Is there any guidance that I’m just missing on how to define the mythological weaknesses of the archetypes?
Non-move powers are covered pretty well by the Let it Out move, but I was surprised to not see character creation questions for some of the archetypes to flesh out what flaws the archetype has.
The biggest offender seems to be the Vamp, but the same could be true of other archetypes as well.
In various stories/mythology vampires:
Can’t cross running water
Can’t stand a cross (or maybe it’s the faith behind it)
Burn in sunlight (to various degrees)
Can’t enter a house uninvited
Repulsed by Garlic
Burned by silver
Forced into slumber during the daylight hours
Et cetera.
It seems pretty clear to me that when playing the archetype, they shouldn’t be hit by the entire set of the above, and that each game of Urban Shadows may have a different version of vampires. However, it seems important that at least the MC and the Player are on the same page about what being a vampire means.
I’m not too concerned by weaknesses that require active effort from an enemy because that falls nicely into things like the “expose a weakness” clause of Trick. I’m more concerned about agreement on when the vampire can be active and when they can enter buildings, or other day-to-day environmental problems.
We just talk about it as it comes up.
Whenever I’ve played a vamp or other monster with commonly known weaknesses, I create a list of what my character can and can’t stand and work it out with the MC.
I think you’re right that these games could use a little more direction in this regard. But basically the player gets to decide what vamps are like and share it with the MC.
What Paul said.
Page 29 talks about this a bit.
Much of this develops from the MC holding to their principles. Ask loads of questions and build on the answers and Be a fan of the players’ characters should drive the MC to help the player define their character’s narrative weaknesses. The answer to every question defines another little piece of the fiction. Following where that leads is a large part of the game. In fact it’s one of the MC’s primary agendas, Play to find out what happens.
It’s important to note that it is perfectly ok to define aspects of a character when they come up in play. For example, a group runs into a situation where they need to break into a reporters apartment. You’ve already established that the vamp can only move about in sunlight with a magic witch-forged ring and that wooden stakes through the heart paralyze rather than kill. But nothing has been defined about invitations for entry and this is the first time it has mattered. The MC could turn to the player and ask him if his vamp can even enter the apartment without invitation.
Charlie Collins – I think other posters have said plenty here, but let me add two thoughts:
1) Urban Shadows is a game about proactive characters who might rise to be the movers and shakers of their city. To some degree, our interest is in the political weaknesses of the characters, not the biology of vampires and werewolves. That’s not to say that stuff doesn’t matter, but we think that relationships, deals, etc, should be the focus of the game.
2) Misses matter. Remember that you get to say what happens on a miss. If you want a vampire to have a sudden and distinct craving for blood, then when that vamp hits a miss, tell them “Okay, this thing works… but you’ve exerted yourself a ton tonight. What does it feel like when you need to feed right now?”
Hope this helps!