Luke and Thor Brainstorm Beliefs

[luke]

I'm working on a new con scenario. This one is called Inheritance. You play a Viking family on the eve of the death of their grandfather and patriarch. Lots of internal strife as the players vy for the inheritiance.

I came up with a rough draft of the Beliefs for the characters and then I sent them over to Thor with a very rough relationship map. Thor gave me his input.

Father -- Tyrvald
Einherjar betrayed me—he is cast out of the family!

It was grandfather’s wish that Grisbearn and Rän marry.

Mighty Thor watches over my family’s fortunes. We must honor him in accordance with the old ways.

These are good. How about:

Einherjar defied the laws of the gods to bring kinstrife to our hall. I
cannot slay my son as is proper, but I will ensure that he remains dead to this family.

It was grandfather's wish that Grisbearn and Rän marry in the old way, and the gods declare a dying man's request is a bond unto his sons.

Mighty Thor watches over my family's fortunes. We must honor him in
accordance with the old ways or be cursed to wither to nothing.

See how Thor took the core concepts of my original drafts and made them personal? Instead of obliquely stated concepts, he turned them into a call for action.

Mother -- Fulla's Second Belief
I am guilty of a great sin—Einherjar murdered Baldir to protect me.

Great. I love these. One question though: what is she going to do about the second one? Does she need absolution? Does she need to protect Einherjar? Does she need Einherjar to seek absolution? Also, I think she needs to push her faith more. She needs beliefs that are going to drive her into a confrontation with Gefjon over faith. Much as I like these, none of them are going to drive her into conflict with anyone, really.

See, I have a nice strong core Belief, but Thor sharpens it by asking, "What are you going to do about it?"

I changed it to this: I am guilty of a great sin—Einherjar murdered Baldir to protect me. Now I must shield him from Tyrvald’s wrath and gain him the forgiveness he’s deserved.

By shifting Tyrvald's Beliefs and giving this Belief and action/behavior, we've created conflict between two of the characters -- Mother vs Father!

Christian Missionary -- Ansgar
Tyrvald trusts me because of my talent with finances.

These are good. I want you to take the first one further. Obviously needs to increase Tyrvald's trust of him in order to carry out his second belief. The answer is in the first belief somewhere, but I'm not sure what it is yet. Also, I realize he needs to be circumspect, but he also needs to push the conflict with Gefjon if the religion thing is going to go anywhere.

Ok, so I changed Ansgar's first belief to this:
Tyrvald trusts me because of my talent with finances. I must show him he can trust Christ with his soul.

Uncle -- Kaare's second Belief:

Cousin Tyrvald is a great friend and has helped me through tough times.

These are excellent. I'll add to the second belief:

Cousin Tyrvald is a great friend and has helped me through tough times, now I must do the same for him.

A simple twist and Kaare's got a call to action.

hope that helps you all parse the Belief Burning process a little better. Look for Inheritance on the con circuit this coming year! The first run is this Saturday.

-L

[Kublai]

An excellent workshop, both of you!

[Kaare Berg]

A simple twist and Kaare's got a call to action.

Now that is the truth.

[MetalBard]

I will make sure to note this belief writing tip next time I burn a character. Great examples on how to change beliefs so they contain a call to action.

Also, great idea for a one-shot with Inheritance. I look forward to downloading it from the site...