Menu
News
All News
Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
Pathfinder
Starfinder
Warhammer
2d20 System
Year Zero Engine
Industry News
Reviews
Dragon Reflections
White Dwarf Reflections
Columns
Weekly Digests
Weekly News Digest
Freebies, Sales & Bundles
RPG Print News
RPG Crowdfunding News
Game Content
ENterplanetary DimENsions
Mythological Figures
Opinion
Worlds of Design
Peregrine's Nest
RPG Evolution
Other Columns
From the Freelancing Frontline
Monster ENcyclopedia
WotC/TSR Alumni Look Back
4 Hours w/RSD (Ryan Dancey)
The Road to 3E (Jonathan Tweet)
Greenwood's Realms (Ed Greenwood)
Drawmij's TSR (Jim Ward)
Community
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions, OSR, & D&D Variants
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Resources
Wiki
Pages
Latest activity
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Downloads
Latest reviews
Search resources
EN Publishing
Store
EN5ider
Adventures in ZEITGEIST
Awfully Cheerful Engine
What's OLD is NEW
Judge Dredd & The Worlds Of 2000AD
War of the Burning Sky
Level Up: Advanced 5E
Events & Releases
Upcoming Events
Private Events
Featured Events
Socials!
EN Publishing
Twitter
BlueSky
Facebook
Instagram
EN World
BlueSky
YouTube
Facebook
Twitter
Twitch
Podcast
Features
Top 5 RPGs Compiled Charts 2004-Present
Adventure Game Industry Market Research Summary (RPGs) V1.0
Ryan Dancey: Acquiring TSR
Q&A With Gary Gygax
D&D Rules FAQs
TSR, WotC, & Paizo: A Comparative History
D&D Pronunciation Guide
Million Dollar TTRPG Kickstarters
Tabletop RPG Podcast Hall of Fame
Eric Noah's Unofficial D&D 3rd Edition News
D&D in the Mainstream
D&D & RPG History
About Morrus
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions, OSR, & D&D Variants
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
Upgrade your account to a Community Supporter account and remove most of the site ads.
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*TTRPGs General
Suspense in RPGs
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="Manbearcat" data-source="post: 7452943" data-attributes="member: 6696971"><p>Let me extend things a little bit to talk about cost as the relevant piece...</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>So chao is talking about Sorcerer here, but its relevant.</p><p></p><p>So the PC's big brother is the best man he ever knew. Raised him when their parents died. Is a retired, legendary Dog who lost his gun-fighting hand when a nasty infection from a wound took it that he got rescuing a child straight from the jaws of a mountain lion. But he lost worse than that. His wife and (would-have-been) first-born died in childbirth a few years ago and he hadn't seen him since. </p><p></p><p>So what happens if his brother isn't in a shallow grave somewhere (maybe he lost a poker hand and more than that to a couple of rustlers) and that hat is now the possession of the man who took it from him.</p><p></p><p>* What if his brother is in that brothel sinning something fierce and, when confronted, we CLEARLY won't just be talking this out.</p><p></p><p>* What if his brother is in that brothel sinning something fierce and, when confronted, he won't comply with justice...nor will his rustler companions.</p><p></p><p>* What if his brother is in that brothel sinning something fierce and, when confronted, he brashly bears the heretical branding and demonic influence of the rumored Sorcerer that has been corrupting this town...and the girl's face he was getting it on changes into a horrific visage and her hands and claws elongate...and unfixed objects suddenly rise of their own volition and hurtle through the air...</p><p></p><p>Now all of these get a little bit worse. They get progressively more dangerous to the Dog/s, progressively more emotionally brutal, progressively more dangerous to the fallen brother, and progressively more costly (in social currency to the Dog with respect to his duty) to attempt to undo the damage to the brother's soul in the eyes of the King of Life, and potentially more costly to the Town and the Faithful if this wickedness isn't rooted out and justice not swiftly meted.</p><p></p><p>So in each of these scenarios we have cost-related suspense. How will the Dog respond? What will he prioritize; family, his immediate duty before him, the ability to live and fight another day (for the Town)? If he lets his brother and/or the rustlers go, what havoc will they wreak before he catches up to them with the rest of the Dogs, and perhaps a posse, as backup? Will his companions go along with him, whatever he decides? What if they try to save/redeem the brother and its deemed to be nepotism by the Faithful or the territorial authorities? What if he doesn't and the fact that they allowed a legendary Dog perish under demonic influence utterly demoralizes the Town, therefore making it vulnerable to further Sin?</p><p></p><p>In terms of mechanical implications, this conflict is going to impact the Dog (possibly severely depending upon how things go), and the likelihood is extremely high that his Relationship dice with his Brother are going to change.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Manbearcat, post: 7452943, member: 6696971"] Let me extend things a little bit to talk about cost as the relevant piece... So chao is talking about Sorcerer here, but its relevant. So the PC's big brother is the best man he ever knew. Raised him when their parents died. Is a retired, legendary Dog who lost his gun-fighting hand when a nasty infection from a wound took it that he got rescuing a child straight from the jaws of a mountain lion. But he lost worse than that. His wife and (would-have-been) first-born died in childbirth a few years ago and he hadn't seen him since. So what happens if his brother isn't in a shallow grave somewhere (maybe he lost a poker hand and more than that to a couple of rustlers) and that hat is now the possession of the man who took it from him. * What if his brother is in that brothel sinning something fierce and, when confronted, we CLEARLY won't just be talking this out. * What if his brother is in that brothel sinning something fierce and, when confronted, he won't comply with justice...nor will his rustler companions. * What if his brother is in that brothel sinning something fierce and, when confronted, he brashly bears the heretical branding and demonic influence of the rumored Sorcerer that has been corrupting this town...and the girl's face he was getting it on changes into a horrific visage and her hands and claws elongate...and unfixed objects suddenly rise of their own volition and hurtle through the air... Now all of these get a little bit worse. They get progressively more dangerous to the Dog/s, progressively more emotionally brutal, progressively more dangerous to the fallen brother, and progressively more costly (in social currency to the Dog with respect to his duty) to attempt to undo the damage to the brother's soul in the eyes of the King of Life, and potentially more costly to the Town and the Faithful if this wickedness isn't rooted out and justice not swiftly meted. So in each of these scenarios we have cost-related suspense. How will the Dog respond? What will he prioritize; family, his immediate duty before him, the ability to live and fight another day (for the Town)? If he lets his brother and/or the rustlers go, what havoc will they wreak before he catches up to them with the rest of the Dogs, and perhaps a posse, as backup? Will his companions go along with him, whatever he decides? What if they try to save/redeem the brother and its deemed to be nepotism by the Faithful or the territorial authorities? What if he doesn't and the fact that they allowed a legendary Dog perish under demonic influence utterly demoralizes the Town, therefore making it vulnerable to further Sin? In terms of mechanical implications, this conflict is going to impact the Dog (possibly severely depending upon how things go), and the likelihood is extremely high that his Relationship dice with his Brother are going to change. [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*TTRPGs General
Suspense in RPGs
Top