So my players have a ton of stress and a lot of injuries after a streak of very dangerous scores, and are thinking of triggering an intentional overindulgence and letting their characters get ‘lost’ to wipe the slate clean.
Mechanically this means they all skip the score, clear off all injuries and come back fresh. But if they all skip a score – what happens? Do we just do multiple downtimes without xp?
I can move some clocks in the interim representing the “ongoings behind the scenes” but other than that – what would you suggest?
make new characters!
Making temporary replacements works, or having them play a quick one shot of something that takes place during their absence could be cool. One GM of mine did something like that, where we played a flashback in another crew that stole an artifact we now held to explain where it came from… That was fun.
Alternatively, just have shit go down in their absence, without them around to stop or capitalize on it. A gang that loses its core, competent members for a week is in for a bad time, in my opinion…
Ho ho ho ho ho! They all want to skip off on holiday to recover? And leave their patch without anything resembling leadership or established authority?
I wouldn’t just tick a clock or two. I would flat out fill a clock or two, and start a new one to show that other gangs, factions and whatnot have taken note. Or play through the holiday for fun and hijinks, that could be cool.
I’m going to be starting a campaign in a couple of weeks and my plan is to openly encourage my players to create multiple (2-3) characters to play over the course of it. It makes sense that these 4 aren’t the only important people in the crew and it should be fun to change up the dynamic of the group every few sessions. In situations like this hopefully we’ll have fostered a rotating roster of badass PCs!
Yeah, I’d play out a “something happens while they’re away” score. Have them make new characters, those are the other (previously unmentioned) members of their gang, who are left dealing with the problems while the main PCs are away.
Maybe their hideout is raided or taken over. Maybe their fence is kidnapped. Maybe an assassin is killing off their allied faction members, and those allies come to the crew begging/asking/demanding help.
So only the redshirts are left to man the Enterprise? We still get an episode this week – one where we get to meet those redshirts.
It might be extra fun, if you don’t have a gang with a large number of members, to explain who these “new” characters are. (We had a character be replaced, and since the crew owned a brothel, we said this guy was the manager of that brothel. Who got dragged along this time because they had to cut some business deals.)
These new guys will have fewer skills, but will probably succeed, because they’ve got so much stress to burn. Then the old guys can come back, and their crew buddies will be like “OMG! You’re back! You wouldn’t believe the week we’ve had! I can’t handle this, I’m going back to guard the vault, it’s way quieter just standing guard all day. Way way safer too!”
(And then in future games, have that character greet the PCs every time they go to collect something from the vault.)
Also, if they don’t have any trauma, remind them that they SHOULD take some trauma.
– It gives them something they can roleplay to get extra experience. – It gives them something they can roleplay, which is the point of the game. It clears their stress.
– It “removes them from the action” which means they can turn up again at a convenient point (just like that dramatic moment in movies where the character who was “left for dead” reveals that he got there first, and saves everyone else.)
– Chances are good that there’s an appropriate trauma that they’re roleplaying with that character anyway (violent, pacifist, cruel, etc.)
One of them hit trauma on session 2, and I think they got paranoid…
Cool options everyone, will chew on it.
The downtime action system is built to handle this: actions beyond the two normally allotted to each PC cost rep or coin. I would personally let them take as many downtime actions as they need, charging them rep or coin as appropriate and making rolls along the way (maybe they don’t ~need~ to overindulge, ya know?). Relevant clocks (Faction, Countdowns, etc) should advance accordingly as well – to help you track which opportunities fade, what new problems should crop up, etc. Recap all this in a “While you were away…this happened.. now what?” kind of thing
Also – no need to intentionally overindulge. Just do an “easy” score.
“Two downtime actions. I’m removing stress!”
“Oh, I still have too much stress. Hey guys, let’s do an easy score? We’ll go to our hunting ground, mug a few pedestrians, and get out of there before the bluecoat patrols come past.”
one or two prowl or command rolls later
“OK, score done! We got, like, only one or two coin, but didn’t face much risk. Two more downtime rolls to remove stress!”
Of course, this can backfire. The engagement roll could go badly (maybe they mugged an off-duty mercenary who was looking to make a name for himself? Or didn’t spot the Bluecoat patrol. Or stole a cursed item.)
And, after the score, roll entanglements like usual, so the plot still escalates. (But you’d roll that whether the PCs do an “easy” score, or if the PCs overindulge and replacement PCs did the score.)
Also, I don’t think they have to overindulge, really. Page 19 suggests that when you indulge in your vice, “you may choose to release your character to be ‘lost in their vice’ for a session,” making a new character to play. So all the benefits of being lost, without having to force the roll. Could be wrong, but that’s my reading.
Though everywhere else it says they’re lost for a week or more, which seems like more than a session? And I think making a replacement character is geared around the idea that the whole crew isn’t taking a holiday.
nothing wrong with just going “hey do you mind if we jump forward in time a little bit? We can wipe the harm and stress slates and kind of fast forward to the next critical juncture.”
Eric, I consider myself a soft GM – but that’s too easy. It will become common practise. I think it’s ok to do that so long as within the world things advance forward, usually to the negative. If you’re neglecting your affairs to indulge vices and stay in bed to heal then the next Tier ) gang looking to make a name for themselves is going to knock on the metaphorical door…