[UA] Bad Reactions to UA?

[Chad Underkoffler]

> Date: Tue, 05 Dec 2000 08:04:15 -0600
> From: Gregory Paul Stolze <holycrow at mindspring.com>
> 
> At 06:44 PM 12/04/2000 -0500, you wrote:
> > 2) The setting is downright immoral or amoral, which
> > bothers at least two gamers.  (A similar complaint
> > was aired about Vampire... members of my group just
> > don't feel like mucking with a slow degeneration into
> > Beasthood when they could save a kid, I suppose.)
>
> I find this very, very interesting.  What, exactly, do they
> feel is STOPPING them from being moral?

I think that there's some undercurrents in the game that say
"Try to be moral/heroic and the universe will smack you down."
There's also the aspect that being moral or heroic isn't
empowering, while being amoral/immoral *is* empowering. "The
meaner you are, the more powerful you are, and can do what you
will with impunity."

Which may very well be the point: morality and heroism are hard
choices which limit you. It can be argued that that's true in
the real world. Interesting points, and one worth thinking
about. But not fun to game out for some people who wish light
entertainment from their gaming.

However, over and above that, there's a strong feeling
engendered by the setting that if a PC risks his life to save
the child from the tenebrae, scooping the toddler up and running
away from the monster, the child promptly bite his head off with
relish-- because it's actually a baby corpse inhabited by a
teeny-tiny Unspeakable Servant.

I'm thinking if I do run UA again, I'm going to include the
doubled skill points, focus more on Avatars, and jettison the
majority of the UA cosmology. Maybe go for an UNBREAKBALE or
MAGE: THE HERO DISCOVERED VIBE.

Oooooooh... MAGE Archetypes? Anybody done the Pendragon, the
Herculean, Coyote, etc?





=====
Chad Underkoffler [chadu at yahoo.com]
http://www.geocities.com/chadu/index.html
"Hold your breath. Make a wish. Count to three."
  -- Willy Wonka

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