mwahaha players & fae...

[tetrasodium]

I'd been warning my players about what they say to powerful fae being as potentially dangerous as trying to sneak a bad wish past a gm in D&D since the start of our game.. then the other day they went to see the summer lady....

they started at the front gates once they got there by the cop in the party showing his badge & saying hi I'm agent [name] with the [department]... these are my associates, we'd like to speak with the summer lady about a missing persons investigation.

It was unexpected given their past & the way they had been trying to decide how/if they were even going to approach the guard  But they were polite, stated who they represented & that they wished to speak with the lady.

During the eventual conversation with the summer lady, one of the players said something to the effect of the missing persons being citizens they were responsible for. I had warned them as the GMto be careful during the conversation multiple times by that point... when the summer lady excitedy clapped in glee while turning to the cop, "is this true?.. are you responsible for all mortals under the accords?".. they wisely explained that it was not all mortals, just a specific subset of them, mostly just US citizens and a few others.  They gave her a business card to contact him if there is ever a question that might need their involvement...

To make a long story short, she was so happy with that, that she solved the minor missing persons problem they were working on in exchange they remained polite the entire time as they had learned the importance of politeness with less powerful supernatural types through past run ins with them...


mwahaha... what would you do? I don't think they realized why she was so excited

[Silverblaze]

Never punish attempts at talking though problems with too harsh a penalty.

Otherwise you'll wind up with players who just crush or attempt to crush any problem with violence making for a dull hack and slash oreinted game.  Plots you work on with intricacies will enver work, because they'll see talking as a way to get screwed over.

That said, I tend to make players wary of what they say even to the point of saying "thank you" to a Fae.  (thanks puts them in their debt)  So I'd have the fae start demanding favors and messing with tthem some, but nothing too major.

[tetrasodium]

Never punish attempts at talking though problems with too harsh a penalty.

Otherwise you'll wind up with players who just crush or attempt to crush any problem with violence making for a dull hack and slash oreinted game.  Plots you work on with intricacies will enver work, because they'll see talking as a way to get screwed over.

That said, I tend to make players wary of what they say even to the point of saying "thank you" to a Fae.  (thanks puts them in their debt)  So I'd have the fae start demanding favors and messing with tthem some, but nothing too major.

Oh I definitely wasn't going to punish them  They agreed to a favor for another lesser fae on the way, I just loved the fact that they setup that relatively harmless  (i did "-what-?" thing before doing anything too damaging.  i tend to allow my players to go anywhere & try to do anything they want during play & they really enjoy it. I wouldn't punish them, just make them realize that the danger/reward with fae isn't explicit contracts, but even simple conversation. 

In the past i've told them things like they need to buy off a compel to say something that mindbogglingly dangerous to a fae, but haivg this harmless one is nice

[Silverblaze]

Oh I definitely wasn't going to punish them  They agreed to a favor for another lesser fae on the way, I just loved the fact that they setup that relatively harmless  (i did "-what-?" thing before doing anything too damaging.  i tend to allow my players to go anywhere & try to do anything they want during play & they really enjoy it. I wouldn't punish them, just make them realize that the danger/reward with fae isn't explicit contracts, but even simple conversation. 

In the past i've told them things like they need to buy off a compel to say something that mindbogglingly dangerous to a fae, but haivg this harmless one is nice

Spot on then.

Debt's should bring them further into Fae politics as long as the GM doesn't mind.

Have them help guard an envoy or emissary.  At which point the other court/courts (depending on how much of your game is cannon) either take offense or at least notice.

I'll note that my example is rather - common and a little bland, without a new spin on it.

Have them save a "princess" (insert any creature here this is just analogy) from a literal dragon or similar beast.  A very dangerous job.  Decent loot for winning though.  Chance to add a new NPC indebted to the PC's and court that rescued he/she/it.  Have the fae (that sent them on the job - or- if the rescued party is fae...or both) try to offer gifts as reward, see if they take them. 

complete sentences are for essays or novels

[sinker]

What I would do is simply use it as a hook. Have the summer lady (or other fey if you want her to spread the word) come up to the cop and say "Your charges are messing with my affairs and I won't stand for it! Withdraw or we shall declare war!" or really any number of different combinations of that.

They have admitted to the fey that all US citizens are essentially under their rule. To a fey this means that all actions of all US citizens are done with the party's knowledge and consent (since a fey only acts as part of the bigger group) and that the party is responsible for everything done by a US citizen. You could have all sorts of fun with that.

Oh right, I forgot to mention that I would also offer a new (perhaps temporary) aspect to the player (something like "the king of the mortals" or similar). That way when you're bringing it up, at least you're compelling and he can also invoke it for a benefit.

[ARedthorn]

You should definitely bring it up... eventually.

As a sort of similar (but more obvious/straightforward) example, in my campaign, the Wizard in the group had just moved to Seattle... a RCVamp baron (and old rival of her missing-presumed-dead warden father) assumed she was the city's new warden, and had a 'coming out' party for her... cordially invited her and +1 to a banquet (held at his primary place of business) as the guests of honor... every other mover and shaker was there as well. The Baron's intent was just to out her in front of all the local big bads.
This guy is way out of her league, but no one in the city knows that, considering the history between her father and the Baron, he and everyone else is assuming she's much more dangerous than she really is. She and the +1 are just about queasy with discomfort being in a room full of things that could chew them both up for a snack... and doing their best to be as cool and quietly intimidating as possible... and doing a decent job of it.
While she's there, the Baron takes a page out of Marcone's book, and offers her a standing invitation to visit him anytime she wishes, every courtesy, etc etc...


And then my Wizard (soon to be Warden, but not yet)... says he's welcome to visit her home anytime, as well. Almost direct quote. Two other players at the table dropped jaws on the spot... she didn't realize what had happened until I slid 3 fate points across the table as 'an advance.'
To be fair, she had at least 2 aspects related to being a bit of an 'act before you think' kind of character. I told her that she could take the FPs and have no clue what she'd just done, refuse for free- she still says it but realizes what she'd said, or refuse them (paying me) to take it back altogether (ret-con in the category of "would/should've known better"). She took the fate points.
... and it eventually became a major looming threat.

If you want to do something similar- I see nothing wrong with that, but make sure your players are on-board with it somehow. If you don't trust them not to meta-game with it... then find a way to hint at it, at least.

[toturi]

If one party is much weaker than the other at wordplay, then it might not be a good idea to try this sort of thing. It doesn't really matter which party is weaker (GM or the players). It isn't really much fun. I used to have 2 guys who were really skilled at wordplay in my gaming group and it was a real pain for me to roleplay conversations. My NPCs were constantly being outtalked, it was pretty frustrating. I can only imagine what it would be like for a player on the receiving end.

[Richard_Chilton]

When you have players doing that - ask for a social roll to back it up.

Seriously, if they are going to portray witty and urbane PCs then the character should have the social skills that they are portraying.   Otherwise they aren't playing their character's stats.

One of the greatest challenges in RPing is to play someone dumber or less socially aware than you are.  People who can nail that are awesome.

Richard

[toturi]

When you have players doing that - ask for a social roll to back it up.
Richard

The characters that they play do have those social skills at pretty high levels. But what I am talking about here is more what they say than how they say it.

Gameplay example:
NPC (GM): How is your investigation? Have you found Miss Johnson?
PC1: We have some leads and are making progress.
PC2: We found some bloodstains and...
NPC: Oh dear god... (burst out in tears)

PC1 could well have said what he did in a short and curt manner (flunked his roll), while PC2 could have been very sympathetic and kind in his demeanor (aced it). But based on what was said, PC2 would have given away information while PC1 would not have. PC2 probably could get the NPC to tell him certain information that she would not have told PC1 but the point I am trying to make here is that she would now know that Ms Johnson has probably been hurt.

[arthurfallz]

Playing tricky semantic games with the Fae is good fun. But the characters should get a roll to see if they can figure out why the Summer Lady was so delighted.

[hank the ancient]

she could...
try and sue the brothers grimm for libel
try and get back leprechaun gold on mugging charges
try and sue to get royalties on shakespeares plays
call 911 obsessively on any number of human vs fae complaints

[Katarn]

Work in subtlely.

If your game is a long-term one, wait a few months, then have the Summer Lady make a request, much to their surprise it's a debt.  They said "whenever" she wanted help, so an entire adventure could be trying to buy their way out of that recurring debt (possibly involving the Unseelie).  If they want to play Fae politics, that route could be intriguing- if not, have her ask for minor favors, don't make it a huge deal, play it by ear.

[toturi]

If your game is a long-term one, wait a few months, then have the Summer Lady make a request, much to their surprise it's a debt.  They said "whenever" she wanted help, so an entire adventure could be trying to buy their way out of that recurring debt (possibly involving the Unseelie). 

Did the characters actually promise to help the Summer Lady? If not, they could take the line that they never did promise to help her. Only for her to "contact him if there is ever a question that might need their involvement".

(click to show/hide)

Or they can help her first (perhaps even allowing her to do so multiple times) and then call in the accumulated debt at a later time.