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Changing Factions

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Thu, 2013-10-24 09:54

jasonbrisbane jasonbrisbane's picture

Changing Factions

Hi All, When playing in game, characters are determined to make decisions that for good or worse, they must live with. These decisions may favor one faction over another and, in game, characters may decide that they dont really follow the hard line actions of one group, but prefer the moderated actions of others, or the complete turnaround of opinions. How would you allow the character to make changes to factions? Assuming their rep favours the faction they want to change to and the old faction falls below the new faction, would you just allow the removal of the old bonuses and the addition of the new ones? There would be in game requirements such as rep, possibly networking skills, and contacting the new group and being accepted into the new group... But how would you handle the in game change of faction bonus wise... Thanks Regards Jason Brisbane

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Regards, Jason Brisbane

Thu, 2013-10-24 15:35

nerdnumber1 nerdnumber1's picture

I wouldn't change any of the

I wouldn't change any of the skill bonuses. Sure you are switching your allegence and focus, but that wouldn't make you automatically forget the skills and social protocols of your previous affiliation, nor instantly teach you the skills of your new group. If you want to fit in with your new friends, you need to learn the skills with REZ just like you normally would. Faction is an abstract game concept that helps define your character initially and makes sure you start with a few faction-relavent skills that you presumably learned in much the same way as your other skills.

Fri, 2013-10-25 05:16

jasonbrisbane jasonbrisbane's picture

I would have thought that

I would have thought that being a member of that group/faction is what gives you the bonus... So gaining network:hypercorp is good for extropians cause they all know other hypercorp contacts. If you join anarchists then you dont keep the same bonus, you would loose it and instead, if you earnt the rust of the faction, then you would gain the networking:autonomists bonus instead... Same goes for any other bonuses and penalties.. others thoughts?

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Regards, Jason Brisbane

Fri, 2013-10-25 06:50

Lorsa

I don't think of the bonuses

I don't think of the bonuses you receive at character creation to be some inherent bonus you get for simply belonging to one faction; it's a bonus to get for having been part of it for a long time. I think the adjustments based on background and faction are more or less just some flair so that making one choice over the other at creation will have some form of impact. The game could easily have worked without them and simply given ~80 CP more at character creation. So, if a character does switch faction I wouldn't change the skills. It just feels... weird. What does it mean to change faction? Well basically it implies changing your entire belief system and motivations. It's a pretty big step to make. In it's essence though that's what it is supposed to be about; inner belief of a character and which people s/he feel connected to ideology wise. So I would simply let the character write a new faction on the sheet and that's that.

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Tue, 2013-10-29 09:49

jasonbrisbane jasonbrisbane's picture

Thanks Lorsa

I see your point....

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Regards, Jason Brisbane

Tue, 2013-10-29 10:18

Lu-Ka

I think the character can

I think the character can partially lose reputation with his former faction and acquire with his new faction.

He left his old faction => loss of reputation
He joined a new faction => gain of reputation

Thu, 2013-10-31 09:32

Patrick Northedgers Patrick Northedgers's picture

Not so complicated

First of all, faction is a nebulous concept. There is no single Hypercorp faction (as we have PC, MC (which overlap with Venusian faction) and LLA organisations), there is no single extropian or scum organisation. Only factions (from the corebook) that seem to have some coherence are Ultimates and Argonauts; Jovian, Titanian and Venusian come close. It is a declaration of leanings, not a formal contract. Thus, choosing a faction at character creation shows political leanings and - possibly - current employer of the character (or modus operandi, if freelance). That said, if you want to change faction, it usually means that character changes jobs, migrates somewhere else or changes lifestyle. It means they should have appropriate skills and take a rep hit for abandoning your lifestyle to replace it with something less-than-accepted with your old friends. You might also leave few enemies behind.

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"Normal" does not exist anymore. I consider it a good symptom, though.

Wed, 2013-11-06 22:04

thezombiekat thezombiekat's picture

I would defiantly not change

I would defiantly not change the skills. Deciding to leave society and live a hermit (Brinker) won’t magically leach you to fly a space ship. There is also the question of CP and RP if any of the skills being changed are above 60 which complicates matters. There may be a rep hit however. Abandoning old friends causes bad blood and new acquaintances don’t always welcome you eagerly until you have taken the time to prove yourself (it’s always easier to piss people off than impress them). But that is something to consider on an RP level. You could leave on good terms or provide a great survice to your new friends. With some factions membership isn’t even mutually exclusive. You can be an anarchist/Argonart, a socialite/lunar even a Criminal/Barsoomian/Argonart