New GL and Sanity system

[Clovis]

As you say, determining exactly whether the Orientation is supposed to change is not very important... well, not so much unimportant as superfluous. As long as you and your Players can communicate properly and be clear as to your wishes and the Characters' possible evolution, everything should be fine.

I can see that you've really given it a lot of thought. Glad to know that the Sanity system is so inspiring, and thank you very much for the compliments! Rest assured that we'll keep doing our best to be worthy of such a positive opinion.

Have fun and don't hesitate to come back if you need anything else!

[StripelessTiger]

As you say, determining exactly whether the Orientation is supposed to change is not very important... well, not so much unimportant as superfluous. As long as you and your Players can communicate properly and be clear as to your wishes and the Characters' possible evolution, everything should be fine.

I can see that you've really given it a lot of thought. Glad to know that the Sanity system is so inspiring, and thank you very much for the compliments! Rest assured that we'll keep doing our best to be worthy of such a positive opinion.

Have fun and don't hesitate to come back if you need anything else!

I wasn't under the impression that a character's Orientation could shift. This is good to know. If their stats change, then they could become Rational instead of Instinctual or vice-versa?

Of course this wouldn't change the starting Trauma, right? I thought this was static to show how their mentality affected their upbringing.

I mean, it would be kinda cool to make it so that a character can 'heal' themselves of permanent trauma by becoming a more balanced character (closer to Orientation 0). Conversely, gaining a Trauma by becoming more unstable.

I think since the book doesn't explicitly state it, they don't change, but I like the idea that they can!

[seanscian]

I wasn't under the impression that a character's Orientation could shift. This is good to know. If their stats change, then they could become Rational instead of Instinctual or vice-versa?

Of course this wouldn't change the starting Trauma, right? I thought this was static to show how their mentality affected their upbringing.

I mean, it would be kinda cool to make it so that a character can 'heal' themselves of permanent trauma by becoming a more balanced character (closer to Orientation 0). Conversely, gaining a Trauma by becoming more unstable.

I think since the book doesn't explicitly state it, they don't change, but I like the idea that they can!

I’ve been treating it that it doesn’t change any of the initial statistics, but that they can change over time. As was already stated, it’s a bit superfluous as long as the evolution of the character is clear. My players actually appreciate that it can change, because it’s jarring to them as players that they’re being asked to have their characters view things in a different way—like when the Demorthèn returns to their home village as a hardened Rational, possibly a far cry from the Instinctual being they were when they began their journey!

It’s what I love the most about this game. The players don’t just use their character sheets to gain experience and improve, but to note how the characters evolve, possibly more so than other games I’ve ever run.

Also, there are rules that cover healing permanent trauma, but in my mind that doesn’t mean it’s the only way to heal, it just means the game is designed to let the characters heal.

Or possibly just give the characters the impression they’ve healed? Oh, the promises of the Morcail….

[StripelessTiger]

I wasn't under the impression that a character's Orientation could shift. This is good to know. If their stats change, then they could become Rational instead of Instinctual or vice-versa?

Of course this wouldn't change the starting Trauma, right? I thought this was static to show how their mentality affected their upbringing.

I mean, it would be kinda cool to make it so that a character can 'heal' themselves of permanent trauma by becoming a more balanced character (closer to Orientation 0). Conversely, gaining a Trauma by becoming more unstable.

I think since the book doesn't explicitly state it, they don't change, but I like the idea that they can!

I’ve been treating it that it doesn’t change any of the initial statistics, but that they can change over time. As was already stated, it’s a bit superfluous as long as the evolution of the character is clear. My players actually appreciate that it can change, because it’s jarring to them as players that they’re being asked to have their characters view things in a different way—like when the Demorthèn returns to their home village as a hardened Rational, possibly a far cry from the Instinctual being they were when they began their journey!

It’s what I love the most about this game. The players don’t just use their character sheets to gain experience and improve, but to note how the characters evolve, possibly more so than other games I’ve ever run.

Also, there are rules that cover healing permanent trauma, but in my mind that doesn’t mean it’s the only way to heal, it just means the game is designed to let the characters heal.

Or possibly just give the characters the impression they’ve healed? Oh, the promises of the Morcail….

It's a fresh idea, I like it!

[Clovis]

A character's Orientation can definitely shift depending on how their Ways evolve, but the starting Trauma doesn't... at least, that's how I'd rule it. Feel free to do otherwise if you want! However, this can quickly bring some odd results:

If we take the case of a character going into a Syndrome state, this means they lose 1 point in a Way and gain 1 point if another. If starting Trauma is recalculated accordingly, this may mean even more Trauma points, resulting in the character getting even madder. Talk about a downward spiral!

@seanscian: It's cool that your players take it that way. That's definitely what we wanted to go for with Esteren: a system that's more about the character's psychology and evolution than about gaining power