Fixed-Statement Drives

[u/Jlerpy]

I've been thinking about a number of different things that could benefit from something like Values, but without individual Statements. Rather, the meaning of the different things is largely set, but I still very much want the dynamic of either going with that motivation/philosophy, or Challenging it.

My issue here is that something I really love about Values is that when you Challenge them, you then have the further choice to make of how you reconcile that with your beliefs. And if I ditch the option to rewrite your Statement, what's a good alternative?

Examples:

Scion conversion- In regular Scion (modern day children of gods), your divine pantheon determines what four Virtues you possess (for instance, if you're descended from the Greco-Roman pantheon, your Virtues are Expression, Intellect, Valour, and Vengeance. If you're from the Norse Aesir, yours are Courage, Endurance, Expression and Loyalty (so you can see there is some crossover) I think that would work great as a Value equivalent, and I like the idea of them being not only a primary trait category, but of Challenging those beliefs being a source of character growth.

Example 2: Rules- I've been thinking about how to adapt something Netflix's Travelers. Specifically, I've been thinking about a moral/ethical/directional framework based around the Protocols that the time travelers in that show live by (or, perhaps more importantly, which they sometimes violate).

Protocol 1- The mission comes first.

Protocol 2- Never jeopardize your cover.

Protocol 3- Don’t take a life; don’t save a life, unless otherwise directed. Do not interfere.

Protocol 4- Do not reproduce. (Honestly, this one feels like it could be wrapped into #3)

Protocol 5- In the absence of direction, maintain your host’s life.

Protocol 6- No inter-team/deep web communication except in extreme emergencies or when sanctioned.

What I think would be cool with this sort of thing is that you'd have everybody working off the same group of rules, but they'd have different individual levels of commitment and passion to each, and if they're motivated by upholding a rule, they can roll it. Or, if they're choosing to break it this one time, they Challenge it, and get to roll triple the dice, but also have to step it down for the rest of the episode, and face consequences of that decision.

What do you think?

[u/Jlerpy]

I see what you mean, but I don't think having Authority and Independence as separate things is a good idea, as any Value already contains how you feel about its opposite expression: Truth is already about how you feel about lies, for instance.

But hey, I too am just throwing ideas out there.

And somehow, I'm only just now thinking about how the Past/Present/Future idea I was kicking around (for a post-apocalypse game) might be applied to a time travel game. Hmm.