Are Dark Matter Characters Ruined After Certain Encounters?

[broghammerj]

I need help as I'm planning to meet up with my old group for are semi-annual RPG hiatus with 3 days of gaming. Here is the situation. I am currently running a D20 modern game based on Dark Matter. For those not familiar with Dark Matter, think X-Files. Maybe even Shadow Chasers, although that is a stretch. Anyhow.....

The last adventure we played was the first. The heros are cops investigating some strange ritualistic killings. They start off as average joes with no prior knowledge/minimal belief of the supernatural. Yeah, they may think their is alien life out there, ghosts, esp, etc. But have not encountered any hard core proof. During the course of the adventure they encouter a magic conjuration, mild spell casting, and battle a supernatural being.

Now my question is this: Doesn't this sort of destroy the characters and campaign model? Now that they are exposed to this sort of thing, how can they not believe? Doesn't Dana Scully have to believe in aliens now that she encountered them first hand? Even the skeptic character has difficulty refuting what he has seen. Some things could be explained away as anomalies, but that would be really pushing it.

How are people handling this sort of thing in their campaign?

 

[HeapThaumaturgist]

Hrm. Do you have the original Dark*Matter book or are you working out of the Poly mini-game?

Dark*Matter, generally, revolves around the Hoffmann Institute. Hoffmann knows "the truth", so to speak, and most agents that work for Hoffmann know that truth as well: Things are out there. Aliens. Demons. Magic. Blasphemous Tomes, etc.

The REASON Hoffmann agents are approached by the Institute is usually in response to their survival of some obvious paranormal experience ... these individuals are some of the few that know the truth of what lies beneath the surface of our reality, and thus they are inducted into the larger group in order to investigate and, often, keep that secret reality from breaking through into our own.

So yes, after the first adventures the characters will believe in the unbelievable ... but that's usually the point of Dark*Matter.

The REAL trouble comes from trying to function in the world, investigating these things, without revealing the presence of that Other Side. The characters are cops? How do they handle the fact that THEY KNOW the truth, but nobody else does ... nobody else would believe them ... in fact, others would think they were mad if they firmly insisted that their experience was real. What if the Institute approaches them? Now they have a group they can turn to that knows what they know, that can tell them that they're not going nuts ... aliens are real, the thing that tore that guy's face off WAS a demon, and the mayor is being controlled by nanites.

But how do they work for the Institute and the police at the same time? Maybe the Institute wants them to remain in their current positions as a sort of sleeper cell, under cover ... they intercept the strange crimes ... the Institute finds "ways" to keep them assigned to the odder stuff ... doesn't the Cheif seem a little strange these days? Maybe the Institute isn't so humanitarian as it first seemed, what kind of leverage did they get on your superiors to cover up these incidents and funnel them to the PCs?

Etc etc. Dark*Matter isn't really about confronting the paranormal and disbelieving it. One or two PCs might not believe their own eyes ... but that'll be a side-element of the RPing ... it's about knowing the truth AND knowing nobody else believes. Investigating the odd, the fortean, the weird ... and KNOWING it might actually be a ghost or demon, but never being sure until the demon reveals itself.

--fje

 

[arwink]

Just because characters have been exposed to one fortean phenomena, doesn't mean they're going to believe the others are real either - I ran a game where the first adventure was Exit 23 from the Dark*Matter fast play, but the second involved mucking around in the sewers for aligators. Characters that were expecting the supernatural were slightly less than prepared to deal with genetically enhanced velocaraptors being trained as military weapons.

Another trick is to build things slowly - keep the super-natural elements vague, flesh them out slowly, run an adventure or two where they encounter nothing but hoax after hoax in their search for the supernatural. Pit them up aginst human-based conspiracies rather than the demons and aliens. Lull them into a false sense of security.

Steal a trick from JonRog's Storyhour and simply co-opt your Scully type characters into Majestic-12. It explains a hell of a lot.

And, of course, let them believe. Just don't ever let them completely understand what's going on.

 

[broghammerj]

I'm using the original Dark Matter sourcebook. I haven't involved the Hoffman institute in the campaign yet. I'm not sure that I'm going to. Part of the element I like in DM is the intrigue. The "What the heck was that?" factor on behalf of the players. The Hoffman Institue demystifies that if you will.

Arwink

run an adventure or two where they encounter nothing but hoax after hoax in their search for the supernatural. Pit them up aginst human-based conspiracies rather than the demons and aliens.

I really like this idea. In fact you've just inspired me for my next adventure. Maybe a little cover up on the part of the department. Strange occurences at the precint, mysterious vans following the players, etc.

HeapThaumaturgist

it's about knowing the truth AND knowing nobody else believes. Investigating the odd, the fortean, the weird ... and KNOWING it might actually be a ghost or demon, but never being sure until the demon reveals itself.

This is probably a key point for me to focus on. The oddities rather than the supernatural. Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar

 

[Krieg]

Sounds like what you need are some good insanity/horror rules.

 

[broghammerj]

Krieg

Sounds like what you need are some good insanity/horror rules

I haven't dabbled in Cthulu although the more I hear, the more the game intrigues me.

 

[Christopher Lambert]

Early in it's history, the only evidence Agent Mulder had about aliens was a single memory - that of his sister being abducted. The memory had been suppressed (wiped?) and brought back via hypnosis, so no one could be sure.

In fact, Mulder never got a good look at an alien in the first season.

To Hoffman agents, magic may be mysterious, but they know it exists.

 

[haiiro]

Part of the element I like in DM is the intrigue. The "What the heck was that?" factor on behalf of the players. The Hoffman Institue demystifies that if you will.

Only to the extent that you allow it to -- or to put it another way, only if you assume a) the Hoffman Institute is right, and b) that they know about everything.

After a couple of encounters with things agent PCs know about, when they start to think that the HI has all the answers, you can throw them a major curveball in the form of things the institute doesn't know about. Or is wrong about.

You get the idea.

 

[John Q. Mayhem]

Where can I find out more about Dark*Matter?

 

[broghammerj]

Where can I find out more about Dark*Matter?

This was originally a spin of of Alternity. It was written by Monte Cook and Wolfgang Baur. It is arguably the best sourcebook for an RPG I have ever read. Look into the following:

alternity.net The official fan site for alternity. Check out the forums and some adventures that are free. This will give you a feel for the setting.

Dungeon #108 Presents a conversion to D20 modern.

Basically it is a way to play the X-files if you will. Purists will tell you it should be played in the Alternity only format. Reformists will tell you that it fits in great with D20 modern, but that Dungeon 108 did a poor conversion. I haven't read Dungeon so I can't comment