Refusing debt.
Let’s imagine a situation:
Rose(PC) is asked by Trevor(NPC) to transport some cargo from harbor to his warehouse because she owes him for other deal few nights back.
Right at that moment Rose has opportunity to Refuse the debt, say how she is playing it, then roll the dice and choose options.
But what if Rose accepts the deal but start second guessing it while doing it.
What if Rose learns that the cargo she is transporting are humans that Trevor intends to sacrifice to the dark goods of his
or
What if the cargo container eats two rockets and is totally destroyed, people inside are all dead.
Have you had a situation as above at your table, if so how did you handle it, or how would you handle it should such situation occur ??
Would you allow Rose to roll Refuse debt then, would she roll +Heart or +Nothing(because she initially agreed so now she is at more disadvantage) or do you play it in the fiction and do what fiction demands ??
Well, those two situations are both weird cases, so I’ll get to them in a minute. In the general case, reneging on something you’ve agreed to is the same as not agreeing to it in the first place, so it’s not so much that you’re allowed to roll to Refuse a Debt as you’re obliged to because that’s what you’re doing in the fiction. And you’d roll +Heart like always, I can’t imagine why you wouldn’t. But I think situational modifiers are generally dumb anyway, so.
For the first case, you’re finding out that the deal wasn’t what you agreed to–and more importantly, you’re arguably paying more than a ‘moderate cost’ by being party to human sacrifice, which if your table agrees is the case would’ve invalidated the deal in the first place. This is kind of on the same level as using a debt to lead someone into an ambush, so I’d treat it the same: the debt is paid because you made the good faith effort to repay it, and you don’t need to roll to Refuse in this case. You don’t get to jerk someone around to that degree and still claim they owe you a favor.
For the second case, the rockets weren’t your fault. You did your best to repay the favor and outside circumstances made that impossible. You don’t need to Refuse here, either, because you already did the favor to the best of your ability.
NB: these are all hypothetical answers, not experienced-at-the-table ones.
listening
James Etheridge I meant something different with first case, PC was not lead to the trap nor was about to be sacrificed as well, however PC realized that he was involved in something he didn’t want to be involved and then deciding that he wants to Refuse.
But I get your point of view, just roll Refuse then 🙂
That’s what I meant by ‘being party to human sacrifice.’ Asking Rose to participate in and support that practice is arguably more than a moderate cost. I say treat it the same as an ambush because it’s basically an ethics ambush.
James Etheridge That’s an interesting point of view. In my opinion that’s a standard practice and MC Principle to Dirty Hands of Everyone involved, from NPC point of view he is asking PC for “transport”, what is being transported is not relevant to whether it is small, moderate or major cost.
The what is being transported is however a moral dilemma for player and PC.
Are you always open with all details to your PCs?
I find it interesting to leave detail like that about ethics for players to discover themselves and have this ‘oh sh*t, what have I gotten myself into and how do I get out’ moment.
No, I think it’s fine in general terms to lure PCs into a setup, if it makes sense in the fiction. I just don’t think they should have to Refuse a Debt (or still owe one) to stop playing along once they find out that it’s a setup.