BattleTech - The Board Game of Armored Combat
BattleTech Game Systems => A Time of War => Topic started by: Acolyte on 13 December 2013, 03:56:40
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So, my long running BT game is starting to creep up to the 3060's. Been a long, good run and the unit is highly detailed and successful.
Problem is that the players have decided to keep their non combatants and families safe by renting space on Outreach and housing them there......
Even for me, one who likes to let the dice roll as they may, this might just be a little :o
So, should I just let things go as they will?
- Shane
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For my 0.02C-Bills I say let events unfold as they are known to do, with the horrible chance of death and loss it brings.
Maybe the players could be involved a last minute rescue attempt, maybe the families suffer a horrible off-screen death, or even some die and some survive the occupation. It's an uncaring universe after all and if your players needed any reason to go gunning for the Wobblies this will give them more than enough.
This can be an opportunity for the players to really be heroes against a real villain. They can struggle against the Wobblies as much as their own losses, all some very good story opportunities.
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So, my long running BT game is starting to creep up to the 3060's. Been a long, good run and the unit is highly detailed and successful.
Problem is that the players have decided to keep their non combatants and families safe by renting space on Outreach and housing them there......
Even for me, one who likes to let the dice roll as they may, this might just be a little :o
So, should I just let things go as they will?
- Shane
I agree with Ferrit. The threat of death can be a powerful motivator after being extremely successful. A mercenary game I ran in the Clan Invasion ended up like yours rolling over into the Jihad. One of the NPCs and PCs volunteered to join in the attack on Mars with the Wolf's Dragoons. They both died during Case White onboard their DropShip while waiting in their Mechs for the chance to fight for their fallen friends who died in the attack on Outreach.
Not all endings need be so dire though as clever players might be able to hold out and get their families out when the Kell Hounds and Clan Wolf-in-Exile showed up to rescue the survivors on Outreach.
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I think it 's a great opportunity - some of your NPCs are going to die, yes but that is going to fuel your PCs' sense revenge. Like wise, those that survive are now targets for you to extract and save.
This is really just opening up loads of opportunity for you.
So, initially the pcs are not going to know if anyone made it out - they're angry and seek vegance until they get word that some of their families are with the resistance. So they plot an electorate escape and rescue plan
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Occupation and war don't always assure death. Have the PCs on a mission on the other side of the universe and have them fret a lot over the safety of their dependents, to the point where they may drop what they're doing to hurry home.
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While I agree with Ferrit, you also have to keep your players' emotional well being in mind.
I once had to change a storyline in a D&D game where the female elf in the group had a "false" pregnancy, because the player actually had a miscarriage. The difference was the character didn't want a child, but the player did.
That being said, assuming all the players are in good emotional and psychological health, I say give them hints as to what's coming so that they can get there just in time to help rescue some or most of the families.
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All good points, thank you!
I think they'll be able to handle the angst, but it'll really suck for the characters.
How much it sucks, I guess will be based on player reaction to the apparent situation. If I make the news muddled enough I can have it turn as dark as the players can tolerate.
One thing I don't want to do tone down the nastiness of the Jihad. It's brutal and should be.
Thanks for the suggestions!
- Shane
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All good points, thank you!
I think they'll be able to handle the angst, but it'll really suck for the characters.
How much it sucks, I guess will be based on player reaction to the apparent situation. If I make the news muddled enough I can have it turn as dark as the players can tolerate.
One thing I don't want to do tone down the nastiness of the Jihad. It's brutal and should be.
Thanks for the suggestions!
- Shane
It really depends on your party I think. If you've got players who will embrace it to the max and run with it you're sorted. If they're not going to enjoy it, then maybe you new to work out some alternative arrangements, etc.
I've got a group of players who thrive on that sort of drama and it's great to build worlds around them, get them settled somewhere, watch them become part of this thriving world you're creating... And then burn it down around them...
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You can even twist it around on them if you want.
With the Dragoon's Condition Feral, if your PCs are on planet, are they willing to do what the Dragoons demand, or are they going to use their units to defend their dependents? Or maybe the PCs are off planet and they find out that the Dragoons destroyed some of their units on Outreach because they didn't surrender fast enough.
Maybe they become some of the first to move on and start working at other hiring halls because they feel that neither side is right.
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One thing I don't want to do tone down the nastiness of the Jihad. It's brutal and should be.
If you're not up to 3060 yet, there ought to be plenty of foreshadowing before Outreach burns. There's the Wannamaker's Widowmakers incident ~3058 (and the Fall of Terra that same year), and it only builds from there.