I posted this as a reply in another place, but decided it deserved it's own thread. I'm curious what other GM's think of this concept and there is a question at the end on which I would like some feedback.
Karma Stones
The world of urban fantasy is rife with shady actions and heroic feats. Particularly heroic things, you know, the kind that would make the evening news, should have a reward of some sort. Especially dirty deeds also deserve "special" treatment, and this is the work of "karma stones."
I keep two piles of glass stones (one white, one black) with the GM's stuff. When players do something particularly douche-bag-ish, I hand them a black stone. This is, of course, "bad karma." Saving a little girl from a burning building (that the party did not set on fire in the first place) is the kind of thing that might earn a white stone, or "good karma." At the end of a recent adventure, we tallied up over 25 Red Court dead - a force that was kidnapping and taking from all over the city. In addition to refresh and normal character growth, I also ended up rewarding every member of the party a white stone.
To "cash in" a stone means to be granted a favor from the forces of light (or darkness). You are saying, "I've done this for your side, can you help a brother out?"
To "carry" a stone means you are trying to accumulate a particularly powerful positive or negative energy. The concept is based on "The Force," if you will, with particularly powerful dark or light characters being granted additional abilities after having 3 or 4 stones accumulate (GM discretion).
A black stone might be spent to help "enhance" the reputation of a mobster. It might be spent to "darken" an aspect. It could be spent to bolster particular skills or stats. Darkness always has "strings attached," so such upgrades to a character sheet should come with a form of "payment" or at least balance with positive and negative (reputation works both ways - other mobsters may fear and respect you, but the cops surely don't like you). I have allowed players the opportunity to get rid of "bad karma" by turning hits into misses in a fight, or otherwise allowing different outcomes that reflect "bad luck," not just darker soul energy. If a player uses a stone to enhance their skills, it should be a +2, -1 effect. The Dark Side can make you powerful quickly, but there should be a cost elsewhere.
White stones are easier because, as Uriel puts it, "We are big fans of free will up here." Players have used these to make hits when the probability was far stacked against them doing so. They have used them to enhance skills. Some have simply used them as they would a Fate point (which I typically will not allow if they do not actually have a fate point to spend). If a player uses a stone to enhance a skill, it should be a free-and-clear +1 to that skill.
Most of all, like everything else in DFRPG, have fun with it. If it makes your game less fun, stop doing it. I introduced it as part of the very first game session, and here are the effects it has had on my group:
- I did not tell them anything about it. When a Russian mobster in the group started to "shoot first and not bother asking questions," he earned his first black stone. People asked, "What does that mean?" I just smiled and replied, "What do you think it means?" "Well ... those aren't fate points, right? We have these clear ones ..." "No, it's not a fate point ..." After awhile, he earned a second one for "breaking and entering," though later, I found his purpose wasn't as sinister as I originally thought. Even so, now he had two. Toward the end of the first session, a party member protected and mended a "bad guy" that was fleeing and would normally have been shot and killed. After patching him up, I gave him a white stone. (He would normally have been rewarded with information, but this NPC could not really give any - so it was an act of kindness without other "compensation.") Now the players all started chattering. Well, those must be "good," and his must be "bad."
- During the second game, when the mobster had "hit" one of his targets, I offered that he could get rid of a black stone if he wanted to miss, instead. This touched off another chain reaction at the table, and again, much to my own sadistic amusement. "Now I know they are bad!" people said. "Well," I started, "They are not necessarily bad. They just mark important deeds. What would you like to do with them?" Everyone was clueless. "You guys don't really know what they are for, but I'll tell you at this point some of what you have guessed. They are 'karma stones' and are earned by particular actions."
- After Plot 1, Game 2, the mobster called me and e-mailed several times on how to "atone" for the stones. "But, they don't work like that," I tried to explain, but it was no use. By the time the next game rolled around, he was donating to Eastern Orthodox orphanages and all kinds of things to get rid of them. "They haven't even impacted you," I said, still incredulous at the (over)reaction I was getting.
- The group has expanded a lot. Next game will either be "Plot 3, Game 5," or "Plot 4, Game 1," so we have had many good games over the past year. Last game, there were 9 players at the table. It has been extremely hectic, but when I threatened to split the group into two smaller parts, it was roundly vetoed. The group is VERY cohesive and compatible. Part of this is because the entire table have turned into lily-white crusaders. This is a bit of an unexpected side effect, and not always desirable for an interesting game.*
- The group does not "accumulate" the stones. They are viewed as a sort of currency, and I suppose they were sort of intended that way. However, the cumulative effects have never made it into my game. When the characters get "into a jam,"** they spend the stones freely. I'm not sure what I can do to get them to save them up and "discover" the additional impact. I may just have to tell them, and probably at the end of this plot, I'll do so. I do not give them out lightly - probably 6-10 fate points get spread around for every karma stone. You would think this would make them less apt to spend them, but not so.
*Q1: The players see EVERYTHING as black and white. Even US government entities, clearly neutral parties of other varieties, and the Winter Court (who don't really process "good" or "bad") are "black." If you have read Harry Connolly's novels (and you should), they have an "all enemies" attitude. How can I get them to see shades of gray? They owe the Winter Court a favor (residual from Plot 1 - they did something with highly un-anticipated consequences), and they cannot understand that WC is on the side of WC. They fear that this favor will be dark and sinister (it's honestly not, but I'm SO tempted just because of their reaction) and will taint their souls evermore. Anyone else have a game out there like that? I'm not even talking about actions worthy of a black stone (some of which might even have POSITIVE game ramifications), just anything that isn't snowy white. It's weird. Especially for some place as dark as the Dresdenverse. What do you guys think?
**Q2: Getting someone to mark off a stress or two is like asking them to shred their character sheet. We've played probably 10 games, plus e-mail, Facebook, and phone calls with several players, and the idea of hitting max stress is unthinkable. In the last game, I had a player finally hit max physical stress and get knocked out. During the rest of the fight, he made a new character. Seriously. Look, damage isn't fun, but even so, it's not fatal, either. How useful is a dead guy? This was a fight with a Denarian and there were free coins in the area. The Denarians were actively recruiting and would see this guy no differently. Why kill someone you can have on your side? But the players absolutely do not think about that - to be at max stress is equal to death in their minds. Perhaps too much D&D where 0 HP = Dead? Despite repeatedly explaining that "stress" is not really the same as "hit points," they all view it this way and will "pull out all the stops" to avoid checking that last box. This is a group of 9 characters, I might add. So, even toward the end of a fight with 8 of them still standing, they just can't bring themselves to "pass out."
