PC-NPC-PC triangles – are faction moves a problem here?
I’m starting a new game soon and I wanted to put extra attention on creating the relationship triangles, but each time I think of asking another player “So what is your story with this NPC?” after someone introduced a new NPC, I see that Put a Face to a Name move is a road block here because Put a Face to a Name is designed to create relationship between PC and NPC.
I see few ways of somehow working with it:
1. For NPCs created as a part of session 0 and character introduction, discuss each PC relation to said NPCs, this will also mean that all PCs will never roll Put a Face to a Name with those established NPCs, as such those NPCs will never get or owe initial debt to the PCs. – so we kind of rob NPCs and PCs of some XP and some possible debts.
2. Do as above but for every NPC established during setup everyone rolls Put a Face to a Name but without marking XP? So that we will have dice set up initial disposition and possible will be more debts moving around.
3. Play as normal, but after every Put a Face to a Name ask additional question – so what do you think of this NPC? This will result is a delayed creation of triangles.
How do you create PC-NPC-PC triangles in your US games?
Do you have some special way of doing it?
In the game I’m running at the moment: the NPCs created in character creation were created with pre-existing relationships to one character. When the other PCs bump into them in play, they can still Put a Name to a Face. So the moment of NPC triangle development happens in play rather than at character creation.
The session start move is a great way of entangling players with NPCs and creating these triangles as it most often creates debts with different factions, so you can apply those debts to existing NPCs where it makes sense. The very first session start move is really an extension of character creation, of asking these initial questions.
When Player A creates a new NPC when hitting the streets, if you’re asking Player B about that NPC, I think you’re taking away focus and spotlight time from Player A.
Player B shouldn’t get a say in these actions until Player B is actually involved.
Aaron Griffin Your comment seems to be about spotlight management rather than forming triangles of relationships, or have I missed the point?
You said:
but each time I think of asking another player “So what is your story with this NPC?” after someone introduced a new NPC
and I latched onto that. I don’t think you should be doing that. You’re FORCING triangles and taking away the spotlight from the characters, by bringing in a secondary character.
Let others Put A Face to A Name if they wish, and let the triangles occur naturally.