Finally, one of my dreams is coming true – I may be able to GM a game of Nobilis!
I have the Big White Book for years, but never had a chance to form a group to play it. I am excited, but at the same time, afraid. The rules are lite enough but the fluff is thick. There’s so many concepts to impart to a new player without the rules, and the game is not a ‘you stroll into the inn and the bartender tells you about a horde of Orc plaguing the area”.
Here are just some of the problems I am planning to tackle:
The Fluff: Sure, the writing in Nobilis is cool and all that, but sometimes I think you need a minor in philosophy to grasp all of it. Not just that, there are plenty of things to consider – the Laws of the Nobilis, the factions (Wild, Light, Angels, Infernals), Lord Entropy, what is a chancel, the great war, Ash, Proasic Earth, Realm…arggh! For a run of the mill fantasy game, sometimes you don’t even need to now who is the king of the realm. For Nobilis, the things you need to know (especially the Windflower Law) boggle.
Eh…campaign?: As the GM, I have to come up with a roster of interesting NPCs for the PCs to cross swords with. I need to come up with an interesting plot. Raiding dungeons to kill an orge overlord? Meh, that won’t cut it. I could go for a simple approach, like you know, global warming! But that’s kind of too obivious. Then there would be players who wants action. I guess I just send them off to Mythic Earth first.
And you guys meet in…eh…a tavern! Getting the players to gel together is also probelmatic. Sure, there’s a chancel, but I rather create one for them first considering they are new to the game. What keeping the group together? They don’t need treasure; they don’t need knowledge. They probably have a couple of enemies, but this means lots of backstory.
This is it. I guess I will just toss them into Mythic Earth, let them wield their powers a little bit, see how it affects Proasic Earth and then have the group adopted by an Imperator who guides them before they all get out of hands. Now I need a meta-plot. How does those new nobles come about? What’s the immediate threat? (I don’t want to sic the Destroyers on them so fast).
Any ideas for my first game of Nobilis? Please advise!
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April 29th, 2009 at 9:56 pm
“Sure, there’s a chancel, but I rather create one for them first considering they are new to the game. ”
This is a big mistake.
I’ve been playing in a Nobilis game for a while. I love it. It was the first time I (and most of the other players) had played the game. Part of the reason it is so good? We’re invested in it. We came up with our chancel and imperator. We love them as much as our PCs do.
That’s the motivation you’re lacking.
April 30th, 2009 at 5:05 am
This is something worth thinking over. This is my first time doing Nobilis, and coming up with the chancel provides motivations for the character. However, most of the players (all?) don’t have the book, and I am trying to ‘parcel’ out the fluff in them. There are many options for the chancel, and I think the players will want to know “if I pick X, what is the consequences?” Though usually the chancel is the one that unites the group.
Thanks for your advice, I guess I’ll do some thinking over it.
April 30th, 2009 at 11:34 pm
No problem. If you have any questions, feel free to e-mail me.
Our GM (HG), largely went through the chancel/imperator creation section with us. This actually served as a decent introduction to the game setting insofar as he had to explain the possible ramifications of some choices to us or give examples.
May 1st, 2009 at 12:32 am
I would agree. In fact, I would say spend the entire first session coming up with characters, together, as a group.
Start with the mortal personas (since it seems you’re having all the new Nobles be former humans). Then handle the Imperator and chancel. Then the Noble stuff. While you’re doing all of this, you can determine where the Imperator and the chancel fit into the scheme of the Reality War. If the players want to be in the front lines, they’ll tell you so. If they’d rather explore the many worlds of the Tree, they’ll tell you that too. Meanwhile, they’ll develop their bonds to the Imperator and their Familia. They’ll probably generate NPC rivals and plot seeds for you, too.