Help me out! Do you think these would make interesting two-faced characters, who use their public attributes to hide their public ones?
What other terms can I use besides "Cheer, Helps, and Specialness?"
Roles & Systems:
1) Each player chooses a character name.
• One player must be Mr. Gray, the Investigator.
• All other players are Suburbanites, and may choose their own name, based on a color, the more brilliant the better. Examples include Mrs. Orange, Mme. Chartreuse, and, of course, Perry Winkle.
2) Each player chooses an occupation or role within the Town, including the Investigator. Examples include: a breadwinner (business owner, insurance claims adjuster, whatetever), housewife, or student. Notice the Investigator need not (and maybe shouldn't be) a police office or typical licensed private investigator.
2) All players collaborate to name an equal number of Systems as there are Suburbanites. Examples include: City Council, HOA, PTA, any Local Church, Salvation Army (or any Charity), Political Parties, the Golf Club, any Major Employer in the area, and so on.
• One Suburbanite must be named the President of a System of his/her choice.
3) At a minimum, you need three players: The Investigator, the President, and the Suburbanite.
Roles & Characters
1) Each character has both public and private attributes:
PUBLIC:
Write down a simple statement that your character would answer to the following prompts. It might involve his/her personality, an activity/action, an event, possession, or relationship.
CHEER: Why people say I'm cheerful/bring joy.
HELPS: Why people say I'm helpful.
SPECIALNESS: Why people say I'm special.
PRIDE/ACCOMPLISHMENT: What is my greatest achievement/talent/thing to be proud of
Example: The lovely Miss Ruby Redd has the following Public attributes:
Cheer: I always get cast in the lead role in local community theater productions.
Helps: I am a gifted piano teacher.
Specialness: I have naturally curly bright red hair.
Pride: I was a runner-up for Miss Beauty Queen Pageant last year.
PRIVATE:
Without revealing their cards to the other players, everyone writes down a simple statement that your character would answer to the following prompts. You must involve an object and/ or another character (player or non-player.)
HURT: What thing pains me to think about, or what thing causes mental distress? Examples: rejection, broken heart, grief, stress, jealousy
NEED: What emotional or physical thing are you lacking that drives your behavior?
Examples: friendship, love/intimacy, confidence, respect
WANT: What emotional or physical thing are you actively seeking that drives your behavior?
Examples: wealth, power, fame, possessions
Example: Not all is perfect with Miss Ruby Redd.
Hurt: My high school sweetheart, Joe Blue, dumped me for my best friend, Jujube Brown.
Need: I constantly need validation from the President of the Town Welcoming Committee.
Want: I want my boss, Sienna Blaze, to give me a promotion.
2) Each character has a special Private attribute: Guilt/Crime. This is a simple sentence that admits to some dark secret or secret shame. Your Guilt must contain an action involving another character (player or non-player.) These secrets could reveal an event, a failure, a mistake, a hidden side to yourself, a scandal, or anything disruptive to "normal" suburban life!
In some cases, this Guilt is from a criminal act and is thus labeled "Crime." Crimes are determined randomly. There might be no actual crime committed, or there maybe more than one character hiding some secret crime!
• Each player gets one index card. The Suburbanites privately roll two six-sided dice, and if the result totals 7, their "Guilt" is actually a "Crime." Note: The Investigator gets a card like any player and so will never have "Crime," and the President gets a card and roll of the dice, like any other Suburbanite, and so might be a criminal!)
• As with Guilt, any Crime must contain an object/another character (player or non-player,) AND must have been motivated by one of your private attributes. For obvious reasons, Crimes of murder cannot have another player as the object.
o Examples include: Abuse, Murder, Blackmail, Assault, Theft
Miss Ruby Redd:
Rolling a 9, Miss Redd will have Guilt, not a Crime. She feels guilty for spreading a rumor that Jujube Brown was
If she rolled a 7, she would have had to write a Crime instead, and it must stem from one of her other private attributes. She would have chosen her Want as the motive for her crime, which is Blackmail against Sienna Blaze.
