Post by Dashing Inventor on Sept 8, 2014 20:06:26 GMT -8
It did occur to me that the mechanic could have the potential to be abused, and ridiculous scenarios like the one you mention above. But I feel the advantages of it outweigh that potential and merit its inclusion. I am more of a mind to trust my players, and GMs can discourage this kind of behavior by freely rewarding players hero points for good role playing - in other words there should be a bigger payoff for good role playing than for trying to manipulate the system.
If you go back to the "game as film" analogy, the main characters in films accomplish one unlikely and extraordinary feat after another, whether it be near instantaneously hacking a computer or running from one position of cover to another amidst a rain of bullets and coming out unscathed. Hero points are the currency that allows players to do these kinds of things with their characters, and it is not really a problem if they have lots of them to play over the course of a game session. Imagine the following sequence in an action film: the main character shoots three times from cover, but doesn't hit anything. On the fourth shot (with one bullet left, for added drama) they take a deep breath, peek out from cover, and make a perfect shot taking out their enemy. There would be nothing wrong with a scene like that in the film, and that is exactly the kind of thing that can happen with the perseverance engine - it can actually increase the drama, rather than diminish it - and prevent a player who has faced a lot of failures from feeling like their character is useless.
If you go back to the "game as film" analogy, the main characters in films accomplish one unlikely and extraordinary feat after another, whether it be near instantaneously hacking a computer or running from one position of cover to another amidst a rain of bullets and coming out unscathed. Hero points are the currency that allows players to do these kinds of things with their characters, and it is not really a problem if they have lots of them to play over the course of a game session. Imagine the following sequence in an action film: the main character shoots three times from cover, but doesn't hit anything. On the fourth shot (with one bullet left, for added drama) they take a deep breath, peek out from cover, and make a perfect shot taking out their enemy. There would be nothing wrong with a scene like that in the film, and that is exactly the kind of thing that can happen with the perseverance engine - it can actually increase the drama, rather than diminish it - and prevent a player who has faced a lot of failures from feeling like their character is useless.
