Passions

Passions grew in the revision, so social mechanics and insanity will come next time. A section on Emotions was cut and will be included with Insanity.

Thus far, there are three other sections which will feature more, specialised information on Passions:
1. Goals and Threats
2. NPCs
3. Storytelling
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PASSIONS

Passions are the urges and drives which spur the PCs on to action and bear them up in the chaos of adventure. They fall into one of two categories - Ties and Principles.

Ties are the relationships that define your character, whether that’s venomous hatred towards an ally who deserted you in a moment of need, or a simple love of your homeland and its people. Ties are rendered as an object followed by the tenor of the Passion in brackets. For instance:

• “Thousand Scars Veteran (Hatred)”
• “The Carpathian Highlands (Love)”
• “The Banksia Men (Fondness)”

Principles are the creeds, ideals, traits and cravings that define your character. Principles are rendered as sentences. For instance:

• “The strong should hold open dominion over the weak.”
• "Nobody is irredeemable."
• "I worship Ulalia and embody her ideals."
• "I am a just king."

===Defining Passions

Passions should be short and evocative - a Tie’s tenor should not exceed 3 words, and a Principle shouldn’t be more than a short sentence.

Tie or Principle?

Many Passions can be rendered as Ties or Principles. If the Passion in question can be rendered as a Tie without sacrificing too much of its content, do so.

The Domain of Passions: Obligations and Prohibitions

In each case, Passions consists of obligations and prohibitions: that which the Passion compels you to do or refrain from doing.

As with skills, Passions should be broad enough that they could reasonably come up every session, and narrow enough that it can't be made relevant to every problem (primarily for the purpose of spending Will, which is detailed below). If a Passion seems to be coming up too often, it should be pinned down to some specific obligations and prohibitions.

Where possible, leave the question of what a Passion means open, and dramatise answers in play through the PC's response to the moral dilemmas the GM has posed. Love, for instance, is rarely only jealous, submissive, romantic, or lustful.

Unifying and Dividing Passions

Players will often want to condense their Passions: To unify some Principles under the banner of a code of conduct; to unify some Ties under the banner of a family, clan or circle of warriors. This is perfectly alright, and these higher-order Passions should be treated like any other.

This is also a good way to take Passions which, on their own, would be too narrow: Dietary restrictions, superstitious habits, points of etiquette and so on.

If a PC defines themselves mostly by their adherence to a moral code, it's a good idea to split its facets up into separate Passions.

Inappropriate Passions

If someone thinks a PC's Passion contradicts the desired tone of the game, discuss why, and change it or the game’s tone as necessary. As long as the players come up with a rough idea of their desired tone before the game, this shouldn’t be a problem.

[[Tone to be discussed in a short comment on running games in another section. Examples: Horror, heroic adventure, noir, etc.]]

Will and Rank

Passions are ranked according to what you’ve sacrificed for them, which determines the extent to which they define you. There are three ranks: Minor, Significant, and Major, which are alternately referred to as Rank 1, Rank 2, and Rank 3 Passions.

Will is the reserve of willpower and motivation held by each of your Passions. Minor Passions can hold one Will, Significant Passions two, and Major three. You can spend Will 1-for-1 to upshift the result of actions in line with your Passion.

Example: A hermit with a Principle of self-reliance and seclusion could channel his Will towards getting away from people and supporting himself once he'd done so, so long as he refused any help which he was offered.

Ties, Rank and Valence

Where relevant, Ties directed against an object will be represented with a negative Rank, and Ties in favour of an object will be represented with a positive Rank. This means Rank ranges through 7 degrees, from 3 to -3, describing Major Ties for and against an object respectively.

Example: A Minor Tie of love towards a dog is Rank 1. If it fell 3 Ranks, it would proceed through indifference (Rank 0) to a Significant Tie against the dog, whether it be hatred, fear or disgust.

Interests

PCs will often have interests or habits which neither pose much risk, nor offer them much cause to go out on adventures. If these quirks cannot be assimilated to a broader motivation, there's no need to represent them with a Passion, although they can be written down as roleplaying notes.

Example: Artaxerxes loves wine and fine cheeses, but has no particular love for the high life besides. He often indulges his tastes in the city between adventures.

Passion Tests

A Passion Test occurs whenever you have an opportunity to act in line with your Passions at significant risk to yourself. When, in the name of a Passion, you risk:

1. Embarrassment, injury, or inconvenience, take 1 Will and raise its rank to Minor if applicable.
2. Scandal, crippling injury, or detour, take 2 Will, 1 XP, and raise its rank to Significant if applicable.
3. Exile, death, or compromise of a goal, take 3 Will, 2 XP and raise its rank to Major if applicable.

Passion Tests are ranked according to what a PC could reasonably risk in the name of their Passion. If the PC could not reasonably risk more than would get them 1 Will, it's a Minor test of Passion. So on for Significant and Major tests.

If a PC refuses to risk anything in the name of their Passion, or risks less than they reasonably could, lower its Intensity by one and erase any excess Will. PCs can always choose to risk more than they're expected to, but they won't be penalised if they don't.

PCs are also encouraged to test each other's Passions, whether as a means of manipulating one another or otherwise.

[[The precise meaning of inconvenience and detour will be elaborated in the context of Goals and Threats.]]

===Judging Risk

What constitutes a significant risk is left to the GM's discretion, but a good rule of thumb is that it be more likely than not, or certain to result in a bad outcome. More than anything, it's important that the GM be consistent in their judgements.

Underestimating Risk

If all at the table have underestimated the risk of a given course of action; if a series of bad rolls make things worse than they should have been; if they were simply never sure of it, the GM can choose to reward PCs with Will and XP befitting the risk, so long as they do not swerve from their commitments when trouble has reared its head. 

The GM can never revoke Will and XP they’ve already given.

Unreasonable Risk

An unreasonably risky action is one which is significantly likely to do more harm than good to the cause of the Passion in question.

Examples: Herod hates the Romans who have occupied his land. He would be penalised for refusing to risk rescuing a fellow of his from the Roman Guard, but he would not be penalised for failing to walk directly to Caesar's palace and throw rocks at him.

To give a more nuanced example: If on the following day Herod was meant to lead a raid intended to recapture 20 prisoners, he would not be penalised for refusing to risk capture by the Guard in an attempt to, say, rescue a few prisoners on their way to the Guard's prison camp.

===Dying for your Passions

By default, facing death in the name of your Passions offers no benefits beyond those listed above. The GM may give the PC the option of spending all their Will to achieve some specific end - for instance, holding off marauding foes long enough for the rest of the party to escape - but I personally find it more rewarding to leave all that to chance.

===Indulging Passions

Players can also declare unprompted, often during downtime, that they're sacrificing something to their Passions. In this case, they declare what they're doing and suggests a rank. Once a rank is agreed on, the GM narrates consequences appropriate to it and distributes Will and XP accordingly.

Unlike a Passion Test, indulgences cannot raise the rank of a Passion.

Examples: A spoiled young dilettante prince hosts a night of feast and debauchery and wakes up with his palace trashed and several treasures stolen. (Significant Indulgence)

His father exiles a sensible courtier over a slander against the young prince. (Significant Indulgence)

Retroactive Indulgence

In certain circumstances, the GM may offer PCs the chance to declare retroactively that they made some sacrifice in the name of their Passions.

Example: A young Legionnaire of the Roman army sets off with his comrades in arms. He is known to be of a retiring disposition (Significant Principle), and it hasn't yet been established whether he has been socialising with his fellow legionnaires. The GM asks whether he has, and his player says no, that the young man has instead been keeping to himself and studying classic poets. The GM declares that relations between the man and his fellow legionnaires are frosty, and that this will probably come back to bite him. In the event that it does, the player is awarded Will and XP in accordance with the risk incurred.

On the other hand, if his player had declared that he had in fact been socialising with the legionnaires, he would have gained a Minor Tie of comradeship towards them, and lowered his principle of reclusiveness to Minor rank.

===Conflicting Passions

Internal Conflict

Sometimes, a PC's Passions’ obligations and prohibitions will come into conflict. Internal conflict is a wonderful source of drama, and so minimising potential conflict between Passions should not be a goal unless you want to focus on interpersonal or external conflict.

Only directly contradictory Passions should be prohibited, and even then only in chargen. Competing Passions can emerge in play as a PC's personality develops.

GMs are encouraged to come up with moral dilemmas which pit PCs' Passions against one another.

Internal Conflict and Passion Tests

When a PC satisfies one Passion at the expense of another, the compromised Passion's rank is lowered and the preferred Passion's is raised according to the degree of compromise. Judging the degree of compromise is largely a matter of feel, but following rules of thumb will come in handy:

In the event that a Passion is compromised irreparably, the preferred Passion is raised to its old rank. Any compromise short of utter betrayal is one rank lower. In the case of Major Passions, the rank can be lowered once more if losing two ranks feels excessive.

Example: Johnny Murgatroyd Jr. loves his cat (Minor Tie), but he's a greedy son of a bitch. When someone offers to buy his cat off him for $200, he takes the money. As a result, he loses his Minor Tie towards his cat and gains a Minor Principle: "I love making money!" 

Interpersonal Conflict

Before play begins and after players have come up with their PCs' Passions, they should be compared to make sure they won't lead to irreconcilable differences in the party. Beyond that, it's left to each group to decide whether they want to minimise in-party conflict and to what extent.

===Starting Passions

I recommend starting with 1 Major and 2 Significant Passions. These can be generated before play begins or over the course of the first session as players are exposed to the setting.

===Gaining Passions

If a PC wants or expects to gain a Passion, they can pencil it into their Passions list and leave the rank unmarked.

===Changing Passions

During downtime, or in the wake of a significant event, players may feel that their PC’s Passions have become obsolete or untenable. In this case, they’re allowed to change those Passions and retain their Intensity and Will, so long as their new Passion responds to the old in some way.

At the GM’s discretion, the changing Passion’s intensity may be lowered by one rank, to represent spiritual exhaustion. This should be done if the change is a radical one - for instance, a complete reversal of position - or if the Passion is changing too rapidly - more than once in a session, or 2 sessions in a row, say.

Additionally, Passions may develop as they graduate to a new rank in the wake of a Passion Test.

Examples:
In the wake of a wrestling match which proved more difficult than expected, Milo's contempt for his foe Lucian matures to a grudging respect.

Vices

Vices only ever get in the way of achieving one's goals or adhering to one's Passions. Vices are not ranked, and they can only be indulged. This provides Will and XP as usual, but Will is distributed to Passions which the PC feels could redeem their indulgence or guide them away from the vice in question.

Example: McGinnis is addicted to cocaine. One day, while on cocaine, it occurs to McGinnis what a great idea it would be to rob a bank. He leaves 20 incoherent voicemails on his friend's phone before speeding off to the bank with some hosiery on his head, trying to load a shotgun and steer and rearrange the hosiery so he can see, all at the same time. After causing several accidents, he makes it to the bank. The cocaine begins to wear off, but he's terrified of what will happen if he stops, and so he heads in.

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NEXT TIME: Madness, Wealth and Social Mechanics