Sanctum: The Fallout / Ends and Means

I didn't really have much to report on Sanctum with this particular test-session.

Everything appears to be running pretty smoothly, although I admit that I have a few concerns; I'll go through them here.

Two sheets, one character? 

I'm a little concerned.    The player of Joy asked if she could have two character sheets since her character had a split personality and one side was a pathalogical killer; I had a problem with this.   I wanted to be on the same level with Adam and so after talking it over, we came to the same conclusion; there should never be more than one character sheet for a single character.   While the goals and how someone might manage those goals may be different, they -are- all the same person.  Superman and Clark Kent are two persona's, but even they are one person and the abilities don't change, even if one personality doesn't use those abilities, or appear to have those motives.

My concern extends a bit beyond this though.  We allowed the player to buy an additional Ends to account for her personality split, but I don't think I'm comfortable with the change after seeing it in play.  With the original backstory, the character was raised in a pysch ward and sheltered from the world, never having seen the outside world, etc.  With the change, her alter-ego is a murderer as well.   I am fine with the killer/killing aspect but I'm also a little concerned now.   The character is being played as a trained assassin who is exceptionally good at what she does when in her alter-ego; I see a big problem with this.

The biggest conflict that jumps to mind is I believe that with the new changes, an ordinary character has suddenly become extraordinary...and this is against the concept of the game for this playtest.  (Not in sanctum in general but with this playtest)  While a child raised in a psych ward with split personalities isn't extraordinary; having the split personality having been trained/brainwashed to be a extremely well trained killer is.

I couldn't pinpoint what was bothering me at first, but now that I've filtered it through, I think I am going to have to communicate my expectations better, and talk to the player; as well as Adam when he gets back from Mexico.   I don't think it was very clear to me what was intended until several NPC deaths later and some of the explanations given for things that happened during those scenes.

Joy is no longer ordinary with the changes to her sheet.   While I have nothing wrong with a character becoming extraordinary, the change wasn't made in a way that suggests it happened because of Sanctum.  This isn't really the player's fault; I think the concept just evolved past what she might have intended and that it got carried away a bit.  Going back to the foundation of Sanctum with this playtest though, Joy has become something that doesn't fit with the standard of ordinary.  I'm going to have to talk with the player about what to do to fix the issue, and I'm going to have to make sure that as a Stage-Hand, I make sure that it doesn't happen in the future.

Time for the long-overdue blog post!

Here's the stuff I've been considering in light of recent playtests.

The Simplification Experiment

We made the change this game to have narrators simply number their Ends and Means from one up, and to give everyone a single Plot Point. I liked the one major difference in play I observed: people sharing Plot Points among one another. When Trevor, Aleira and Moira were working to save Sergei's life, they pooled their Plot to ensure that the first Foil -- Aleira, with no Means -- could Steal the Scene from me.

I liked that because it reinforces the collaborative style of this game (as opposed to a competitive style). And I like that I got there by simplifying the pre-game prep.

Continuing along this path will involve making all costs in Potential cheaper; giving one Potential for attendance; numbering down from your Weight Limit instead of numbering up from one; offering the ability to spend Potential at game start for bonus Plot Points (at 2:1 or 3:1); and other changes to balance the new economy.

Scenarios

Perhaps it's too expensive; perhaps the option isn't visible enough; perhaps the benefit isn't compelling enough -- but in four games, nobody has purchased a Scenario yet. That gives me pause. I had pictured a different behavior.

It could be for entirely positive reasons. I designed Scenarios to address common game dysfunctions, after all: you buy one when you're bored, or when your personal plots aren't being addressed, or when the Stagehands are too wrapped up in their own stuff. If our game isn't having any of those problems, well then -- naturally nobody avails of their solution!

Cues

I'm disappointed with Cues so far. They're not doing what I want. I want them to a) help entangle people's stories in unexpected ways, and b) provide an independent-of-Stagehands measure for the important things you've done in the game. It doesn't look to me like that's happening.

I learned an interesting lesson when I accidentally stepped on a Cue Collette had put up; I never even considered that when I'm stirring the pot as a Stagehand, I should take care to avoid fulfilling Cues. Those are obviously meant for players to claim; Collette was disappointed when I took the plot in a direction that curtailed that, stepping in as the Librarian to "answer" for the bludgeoning of her "slave boy."

Tonya provided some heartfelt criticism around b). She feels like Moira is fulfilling her Ends, but she has no way to claim the mechanical awards for doing that, without engaging the Cue system -- which has for her, thus far, been irrelevant. She's done a whole lot of hardcore roleplaying, chasing her goals hard, never even going near the Cue Board. I wish I had a way to reward her for it, but I'm unwilling to step in with a declaration of "Look, I'm a Stagehand!" and bestow blessing.

I want Cues to measure progress toward your goals. I want Stagehands to have nothing to do with that measurement. I want the system to either resist collusion between players, or not be broken by it. How to do that? Design is hard!