[UA] The Hotel of Renunciation

[Mike Dewar]

-
> But I'd say that it's got to be used as an occasional spice as opposed 
> to a regular occurrence: otherwise, every session turns into an 
> episode of "Touched by an Agent". OH NO! Another moral dilemma!

I don't think so. As others have pointed out, as an Agent you're not just
renunciating people--you are doing everything you can to further the rooms
goals.
*****

In that comment, I was just responding to someone who was saying that
renunciation plots in particular could be fleshed out with consequences and
ethical repercussions. It's valid, but it can be over-used and if so, it
starts to reduce the effect. 

****

Well, the characters personal goals should coincide
with the room's. And their involvement with the
underground should also be related to the room's goal.
****

My impression, based on the Rooms as written, is that they're not especially
good at communicating their goals to their minions. Roscommons had no idea
he was serving Upheaval - he thought he was serving pure Renunciation and
was the only one of his kind. 

Lila Morgan apparently believes that the Otherside room exists to make
selfish people self*less*, just because that's what happened to her. 

*****
   Again, not necessarily...the PCs still need
allies, friends, enemies, loved-ones. And what's to
keep the rooms goals from overlapping with others in
the underground?
   Also, who's to say that anyone would know what they
are? I never pictured members of the OU going around
and being like hey, I'm Bob, an epideromancer.
*****

Sure, people don't wear signs. But I've always figured that "players" (the
Dirk Allen's, the people who've seen a few things), are pretty good at
spotting the quirks and making educated guesses. 

Also, if the PCs want to be mystically useful, they'll probably want to use
their Room abilities from time-to-time. And even something like opening a
magickal door says to an experienced occultist that they've most likely got
a high-level Pilgrim or an Agent to worry about.

My concern is more that heavy involvement in the Underground may require a
bit too much Smallville-esque "secrecy" (I sneak away, use my Cool
Renouncing Powerz and then wander back looking puzzled as to why one of my
allies' opponents has suddenly reversed his entire position). A fair point
about the Entropomancer wanting to get his enemies Renounced, but I'd say
those sort will be in the minority. You have to be pretty well-informed,
brave and confident in your self-identity to try and persuade Agents of
Renunciation to follow your agenda as opposed to (or in addition to) their
Room's Agenda. The majority of occultists would react more with fear and
suspicion (especially given they're pretty damn paranoid to start with). 

However, I'm not totally writing off OU politics. That would be...well,
lame. I'm just saying that I think that they'll need to exercise enough
healthy caution (above and beyond the norm for the OU), that it may not be a
dominant a sandpit as it is for less-controversial characters. They're
slightly off-side from the Underground, as opposed to right in the thick of
it. Ironically, Sleeper games run to a similar vibe. Sleepers may have a
presence in the OU in their "private capacity", but they don't advertise
their Sleeper allegiances to the OU as they're well, very unpopular. 

So I see the general OU politics as a valuable side-line, but not as the
main focus. After all, if there's more focus on the PCs "private lives" than
on their Renunciation jobs, then they might as well be any cabal as opposed
to Agents.  

Generally, I don't think the impression of Agents is that they're intimately
involved in OU power-plays. They've got bigger fish to fry - they sweep in,
make dramatic changes and sweep out. 

*****

I think we could offer more suggestions if we knew
your room's goal. Again with room versus room action
it's not just renunciating, but anything that furthers
the goals. That could be assasinations, blowing things
up, kidnapping, whatever...as long as it furthers the
goals of the room...

****

Since I have recently confirmed that at least ONE of my players is on this
list, I will flag an EXTRA, EXTRA spoiler warning before continuing. Though
if you've already read this far, Tai, shame on you!
  
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My current take on the Room is that it is the Room of Upheaval. After Hubert
Roscommons was killed and the Room went "dormant", it has basically
re-invented itself to some degree. It's central objective of Upheaval
remains, but is now focusing on mystical, rather than political, creative
upheaval. 

The reasons are many: politics in the OU are every bit in need of shaking up
as the real world, also Roscommons's death made the worthwhile point that as
governments grow more interconnected and larger, it becomes harder and
harder for one person's reversal to change a policy (which isn't to say it
didn't take a crack at Sharon before the coma), and such changes are swiftly
dealt with by the establishment. 

So the Room is now focusing on a purer form of dynamic chaos - individuals
changing reality directly through their obsessions. It is seeking out people
who either: have mystical abilities, but are denying them (the most recent
victim was a psychic who was on medication to stop hearing voices) or who
have the potential to become adepts, but live such comfortable, sheltered
lives that they never reach it (in game terms, Blank Slates from Post-Modern
Magick who haven't been near enough stress checks to crack into magick). 

Not everyone renounced by the Room turns into a magick-worker, but in
various ways they are increasing the opportunity for personal obsessions to
shape reality. And they don't have the objective "wake the tiger". 

It allows the PCs to get involved in generally weird stuff with the Room's
support, provides the possibility of people trying to exploit them if they
notice the theme (Renounce me please! I want Kewl Magick Powerz!) and allows
moral ambiguity (so the quiet coroner has the potential to become a
mass-murdering Thanatomancer - the Room welcomes all comers!). Also allows
for Room-on-Room conflict, since Cold Reflections and the Middle Room are
both fairly against selfish, unpredictable obsession without thinking of the
consequences.   

I don't want to make this too overt to the PCs. In line with the earlier
comments about people misunderstanding their Rooms, they may completely
misinterpret their Room's Agenda, or read more into it than is actually
there to fit their own desires. 

Lastly - I take the point about Non-Renouncing Room missions (and I've got a
few ideas on that). I was more asking about the balance between them. I
still figure that a Renunciation game should focus on well, Renunciation, at
least 70% of the time. 

As it is, the discussion has been very helpful. I've solidified the Room's
Agenda more in my own mind - I was working primarily with Upheaval, but the
re-focus on the mystic angle works nicely and also meshes with some of my
planned plots. 

My main concern at this point is that the Room Agenda may be considered a
bit wishy-washy by some. After all, it's not that far away from Mak Attax's
"magick is cool!" except with a Room behind it. Does it still have the
"teeth" you'd expect from a Room of Renunciation? 

- Mike