Do you always do / have to materialize dangers as lasting effects or do you go for other options and if so, which…

Do you always do / have to materialize dangers as lasting effects or do you go for other options and if so, which…

Do you always do / have to materialize dangers as lasting effects or do you go for other options and if so, which options?

6 thoughts on “Do you always do / have to materialize dangers as lasting effects or do you go for other options and if so, which…”

  1. I prefer to use variety rather than just lasting effects. Other options are any of the ideas on the Devil’s Bargain lists, especially injecting drama/issues into the PCs relationships with important NPCs (especially their friends) and influencing faction statuses.

    Otherwise, there’s plenty of room for largely non-mechanical intelligence leaks about the PCs or narrative hindrances: “the Crows know your face” “Your enemies can tell your gang is undermanned” “your turf is now vulnerable to competing business” “your family is cutting you off” “your sibling is sick/arrested/beat up” “you’re tricked into making a raw deal here” “you’ll be held accountable to this promise” “Scurlock will consider you uncouth simpletons” “your underlings doubt your sanity” etc. Other ideas I have more often considered are affecting the crew’s own hold or coin, but those are less interesting.

  2. Hm, most notably I recognized it as a player remarked he felt it was unfair if e.g. his character had to take a lasting effect and the other character got a more fictional thing going on,..

  3. I suspect “fair” is not an intention or concern of the system, since most dangers, fictional or mechanical, won’t be equal anyway. A danger of being killed can’t be equal to the danger of being spotted or offending the Councilmember. The weight of each is dependent on the context and the players/PC’s values at the moment. I don’t see the game needing a balancing mechanic like that. (other than, say stress, which somewhat does this by pacing each player’s ability to twist narrative fate more in their character’s favor).

    That said, most all fictional ideas can be made into lasting conditions if they would debilitate a PCs actions for a temporary amount of time. Those conditions may be more psychological or social things like Disheartened, Disrespected by the Crows, Distracted by mulling over guilt, Conflicted by competing desires or obligations, etc.

    For the plot to be interesting, there needs to be conflicts/dangers that players may prefer to avoid, but also could be great fun to not avoid.

  4. Yeah, fairness is not a desirable quality here. Dangers come from the specific situation. Sometimes mild, sometimes major. Sometimes lasting, sometimes not.

  5. Keep in mind that, despite the name, lasting effects are temporary. Fiction might be forever. Your wound or sprain will heal with time, but the demon that knows your name is a permanent problem.

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