Post by Ascanio Giovanni on Apr 18, 2013 14:12:36 GMT -8
Raising Humanity and Switching Paths
The book has always been rather vague about the requirements for raising a character's Path Rating. It is mentioned as being a difficult prospect, and usually a harrowing experience. In a tabletop game with a single Storyteller, a character's advancement along their Path can be closely monitored and individual judgment calls can be made with all the information as to whether a character has justified raising their Path. In a LARP like ours, such individual attention is not always possible, and with that in mind the following system will help the staff track a character's personal journey toward redemption or self-mastery.
To make this system work, we are instituting a new stat in relation to one's Path called Tenet Points. These are a measure of how well a character is adhering to the tenets of her Path, including Humanity. To gain Tenet points, a character must perform acts in keeping with his or her Path's Tenets. Each time a character performs an act in keeping with the tenets of his or her Path, he or she will gain 1-3 Tenet Points, at the discretion of the ST running the scene. The number of Tenet Points gained is dependent on how dangerous and personally sacrificial the act in question was. For example, returning a stolen wallet might earn 1 Tenet Point for a character on the Path of Humanity, while shielding a child from gunfire with one's own body might earn 2 or even 3. Performing the same action again and again will not continue to allow a character to gain Tenet Points. Whether or not a character gains Tenet Points is always at the discretion of the ST in the given scene, and all scenes that can gain Tenet Points must be performed at game and verified by an ST. A player may always contact staff and ask about gaining tenet points for a scene that did not have an ST witness. Tenet points cannot be gained for downtime actions or any other actions that did not have a scene.
In order to justify raising one's Path Rating, he or she must accrue a number of Tenet Points equal to the level of the Path he or she wishes to raise to (so someone currently at Path Rating of 5 must gain 6 Tenet Points to raise to level 6). Upon gaining the necessary number of Tenet Points, the player simply has to spend the xp and he or she will be able to raise his or her Path Rating. Upon raising one's Path Rating, all currently accrued Tenet Points are lost, and new ones must be gained to raise one's Path Rating again.
Tenet Points are ephemeral and easily lost however. They are a precarious stack of virtues and self-esteem that can be easily toppled. If ever a character needs to make a Degeneration check, regardless of success or failure, he or she will lose all currently accrued Tenet Points, and must begin gaining them again from nothing.
Switching Paths is a similar system. To begin the process of switching from one Path to another, the character must be at a rating of 3 or less on his or her current Path. The character must then begin accruing Tenet Points in the Path he or she wishes to switch to. In order to justify making the Catharsis check, a character must accrue 10 Tenet Points. Unlike Tenet Points gained in one's current Path however, these are not lost if the character faces a Degeneration check in her current Path. Once all 10 Tenet Points are gained, the character may make the Catharsis check (Willpower roll at difficulty 10 if at Path Rating 3, 8 if at Path Rating 2, or 6 if at Path Rating 1). If the check fails, the character automatically loses a point of their current Path and loses all Tenet Points. In order to try to switch Paths again, he or she must reacquire 10 more Tenet Points before making another Catharsis check. If the check succeeds, the character successfully switches Paths with a rating in their new Path dependent on the successes gained on the Catharsis check (1 or 2 successes gain a new Path rating of 1, 3 or 4 successes gain a new Path rating of 2, and 5 or more successes gain a new Path rating of 3). As with raising one's Path Rating, switching Paths removes all currently accrued Tenet Points, requiring new ones to be earned in order to raise one's Path.
A character's current tally of Tenet Points will be tracked by the staff in Grapevine and can be checked at any time.
The book has always been rather vague about the requirements for raising a character's Path Rating. It is mentioned as being a difficult prospect, and usually a harrowing experience. In a tabletop game with a single Storyteller, a character's advancement along their Path can be closely monitored and individual judgment calls can be made with all the information as to whether a character has justified raising their Path. In a LARP like ours, such individual attention is not always possible, and with that in mind the following system will help the staff track a character's personal journey toward redemption or self-mastery.
To make this system work, we are instituting a new stat in relation to one's Path called Tenet Points. These are a measure of how well a character is adhering to the tenets of her Path, including Humanity. To gain Tenet points, a character must perform acts in keeping with his or her Path's Tenets. Each time a character performs an act in keeping with the tenets of his or her Path, he or she will gain 1-3 Tenet Points, at the discretion of the ST running the scene. The number of Tenet Points gained is dependent on how dangerous and personally sacrificial the act in question was. For example, returning a stolen wallet might earn 1 Tenet Point for a character on the Path of Humanity, while shielding a child from gunfire with one's own body might earn 2 or even 3. Performing the same action again and again will not continue to allow a character to gain Tenet Points. Whether or not a character gains Tenet Points is always at the discretion of the ST in the given scene, and all scenes that can gain Tenet Points must be performed at game and verified by an ST. A player may always contact staff and ask about gaining tenet points for a scene that did not have an ST witness. Tenet points cannot be gained for downtime actions or any other actions that did not have a scene.
In order to justify raising one's Path Rating, he or she must accrue a number of Tenet Points equal to the level of the Path he or she wishes to raise to (so someone currently at Path Rating of 5 must gain 6 Tenet Points to raise to level 6). Upon gaining the necessary number of Tenet Points, the player simply has to spend the xp and he or she will be able to raise his or her Path Rating. Upon raising one's Path Rating, all currently accrued Tenet Points are lost, and new ones must be gained to raise one's Path Rating again.
Tenet Points are ephemeral and easily lost however. They are a precarious stack of virtues and self-esteem that can be easily toppled. If ever a character needs to make a Degeneration check, regardless of success or failure, he or she will lose all currently accrued Tenet Points, and must begin gaining them again from nothing.
Switching Paths is a similar system. To begin the process of switching from one Path to another, the character must be at a rating of 3 or less on his or her current Path. The character must then begin accruing Tenet Points in the Path he or she wishes to switch to. In order to justify making the Catharsis check, a character must accrue 10 Tenet Points. Unlike Tenet Points gained in one's current Path however, these are not lost if the character faces a Degeneration check in her current Path. Once all 10 Tenet Points are gained, the character may make the Catharsis check (Willpower roll at difficulty 10 if at Path Rating 3, 8 if at Path Rating 2, or 6 if at Path Rating 1). If the check fails, the character automatically loses a point of their current Path and loses all Tenet Points. In order to try to switch Paths again, he or she must reacquire 10 more Tenet Points before making another Catharsis check. If the check succeeds, the character successfully switches Paths with a rating in their new Path dependent on the successes gained on the Catharsis check (1 or 2 successes gain a new Path rating of 1, 3 or 4 successes gain a new Path rating of 2, and 5 or more successes gain a new Path rating of 3). As with raising one's Path Rating, switching Paths removes all currently accrued Tenet Points, requiring new ones to be earned in order to raise one's Path.
A character's current tally of Tenet Points will be tracked by the staff in Grapevine and can be checked at any time.
