Hi all !
I’ve started Urban Shadows last night, created the characters and started the relationship map. So far, many ideas are popping and I will not have a problem to put problems in front of them.
Two questions, though.
First, the Tainted’s Patron. Is he of Demonic Nature and from the Wild Faction ? Could he be something else ? Like a Mage ?
Second, the identity of the NPC. Could a “Mortal” NPC be revealed as a Mage ? How is the “secret identity” of the characters (PC & NPC) known in the universe ? For example, the Wolf is protecting the University Campus as his territory. How well is his “Wolf identity” known ?
Thanks !
For your second question (sorry, can’t help with the first one), the faction of a character is not tied to their nature. A mage that mostly deals with the mortal community or is disconnected from the power community could have the mortal faction. In that case their ability to hide their magical powers would be an important factor for people to know or not their true identity.
But I would say that in most cases supernatural beings know who are what. While most mortals don’t know about their true identities.
Here’s my view, others might take it differently:
I think the Patron’s gotta be from the Wild faction as that’s what the Tainted is. But there’s nothing stopping them being a mage (people can move factions after all).
As for secret allegiances. That’s fine: a faction roll is a roll to interact with the person through the lens of that faction. So if everyone believes that X is just a campus cop, then X’s faction is mortal and you learn what everyone knows about that cover ID. When it’s revealed who they really are, then their faction is night. Like, treat the two sides of them like different people.
I’d keep that to a minimum though. Your PCs should be or quickly be a part of the shadow world and have a handle on who’s who.
On The Tainted, default is that the Patron is a Demon who is associated with Wild. I think there’s space to tinker with that if you have a player who wants to go in a different direction, but think about the faction economy in your game a bit, because advancement comes through faction moves, and if you’re eliminating a wild character that The Tainted interacts with, you might want to add another one. It also changes the nature of the playbook somewhat, in terms of the way the moves relate to the fiction. How does Tendrils in the Dark work, if the patron is a human mage? Why can’t they just call their patron on the phone? And there’s a bunch of other stuff like that you should probably take a few minutes to talk through with the player.
I’d add on the second point, that’s probably a question for the player. Who did they reveal their wolf nature to? Do they try to conceal it, or are they generally open about it? What does this say about the campus?
Thanks for the answers. I’m currently building the relationship map and I’ve got many “Mortality” and less “Wild” and “Power”. I’m going to add a Fey Court in the mix for the Wild, and was thinking of switching the patron to a dark sorcerer (Power). After all, it’s Rasputin (player chose to play a Russian Mobster left for dead).
For the identity, I’ll work with the Wolf player.
Also, for the switch of Faction, it may come from my version of the game, the French one. The Faction are not named “Mortality / Power / Wild / Night” but “Mortals / Awaken / Untamed / Nocturnal”. I think my misinterpretation could come from this.
I can see how the different names can be confusing. A point about NPCs being revealed to be something else, too: one option you also have is the “put a face to a name” roll. On a 10+, the PC can learn something interesting about the NPC. That might be the space you would choose to reveal this to the player.
Yes, I need to get this action on top of my mind. I think it’s a great way of developing the relationships.
1. In a game I played last year I’ve started with a Demonic Patron as Tainted, but then due to my actions, a Wizard replaced/consumed my Patron. My hopes ware that that will break the contract, but I just had a new patron who didn’t wish me well.
I think Demonic Patron is default, but you could experiment with it. However few things will have to be established, are Wizards able to grant others the Demonic Form? Why do Wizards bind others with powerful contracts? etc.
2. I personally don’t think that Urban Shadows supports secrecy well. When you get to roll faction moves they should always be rolled with proper faction score.
Also look at the moves structure – with Hit the Streets why would players go to this Wizard who pretends not to be a Wizard – doesn’t make sense.
Put a Face to a Name also on a hit gives you information commonly known about this NPCs.
PCs are in town for some time, they know who is who, only occasionally they might not recognize someone, but even on a miss is it way more fun that they owe that person and this know who they are.
Usually there are enough secrets floating around regarding what everyone wants and why they are doing things they are doing.
That said, not every Wizard needs to live in magical tower, players are fine to meet the Wizard in his family house while his wife is cooking and see the more mortal side of a Wizard.
Quick thought: You say you’re thinking of switching the patron to a dark sorcerer, but, though you’d have to allow it, that should be a call for the player. They get to decide who their patron is and how they relate, not the GM.