[UA] One o' them thar pwernomancers!

[Greg Stolze]

>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: ua-admin at lists.uchicago.edu [mailto:ua-admin at lists.uchicago.edu]On
>> Behalf Of Royal Minister of Stuff
>> Sent: Monday, April 02, 2001 12:28 PM
>> To: ua at lists.uchicago.edu
>> Subject: Re: [UA] One o' them thar pwernomancers!
>>
>>
>> Please, somebody, answer this question(the more people
>> the better.) It does not, in any way, consist of
>> sarcasm or mean anything other than what it asks:
>>
>> Knowing about the various types of magic (pornomancy,
>> dipsomancy, etc....) is out of character knowledge?  I
>> kind of got the idea that everything in the UA books
>> was, more or less, open knowledge to those in the
>> Occult Underground.  At least, that's how I've end up
>> interpreting it.  That approach made it the first game
>> my wife really liked, too.

Er... it's not the "default" way to play it, and it's not the way I "meant"
for it to be played, but if you think that would be fun and your players
think it would be fun, who am I to stand in your way?

My basic assumption of nigh-universal ignorance is... how would people
learn this stuff?  Adepts are fearful and secretive.  Avatars are subtle
and (at higher levels) terrified of being knocked off by a jealous
Godwalker.

That said, there are a couple variants that are certainly valid.

1) Smartypants.  Your PCs know an awful lot, but everyone else is still
dirt ignirint.  This gives them a significant advantage, and you as GM
should be aware of that.  It lets you use the game setting as found without
much tinkering.  Just make sure there's a plausible explanation for why
they're so unusually well-informed.

2) "Cast a Deadly Spell."  For whatever reason, EVERYONE is pretty well
informed.  It adds a different flavor -- more cosmopolitan, if you like --
and I think it takes away some of the horror from "discovering the
unknown."  But if you want things a little more pulpy and two-fisted, that
can work fine.

-G.

"I think the weirdest part of the dream was probably Teddy Roosevelt, knee
deep in water, riding the giant winged South American capybara."
	-Me, 3/22/01

www.waylay.com
www.thehungersite.com



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