IC Personal vs non-personal decisions in a LARP

Community Larp discussion
#1

Random thought/poll/opinion thing: If you were playing in a game with very high stakes, but the outcome wouldn’t directly affect your character in any significant way (say, for example, your character would have to make a decision which could result in the deaths of several - or several hundred - people who your character has never met) would that detract from the gravity of the situation/decision?

Put another way, if the consequences of your actions don’t affect you, but do affect others, does that make making that action easier/would it have less impact on you (both as a player and a character)?

#2

Depends entirely how it is framed and what sort of responsibility my character has. I don’t think it needs to detract from it, and if the story makes sense and I have enough information available, I think its fine. Theoretically it could be framed in such a way that I as a player and as a character just don’t care one way or the other.

It does touch a little on the PC vs NPC stigma we seem to have, though. I believe we have a persistent and pervasive attitude in our community regarding the status differences between player characters and non-player characters, with the latter being barely regarded as significant at all. So, in this instance, I believe there are frequent occurrences where the lives and fates of many are disregarded simply because of the perceived OOC nature of their involvement in the story.

#3

It’s for a game I’m (beginning to) write, so I don’t want to give too much away, but the theory is the decision is extremely important to the character (possibly in a career-ending way) - but as you say, the fact that all the (potential) deaths happen “off screen” and to non-PC’s might detract from the OOC impact of the decision.

I’m debating whether to have the decision affect the character more directly, in order to draw the player more into the role, but at the same time, I’m thinking that shouldn’t really be necessary.

#4

If they can see the effect, even in the ‘there were 4000 civilians in this town, now there are 2000,’ that might help

#5

Might depend how much context and foreshadowing is given.

If the off-screen characters have been made to feel like people with their own histories, emotions, families, etc. it would feel more significant because they would seem more “real”.

#6

Hmm that’s a good thought Ryan. Rather than “if you do thing x, 200 people will die” something like “if you do thing x, Tom Smith will die. You know Tom, you had dinner with him and his wife last Thanksgiving.”

Especially if your boss is saying “You need to do thing x, or you’re fired”

(Yeah, it’s a weird job I’m talking about :wink: )

Edit: Although that’s more unsatisfying on a story level; it reduces the impact of the action on a wider scale.

Edit edit I’m good at this, shuddup :stuck_out_tongue: : At it’s core I want this to be a “bad for me, or bad for a whole lot of people that aren’t me” type decision…

#7

If this is the Cold War game you were talking about, I’d second Ryan’s advice, with the addition that spies all know each other (look at Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy for an example - everyone’s got history together). So make those offscreen NPCs real, make the character 9and hence hopefully the player) care about them, and that shoudl provide your tension.

#8

Yeah it is for that game :slight_smile: Although having all spies know each other is a bit of a stretch. I think I might go a bet each way, something like “x people will die, including (PC Name here), if you don’t do (thing)”

#9

If they’re spies they could have read dossiers about some people who they’re about to kill, even if they never met them. Could even be in general terms not individual, just mentioning that reading about the lives of people in X country reminded them how people are much the same everywhere.

#10

Its a fairly small community; if they’re in the same agency or in allied agencies, its easy to give them past history to create a bond.

(BTW, have you added “The Sandbaggers” to your inspiration list?)

#11

They’re not all in the same agency :wink:

I have added it now, thanks :slight_smile: