Reputation in HERO WARS

From: Michael Schwartz <mschwartz_at_...>
Date: Sat, 17 Feb 2001 18:22:05 -0500


I have always preferred the literary definition of heroes, as ordinary people who are thrust into extraordinary circumstances and (for good or ill) must learn to cope (my bias as holder of a Literature degree, no doubt). I became enamored of the use to which reputation could be put in reinforcing that definition in my roleplaying youth. Many a delightful scenario arose when the heroes' competence-as-perceived-by-others... a thing apart from their lesser actual ability... drove them into wild and cheerful misadventure which nearly proved overwhelming.

Several players during my HERO WARS playtest selected abilities for their heroes which dealt more with how others perceived them than with physical, mental or personality traits. On the basis of these perceptions, the heroes' supporting characters would approach them to voice concerns (often unfounded), offer advice (often useless), make accusations (often baseless), or assign tasks (often those which the heroes would otherwise prefer to avoid or postpone).

Though generally handy for enhancement in persuasion, intimidation or relationship contests, these occasionally worked against the heroes (such as when my playtesters' heroes attempted to enter Boldhome incognito and came under the watchful eye of Lunar guardsmen at the gate). I wish to suggest an optional new ability category, Reputation, which covers these slightly different abilities, along with brief guidelines for using abilities of this type to enhance HERO WARS play.

In addition to their aforementioned use as enhancements, Reputations make an excellent means to randomly trigger personal crises which affect the heroes. These can be generated in a way similar to triggered episodes (Narrator's Book, p. 16), but originate from character-related causes rather threats to the community. In this way, Reputations serve as an impetus for the creation of new character-driven episodes.

Here are a few examples:

Of course, a Reputation that is favorable in one place may be unfavorable in another, as the aforementioned heroes discovered when they attempted to conceal their identities in order to enter Boldhome unrecognized. I initiated a Simple Contest of the heroes' Appear Non-descript, Pass Beneath Notice and Disguise abilities versus their Reputations augmented by the guards' Suspicious. The results I outlined were:

  Any Victory: Guards ignore the hero;
  Marginal Defeat: Guards scrutinize the hero briefly;   Minor Defeat: Guards ask to see the hero's papers;   Major Defeat: Guards detain the hero for questioning;   Complete Defeat: Guards recognize the hero and attempt

     to capture him.

(An Extended Contest would have worked too, had I wanted to increase the dramatic tension a notch or three. The reduction of a hero below zero AP would have the same effect as losing the Simple Contest, and a guard reduced below zero AP would lose interest in the heroes. Yet another option would be a Concurrent Contest, where the heroes are not facing the individual guardsmen but a nebulous "Lunar Watchfulness". This is a nice trade-off between Extended and Simple Contests in this situation, and that "Watchfulness" ability can additionally be used as resistance should the heroes choose to skulk about the city after curfew.)

Thought? Opinions?

--
Michael Richard Schwartz | Language is my playground,
mschwartz_at_... | and words, its slides and
Ann Arbor, Michigan  USA | swingsets. -- yours truly

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