Fated Born as Ortega Discussion

[Valentine]

Hey there!

 

So I recently Fatemastered a game in which one of the Fated were born/raised as Ortega. However this has caused some discourse as (understandably) an Ortega would know a lot more about the world of Malifaux and the creatures within than Fated new to the region. I'm seeking some advice on the following:

 

• If the Ortega feels that they should know more about a certain creature/situation, what's the best way to append to their knowledge-based flips?
• How do I balance the game to even the combat ground for the Ortega and other Fated if the Ortega will typically have an advantage?
• I feel like it's going to require some custom enemy creation on my part in order to keep things fresh. Any other enemy recommendations?
• Finally, just some general advice on how to run a game that is still exciting even though most information is already known by a single player.

 

Any advice is appreciated! Thanks for your time!

[Shadowopal]

Given that the player is not WITH the Ortegas any longer. There must be a reason..... Whether s/he left as a child because s/he couldn't deal with the constant raids or weather s/he was sent to find others to bolster the ortega ranks in the badlands. Have the character delve into why s/he is not housed in the Ortega compound (Latigo) currently. If s/he left early, s/he would not have the experience and your problem is solved. If s/he is young (late teens) maybe s/he hasn't been in the field much and has been relegated to kitchen duty and care of the compound. As for knowledge checks, just because s/he was raised by Ortegas does not an expert automatically make. And even the Ortegas do not know EVERYTHING there is to know. They specialize in HUNTING the NEverborn. They would have some inkling of the warriors of the Neverborn and some of the Hierarchy. But, not necessarily every hidey hole and piece of knowledge on how the Neverborn live and survive and mate and such. So, don't be overly generous with bonuses for the character. Unless that character puts some skill points into knowledge of the Neverborn, they just didn't pick THAT much up from their childhood for whatever reason. I mean I grew up the son of a Nurse and a government IT tech. Yet I don't know anything about Networking and very little about medicine outside of what illnesses I and my wife have had. Why? Those careers were not me. They were my parents. I went down an artistic road and then became a Realtor. I know Real Estate and drafting and a smattering of art techniques. My parents don't. That's how life works. Unless the child pursues the same career, they won't learn much through osmosis. Maybe a few bits of trivia and enough to participate in a conversation. But, not to lead one.

[Valentine]

@ShadowOpal - Very good points that I think I can hash out with the player, thank you!

 

For additional background, the Fated in question here is in their late 20s, and has continued in the family business somewhat. Based on the player's backstory, I don't take them as a high ranking member so ShadowOpal's notes do resonate with that. They were sent Earthside to complete some sort of transaction and horribly botched it resulting in a violent breakout, leading them to seek return to headquarters and report the bad news. Our prologue game took place on the train into Malifaux and (despite all possible odds that I had anticipated) ended safely at the station. 

 

The players' approach to the game completely surprised me (as it should!) and I have to write something entirely different than I had thought. I'm looking for advice on this Fated in order to incorporate it into further sessions. Their feedback indicated that they felt they should have been able to figure out more during the first session based on their Fated's background, so I'm trying to satisfy the player's wishes while maintaining balance to the game overall.

 

Thanks so much again! I'm already starting to feel unstuck and getting more ideas for further sessions. Please keep the insight coming!

[Brewmaster]

The big thing to help out the player with what they "know" (setting the meta game expectations) is that the station is what their parents did. You make your bones through effort, not what your parents did. I would be inclined to allow a little meta-gaming if that player sold me on it, but ultimately it's a matter of letting the player know they gotta work up to Latigo Pistoleros at this point, much less reach a Santiago.

Balance is one of those tricky things that the honest answer is "you kinda have to eyeball it". There's a thing in the fatemaster's book that's a series of questions you can ask your players (I'll find it later but it's the "if they answer yes to two or more of these, then they're combat dangerous".) One of the things I've used to great effect is environmental challenges. I had my guys fight an ice summoner guy, and there were "Regen crystals", 40mm markers on the board. They had a slow effect if you failed a check next to them, and they have the main guy an armor bump (which I described directly). If the player isn't "combat oriented", they have something else they can do, which in turn changes how dangerous the combat is.

Just a quick post, I'll throw up a bit more later

[zeeblee]

[un]fortunately Through the Breach does not possess a monster lore skill or attribute.  However, it does possess skills which could loosely relate to "knowledge Neverborn" if you tweak them in the following ways:

History (Intellect) - Knowledge of the history of human/Neverborn conflicts, and thus a secondhand knowledge of Neverborn.  Low ranks may mean the character only possesses knowledge of well-known and basic Neverborn.  High ranks may mean the character has read more esoteric stuff and knows about rarer Neverborn.

Wilderness (Intellect instead of Cunning) - Knowledge of Neverborn attributes.  "That one has acid blood as black as night!"

Track (Intellect instead of Cuning again) - Knowledge of typical Neverborn haunts and the evidence they leave behind when they've been in an area.  "Yep... that looks like a Brilliance trail alright."

 

You can mess with other skills as well, but with these three at least you could form a baseline of what your Ortega player actually learned as a family member.  While I hate to focus only on numbers, it's also true that the numbers of the game are there to reflect what the character knows and what they can do (it's why a character with 0 ranks in Longarms will never be called a crack shot).

 

As for balancing combat, at the beginning of the Dramatic Encounters chapter of the Fatemaster Almanac it discusses a list of attributes to pay attention to.  One is that if the average card flip required to hit an enemy is over 5, then the combat will likely be a bit longer.  If the average flip for a player to dodge/block/not take damage is over 5, then you can expect it to be a painful encounter.  If a character has a minimum damage of 3 or higher on a standard attack flip, then you can also expect the combat to be quicker (if they can hit...)

 

For enemy creation:  How familiar are your players with the Malifaux skirmish game?  If they're not at all familiar, and have only read through the TTB books, then snag yourself a copy of the Malifaux core and/or Crossroads and use those stats (they translate rather well).  If they are familiar, then yeah, you should make up new stuff if you want to throw them off (or pull a trick some DnD groups pull:  those goblins don't operate on Monster Manual goblin stats.)  Personally I have been creating antagonists by building my own Fated characters (either via random tarot or choosing my own results because I AM THE GOD OF MY GAME UNIVERSE).  If you don't want them to be human, then start fudging with stats and applying abilities from other monsters and creatures.  If you want to make a Nephilim, then just make sure your antagonist has Black Blood at the very least, and then add junk from there.  The skirmish game is again a good place for inspiration as you can begin to mix and match special attributes/powers.

 

As for how to run the game.  Is it that the one player knows a lot about the setting, or that you've told that player most of your ideas for the story?  If the former, then throw them for a loop.  An example:  my game is being run as though Prohibition is in full effect.  If it's the latter, then make sure you don't tell that player everything, especially if you know they are bad at metagaming.  If you discuss an encounter with them, maybe talk about the fact that there will be mindless zombies, but don't let them know they are going to be controlled by a gremlin resurrectionist who rides a mechanical bull.

[Mistergone]

If the Ortega feels that they should know more about a certain creature/situation, what's the best way to append to their knowledge-based flips?

 

There's Ortegas- and then there's Ortegas.  The Fated with the Ortega station need not have ever visited Latigo, fought a Neverborn, or even gone Breachside until the start of your game.  It's entirely possible that Perdita's 2nd Cousin twice removed has never faced down a Nephilim- or held a gun for that matter.

 

But you could create some Ortega FCs that the player might use as contacts to learn more about Neverborn- if that's where their interests lie.   Maybe even have them run some minor jobs for the Family if they make a good impression.

 

In terms of game mechanics- your Fated know what you want them to know, and what they don't know they have to work to learn.

 

How do I balance the game to even the combat ground for the Ortega and other Fated if the Ortega will typically have an advantage?

 

I guess I don't understand the problem.  If the Player created a purely combat-centric Fated, while the others are more Skill-centric, then that's an imbalance you might expect.  Being an Ortega isn't auto-win, though- this isn't M1E.

 

I feel like it's going to require some custom enemy creation on my part in order to keep things fresh. Any other enemy recommendations?

 

There's no end of stuff to kill in Malifaux.  Even if you just used what's in the FMA and M2E, that's a ton of encounters.  

 

Finally, just some general advice on how to run a game that is still exciting even though most information is already known by a single player.

 

I try to not have the Fated face existing Masters or even Henchmen.  They might hear about one of them in passing, or meet one in a Narrative time "cameo" -so that players who know the game still get that thrill of recognition. But I don't ever pit them against players in dynamic time.  

 

So make your own Masters.  Make your own Factions, for that matter.  I run a Cabal of insane Mages against my players who use Cult of December statlines/attacks with a few custom spells I added to them.  No affiliation to Rasputina or even the Arcanisits.  Not even an Ortega would know what these guys are after.

[Omenbringer]

I dont think the Ortega's necessarily know any more about Malifaux than anyone else, they are just crazy enough to pit themselves against the horrors of the untamed wilds.