Design Diary #1: Who Do You Identify With?

So, you need a character to play this snazzy new (or old, more or less) game called Malls & Morons. Lucky for you, character creation in the game is surprisingly easy, in such that you will have a character up and running in about 10 minutes or less*. Don't believe me? There are a few reasons it is so easy, and you don't even have to take your character to a tax accountant. I'm not naming names, but the game designers know who they are.

Over the following entries, I will be examining parts of the character, as well as how they relate to character creation and what role they play. You will get to see how old concepts reemerge into a new game, and how they fit into the new rules. This entry deals Identity, which was known as Type in the old d20 rules.

As I attempted to compile various revisions and new editions (numbering about maybe 7-8 incomplete games over the course of 7 years - 1 revision/new edition per year), the concept received new names, but didn't change much: Subtype, Clique, Subculture, and Identity. Identity was the term I liked most, and with a new name, it got a change in how it interacted the character, but the idea is the same. It's the Malls & Morons equivalant of race or species for other games.

This would be a good time to mention that game terms are capitalized to distinguish them from normal uses of the same word.

Identity

Your Identity is who you are, who you've grown to be, and what you will eventually grow away from when you become an adult. Identities are not just mechanical abstracts in Malls & Morons, but real world constructs which bind together groups of teenagers in common cause. Each Identity is presented with a short descrtion, a list of common characteristics (which can be use or neglected at the whim of the player), and modifications to two Attributes. Because an Identity determines in part, who you are, they tend to mold you.

So for example, because Jocks like sports and physical activity, they tend to be stronger. However, their love of physical sports comes at the expense of their studies, and thus their intellect is neglected. Although it isn't explained in such a way (though more or less), it is still appearant, and the archetypes that the Identities represent are common enough no one should have any problem identifying why they are in that way.

The Identities avaialble in the core rules are the Goth, the Jock, the Nerd, the Underteen, and the Valley Teen. You might ask, "Orion, why only five? Why not others such as gangsters and other stuff?" A good question and one worth answering (and you will see this as a re-occuring answer): these five represent my vision of Malls & Morons. My game has no need to use for more than five. However, you will find that creating your own Identities is very easy, and adding them to your game will help to make it your own vision.

But if you think Identity has no relevance outside of character creation and the impact it has on your Attributes, then you are wrong. Identities help you identity with non-player characters in the game. Sharing a common background, you will find your best friends and worst enemies may come from the player character's Identity, which helps to ground the player character in the world. The first time a player characters encounters an NPC who share his Identity, he should think "Oh, heavens! My kin!", and perhaps, followed by a feeling that teens sharing his Identity aren't necessarily unified - although perhaps they could be.

Identities, in this way, are a tool to be used by the Mall Master for his or her own nefarious and clever purposes. And although, like any sort of inspirational material, it can all be used equally as well, because I wrote it, I feel like it should work doubly so without any proof to the validity of my own self delusions.

Tune in next time when we will discuss Classes, and what they can do for you.

* This statement has not been tested or verified. Proceed belief with caution.