussion of
"the list" came up in the normal course of the plot.
Then, after it's all over and she's killed the guy, she's sitting in
her room typing on the computer and Jesse (the more empathetic of the
two guys) comes in to see if she's okay. The list comes up and he
asks what she's going to do when she kills everyone on the list.
"Make another list." "There's more to life than revenge, Lexa." "Not
for me, there isn't." (Or something like that.)
So, this brings me to the point of this post... this kind of scene
isn't a direct part of the plot. It's not really something the GM can
set up, because it was driven by character motivation.
Do your games have these kinds of scenes? Who initiates them, and
how? Do you just say, "I want to go into Lexa's room and confront her
on this list thing," or something like that?
Let's throw in a twist... we're using a variant of Keys (from _The
Shadow of Yesterday_...
http://www.anvilwerks.com/?The-Shadow-of-Yesterday and the rules are
Creative Commons). The way Keys work is that Lexa takes something
like "The Key of the Vendetta" and she gets plot points every time a
scene which involves her vendetta comes up. This tells the GM that
she wants scenes that let her deal with the vendetta, _and_ it
encourages the player to pursue such scenes. Since plot points are
essential to the game, the players _need_ to pursue their Keys or
they're going to fail during important scenes.
Thing here is, it's Lexa's Key being hit on in this scene... Lexa gets
a small plot point bonus for defending her chosen path. (She got a
big bonus for lasering the evil corporate type earlier.) So in our
game, it would be _Lexa's_ player wanting to have this scene in which
someone confronts her over "the list." And that seems awkward to
me to say, "I need a scene in which someone confronts my character
over what she's done today."
Does anybody do anything remotely like this in either fashion...
Jesse's player wanting the scene to confront the other character, or
Lexa's player wanting the scene because it hits on her Key (and builds
character depth)?
Tell me how scenes that look like this (regardless of how they get
started) come up in your game, or if they don't come up at all. I'm
curious to know how other people handle this kind of thing.
--
Carl D Cravens (raven@phoenyx.net) Gamers List Owner
[ The Fudge List -- http://fudge.phoenyx.net/ ]
Gimme another clip--we're gonna change lanes!
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