I like that answer. The character cannot control the Bear in him now. He has trouble staying awake in winter. He is grumpy. He is nearsighted. He is short-tempered. He is crazy for honey. Any, or all, of these flaws make him difficult (and stimulating) to play in a social context. And, of course, he falls for every challenge, every trap designed by Bear Ennemies.
- Mail original -----
De: "boztakang" <daniel.mccluskey_at_2n0INERz6ZM1zGbuKGncm1g4smgf406t7VG_-qChbnpWm-ucGPjfndMVvXtpvzLUaXEit3_bT59JnkoxapyljjTltHeP_A.yahoo.invalid>
À: WorldofGlorantha_at_yahoogroups.com
Envoyé: Mercredi 12 Décembre 2012 22:00:04
Objet: Re: Failed initiation
>
> I recently ran into a situation I've never encountered before. A PC
> tried to initiate into the cult of Odayla and failed to kill the bear.
>
While such an event is an obvious chance for you to ask the player "so... what is your character concept plan B?" if they are deeply invested in being Odaylan, I would interpret the result as meaning that The Bear now Lives within him - he still gets nifty bear powers, but has a difficult time controlling them.
Give him a flaw like "More Bear than Man" or "Brother of Bears" and carry on with the initiation. The player keeps the character concept they want, and as Narrator you get a whole slew of interesting plot hooks where the Heroes have to deal with the fact that one of their number is effectively a were-bear :-)
Remember that failure isn't about punishing the player - but about creating an interesting story.