Slagathore Wed May 27, 2020 1:42 amSo this thread is intended to help us think deeper about how we might use our Aspects to create interesting compels - both GM and player driven compels.
Often aspects devolve into “what can I tag to get a reroll?” Which is important, it just isn’t everything. The more interesting compels engage us more in the story.
So I’m going to analyze Dr. Hans Frederick’s aspects here, and maybe figure out some tweaks to make them more - compelling.
High Concept - Bullet Proof Monk. Not a whole lot to compel here. It just describes the basic concept. Maybe some connection to Tibetan monks? Or returning plundered artifacts? Like I said, not much here from my perspective.
Trouble: there can be only one. This is one I mean to use more. The obvious connection to the Highlander Immortals aside, this is supposed to be about how others often see the Dr in a competitive light, but he rejects the competition and attempts to disengage. Although an “Immortal” (in the Highlander sense) he doesn’t carry a blade and refuses to be involved in the great competition to be the last remaining one of their kind. Rather than tagging it to compel the Dr to compete to be the one, it is intended to create troubles when others pick him out to show their superiority. The challenge is then for the Dr to find a way to disengage, rather than try to win the contest.
Musts: protect the weak. A serious complication for the Dr arises when the villain tosses the heroine Overboard. Instead of fighting the villain, the Dr must seek to save the heroine. What’s that you say? A school bus veering out of control? I can’t chase the villain down, I have to save the kids. I have way too much Nazi war guilt to work off.
Aspects:
1. Tough to kill. This is a classic defensive situation to spend a fate point to reduce consequences. But it also plays at his own knowledge that he is unusually difficult to hurt or kill. So he can take outrageous risks, assuming he will survive. So it can be a GM compel as well.
2. Swing high, hit low. This is my go to reroll to self tag. But it can also be tagged by the GM to get the Dr to try things that seem impossible.
3. Something Bigger at Stake. I might use this to make a declaration about a scene to show how it is connected to some greater evil we are fighting (like neo-Nazis. I hate Illinois Nazis!) but it can also be a compel for the GM to get the Dr to dig deeper into possible conspiracies or coverups. And it can be tagged to engage the Dr in a plot point, as there is something more important at risk.
4. What took you so long? This is an iconic line from the movie. It can be tagged by the Dr to create coincidences of timing, but more importantly it can be used by the GM to manipulate timing of scenes to slow the Dr’s arrival or to create a timely arrival to keep the scene flowing. It is that “in the nick of time” theatrical moment.
5. A bullet for the team. This is the self sacrificial moment where the dr takes a hit intended for someone else. Pushing a player out of the way to take the hit (using the team members roll for the result, btw, not his own possibly better dodge skill). (Think Bullet Proof Monk on this one). But it can be much more. The Dr would be last to leave the burning building, searching for the lost team member. Or maybe it’s a simpler plot moment where someone needs to be available to answer the really boring IRS agents questions. The dr takes the hit for the team. Due to his own self sacrificial nature, he wants to save others the pain.
So this tells me that I didn’t create enough really interesting Aspects for the GM to compel in scenes. And I play the character, rather than calling attention to possible compels. All of which means, I could have many more FP’s - it’s up to me, not just the Merlin to make it happen.
What about you? How do your aspects lead to interesting compels?
Often aspects devolve into “what can I tag to get a reroll?” Which is important, it just isn’t everything. The more interesting compels engage us more in the story.
So I’m going to analyze Dr. Hans Frederick’s aspects here, and maybe figure out some tweaks to make them more - compelling.
High Concept - Bullet Proof Monk. Not a whole lot to compel here. It just describes the basic concept. Maybe some connection to Tibetan monks? Or returning plundered artifacts? Like I said, not much here from my perspective.
Trouble: there can be only one. This is one I mean to use more. The obvious connection to the Highlander Immortals aside, this is supposed to be about how others often see the Dr in a competitive light, but he rejects the competition and attempts to disengage. Although an “Immortal” (in the Highlander sense) he doesn’t carry a blade and refuses to be involved in the great competition to be the last remaining one of their kind. Rather than tagging it to compel the Dr to compete to be the one, it is intended to create troubles when others pick him out to show their superiority. The challenge is then for the Dr to find a way to disengage, rather than try to win the contest.
Musts: protect the weak. A serious complication for the Dr arises when the villain tosses the heroine Overboard. Instead of fighting the villain, the Dr must seek to save the heroine. What’s that you say? A school bus veering out of control? I can’t chase the villain down, I have to save the kids. I have way too much Nazi war guilt to work off.
Aspects:
1. Tough to kill. This is a classic defensive situation to spend a fate point to reduce consequences. But it also plays at his own knowledge that he is unusually difficult to hurt or kill. So he can take outrageous risks, assuming he will survive. So it can be a GM compel as well.
2. Swing high, hit low. This is my go to reroll to self tag. But it can also be tagged by the GM to get the Dr to try things that seem impossible.
3. Something Bigger at Stake. I might use this to make a declaration about a scene to show how it is connected to some greater evil we are fighting (like neo-Nazis. I hate Illinois Nazis!) but it can also be a compel for the GM to get the Dr to dig deeper into possible conspiracies or coverups. And it can be tagged to engage the Dr in a plot point, as there is something more important at risk.
4. What took you so long? This is an iconic line from the movie. It can be tagged by the Dr to create coincidences of timing, but more importantly it can be used by the GM to manipulate timing of scenes to slow the Dr’s arrival or to create a timely arrival to keep the scene flowing. It is that “in the nick of time” theatrical moment.
5. A bullet for the team. This is the self sacrificial moment where the dr takes a hit intended for someone else. Pushing a player out of the way to take the hit (using the team members roll for the result, btw, not his own possibly better dodge skill). (Think Bullet Proof Monk on this one). But it can be much more. The Dr would be last to leave the burning building, searching for the lost team member. Or maybe it’s a simpler plot moment where someone needs to be available to answer the really boring IRS agents questions. The dr takes the hit for the team. Due to his own self sacrificial nature, he wants to save others the pain.
So this tells me that I didn’t create enough really interesting Aspects for the GM to compel in scenes. And I play the character, rather than calling attention to possible compels. All of which means, I could have many more FP’s - it’s up to me, not just the Merlin to make it happen.
What about you? How do your aspects lead to interesting compels?
