I apologize that I haven't responded to this before now. However, rather than continue this in the BNS system stuff, this is really more a Game Craft discussion. Hence I wanted to put this in Perspectives on Storytelling.Drum wrote:I'm not necessarily objecting, but I'm curious why this is, for local NPCs who have full stats?In fact no NPC will ever have to pay for rarity costs.
(Edited to add: I know that this is more of a staff philosophy thing than a system thing, but I'm kind of surprised to hear that our game emphasizes the "specialness" of NPCs over that of PCs, and I figure you probably have well considered reasons for this.)
As with all PoS, I encourage response and debate.
This is my opinion.
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The answer is fairly direct - NPCs are not PCs.
NPCs do not enjoy many of the benefits that characters do. They are (generally) intended to lose. They do not (generally) improve with XP, and they are the background against which the stars of our game (the PCs) play against.
They do not conform to the same rules as PCs in many respects. This is one of those respects. This has been true in most RPGs since the beginning of the medium, and it is simply not different here.
Our setting document, with the choices we have made for Clan and Path Rarity, are applicable to the stars of the story we want to tell. We are trying to tell a story about primarily Camarilla characters set in a world where there are allies and opponents who are not always the same as them.
As storyteller and staff, we have been given your trust to help craft a narrative that you will enjoy. You have implicitly asked us to challenge you, occasionally beat you, mostly lose to you, and generally allow you to experience a great deal of mental and emotional contexts through the medium of this LARP.
There are no rules on how much XP I can give an NPC. Indeed - there are no rules on what clans I am allowed to use. We use clans that are not available to PC characters with some regularity (Baali?) to tell our stories. Heck we use entire types of characters that are not available to PCs. (Werewolves?)
This is not a competition between player and staff. As Storyteller, I literally control the universe - If I wanted to 'win' I could just roll a 1000xp (or way more) vampire with every discipline at All Elder levels through. That's not a very good story for anyone.
As a practical matter, most of the NPCs we create are designed to eventually lose, or die, or fail. Take the recent werewolves. As a practical matter of the game, eventually the PCs HAD to win. Otherwise, the game is over. We designed, from the very begining, that the werewolves would be beaten.
Why don't NPCs have to pay rarity costs or Path costs? Because I want Sabbat villains to be viable characters. I want Anarchs to be threats. I might occasionally want them to have merits in the system.
Take for example Forseti. For those of you who do not know, Forseti is one of the Bishops of Santa Cruz. He is an Elder. He is powerful. He is Lasombra, on the Path of Power and the Inner Voice. He also has a number of Merits and Flaws.
Now, our setting document does not allow for Lasombra at all, but even if I were to presume that they were the same cost as Lasombra Antitribu, that would mean that Forseti would spend 7 points on Clan and Path - as would most Lasombra Sabbat, ever. This leaves no room for my NPCs to explore some of the merits available to them, so as to challenge the PCs in a different way.
NPCs are not the same things as PCs. They do not have the same rules in many places.
You have decided to trust me, and my staff, with the power to tell you nuanced stories. You have asked me to create characters that will give you challenges. You have implied to me through regular attendance (and frankly, not asking me to step down in favor of someone else) that you want to hear my stories, and that you trust my ability to provide you a fair challenge.
My rules are different than yours.