#4: They Call Me Eric

[RPGnet Columns]

http://www.rpg.net/columns/abracadabra/abracadabra4.phtml

Summary:

On power and dark magic

Go to the column (http://www.rpg.net/columns/abracadabra/abracadabra4.phtml) for more information.

[torbenm]

Luke: Is the dark side stronger?
Yoda: No, no, no. Quicker, easier, more seductive.

West End Games' Star Wars had dark-side points that characters get by misusing force. The interesting part is that you can add your dark-side points to rolls, so the more dark-side points you have, the more powerful you become. But there is a risk -- every time you gain a dark-side point, you risk going completely over to the dark side, which makes your character an NPC.

But I'm not really in favour of this kind of all-or-nothing rule. A character that gains power by dark means should have a free ride until the point where they tip over to the dark side or get claimed by the devil. They should eternally struggle with their dark side -- fight their anger, dark desires and conscience and generally feel more an more detached from their surroundings.

[Dr. Prunesquallor]

In contrast, I like a more severe form of the all-or-nothing rule. I particularly like Call of Cthulhu D20's spells. CoCD20 spells cause a loss of sanity (the equivalent to gaining dark-side points) and cause damage (usually temporary) to the PC's stats. This damage can sometimes be fatal.

IMHO, this double whammy is necessary because players can reasonably expect a campaign to end before they receive the guerdon of their guile for treating with evil. The PC is making a decision which will determine the fate of his soul, but that means nothing to the player. He "confounds hell with elysium" as Faustus might say. Adding stat damage makes it a serious choice, even in a one-shot.

[the_green_man]

Sorcerer by Ron Edwards and Paladin by Clinton R. Nixon (both reviewed on RPGnet (http://www.rpg.net/reviews/search-review.phtml)) cover this territory.

In Sorcerer, all magic is done by summoning demons, which puts the characters' humanity at risk. In Paladin, inspired by Star Wars, characters can gain power by putting themselves at risk to defend their code of honor or else gain immediate power by breaking the code, which has consequences. Both can be good for Faustian game play.