[UA] Non Entity Trouble

[Royal Minister of Stuff]

Hmmm... this is begining to bother me.

I liked non-entities when I read about them, but I
just haven't been able to make them work.  What am I
doing wrong, here?


--- Mark Fender <themarkfenderexperience at yahoo.com>
wrote:
> 
> That's weird, because I've had the opposite
> reactions.
> The "monsters" work better. Perhaps that's because
> I've got gamers who have read the books, and
> immediately try to peg which magick school/avatar
> the
> NPCs follow (even when they don't follow any).

This might be a clue.  I rather like players to jump
to conclusions like that, which fits my GMing style
(and cuts down on the work I have to do.)

That's one of the reasons I try to give players a
handle on the Occult Underground before getting into a
campaign.  I find that horror increases with
understanding, so knowing what a thing MIGHT be makes
my players more frightened and excited.  

Also, I've got some pretty timid players, so knowing
that their opponents are probably souped-up humans
makes them readier to do interesting things.  Perhaps
running into monsters discourages or frustrates them
in some way (we sort of bounce in and out of an
unsatisfactory Cthulhu game, since we're helping one
guy "learn the ropes" of GMing it.)

> Whereas
> the monsters tend to cause Madness checks (which my
> group was terrified of) and, thankfully, I had
> players
> who liked to roleplay their reactions to the checks.

Funny thing this, too.  My players, oddly enough,
don't fight me on madness checks where magic and
normal people are concerned.  

I should explain something (that I've mentioned
before) I left my players choose Hardened, Flight,
Fight or Catatonia when faced with stress.  No die
rolls.  If it's stressful, they either freak or don't.
 They know the price of too many Hardened checks and
the price for failures.

Still, my players always choose to be hardened to
monster attacks and, more frequently, show human
vulnerabilities and run or go rigid at human magics. 

It's probably psychology.

> 
> > Demon possession works great, but "things" with
> too
> > alien of a mindset are a bit too challenging for
> me.
> 
> Agreed. I still don't get what Cthuloids "do." 

Me either.

=====
-- Rp Bowman, Royal Minister of Stuff
The Electronic Nation of Yokeltania:
http://www.geocities.com/yokeltania/

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