Kesnit
2013-09-09, 09:13 AM
My gaming group just started a Hero game. After one session, I've run into a problem that I need a solution to.
Setting: It's a medieval setting. In-world, the "Rapture" occurred about 1000 AD. However, only a small number of people were taken, and instead of going to Heaven, they were sent to another world (the setting of the game). There are several other sentient species in this world, but over generations, humans manages to carve out land for themselves.
There's two kinds of casters, "crack casters" and "attuned." Attuned are bound to spirits. They can cast just about anything, as long as they have Action Points available at the time of casting and the spell fits with the "theme" of their spirit. (Also, as approved by the GM. Since we are just starting, the casting is limited because the cap on our Action Points is low.) "Crack casters" (our name for them) cast like D&D psionics, except with mana points instead of psionic points. Mana points are recharged by drinking potions, which are made from crushing up "blue rocks." It takes a great deal of skill in Alchemy to make mana potions, so the only way to get them is to buy them from Alchemists. Unlike psionics, they do not learn spells automatically. Rather, they need to find them, either from other "crack caster's" spell books, or by finding ancient books and symbols in hidden ruins.
Characters: The PCs all grew up in a very small village that raised sheep. Other than going to the next village to trade, they have never been away from their home village. I can't remember the PCs names, so will refer to them by the initials of the player
G: G is playing an attuned, with the "Paladin" theme. His spirit is an archangel, and his spells focus on buffing himself to be a tank.
J: J is the only non-caster. He is a melee fighter, focusing on massive damage.
L: L is a crack caster. The GM went through the D&D 3.5 PHB and converted as many as possible level 0 and 1 spells to Hero, then let L pick 10 as her starting spell list. (She will learn more and higher level spells as we grow stronger.) She took mostly damage, with a few control spells.
Me: I'm also an attuned, with the "Assassin" theme. My spirit is a shadowy figure, and my spells focus on making me stealthy.
The problem lies between my character and G's. Although I originally intended to play my character as a James Bond-ish character who kills "for the greater good," that mental image changed during our first session. Between the way I played and the way the GM set up me finding and binding with my spirit, he's changed into a cross between James Bond and a member of the Dark Brotherhood from The Elder Scrolls series. (The James Bond comes from having high social skills, intended to allow him to get close to his target.)
G's character, on the other hand, is VERY "good." He is playing up the LG (through not Lawful Stupid) Paladin image.
OOC, I don't see this being a problem. We have been friends for years, the others have been playing together for years. (I played with them before moving out of state for 3 years. When I moved back, I rejoined them.) G is like a little brother to me, and was the best man at my wedding. I know the others well enough to know that they will tell me if my RP is getting on their nerves.
My concern is IC. G and I worked out a long-term goal for his character and mine. (There is a land to the south where attuned have gone to carve out mini-kingdoms for themselves. Our idea is to eventually have our PC's go there and claim land with him as "Good King G" and me as his spymaster who gets his hands dirty so G doesn't have to.) But that is a long-term goal, and one we won't learn about IC for some time. Until then, we need a reason for our PC's to stay together, and for G's PC not to kill mine. (It would be very easy. I built for stealth and with the idea that if I am in melee range, something is wrong. My defenses against melee are low.) At first, he'll stay with them because he's new to the Big World, but that can only last so long. Eventually, IC, he would probably want to strike off and becoming The Most Feared Assassin In The Land!tm
Setting: It's a medieval setting. In-world, the "Rapture" occurred about 1000 AD. However, only a small number of people were taken, and instead of going to Heaven, they were sent to another world (the setting of the game). There are several other sentient species in this world, but over generations, humans manages to carve out land for themselves.
There's two kinds of casters, "crack casters" and "attuned." Attuned are bound to spirits. They can cast just about anything, as long as they have Action Points available at the time of casting and the spell fits with the "theme" of their spirit. (Also, as approved by the GM. Since we are just starting, the casting is limited because the cap on our Action Points is low.) "Crack casters" (our name for them) cast like D&D psionics, except with mana points instead of psionic points. Mana points are recharged by drinking potions, which are made from crushing up "blue rocks." It takes a great deal of skill in Alchemy to make mana potions, so the only way to get them is to buy them from Alchemists. Unlike psionics, they do not learn spells automatically. Rather, they need to find them, either from other "crack caster's" spell books, or by finding ancient books and symbols in hidden ruins.
Characters: The PCs all grew up in a very small village that raised sheep. Other than going to the next village to trade, they have never been away from their home village. I can't remember the PCs names, so will refer to them by the initials of the player
G: G is playing an attuned, with the "Paladin" theme. His spirit is an archangel, and his spells focus on buffing himself to be a tank.
J: J is the only non-caster. He is a melee fighter, focusing on massive damage.
L: L is a crack caster. The GM went through the D&D 3.5 PHB and converted as many as possible level 0 and 1 spells to Hero, then let L pick 10 as her starting spell list. (She will learn more and higher level spells as we grow stronger.) She took mostly damage, with a few control spells.
Me: I'm also an attuned, with the "Assassin" theme. My spirit is a shadowy figure, and my spells focus on making me stealthy.
The problem lies between my character and G's. Although I originally intended to play my character as a James Bond-ish character who kills "for the greater good," that mental image changed during our first session. Between the way I played and the way the GM set up me finding and binding with my spirit, he's changed into a cross between James Bond and a member of the Dark Brotherhood from The Elder Scrolls series. (The James Bond comes from having high social skills, intended to allow him to get close to his target.)
G's character, on the other hand, is VERY "good." He is playing up the LG (through not Lawful Stupid) Paladin image.
OOC, I don't see this being a problem. We have been friends for years, the others have been playing together for years. (I played with them before moving out of state for 3 years. When I moved back, I rejoined them.) G is like a little brother to me, and was the best man at my wedding. I know the others well enough to know that they will tell me if my RP is getting on their nerves.
My concern is IC. G and I worked out a long-term goal for his character and mine. (There is a land to the south where attuned have gone to carve out mini-kingdoms for themselves. Our idea is to eventually have our PC's go there and claim land with him as "Good King G" and me as his spymaster who gets his hands dirty so G doesn't have to.) But that is a long-term goal, and one we won't learn about IC for some time. Until then, we need a reason for our PC's to stay together, and for G's PC not to kill mine. (It would be very easy. I built for stealth and with the idea that if I am in melee range, something is wrong. My defenses against melee are low.) At first, he'll stay with them because he's new to the Big World, but that can only last so long. Eventually, IC, he would probably want to strike off and becoming The Most Feared Assassin In The Land!tm