[UA] Compulsion and PCs

[Niall Sweby]

 > > On Fri, Sep 26, 2003 at 02:04:28PM +1000, Katie and Saul wrote:
> > >
> > > Is it fair to simply say to the player "your character is 
> suddenly and
> > > inexplicably obsessed with such-an-such, and you must try to
> > seek her out
> > > regardless of your other plans." 

I would say it is fair, especially in a street level campaign you
describe. At leat I hope it is, as this is what I plan to do with my
PC's who are in a similar position. 

I think it emphasises the wierdness of magick; nothing happens that can
be verified - the characters don't get turned into frogs, but something
very odd is clearly going on and that's a great motivator to get your
players further involved, when otherwise they might argue that their
characters should sensibly stop breaking and entering/stalking/mugging
cutomers of the happy red clown for their 99c burgers. 

I would also argue it fits with the theme of the game - power and
consequences, and the overall 'adult' approach the game is written in.
Magick is very powerful and messing with it, even if you don't know
that's what you're doing, has consequences. If your players are more
comfortable with saving throws and games that aren't so harsh, I
understand there's a new edition of AD&D just out :)

However I would agree with Bryant that a degree of forewarning may be
needed. Most players I've met do enjoy changing the pace of their
character, but they also need to be able to properly play the
character's reactions after the magick has worn off, and that can be
difficult if the magick has forced the character to do something
difficult to handle - murder for example. 

Niall


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