So let's talk resurrection-
Whether it's D&D or Mutants and Masterminds, eventually the characters die. Some of them come back from the dead due to regeneration (wolverine style) and you can argue that they never actually "died"- while some come back like a vampire.
The process as described in D&D (who knows what's happening in M&M since you can make your own deific cosmology) is that the body is repaired (or re-made) and the soul pushed back into it. Some systems call this jarring for the soul and put the negative level in there as part of that. Mutants doesn't do that, but you could still be calling your soul back from beyond.
But what if your soul is still alive, or if you have 2 souls left to recall?
Since the system allows for time travel (or dimension travel) this is quite possible.
Consider the following:
1) PC goes back in time 10 years. (At age 20). From 2010 to 2000.
2) PC exists in 2000 as a 10 year old (his past self) and as a time travelling 20 year old (his current self).
3) 20 year old PC dies.
4) A resurrection magic is attempted.
What happens?
One might argue since there are 2 souls out there, only one of which is dead, the resurrection goes off with no problems. One might also say that the "closest" soul is that of your 10 year old self, which is not eligible for resurrection, so the spell fails. Consider that you cut your body in half for example- you can't resurrect both halves. But why not?
Well, let's assume that the 2 souls are separate entities. What if both the 10 year old and 20 year old die? You might say "Well, the 10 year old dies so the 20 year old vanishes", but we see from back to the future that as long as time travelers are still there to "fix things" then there may be a delay in the older one vanishing. (Futurama even allowed Fry to become his own grandfather after killing his grandfather in the past).
In any case- which one returns? The old version, or the young version?
Well, let's assume that the young self resurrects in the young body first, then you cast on the old (who is now eligible due to no timeline messing).
Well, what about alternate dimensions? You are going on a sliders style campaign. You enter an alternate dimension with another version of you (not a temporal version, but an alternate version). You both die. Who gets resurrected? The DNA is the same, the "soul" is the same (with different experiences, but the same energy). You might make an argument about the body, but then some resurrection spells don't require the body (and the DNA is the same anyway).
Okay, let's take this further:
Bob goes 20 years into the future. (Time travel- not "the long way"). From 2010 to 2020.
In 2015, recognizing that there is no Bob- resurrection magic is attempted. Does it work? Why not? There is no Bob? You might say that he has no soul here (since the soul went with him). If resurrection just restores a body and there is no "soul", then what happens in 5 more years when the guy shows up from the past?
What if a character dies in 2010, is resurrected in 2015, then goes back to 2013 and attempts resurrection? Will it work? Is there a spare soul floating around out there?
Next step- spells like Clone. In D&D, the clone spell is basically a prepared resurrection where your soul goes back into your body once you die. The clone stays "dead" until your regular body dies, then your soul inhabits it.
What if you cast this spell on an alternate dimension where there are 2 of you. Will it immediately animate with your alternate version?
So many questions- no real answers...
Thursday, July 2, 2015
Saturday, February 7, 2015
Seasonal vs Episodic Content
One thing I still struggle with sometimes is trying to decide if the missions will be seasonal or episodic.
For example, think Heroes. Every episode in Season 1 Heroes is really just one story that take hours to tell, it's basically a miniseries.
Conversely, look at season 1 Alphas. At least in earlier episodes, each episode is fairly self-contained, and has less bearing on future episodes. Maybe they unlock a new ally, but for the most part you could watch the season out of order and still be fine. (Sliders actually PLAYED the season out of order, and it turned out fine!).
I tend to think of my missions like a TV series. At the end of the season they'll be increasing their power level, during the season they'll increase power points or get alternate mission rewards.
But the design of each type of mission is very different.
EPISODIC CONTENT
In this mission, everything is wrapped up in a clean shell by the end of the session or mission. There is a problem, a bad guy robbing a bank maybe. The PCs show up, there are complications, and at the end the villain is put behind bars, or killed, or escapes, but there is no further issue, no great mystery. Anyone who missed the session will not miss out on key plot points later on.
Often these are the easiest to style. The villains need less "fleshing out" because they will only last for this one encounter (or session at least). They should have SOMETHING that makes them interesting, but there is less intrigue. There is no greater plan (or if there is, the party thwarts it now.) Villains may need to monologue to give the players the details of their great plan, since there is no time to "show not tell" them this. The highlight of the mission is usually the combat or the dice roll challenges involved in it.
SEASONAL CONTENT
Most of the missions (if not all) are build ups to the main encounter at the end of the season. If the villain is a druid who wants to choke the world in plants, early missions will have you discovering intelligent plants, or lichenthropes (ha ha), and over the course of stopping several of the driud's plans, you ultimately end up fighting the druid himself in an epic battle.
There are more challenges this way- and it mostly stems from the PCs.
For example, a PC who learns they are up against a druid in early missions, may take special anti-druid powers with their first few power points (such as immunity to plant based powers, or something).
Also, your villain needs to work behind the scenes more, since PCs will do everything they can to stop a villain, (especially a major one!) from escaping at any point. Bosses will often be the target of all attacks while PCs ignore the minions. It gets old if all bosses can teleport.
Your villain also needs to have super-security or secrecy. Don't expect that he can secretly be the head of a major corporation like Lex Luthor, because the PCs will tape record battles and bring them right to the police, or use every investigative power/skill to hunt down the villain immediately upon learning of his existence.Even if they can't prove anything, they will publicly attack a villain they know is evil. (What will the police do to superman anyway?)
Remember, PCs are genre-savvy. They often refuse to hold the idiot ball or the hero ball. They will not stop to let a villain monologue, or even stop what they're doing to save hostages sometimes if it means the villain might get away.
Ultimately, I find seasonal content more satisfying as the GM, though both content types are needed to keep balance and pacing good in an overall story. Any thoughts?
For example, think Heroes. Every episode in Season 1 Heroes is really just one story that take hours to tell, it's basically a miniseries.
Conversely, look at season 1 Alphas. At least in earlier episodes, each episode is fairly self-contained, and has less bearing on future episodes. Maybe they unlock a new ally, but for the most part you could watch the season out of order and still be fine. (Sliders actually PLAYED the season out of order, and it turned out fine!).
I tend to think of my missions like a TV series. At the end of the season they'll be increasing their power level, during the season they'll increase power points or get alternate mission rewards.
But the design of each type of mission is very different.
EPISODIC CONTENT
In this mission, everything is wrapped up in a clean shell by the end of the session or mission. There is a problem, a bad guy robbing a bank maybe. The PCs show up, there are complications, and at the end the villain is put behind bars, or killed, or escapes, but there is no further issue, no great mystery. Anyone who missed the session will not miss out on key plot points later on.
Often these are the easiest to style. The villains need less "fleshing out" because they will only last for this one encounter (or session at least). They should have SOMETHING that makes them interesting, but there is less intrigue. There is no greater plan (or if there is, the party thwarts it now.) Villains may need to monologue to give the players the details of their great plan, since there is no time to "show not tell" them this. The highlight of the mission is usually the combat or the dice roll challenges involved in it.
SEASONAL CONTENT
Most of the missions (if not all) are build ups to the main encounter at the end of the season. If the villain is a druid who wants to choke the world in plants, early missions will have you discovering intelligent plants, or lichenthropes (ha ha), and over the course of stopping several of the driud's plans, you ultimately end up fighting the druid himself in an epic battle.
There are more challenges this way- and it mostly stems from the PCs.
For example, a PC who learns they are up against a druid in early missions, may take special anti-druid powers with their first few power points (such as immunity to plant based powers, or something).
Also, your villain needs to work behind the scenes more, since PCs will do everything they can to stop a villain, (especially a major one!) from escaping at any point. Bosses will often be the target of all attacks while PCs ignore the minions. It gets old if all bosses can teleport.
Your villain also needs to have super-security or secrecy. Don't expect that he can secretly be the head of a major corporation like Lex Luthor, because the PCs will tape record battles and bring them right to the police, or use every investigative power/skill to hunt down the villain immediately upon learning of his existence.Even if they can't prove anything, they will publicly attack a villain they know is evil. (What will the police do to superman anyway?)
Remember, PCs are genre-savvy. They often refuse to hold the idiot ball or the hero ball. They will not stop to let a villain monologue, or even stop what they're doing to save hostages sometimes if it means the villain might get away.
Ultimately, I find seasonal content more satisfying as the GM, though both content types are needed to keep balance and pacing good in an overall story. Any thoughts?
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