At the beginning of a game, is it ok for two players to owe each other debts?

At the beginning of a game, is it ok for two players to owe each other debts?

At the beginning of a game, is it ok for two players to owe each other debts?

It seems like during the game, if you do a favor for someone and you owe them a debt, it makes sense to cancel the debt you owe – but is that a requirement?

Can someone owe you a debt, you do something for them, and now you owe each other a debt?

8 thoughts on “At the beginning of a game, is it ok for two players to owe each other debts?”

  2. The opening debt statements should generally be with other PCs.

    Two people owing each other a debt is not the same as two people not owing each other a debt. So, they don’t cancel out.

  3. Sure.

    Debts with other character create interesting group dinamics. While debts with NPCs help to form the setting.

    We rarely cancel debts in game. Its an interesting mechanic that help the game flows, so we prefer to add extra debts than canceling existing ones.

  4. Let me answer your question with one of my own favorite things to do in this game: debt combat. Debts are good roleplay elements. It’s a way to get an uncooperative person to work with you. The lure of freedom from later payment can be quite powerful. After all, is answering a question so much harder than doing a task that could get you into deep shit with somebody else (and therefore creating even more debts)?

    But who’s to say that you can’t do a tit-for-tat back and forth? “You owe me…” “Yes, but you also owe me for this… we can call it good here.”

    Even though the debt rules are different than how they were when they started, it’s still possible for two people who have amassed a lot of debts on each other to chain them into some very interesting situations.

    Kinda miss the options in the older versions of US that let you increase harm and such using debts. But I understand why they were removed.

  5. Yeah, I’d argue that whilst it makes sense that the debts cancel each other out keeping them both establishes backstory and means they still have that bond (and leverage over each other, not to mention story hooks) as play continues.

  6. Everyone here has already said a lot of good stuff, but I’ll add this: you can always spend a Debt to cancel a Debt. Here’s an example:

    Roxy the Wolf owes Wesley the Wizard a Debt for the time that he told her which spirits were trying to kill her pack; Wesley owes Roxy a Debt for keeping him safe when the Wizard’s Council formally cut ties with him. 

    Either character can come to the other and say “Hey, remember ___? Yeah, we’re even now” and cancel the Debt the other holds. But both of them will probably prefer to have a Debt than be free of Debts, since they don’t know what they will need in the future from the other.

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