ArcheiosAggelos
07-24-2008, 11:02 AM
I'm getting ready to start up my 5th or so Burning Wheel game, and have decided that I would really like to get a couple of the little things right that I feel I've been fudging a bit. It feels great to be comfortable with the game to the point where I can really address some of the smaller bits now.
What guidelines do you guys use for awarding Fate Artha regarding Traits? Generally, I see Character Traits as the Artha machines. Do you feel likewise? And given that, does the character get a Fate for playing his character Traits to the hilt in the game, or only when doing so really changes the story in a big way?
For instance, in my last game, I had a player whose character was Bitter (he was both a Bastard and a Failed Acolyte, so you'd better believe that he was one pissed dude). He did an excellent job of playing him as a Bitter young man, and of playing against that Trait at the appropriate moments, and it led to good story, so I usually gave him a Fate for that sucker every session. However, I'm not sure that his bitterness ever really impacted the story on quite the level of the clumsy character fumbling the McGuffin in the example from the book. Having this Bitter guy around who was learning to trust and become more positive definitely made the game feel great, but it didn't add that level of excitement that dropping the Ring would!
So, two hypotheticals:
1) The Bitter guy refuses to trust the NPC informant who is trying to get him to see that his father, the Duke, is really the good guy in this situation. Instead, he heads off with information about his father to a rival.
2) The Bitter guy is reluctant to do any of the above, and plays out the conflict in character with sarcasm and agony.
Now, I know that the first scenario is definitely worth a Fate. He has obviously changed the direction of the story with his Trait. What about the second, however?
What guidelines do you guys use for awarding Fate Artha regarding Traits? Generally, I see Character Traits as the Artha machines. Do you feel likewise? And given that, does the character get a Fate for playing his character Traits to the hilt in the game, or only when doing so really changes the story in a big way?
For instance, in my last game, I had a player whose character was Bitter (he was both a Bastard and a Failed Acolyte, so you'd better believe that he was one pissed dude). He did an excellent job of playing him as a Bitter young man, and of playing against that Trait at the appropriate moments, and it led to good story, so I usually gave him a Fate for that sucker every session. However, I'm not sure that his bitterness ever really impacted the story on quite the level of the clumsy character fumbling the McGuffin in the example from the book. Having this Bitter guy around who was learning to trust and become more positive definitely made the game feel great, but it didn't add that level of excitement that dropping the Ring would!
So, two hypotheticals:
1) The Bitter guy refuses to trust the NPC informant who is trying to get him to see that his father, the Duke, is really the good guy in this situation. Instead, he heads off with information about his father to a rival.
2) The Bitter guy is reluctant to do any of the above, and plays out the conflict in character with sarcasm and agony.
Now, I know that the first scenario is definitely worth a Fate. He has obviously changed the direction of the story with his Trait. What about the second, however?