So my recent game of Mob Justice did not go so well , partly due to my arrogance, I didn’t read my own book, and partly due to the way I set up the game. The first problem can be easily overcome by me reading the book. The second one I am hoping to get some help from the players and you fine people.
The idea for the game was slightly based of the first Sin City book where Marv wakes up with a dead hooker and sirens blazing in the distance. The plot is bigger than it seems at first and introduces the reader to the major players in the city. This is basically what I want for at least the first session of the game as all the players are unfamiliar with the game to a degree.
So the way I want to set it up is that the guy who wakes up with the dead girl, is not a PC. Maybe a boss’ son. The players are a group of ‘cleaners’ who have only had 2 or 3 jobs together but are trusted by this NPC. He calls them into help them out and it all goes from there. Each of the players will have loyalties to the others and also some that tie them into the plot and background I am setting up.
So here is where I would like some help
1) Does the basic set-up sound ok?
2) Character Creation: There are a few paths I could choose here which do you think would be best
a) Pre-gens
b) Partial pre-gens: where I fill out some details I think are relevant to the game and leave the rest up to the players.
c) Full character generation: which will let them understand from the off what everything means.
3) I will be producing some cheat sheets for the players with the following info:
a) Poker Hand ranks
b) Conflict sequence
c) Consequences of combat
Anything else I should give them?
Any thoughts appreciated
Cheers
Iain
I like the idea that the "Marv" is an NPC (a McGuffin, really)
Submitted by Gregor Hutton on Fri, 21/09/2007 - 17:13.
I like the idea that the "Marv" is an NPC (a McGuffin, really). It would have been fine for us to get dragged into the story that way, as long as we remember the story is about US and not about Marv.
I had a Cyberpunk scenario published about 12 or 13 years ago (jeez! that long!) and the intro was an NPC falling off a building and landing on a PC. I liked that. It was BAM! Here's something you have to deal with, now GO! The game is centred around the PCs, y'know, and it's not about the GM telling a story with the NPCs.
I was happy with you pre-generating my character based on some pointers that we gave. That can work well. I also felt that gave you the power to make us all fit together and you kinda didn't. You did for me and Joe and I think that showed it wasn't controversial and it worked fine (for everyone else: basically I had a Loyalty to Joe's character to protect him, Joe had me as a Contact or something.).
I feel that didn't link us all as you figured: Aha! We can do that stuff cinematically in game.
Well, for me, I just think: screw it, give me the characters already linked and cut out the whole trying to get everyone together schtick.
Partial pre-gens are cool. Allow us a few skill points to customize.
If you do that then you have the beginnings of a scenario pack -- I'm serious.
The only way I think it would be good for people to create their own PCs is for it to take up a whole session and have everyone be there together. That way the players would all work off each other and we'd know everyone else's character and hot buttons, etc.
Oh, and handouts: a map of the City? Just schematic with some regions marked on it. Even something like a London-Underground-map-type-of-thing with just names of areas would be good. Just so we can sound like we KNOW the City when we roleplay.
Was it New York? I can't remember.