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Guilt
Guilt is a condition that plays a remarkably significant role in the Hitchhiker's universe, driving both the plot and the interaction between characters.
Examples of guilt (or responsibility) driving the plot include:
Okay, so occurrences may not be that numerous, but their impact is certainly significant. In fact, the impact of guilt is so remarkably significant that we've decided to create an optional rule just for the hell of it.
The way that a party of characters in a game interacts is almost always coloured by whom they blame for their current predicament. This, it is important to note, may not actually be the person that really is to blame, just the one that everybody thinks is responsible.
Guilt in the game and guilt out of the game are two entirely different concepts which players often get mixed up. Some role-players use such concepts as the "munchkin hat" or the "hubcap of shame" to actively discourage bad role-playing, but this concept, while amusing, is misplaced.
The Guilt Proxy is a plot device that draws attention to the character (not the player) against whom blame has been attributed. A physical representation is then used to draw attention to this particular condition.
A good guilt proxy is a stress ball or other item that can easily be passed between and seen by players. A humorous device works best (in my own games I use an inflatable beach-ball known as the big ball of guilt).
There are two ways by which a character can acquire the guilt proxy. The first is for circumstance (ie. the plot) to reveal that a character has responsibility for a major consequence that is currently being felt by the party (getting their spaceship blown up, getting them arrested, releasing the Ravenous Bugblatter Beast of Traal from its cage, signing the demolition order for the Earth). Under these circumstances the Guide should pass the guilt proxy to the player of the character responsible.
The second way to acquire the guilt proxy is for someone to lay the blame.
Laying the blame is an often groundless act deliberately carried out by one player to hold another player responsible for things that have gone wrong. Because there is only one guilt proxy, laying the blame is usually done by someone who already has the guilt proxy in a desperate attempt to shift attention away from himself.
When blame is laid, an opposed player vs. player test is called for. Each player draws a number of cards equal to his Cool stat, modified by relevant properties (Blame, Convince, Lie etc.).
Other players cannot assist in this test, which is resolved with poker hands like any normal opposed test. The loser takes the guilt proxy, and becomes the focus for blame within the party.
The guilt proxy is a role-playing tool to encourage character interaction and to ensure that blame is resolved in-game rather than between players. Laying and passing the blame are ways to keep character dynamics fluid and to prevent everyone from ganging up on the same person in every game session.
While a character holds the guilt proxy his Cool is halved. If he has failed to get rid of the guilt proxy by the end of the game, then he moves on to the second stage of guilt.... Shame.
Shame kills. A character suffering from shame is unable to earn or acquire further Probability Points until he has managed to exonerate himself or to lay the blame on someone else.
A good example of shame's effects in the Hitchhiker's universe is the death of Ford Prefect's father. Already wracked with guilt about the Great Collapsing Hrung Disaster, of which he was the sole survivor, Ford's father took the blame from his son when Ford was unable to pronounce his birth name. Ford's father ultimately carried the guilt proxy with him until he died from shame.
Besides passing guilt over to someone else, it is also possible to remove the guilt proxy from a character by his performing a heroic and selfless act as a means of seeking redemption in the eyes of his or her peers. This act is of course even more heroic than usual, because if it fails the character will probably end up with no Probability Points.
It is important that the other characters see the act being performed in order for the character to lose the guilt, otherwise it doesn't count.
Certain things might also have an effect upon guilt. These include the Blame Gun, the Point of View Gun, a Portable S.E.P. and an S.E.P. Field.
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Examples of guilt (or responsibility) driving the plot include:
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- Zaphod Beeblebrox's continuing responsibility for major plot devices which really should leave him the most hated man in the universe (signing the demolition order for earth, stealing Trillian away from Arthur, causing the takeover of the Hitchhiker's Guide by the Vogons and so on);
- Arthur Dent's perpetual responsibility for killing Agrajag;
- Ghengis Khan's responsibility for producing so many irritatingly unpleasant descendants;
- God's responsibility for creating the Universe and the Babel Fish;
- Man's responsibility for making God disappear in a puff of logic.
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Okay, so occurrences may not be that numerous, but their impact is certainly significant. In fact, the impact of guilt is so remarkably significant that we've decided to create an optional rule just for the hell of it.
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How Guilt Works
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The Guilt Proxy
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A good guilt proxy is a stress ball or other item that can easily be passed between and seen by players. A humorous device works best (in my own games I use an inflatable beach-ball known as the big ball of guilt).
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Laying and Passing the Blame
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What does Guilt do?
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Shame
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Exoneration
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Things
Metabaron |
Latest page update: made by Metabaron
, Oct 30 2007, 7:03 PM EDT
(about this update
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