Westchesterville--80s New Mutants
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Joel P. Shempert
Feb 6, 2011, 2:05:02 PM2/6/11
to Somethingville
Hi, folks! I'm Joel, and i'm new to the Somethingville list, so I
thought I'd say hello!
My friends and I just did the Pathways for our first Smallville game--
Marvel's new Mutants, of early-to-mid 80s vintage. I did a thread on
Story-Games.com trying to work out some prep issues, including
renaming Values:
http://story-games.com/forums/comments.php?DiscussionID=13742&page=1#Comment_311012
The end result is, I changed Justice to Scruples, and i'ts turned out
to be a solid choice--it encompasses statements that COULD be Justice,
and makes sense for all the spots where Justice comes up in the
Pathways, but its tone fits more with what that issue is ABOUT in 80s
X-books. The mutant heroes are generally on the same page with what
they want to accomplish, but often differ strikingly in what they're
willing to do to achieve it!
Our Leads are Sam (Cannonball), Roberto (Sunspot), Dani (Mirage),
Amara (Magma) and Rahne (Wolfsbane).
Our Features, as of Pathways completion, are Professor X, Dr. Moira
MacTaggert, Selene (The Black Queen), and James Proudstar (of the
Hellions).
Our Extras are Thomas Guthrie (deceased father), Emmanuel Da Costa
('berto's father), and Kitty Pryde.
We stopped Pathways after Life-Changing event. Going all the way to
Veteran didn't feel right, and it's fine if the characters' abilities
are a little green. However, looking over the R-map, it feels like we
could afford to fill out relationships just a LITTLE, like, slotting
in some extras to complete the 80s New Mutants lineup. I'm thinking
Illyana Rasputin (Magik), Doug Ramsey (Cipher), Senator Lucius
Antonius Aquila (Amara's father), and perhaps Emma Frost and a couple
of Hellions--Catspaw who's friends with Rahne, and Empath who loves
Amara. There's also Lila Cheney, the intergalactic thieving rock star
who loves Sam. I;m not sure how far to go with this kind of tinkering,
though...my impression is that part of Pathways setup's purpose is to
flag what's important to the players and the characters, and coming in
as GM afterward and saying "Actually, players, all these other things
are important to your Leads as well, because I say so" is bad form.
On a similar note, it seems to me that Emmanuel Da Costa--the slave-
become tycoon who's alienated his family and craves ascension in the
hellfire Club--should be a Feature. But I like the rule that to make
Feature, a character has to have a relationship with at least two
Leads. And try as I might, I cant' figure how Da Costa has any
connection to the other New mutants. the other kids may occasionally
interact with him, but his focus is always on Roberto, 'berto's
mother, or the Hellfire Club.
anyway, we start play proper in a few days. Perhaps the solution is to
solicit buy-in: ASK the players, does anyone want Doug as an Extra?
How about Empath? How about Lila Cheney, Sam's player?"
Any advice from those more experienced than I?
Peace,
-Joel
thought I'd say hello!
My friends and I just did the Pathways for our first Smallville game--
Marvel's new Mutants, of early-to-mid 80s vintage. I did a thread on
Story-Games.com trying to work out some prep issues, including
renaming Values:
http://story-games.com/forums/comments.php?DiscussionID=13742&page=1#Comment_311012
The end result is, I changed Justice to Scruples, and i'ts turned out
to be a solid choice--it encompasses statements that COULD be Justice,
and makes sense for all the spots where Justice comes up in the
Pathways, but its tone fits more with what that issue is ABOUT in 80s
X-books. The mutant heroes are generally on the same page with what
they want to accomplish, but often differ strikingly in what they're
willing to do to achieve it!
Our Leads are Sam (Cannonball), Roberto (Sunspot), Dani (Mirage),
Amara (Magma) and Rahne (Wolfsbane).
Our Features, as of Pathways completion, are Professor X, Dr. Moira
MacTaggert, Selene (The Black Queen), and James Proudstar (of the
Hellions).
Our Extras are Thomas Guthrie (deceased father), Emmanuel Da Costa
('berto's father), and Kitty Pryde.
We stopped Pathways after Life-Changing event. Going all the way to
Veteran didn't feel right, and it's fine if the characters' abilities
are a little green. However, looking over the R-map, it feels like we
could afford to fill out relationships just a LITTLE, like, slotting
in some extras to complete the 80s New Mutants lineup. I'm thinking
Illyana Rasputin (Magik), Doug Ramsey (Cipher), Senator Lucius
Antonius Aquila (Amara's father), and perhaps Emma Frost and a couple
of Hellions--Catspaw who's friends with Rahne, and Empath who loves
Amara. There's also Lila Cheney, the intergalactic thieving rock star
who loves Sam. I;m not sure how far to go with this kind of tinkering,
though...my impression is that part of Pathways setup's purpose is to
flag what's important to the players and the characters, and coming in
as GM afterward and saying "Actually, players, all these other things
are important to your Leads as well, because I say so" is bad form.
On a similar note, it seems to me that Emmanuel Da Costa--the slave-
become tycoon who's alienated his family and craves ascension in the
hellfire Club--should be a Feature. But I like the rule that to make
Feature, a character has to have a relationship with at least two
Leads. And try as I might, I cant' figure how Da Costa has any
connection to the other New mutants. the other kids may occasionally
interact with him, but his focus is always on Roberto, 'berto's
mother, or the Hellfire Club.
anyway, we start play proper in a few days. Perhaps the solution is to
solicit buy-in: ASK the players, does anyone want Doug as an Extra?
How about Empath? How about Lila Cheney, Sam's player?"
Any advice from those more experienced than I?
Peace,
-Joel
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