Over_the_Edge_Players'_Survival_Guide

Players’ Survival Guide
HELPFUL HINTS
to define each individual member of a team. When
I think back to my favorite RP moments as a GM, a
few of them relate to big pre-planned plot events.
But many more of them are the spontaneous scenes
that developed between PCs.
Credibility
Many players can benefit by seeking a degree of
authorial detachment from their characters, as this
essay has recommended. Don’t swing too far in this
direction, though. If you forget to look through your
character’s eyes at the many dangers of the Edge,
you’ll be out of the frying pan and into the fire. No
matter how interesting and motivated a character
is, no matter how much the GM values his presence
during play, the time might come when GM must
suppress his benevolent instincts and let a treasured
figure-head meet his doom. These are times when
the GM has the choice between letting a PC die, or
forsaking all believability. If she’s set up, say, a particular
poison as immediately deadly and without an
antidote, there’s not much she can do if you choose
to have your character swallow it. If her notes tell
her how deadly it is, but none of the players know,
she has room to fudge, and change her background.
But anyone who walks knowingly into disaster must
get his head handed to him, or the battles fought by
the other PCs become meaningless.
No player should take this advice as a recipe for
invulnerability. If a series is to maintain its integrity,
a knowingly reckless action must have serious, possibly
permanent consequences. This is yet another
reason to construct quirky, modestly powered PCs
instead of all-powerful champions. The latter character
is much more likely to die of overconfidence
than the former. Always read the cues your GM
provides; she’ll post plenty of warning signs around
any irrevocably fatal trap in a scenario. But you
must be willing to look for them. Characters who
are too cautious rightfully earn the GM’s annoyance,
but it’s just as easy to derail the plot by rushing too
quickly into a situation which requires investigation
and thought. The GM will not only be forced to
obliterate your latest character sheet, but will have
to pick up the plot pieces afterwards.
One day, however, you’ll find your beloved alter
ego on the brink of a situation that’s guaranteed to
shuffle his mortal coil straight to Buffalo. But, because
of his history, his personality, and the way you’ve
played him all along, it’s a situation he can’t shirk.
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The integrity of the setting demands his doom if he
bursts through that warehouse window, and you
know it. But the integrity of your character demands
that he head on in regardless. Don’t shrink from this
— destiny has given him a chance to make a great
and memorable exit. This is the stuff tragedies are
made of. He’ll die meaningfully, the way he lived
his life. His grand finale will stand as the capping
achievement of an artistic creation you and your
friends will remember for a long time. Character
survival, after all, isn’t everything.
Inspirational
Material
The following sources may enrich your OTE series.
My highest recommendations are marked with an
asterisk.
Periodicals
* Alarums & Excursions. Atlas Games, Robin Laws,
and I make our presence known in this apa. A&E is
a monthly discussion forum for gamers and game
designers around the world. For a sample copy, send
$2.00 plus Book Rate postage ($1.05 as of spring ’93) to
Lee Gold, 3965 Alla Road, Los Angeles, CA 90066.
Arkham Asylum, Grant Morrison and Dave McKean.
Eightball, by Dan Clowes, esp. "Like a Velvet Glove
Cast in Iron."
Heavy Metal. Not for kids. Get old back issues,
if you can.
* The Sun. Supermarket tabloid.
“Twitch City,” from early Love and Rockets, the
Hernandez Brothers.
Weekly World News. Supermarket tabloid.
Books and Stories
Douglas Adams’ novels, especially Dirk Gently.
* D. S. Ashwander. Selected Letters. A first-hand account
of a schizophrenic world view. (small press)
William Blake. Songs of Experience.
Jorge Luis Borges. Weird short stories.