More on that Austen RPG

[kent_allard_jr]

The GF had Pride and Prejudice on her shelf so I plowed through it in a couple days. I can't say I thrilled to every page but I found it surprisingly readable. (I was embarrassed to find Mr. Bennet derided in the novel, though, since he was the character I most identified with...) Don't know if I'll continue with the others, it depends on how far I pursue the Austen RPG idea.

I'm still not sure how an Austen RPG would actually play, so I'm starting with an easier task: Figuring out how to define characters. Naturally that would depend on the game mechanics, to a huge extent, but a first step would be finding ways to distinguish characters from each other, using as few dimensions as possible. Among the Bennet sisters:

• Beauty. Jane is regarded as the prettiest girl in the neighborhood. Elizabeth is also attractive, while Mary is plain.
  
• Intelligence. This may require more than one dimension: Elizabeth is clever. Mary is bookish, but not brilliant. Catherine and Lydia are foolish.
  
• Propriety. Jane and Lizzy are proper Georgian ladies, while Catherine and Lydia are flirts, and Mary shows no interest in men at all. While this seems to match "Intelligence," memories of Sense and Sensibility suggest they should be kept separate.
  
• Trust. Jane sees the best in everyone, while Elizabeth is more suspicious. (Catherine Morland from Northanger Abbey would be at the low end of the scale, I suppose.)
  
• Talent. While none of the Bennet sisters show much musical aptitude -- Mary sings badly, Elizabeth doesn't practice much -- I think other Austen heroines show some.
  

Some of these characters may have to be set for NPCs but not PCs. "Trust" for example could be established in play; "intelligence" tends to be high for all Austen heroines, and could be left out for PCs. Men, in addition, may have a completely different set of attributes. The question, though, is whether these are a good starting point.

Comments

This is one RPG I would play!

[trinityvixen.livejournal.com]

Forgive me for not knowing the proper terminology here, but I promise I am trying to help.

I like your character traits, but in the spirit of the 1800s in which they are set, I would almost suggest that you make Beauty, Propriety, and Talent primary, um, traits that you roll for or however you assign them. Because you could limit the points for all the traits and people could throw their points into those three alone and not really suffer for not having anything in the other two. I'm totally serious. Be pretty, proper, and play well enough, and the rest doesn't really matter as much. So maybe stratify your traits--have those three be primary and then enliven characters with a secondary tier of classification, on which Trust, Intelligence, etc. could lie.

As for "trust," I'd name it "cunning" or "savvy" because, in fact, what it seems that you're pointing out is not trust or the lack of it in character but their ability to assess who is worthy of trust and who is not. It seems more like the story presentation of the characters to point out that Elizabeth is not necessarily untrusting or, as you put it, suspicious, but cautious and sensible enough not to put faith in outward appearance. Jane would be more conditional--her ability to suss out a person's worth might be dependent on their primary characteristics (higher propriety/talent, more generous her assessment). People like Lydia wouldn't be conditional, they'd just be gullible.

Intelligence, however, should not be left out of your considerations for both NPCs and PCs. There are some heroines, particularly Emma, who aren't all that bright. (Also, I'm sure your friend boosting for you to read/watch Emma is nice and all, but it's not better than Pride and Prejudice and Emma-lovers need to get over that already.)

[kent-allard-jr.livejournal.com]

This is one RPG I would play!

Now that is a good reason for me to keep working on it, breaking the TV ban on RPGs!

Trust (or Savvy) is a weird attribute in a roleplaying game, because the players could assess for their characters, without rules having to get involved. Non-player characters might have it. (I'd probably use Cunning instead of Savvy, though, for my own personal reasons: I used Savvy in Two Fisted Tales.)

Re: This is one RPG I would play!

[kent-allard-jr.livejournal.com]

Oh, and I forgot: Happy birthday!

Re: This is one RPG I would play!

[trinityvixen.livejournal.com]

Thanks for coming!