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Post by HourEleven on Sept 26, 2014 10:45:54 GMT -8
So Promethean is the only WoD game I haven't run before. I'm prepping a game at the moment. From a GM perspective, there is some peculiarities to writing a Promethean game. Almost every other WoD game involves some form of outsider hiding their true nature from humanity. But usually there is some way they have designed to blend in 'effectively.' Werewolves in human form have a near perfect disguise, vampires need to be able to blend to feed (giving the nosferatu the challenge of not being able to hunt socially). Running a game where NPCs recoil in horror and act out with open disgust against the PCs poses some interesting challenges. At what point does those scenes of human violence against the PCs stop being affective? NPCs are the primary tool of the GM, and I feel like my range of uses for them is a little crippled. I understand the thematic necessity of dangling the prize the cannot have before their faces, but I think limiting the ways they can truly interact with humans robs me of ways to show them what they are really missing out on...
I never, ever, run a game as written, though. So I'm probably going to make some changes to the way a lot of things work in the system. It feels a bit too rigid as written.
Thoughts from GMs of WoD in general (it's always a similar process of mood and theme), and those who have run Promethean specifically?
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Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Sept 29, 2014 14:33:26 GMT -8
You can make it so that the NPCs don't think of the characters as monsters.
So for example I ran a Promethean game where the PCs ran into a cult that actually were very quasi sci-fi. They worshiped the PCs but still tried to use them as tools/weapons to server their own purpose.
Or for example a character like the Thing, Ben Grim. He got himself a blind girlfriend. Not that every NPC needs to be blind but you can make sure that your NPCs don't have a huge biased toward what most people find normal. Carnival workers for instance.
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firefly525
Initiate Douchebag
Posts: 3
Preferred Game Systems: GURPS or Traveler
Currently Playing: Savage Worlds, GURPS, and soon Rifts and Hero
Currently Running: Traveler
Favorite Species of Monkey: Terrifying Space Monkeys
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Post by firefly525 on Oct 23, 2014 8:12:53 GMT -8
I'd say if you look into children as possible NPCs (thinking of Young Frankenstein)
Promethean's main theme is Isolation so there may be just a few NPCs that are understanding of the group. This fact has always held me back from trying to run a Promethean game. Id be interested to know how a game as written would actually go
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Post by The Northman on Oct 26, 2014 17:33:01 GMT -8
Seattle has a huge population of street kids who might make a perfect community for your PCs to hide among. Check out the US version of The Killing for reference.
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Post by ironnikki on Nov 4, 2014 13:49:05 GMT -8
Yeah, I've always wanted to give Promethean a shot. I think that it's one of those games where you have to really know your players and be frank with what they're getting themselves into. I haven't read the Promethean book in a while, so I can't claim to remember most of the rules, but here's what I'd do.
Some people in the world will react violently to the PCs immediately, but socially, that's not acceptable. So, every single person on the street is not likely to just pummel the PCs. NPCs that you like, or that you'd like to have stick around for a while might just perceive the PCs in a negative light. For example, the first time they interact, the NPC perceives a tone in the Promethean's voice, imagined or not, that he or she finds slightly off-putting. Maybe the next time they interact, the Promethean makes a gesture that the NPC finds offensive, even though he or she wouldn't be offended if anybody else had done it. Pretty soon, the NPC is convinced that the Promethean is trying to steal his or her friends, or is only acting friendly because he or she wants their money, etc.
The above approach accomplishes a few things: it adds depth to the Promethean's plight by varying NPC response, it makes relationships much more valuable because they can still happen, and it makes it hurt more when things go to shit.
I get the feeling that you're planning something similar. After all, a grayscale world is much more interesting than a black and white one. Let us know how the game turns out! One of these days I'll get around to trying to run Promethean as well.
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Post by The Northman on Nov 4, 2014 16:49:14 GMT -8
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Post by ironnikki on Feb 3, 2015 7:44:15 GMT -8
I wanted to chime in here again to say that my group is starting a bi-weekly Promethean game next week. I'm going to try to use Disquiet as written, but will probably tone down the Wasteland rules, as none of us are interested in playing a troupe of nomads. The players are totally new to Promethean and pretty new to nWoD in general, so we're all pretty excited to see what happens!
HourEleven, have you already run the Promethean game that you were prepping? If so, how did it pan out?
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Post by supergyro on Sept 6, 2015 19:54:03 GMT -8
In Promethean, the characters can blend into society, at least at first. Humans see prometheans as looking human, and the disfigurements only show if and when the promethean uses their abilities in human presence.
However, the rhythm of Promethean is one of a clock ticking, things will eventually turn on the PC's, requiring them to move on somewhere and start over.
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