Debt (Minor/Major)
Simply put, you owe someone. It might be money, or it might be something a little more unusual. Whatever it is, it's not something you can just walk away from, nor is it something you can easily pay off. The Black Market is, of course, the most likely debt-holder, but other possibilities exist.
At the Minor level, this is essentially a Trapping skin on the Poverty Hindrance, and works pretty much the same way. It just represents the reason you're always broke--every once in awhile, a beefy guy in a suit drops by, and you hand him a credstick, and he goes away, until next time. The interest on these arrangements invariably is high enough to keep you paying off for the rest of your life, barring a major shift in circumstances (this is a Hindrance that could be bought off as part of an Advance, provided you just made a major pay-off to your debtor).
As a Major Hindrance, this is something else. You owe, alright, but your debtor doesn't want cash. You pay your debt in favors. Usually, the favors are small, innocuous things that no one would even blink at. But every so often, you get a call asking for something less savory. The consequences for failing to perform, however, are simply unthinkable. In essence, you're a victim of blackmail/extortion, and it would take nothing short of a major quest to get the opportunity to get clear. The exact nature of the hold they have over you should be cleared with the GM--maybe a loved one is held hostage, or maybe they have dirt that would result in you getting drummed out of the Legion (and maybe executed?) if revealed.
For the Major form of this Hindrance, the GM should flip a card at the start of the Quarter. If the card is anything but a Club, you have to write a quick Interlude describing how you were 'tapped' this time. Maybe you had to act as background muscle while a Black Market loan shark went on his collection route; maybe you had to transport a package, unopened, from Point A to Point B. Sometimes, it won't even have an obvious reason--you never learn why you had to go to that bar and splash the bartender with a beer, but you did it, took the punch it got you, and walked out.
On a Club, however, the job is a little less savory, and a little more risky. The GM should pick a skill (generally one you have, though on an Ace, you may get tasked to do something you aren't really good at) and have you roll at some point during the Quarter. This is treated as a Quick Combat, except for the skills rolled--which means you might show up to a fight in the main storyline already injured. The GM should also describe what you had to do. It's generally a petty crime, but certainly nothing you want your supervisors in the Legion to hear about.
And on a Joker... the GM should set up a separate thread to run you through a mini-scene; once that scene is complete, the GM then declares when it happened (and thus, when the results kick in) during the main storyline. Despite this time-fungibility, your Bennies are kept constant across both the main scene and the side-story. Note that such jobs are almost always solo adventures, since they invariably represent a major violation of Legion rules. Wetwork, or helping a slaver smuggle his cargo through the territory are a couple of possible examples. One exception to the solo rule would be multiple characters in the same group who share the same Debt.
Failure or refusal to perform a duty has consequences. In most cases, you will end up with Major Enemy or Major Wanted as a result.
Because of the extra work this can entail, the GM MUST approve you taking this Hindrance, and is under no obligation to allow it if he feels it would not be a feasible commitment.
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Okay, yeah, this one's a bit convoluted, and might be over-the-top, but it's definitely something you see in fiction all the time.
Hindrance: Debt
- Radecliffe
- Diamond Patron
- Posts: 489
- Joined: Fri Mar 31, 2017 4:18 pm
Re: Hindrance: Debt
I agree. This one is convoluted and over the top. The bad part though is the distraction in a PbP environment this provides to an already slow moving process. I'm not sure I'd be happy with a person in my group taking this hindrance in this environment. I also think that the armageddon option for the major version is a tad harsh. I'd rather see the player do a swap for an Enemy or Wanted major hindrance for breaking with the organization that the character "owes".
That's my two cents.
Edit: This may have come across harsher than intended. My apologies. I do think it works well as a minor hindrance.
That's my two cents.
Edit: This may have come across harsher than intended. My apologies. I do think it works well as a minor hindrance.
Re: Hindrance: Debt
No worries, this is mostly on-the-cuff stuff; it's not expected to survive completely intact. I did go with your idea of a failure to pay turning into Major Enemy or Major Wanted, instead of the original open-ended bit.Radecliffe wrote:I agree. This one is convoluted and over the top. The bad part though is the distraction in a PbP environment this provides to an already slow moving process. I'm not sure I'd be happy with a person in my group taking this hindrance in this environment. I also think that the armageddon option for the major version is a tad harsh. I'd rather see the player do a swap for an Enemy or Wanted major hindrance for breaking with the organization that the character "owes".
That's my two cents.
Edit: This may have come across harsher than intended. My apologies. I do think it works well as a minor hindrance.
As for the distraction, that's one reason it's a separate thread if there's anything in particular that needs to get done. It doesn't interfere with whatever's going on in the main storyline, and both the GM and the player would be expected to post at least as often in the main SL as they do in the side-run.
- Radecliffe
- Diamond Patron
- Posts: 489
- Joined: Fri Mar 31, 2017 4:18 pm
Re: Hindrance: Debt
I do understand about using a side thread though sometimes I think it could turn out to be more of a time sink than they anticipated but with the option to turn it into a Wanted or Enemy hindrance the potential for it becoming too much a distraction do go way down. If the GM and/or the player decide they've bitten off more than they can chew then they have an out. Though if it is the player that bails there is no reason the GM can't make him sweat a little.
- High Command
- The Savage Inquisition
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- Joined: Sun Jun 12, 2016 6:10 am
Re: Hindrance: Debt
This needs to be repitched or abandoned
Tales of the 17th SOG
"In so far as you are concerned, I am the right arm of High Command itself. You are my Fist, be ready to strike at any moment." Major Killian Gregor, 3rd SOG Battalion, CSSD, Chi-Town.
"In so far as you are concerned, I am the right arm of High Command itself. You are my Fist, be ready to strike at any moment." Major Killian Gregor, 3rd SOG Battalion, CSSD, Chi-Town.