Post by Kevin K on Oct 10, 2005 10:14:59 GMT -8
So, I've been thinking about all the torpor that's been happening. More than that, I've been thinking about all the potentials for character destruction that goes along with this much combat. We've been lucky so far, but I think it's time to discuss a truism that is borne out again and again in the World of Darkness:
There is a distinct possibility that your character is going to die like a punk.
What does it mean to die like a punk? It means all the damage (or all the important damage) happens within a single turn. Your character's existance vanishes in an single eyeblink of celerity actions executed by one or more masters of combat skills who are already pumped to the gills in the relevant physical stats. Maybe you get two turns.
What leads to dying like a punk? Interestingly, the probability of your character dying like a punk is directly proportional to your character being able to put down other characters like the punks they are. Put another way, the more powerful you are, the more likely your foes know it, and will arrange a situation so lopsided that you are guaranteed to die like a punk. Maybe you get two turns.
How do you avoid dying like a punk? The main thing about dying like a punk is that the point of your salvation, the point where a different decision can save you, is often weeks in the past. Your adversary has worked to ensure that it is not, under any circumstances, in the combat you are (or by the second round, were) facing. Be suspicious of your friends, and cautious of your enemies. Be careful of the reputation you create around yourself.
How does a punk get set up this way? Know that your storytellers, while we support the idea of punks existing and ultimately getting what (some think) is coming to them, are also working hard for backlash. Planning murder leads, for some, to humanity checks, which can lead to derangements that reveal your purposes. Kindred with Auspex do have a danger sense, should they choose to employ it. There is rarely such a thing as a perfect set-up, and if there is, it often involves so many other Kindred that it provides its own potential for a traitor to warn the punk in question. We're going to work hard to give the punk every reasonable chance.
But in the end, know this: It's great to be known as the baddest badass on the block, you can throw your weight around and get what you want. Kindred fear you and you can control your own destiny. Right up until you die like a punk.
Other thoughts?
-AST Kevin
There is a distinct possibility that your character is going to die like a punk.
What does it mean to die like a punk? It means all the damage (or all the important damage) happens within a single turn. Your character's existance vanishes in an single eyeblink of celerity actions executed by one or more masters of combat skills who are already pumped to the gills in the relevant physical stats. Maybe you get two turns.
What leads to dying like a punk? Interestingly, the probability of your character dying like a punk is directly proportional to your character being able to put down other characters like the punks they are. Put another way, the more powerful you are, the more likely your foes know it, and will arrange a situation so lopsided that you are guaranteed to die like a punk. Maybe you get two turns.
How do you avoid dying like a punk? The main thing about dying like a punk is that the point of your salvation, the point where a different decision can save you, is often weeks in the past. Your adversary has worked to ensure that it is not, under any circumstances, in the combat you are (or by the second round, were) facing. Be suspicious of your friends, and cautious of your enemies. Be careful of the reputation you create around yourself.
How does a punk get set up this way? Know that your storytellers, while we support the idea of punks existing and ultimately getting what (some think) is coming to them, are also working hard for backlash. Planning murder leads, for some, to humanity checks, which can lead to derangements that reveal your purposes. Kindred with Auspex do have a danger sense, should they choose to employ it. There is rarely such a thing as a perfect set-up, and if there is, it often involves so many other Kindred that it provides its own potential for a traitor to warn the punk in question. We're going to work hard to give the punk every reasonable chance.
But in the end, know this: It's great to be known as the baddest badass on the block, you can throw your weight around and get what you want. Kindred fear you and you can control your own destiny. Right up until you die like a punk.
Other thoughts?
-AST Kevin
