Author: Eric Finley (---.micralyne.com)
Date: 02-20-2002 14:25
Fascinating - but in my experience, sort of backwards.
I'm talking about the assertion that, to convert a ruleset to LARP format (something which which I have considerable experience), one needs to generate harder and more precise rules for things which would previously have been decisions-by-fiat of the Powers that Be - in this case the Hollyhock God.
The trouble is that the sort of rules Sean describes - more precise quantification of the miracles enacted - are *thematically* contrary to the spirit which drives people to LARP. On paper (pun intended), it seems like crunchier, less subject-to-arbitration rules are needed for functional LARPing... but I've found that the reality (pun also intended) of it is that in LARP, players who are unwilling to 'live by the spirit' should rather be *required* to seek arbitration - any level of interpretation is too much - whereas players who are capable of using a Hollyhock-independent system such as you describe are *also* capable of acting as their own Gods and arbitrating on a more abstract level between themselves. Not only will the latter not require the rules you describe, they will possibly even (depending on how extreme the quantification process is) find them simplistic or confining.
This is not to say that some overall guidelines of the kind you describe may not be a blessing to Hollyhock Gods and advanced players alike, tabletop or otherwise, in their efforts to wrap their brains around as strange a rules/setting combination as Nobilis... but I don't think that the assertion that "these will assist LARP enactment of the game" is necessarily true.
One noteworthy, if still embryonic, LARP of my acquaintance uses a system which might be worth observing for this. They use a simplified form of the dice system from the tabletop version of their game, and *the players do not carry dice.* Players who are capable of mature arbitration and going-with-the-flow simply do so. Players who require the rules for resolution, require dice - which only the narrators are permitted to carry.
So far it looks very promising - and is a modus which you might consider strongly (with regards to miracles instead of dice), for Nobilis. It has its own implications - medium-high narrator-to-player ratio required, and multiple narrators a must, which can be tricky with arbitration of potentially global miracles... but these implications can and should be addressed regardless.
Thus, rather than emphasize the guidelines for 'quantifying' miracles, you might consider instead putting more emphasis on the tips and methods for (a) promoting the playstyle typical of the best LARPers, where they both preserve the good interests of the game and are able to impartially assess the effect of the interaction of their powers within this framework, and (b) facilitating the interaction of multiple Hollyhock Gods within a large game. These are topics which can get more than just tips-and-tricks... region clipboards and delayed onset of effects are very good examples of the latter, *methods* rather than mere here's-how paragraphs.
An example of the former set - methods to promote mature roleplaying, the kind which needs not consult the rules to be fair - would be this. A fantasy LARP - the oldest and most venerated LARP in my area - always breaks after the games - which last a full weekend - and sits down with all of the players to tell stories from the game, and vote on certain categories of 'excellence'... Best Roleplayer, Best Costume, and so on. One which has a very subtle effect is the category 'Sorriest Case, Dumbest Action'. Quite apart from being good for a lot of laughs, the existence of a prize for having suffered sometimes catches players who might otherwise begrudge the flow, call on the letter (rather than the spirit) of the rules, and generally become frictive within the game... and gives them an alternate focus. "That's a Sorriest Case if ever I saw one, Bob... no, I guess technically you can't be backstabbed with a greatsword, but you'd think hearing 'Everybody ready? One, two, three...' would clue you in."
In Nobilis, "Sorriest Case, Dumbest Action" isn't quite what we're looking for... but how about this as an in-context version of the same effect:
"Nobilis characters should, in general, possess several qualities which are not necessarily easy for players to enact. Three which are worthy of recognition follow... three qualities which are thematically appropriate to Nobilis, and which deserve to be rewarded. It is recommended, especially for live-action games (which tend to have many more players), that after the game there come a recognition - acclaim, statistical rewards, backrubs, or what have you - of the player who has demonstrated each of these most keenly.
The first, and most important, thematic virtue of Nobilis is Dignity. No matter how grubby the Noble, still they should have their Dignity. Dignity is also the virtue broken when a player drops character, insists on a rule, or demands arbitration rather than promoting the direct flow of the story. The player who best demonstrates Dignity is the player who never needed to resort to the Hollyhock God, never conflicted with other players - though their *characters* may have warred bitterly with others - and was always able to smoothly find agreeable, vivid resolution to a dispute. They should be recognized and lauded.
The second thematic virtue of Nobilis is Humility. This is not to say that the Nobles are humble - usually the reverse. But at the same time that pride, even overweening pride, is thematically appropriate, so is Humility - the humility of the Noble before his Imperator, his Imperator before Entropy, the humility which makes rank and station matter. Humility is the virtue broken when a player strives to make the utmost - beyond 'fair' and into 'advantage' - of his abilities. The player who best demonstrates Humility is the player who admitted defeat when overmatched - whether by actual advantage or simply by cleverness or situational factors, whether his character strove to the utmost or not - the player who did not seek to minimize his disadantages but whose *character* sought to overcome them, and the player who was always most agreeable - without becoming the Power of Creampuffs - to resolutions proposed by others, even when these were not in his favor.
The final thematic virtue of Nobilis is Ambition. Seems easy compared to the other two. But the Ambition of Nobles is focused, driven, often very strange and counter to their best advantage, to the "best" way to "win", or to their Family's or Imperator's desires. Ambition is the virtue broken when a player contributes his power to a situation because "we need it to solve this puzzle." Players are friends to one another - this is excellent. Nobles, even those of the same Family, should always be considering their own Ambitions first. The player who exemplifies Ambition is the the player who, when faced with a single wish - which they could have used to change the game forever, statistically or fundamentally - wished for the happiness of rainbows, the tinting blue of the sun, or the emancipation of children... whatever he is driven to desire, despite the "use" that it might have been to him as a player... without ever falling into the deadly trap of the trivial. Ambition is the game, and drive - a perfect Noble should change the world with every game."
Give these three voted-best players an actual reward with every game, even just a solid round of applause, and you will have done more for your Nobilis LARP than the best-worked-out set of miracle guidelines ever will.
In My - Humble, Dignified, and above all Ambitious to forever do away with mealy-mouthed unsophisticated LARPing - Opinion, that is.
- Eric
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