06 – Subplot Cards

(Portions of pg. 122-124 – Masterbook)

Alertness

When this card is placed face up in front of a player’s character, that person has a special “sixth sense” outside of all other rules and roleplaying situations that will help him to spot a previously unseen item, character, or clue selected by the gamemaster. It is normally used to allow a character to spot something he missed before; something that is important to the adventure. Used as in Masterbook. See Masterbook pg. 122 for specific examples.

Campaign

This card can be used to make another subplot permanent. The subplot must be one that could be made permanent – such as nemesis, romance, or personal stake (not alertness) – and the use of the card must be approved by the gamemaster. The “permanency” of the subplot is only as long as the gamemaster decides it is fun – or until the player character takes steps toward ending it. Used as in Masterbook.

Unlike other subplot cards, the campaign card can be held in the player’s hand until an appropriate subplot comes up. It does count as a card in the character’s hand until it is played, and the only way the character can get 3 Character Points for it is if the gamemaster rejects the permanent subplot. When it is played or discarded in this manner, the character receives another card.

Common Ground

When a character has this subplot in effect, the gamemaster uses it to establish a common relationship between that character and an otherwise alien or strange person, environment, or culture. Used as in Masterbook. See Masterbook pg. 123 for specific examples.

Connection

Played face up, this card means that, sometime during the adventure, the gamemaster will introduce a gamemaster character (or characters) who will help the player character in some way. Used as in Masterbook. See Masterbook pg. 123 for specific examples.

If it does not get used by the end of the adventure, the character may be awarded 3 Character Points by the gamemaster – at the gamemaster’s option.

Martyr

A”last-ditch effort’ card, the martyr card has two major uses. After every full Episode or so ( gamemaster’s judgment) that the martyr has been face up in front of a character, that character receives one extra Force Point as an award. However, sometime in the adventure, the character must sacrifice his life to perform some gamemaster-designated (and usually heroic/normally impossible) action.

When a player draws the martyr card, he must immediately decide whether or not it is going to be used. If, later on, the player changes his mind, he must immediately “pay back’ the Force Points he received (if any) times two. If he doesn’t have that many, he has to give up all the Force Points he does have, all his cards, and he has to pay back the rest he owes immediately upon receiving them. This includes getting hero or drama cards.

The martyr card should be used selectively. It means killing off a character in a high-profile, exciting way. The player shouldn’t do it if he doesn’t want to, and the gamemaster should let the player know if there is likely to be some heroic/exciting way the character can die. Otherwise, it is used as in Masterbook.

Mistaken Identity

According to this subplot, either the character becomes convinced that someone he meets is someone else (intentionally or unintentionally) or the character is mistaken for another person. At the end of every Episode the subplot is in play, award the character 3 Character Points (if the subplot is played in an interesting manner). Otherwise, it is used as in Masterbook. See Masterbook pg. 123 for specific examples.

Nemesis

Someone the character meets during the adventure (or interacts with, or who is hanging around) has or develops a grudge against the character – of dangerous intensity. At the end of every Episode the subplot is in play, award the character one Life Point (if the subplot is played in an interesting manner). Otherwise, it is used as in Masterbook. See Masterbook pg. 124 for specific examples.

Personal Stake

This makes a mission, situation, or occurrence much more personal for the character. Somehow, possibly through the characters background, or even through situations arising at the moment, the character has more riding on the adventure than anybody else. If the player roleplays this personal stake, acting in accordance to the situation, the character gets an award of between 2 Character points up to a full Force Points at the end of the adventure, depending on how well he does. See Masterbook pg. 122 for specific examples.

Romance

The character attracts a romantic interest and must roleplay the situation. This does not mean the character has to “fall in love” – love might not even be the issue. But, there must be roleplaying involved in the acceptance, rejection, or combination of the two. If the player roleplays the situation, at the end of the adventure, the character receives an award between two bonus Character Points to a Force Point – depending on whether the gamemaster feels the player roleplayed adequately.

Suspicion

The character who plays this subplot card will be “under a cloud of suspicion” sometime during the adventure. Some gamemaster character, or characters, will suspect that the character is not who he seems. Used the same as in Masterbook.

For every Episode that the suspicion subplot comes into play, give the character one Force Point if he roleplays it in an interesting manner. See Masterbook pg. 124 for specific examples.