Author Topic: Sponsored Magic? Or Schizophrenia? Help with a Character  (Read 4751 times)

Offline finnmckool

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Sponsored Magic? Or Schizophrenia? Help with a Character
« on: May 22, 2011, 02:06:54 PM »
So I have a kinetomancer. I know, I know, they do wonders with lasers to remove those these days but my insurance won't cover it. The deal is he's a pretty average joe that had a traumatic experience that bonded him with a water spirit (sorta like Bob is an air spirit). This spirit is all instinct (as opposed to Bob being all intellect) and is just sorta crammed into my player, Nick is the character. The upshot is Nick gets channelling: kinetomancy. Also, he gets a sort of spider sense about the supernatural, like if something is creepy or not. The spirit, Adamsk it's called, doesn't "talk" per se, but instead communicates more in flashes of "like" "don't like" "what is that" "WHAT THE HELL IS THAT??!!" and "KILL IT! KILL IT NOW FOREVER! AHHHHH SMASH!" So far I've been pretty lenient as the group has found it's legs with the game and the system etc, just making him make the occasional discipline check to keep Adamsk from psychokinetically smashing whatever is making him all sad panda. I'm about to up the scovell scale on this character and I've got some vague notions on what I ought to be doing in terms of sponsored magic maybe, or not, and certainly ways to ruin Nick's day with this (although I've gotta play it a bit soft on this sissies since they're for some reason scared pantless of EVERY THING and insist they suck at this game even though they've won pretty all right every time, too used to being high level d20 monsters I suppose).

But I wanted to put it to you fine bunch of smart alecks and cut throats. How should I handle this ability rules wise? What should I do to make it hard on him?

So, a summary:
Nick has a major aspect of "Head Roommate"
Adamsk is a water spirit of pure instinct
Adamsk provides Nick with kinetomancy and "creepy sense"
Adamsk occassionally responds to super naturals Nick meets with a fight or flight response which Nick must control
Adamsk is in no way hostile towards Nick or usually terribly concerned with what Nick's doing if it doesn't involve Adamsk
Adamsk's response to most things is "Fight, Flight, or Meh."
Neither party, at the moment, has any reason to try and find a way to disolve this partnership.

And go...

Offline Team8Mum

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Re: Sponsored Magic? Or Schizophrenia? Help with a Character
« Reply #1 on: May 22, 2011, 03:48:26 PM »
Quote
What should I do to make it hard on him?

you mean aside from

"You wake up in a small room surrounded by disassembled body parts and with NO idea what happened to lead up to this point"...
which is a killer of an opening for an adventure, but a little mean on the PC

1) There are major hints that bob is hiding out from some one he 'miffed' in the Nevernever - what has Adamsk done that means hiding out in Nicks head is a good place to be? What is he getting out of the deal.

2)Can other supernatural sense Adamsk is there - could Nick find himself being 'questioned' about things Adamsk is responsible for becasue the supernatural assume that he IS adamsk and this Nick guy is just some front/disguise.

3) Has Adamsk left the back door open, could there be more 'lodgers'?

I would HATE to be a character in one of the stories I write -
and then there are the days when it looks too much like I AM!

Offline finnmckool

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Re: Sponsored Magic? Or Schizophrenia? Help with a Character
« Reply #2 on: May 22, 2011, 03:59:30 PM »
1) Adamsk was hanging out in the NeverNever on the other side of the bottom of a lake, and some event where Nick was on said bottom of lake and nearly died forced the two together. Perhaps something was attacking Adamsk. Good one.

2) Yes. Yes they can. Nice.

3) Hmmmm I'd say not so much. But I like where your head's at.

Addendum to summary, Nick remembers what happens when Adamsk drives (though in retrospect I wish I would have made that not so. I'd ret con it but it's his character concept and that seems rude).


Offline noclue

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Re: Sponsored Magic? Or Schizophrenia? Help with a Character
« Reply #3 on: May 22, 2011, 07:11:00 PM »
Compel one of the supernatural PCs into a disagreement with Nick and then compel Nick with "Adamsk picks up your friend and tries to throw him into a wall." :o

Then just sit back and see where that takes things :)

Offline Michael Sandy

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Re: Sponsored Magic? Or Schizophrenia? Help with a Character
« Reply #4 on: May 23, 2011, 05:51:20 AM »
It kind of stands out when a creature of the Intellect gets emotional, so how about have your creature of instinct show occasions hints of thought, of memory.

Maybe something frightened Adamsk, and he has been hiding from it in part by never thinking about his past.

Also, if Adamsk has a past, does he have acquaintances and/or enemies who are looking for him/it.

You might ask your player to start writing up Aspects for Adamsk.  What motivates him, love?  Vengeance?  Power?  Fame?  Enjoying the body tourism craze that is sweeping the disembodied spirit nation?

Does NICK see Adamsk as an actual personality, or just a convenient set of powers and perceptions?  How about Nick's friends?  Do they talk to Adamsk at all?

Do promises that either of them make bind the other?  Think about what kind of relationship you would have with a normal person if your promises could bind them and vice versa.

Was Nick intended at first to simply be a temporary shelter or vehicle?  In some senses, Adamsk and Nick have a relationship that is closer than marriage.  How does that affect their relationship with others, or their desire for same?

Offline Michael Sandy

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Re: Sponsored Magic? Or Schizophrenia? Help with a Character
« Reply #5 on: May 23, 2011, 06:04:32 AM »
Creepy things that can happen:

Nick is idly sketching and doodling, and drifts off and Adamsk draws something.  Something that evokes a sense of familiarity, or frustration or something like a half-forgotten memory.

Give the player a chance to explore whether their character wants to investigate Adamsk's past or suppress it.

If Nick is in a physical relationship with somebody, have him start talking in his sleep.  His lover spooks, and records it, because it is in a language unknown to her (or him).

Something mundane triggers a fight or flight reflex.  Like closing elevator doors.  Or flash photography.  A siren.  A pet snake.  Adamsk might be apologetic afterwards, and perhaps puzzled by a mostly suppressed memory.

Adamsk starts asking questions somehow about the things Nick does.  Not the life or death decisions, but weird ones about social customs, food rituals, maybe even kind of embarrassing questions that only a roommate in the head could ask.

Offline Team8Mum

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Re: Sponsored Magic? Or Schizophrenia? Help with a Character
« Reply #6 on: May 23, 2011, 07:16:06 AM »
Quote
body tourism craze sweeping the disembodied spirit nation
ooo there's a whole campaign in that one!!!
I would HATE to be a character in one of the stories I write -
and then there are the days when it looks too much like I AM!

Offline finnmckool

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Re: Sponsored Magic? Or Schizophrenia? Help with a Character
« Reply #7 on: May 30, 2011, 04:14:55 AM »
hmmm...yes...i like all of these...

what are some things you would pray would never happen if it were your character?

if it were your character, what would be your awsome sauce?

Offline Team8Mum

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Re: Sponsored Magic? Or Schizophrenia? Help with a Character
« Reply #8 on: May 30, 2011, 07:48:53 AM »
I routinely play/write a guy with M.P.D.
He uses sticky notes to communicate with his otherselves- the freaky moments come when there is sticky note in a hand writing he doesn't recognised - which means there is a whole new persona in there- which means he has encountered another crisis point which he has no active memory of.

I guess the equivalent for this character would be Adamski does have some level of control that Nick can not prevent or has memory of him doing - which is back to the room of dismembered bodies or the back door left open mentioned in my first post.

Awesome sauce I can't help you with - I'm notoriously nasty to my characters :)
May be exploring what connection there is between Adamski and Nick which drew them together - the backstory that reveals why they were both at the bottom of that lake at the same time- I don't do coincidence, so some one was behind that. The questions now are the who and the why.
I would HATE to be a character in one of the stories I write -
and then there are the days when it looks too much like I AM!

Offline Rechan

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Re: Sponsored Magic? Or Schizophrenia? Help with a Character
« Reply #9 on: May 30, 2011, 07:50:22 AM »
For some reason I think it's weird that a water spirit is giving kinetomancy but alright.

My question is: So the spirit is IN Nick. Can the spirit be attacked inside Nick? Can its magic be shut off for some reason? Nick should be effected by thresholds, but what about other things - imagine crossing a magic circle and while Nick crosses, Adamsk can't. If other supernatural beings can sense Adamsk, they can certainly pay with him/push his buttons.

What if not only Adamsk starts reacting to odd things, but if he starts registering things as "Supernatural threats" when they aren't. The neighbor's poodle. The garden gnome. What is behind it? Is something specifically targeting Adamsk, or is Adamsk going haywire?

Adamsk might display a new response to a specific stimuli. For instance, not just "fight, Flight or meh" but "Oooh, gimmie". This could be mating/attraction to a certain being, or it could be coveting a certain object or type of object. It could also be a desire to protect something - a territorial or even "maternal" reaction to something. (Complication: the thing that Adamsk wants to protect is something the other group would prefer not to, like a monster or an NPC who has Questionable Intentions).

Ultimately the spirit has instincts. What are those instincts and drives beyond 'fight, flight or ignore"? How does it Behave in the wild, what does it do? For instance, Bob is a spirit of air, but he's also a spirit of Intellect, he's all about acquiring knowledge. This thing is all about instinct, but what do those instincts drive it to do? What is its purpose, essentially.
« Last Edit: May 30, 2011, 07:53:41 AM by Rechan »

Offline Rechan

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Re: Sponsored Magic? Or Schizophrenia? Help with a Character
« Reply #10 on: May 30, 2011, 07:56:23 AM »
Unrelated, but how is the "control" represented stat-wise? Is there any sort of "Dependency" or rolls to control his body, or is it just an aspect compel?

Offline finnmckool

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Re: Sponsored Magic? Or Schizophrenia? Help with a Character
« Reply #11 on: May 30, 2011, 08:01:15 AM »
it's an aspect compel. but it can also be a discipline check.

Offline Wyrdrune

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Re: Sponsored Magic? Or Schizophrenia? Help with a Character
« Reply #12 on: May 31, 2011, 09:29:15 AM »
after reading the topic again, i was thinking about delirium (from sandman) as a sponsor...

Offline Team8Mum

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Re: Sponsored Magic? Or Schizophrenia? Help with a Character
« Reply #13 on: May 31, 2011, 02:03:15 PM »
after reading the topic again, i was thinking about delirium (from sandman) as a sponsor...

Oh That is just EVIL!!

Do it
:)

I can just see him coming back from some very difficult mission and have her look at him totally confused and deny all knowledge of ever sending him to do it!

She is still my fave character from that series.
I would HATE to be a character in one of the stories I write -
and then there are the days when it looks too much like I AM!

Offline newtinmpls

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Re: Sponsored Magic? Or Schizophrenia? Help with a Character
« Reply #14 on: August 11, 2011, 01:21:00 AM »
I love stuff like this. I'm a psych nurse, and my paper for "world religions" was on the similarities between Schizophrenia and Shamanic Crisis.

For some reason I think it's weird that a water spirit is giving kinetomancy but alright.”

Good point. I tend to associate water with emotions. I’ll come back to that later.

My question is: So the spirit is IN Nick. Can the spirit be attacked inside Nick? Can its magic be shut off for some reason? Nick should be effected by thresholds, but what about other things - imagine crossing a magic circle and while Nick crosses, Adamsk can't. If other supernatural beings can sense Adamsk, they can certainly pay with him/push his buttons.”

The short answer is what feeds the storyline. I don’t much like the idea of Adamsk getting ‘scraped out’ of Nick by a too powerful threshold, but on the other hand, I was in an RPG recently where when the party retreated to a “safe” protected circle to escape the demonic bad guys, it “scraped” the spirit out of one dude’s enchanted sword, which made for much interesting follow up.

What if not only Adamsk starts reacting to odd things, but if he starts registering things as "Supernatural threats" when they aren't. The neighbor's poodle. The garden gnome. What is behind it? Is something specifically targeting Adamsk, or is Adamsk going haywire?”

Here you have the classic diagnostic behavior of Schizophrenia; when the individual’s perception of what’s going on is severely at variance with the rest of the culture’s perception. And sometimes it’s “crazy” and sometimes it’s not. I’d encourage setting up both.

Earlier I mentioned water and emotion. What if Adamsk can perceive it when someone “looks” at Nick as in “directs attention his way” could be anything from a puppy smelling shows to a hot chickie checking him out – and what if Adamsk’s definition of threat has to do with intensity of interest. So the following might be situations deemed “threat”: Dog really excited about the pizza he just ate, Gal who thinks Nick is REALLY hot, thief who wonders “OMIGOD did he see me” While psychopath mugger (no emotional reaction) doesn’t register, neither does skilled hitman (calm & competent).

Adamsk might display a new response to a specific stimuli. For instance, not just "fight, Flight or meh" but "Oooh, gimmie". This could be mating/attraction to a certain being, or it could be coveting a certain object or type of object. It could also be a desire to protect something - a territorial or even "maternal" reaction to something. (Complication: the thing that Adamsk wants to protect is something the other group would prefer not to, like a monster or an NPC who has Questionable Intentions).”

Or “gimme” could appear as a sub-category of “fight”

Ultimately the spirit has instincts. What are those instincts and drives beyond 'fight, flight or ignore"? How does it Behave in the wild, what does it do? For instance, Bob is a spirit of air, but he's also a spirit of Intellect, he's all about acquiring knowledge. This thing is all about instinct, but what do those instincts drive it to do? What is its purpose, essentially.”

Really good questions – fob them onto the player.