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Regarding the Duchess's new belief, I'd like it to be something that would at least come in play a little in the next game. Except, I don't have any direction in mind to take the belief/the character. Does anyone have any ideas? Like, any?
By the by- I love the current song choices for Jack and Madeline. Yeah Yeah Yeah and Azure Ray FTW.
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Weeeeeell, the next game is going to be pretty tense, with the Sergeant attempting to undermine everything the Green Men stand for. The characters will all have to reevaluate their goals and their motives in this time of uncertainty.
I would almost say that the Duchess' new belief would have something to do with the conversation she had with Jack and Tristam. To what extent is she willing to sacrifice her moral integrity for the 'greater good,' especially when it's the greater good according to somebody whose moral integrity is entirely questionable.
What kind of decision is she likely to make regarding the unresolved situation left at the end of last game? I think whatever she does would correlate with her new belief.
Brent, you're good with Beliefs; input?
Also, welcome to the blog! :3 Now we just need to see Dave here.
The first thing that comes to my mind is along the lines of, "I have spent too much of my life in the power of others; I will not allow myself to be controlled again." But, I'm just throwing ideas out.
As long as we're discussing the Duchess, I'm curious as to whether Jack's feelings for her are entirely one-sided or if she's grown fond of him, too over the course of their riding lessons.
I also agree with your suggestion that the Belief should relate to the conversation at the end, and there's certainly plenty there. Before I come up with any actual suggested wordings, I'd like to know how the Duchess feels about both going along with the plot to murder Gerard and the possibility of being "sent away" from the Green Men(and how you feel about it as a player, Jenna).
PS: if you like the songs for Jack and Madeline, you should check out Lady Anna's. XD
I think she will probably go along with their plan, basically. Mostly because I feel that's the best place for the story to go, so I still need some character-justification for it. Maybe something along the lines of "I must enact what is best for the country, regardless of my own personal reservations/morals."
As per her relationship with Jack, I'm still trying to decide whether she thinks his affections are Courtly, Sincere, or Idol-Worshipy. I can't remember if she knew that she freed him personally from prison, or if she's freed so many she doesn't remember- that would certainly effect their relationship. On the other hand, what's not to like? Robin Hood + Willem Dafoe is about as dashing as I can imagine.
In any case, probably she would have trouble expressing any romantic intentions, given her noble upbringing.
I don't know how long it's been since I've been in a game with any kind of romantic undertones. Especially ones involving anything akin to roleplaying. :P
Really, I'm intrigued, but I don't expect anything in particular.
All I can say is, if I were the Duchess, I would probably still be a little terrified of the leader of the Green Men. I also can't say whether or not I feel he's been particularly dashing. Let's look at his traits: Arrogant? Spooky? Hmmm... Booming Voice? Goodness! Coupled with his grim demeanor, this creates the image of a man who bristles with unapproachability, even when he's trying to be on his best behavior.
But hey, tell me how I'm wrong! This is seriously entertaining stuff.
If the Duchess ends up going back to Gerard, that might not be a bad way to spend the downtime. A little tragic, sure, if their plan can't be carried out for the duration of the winter and the Duchess is stuck in the same situation she had been before, but I delight in such conflict. Mostly I say this because I don't think it's likely they'll be able to off the Prince in the next session; there are too many other unresolved situations.
I am intrigued by this belief you suggest. I'm a little surprised that the Duchess has such strong feelings about acting in the interests of the country, though. She's been trapped in the surreal unreality of the nobility her whole life, right? So, were such feelings inspired solely by the month or two she's spent eating dirt in the woods? Or had such feelings lain dormant in her for years due to stories she had heard about the fate of her home country?
I'd agree with your assessment Paul - Jack definitely has more of a Rick Blaine demeanor than anything dashing. He tries, for sure, but he's lived in the woods (or a dungeon) with a sausage fest of hoodlums so long he'd have trouble talking to a common girl he was interested in, much less the Duchess.
Count Tristam is much more dashing, albeit something of a shit once you get to know him.
So anyway, I imagine Jack's demeanor towards the Duchess is much to awkward to be genuinely scary, but she might still get freaked out when he's interacting with someone else.
Jenna and I spent about 4 hours hanging around talking BITs and this is what we came up with:
"This isn't a storybook anymore - "
The second (actionable) half of the Belief needs to be about starting to make her own decisions instead of letting other people's decisions rule her life. We just need to come up with a good way to word it.
Oh, you guys! It's like Christmas already.
Allright, let's see. Wording this belief is definitely going to be tricky, but it has the potential to be extremely cool.
Maaaaybe something like... 'This isn't a storybook anymore, and I'm not a fairytale princess; it's about time I started writing the tale myself.'
Too wordy? :P Stop me when you're tired of hearing my suggestions.
Also, see how much fun we have on here, Jenna? XD
ooooh, I like that. Jenna, what do you think?
I like the continuing metaphor! I don't know that I think it makes the point obvious/direct enough. However, I've got no better suggestions, so I am for it! We can re-word it later if there are troubles.
I think as long as we're all clear about what it means (namely, that you're going to stop letting your life be controlled by other people's decisions) the wording is allowed to be a little flip. So hooray! I'll put it on your online sheet!
Yeah, it seemed a little bloated to me when I typed it out, so we'll have to see if discrepancies occur in game. My main goal was to keep the metaphor going, as such things are like candy to me. And anyway, along the lines of what Brent said, the main reason for stating Beliefs succinctly is so the players and the GM can be on the same page when interpreting them; so long as we are all on the same page now, there can be room for more artful representation.
Excellent! This is why I love BITs so much.
H'okay. I think the wording is off because I haven't been playing the Duchess as a Don Quixote sort-of character, actively viewing the situation as a fairy tale. It's sort-of just been an underlining characteristic.
Also, I want the trait to emphasize the fact that new dis-trust in others when concerning her well-being. I think part of the realization is that nobody has ever been looking out for her best interests, so she had better start.
What do we think?
Hmmm... I acknowledge your issue with the wording, and upon consideration I agree that it would be better with that edge of mistrustful independence.
Maybe something like, "My life has been spent regretting the decisions that others have made for me; from now on I will be the only one governing my fate."
Or something more brief, "Whether right or wrong the choices I make must be mine."
Perhaps, "I can never be truly free while I walk another's path; I must take these steps myself to achieve what is important to me."
Really, though, there are too many ways to slice it. What do you think is the most important aspect to emphasize in your Belief? Please feel free to toss out some potential write-ups for it yourself.
"If I don't start making choices for myself, I'll always be controlled by the choices of those around me." ?
I do like that one. It's very neutral.
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