Re: [BNW] Bargainers - totem making rules

[Mark Kilfoil <kilfoilm@nbnet.nb.ca>]

Kirk Monsen wrote:
> 
> Planetary alignment-  Bargainers deal with demons, and
> demons like having strick rules ... especially about
> when they want to be disturbed by mortals (after all
> you don't like it when someone calls you at 2 in the
> morning?).  

I like.  You might also have a general bonus available
for a player who points out a "real" special day (assuming
that you are using a calendar, even roughly), say a +2 or +3
for them pointing out a special day that they are going 
to perform the ritual on...

> Also materials play a factor.  It's harder to make a
> Blaster totem with a water gun and a pipe cleaner then
> spending thousands of dollars on obscure reagents.

Although it is easiest to describe this in terms of
money, you might also express this in terms of rarity
vs. commonness, relativity (of the symbolism) of the 
object to the demon being charmed, and destruction of
the object.

E.g.: if the totem uses the bone of a saint (that the 
Bargainer had to sweat to get), give 'em +5;  if he
gets a bone of a saint that locked 
away/defeated/banished this *particular* demon, give
'em another +5;  if he has to destroy the bone to create
the totem (meaning he cannot do it again), give 'em 
another +5, for a total bonus of +15 (to throw numbers 
around madly! HAHAHAHAHA!).

> Bargainers like groups.  For each extra bargainer who
> helps in the making of the totem add +1 (max +5).
> Covens are a good thing.

Perhaps make this even easier:  each member adds their 
Occult skill bonus to the roll..  Or perhaps all of the
Bargainers roll, and for each success and raise the
others get they give the primary Bargainer a +1...

Of course, they will then proceed to bicker about who
gets to keep the totem...

> Experience:  I was debating with the idea of making
> each totem it's own trick, but didn't like that idea
> much.  Instead they should be treated like
> quasi-skills.  Each time a particular totem is
> successfully made the bargainer gets a +1 bonus to
> making this totem again.  This bonus is additive up to
> a max of 5.  So let's say you've made the mimic totem
> 3 times already, the next time you try you
> automatically get a +3.

I dunno about this one...  I like the idea that each
totem is somehow unique, and that to charm the same
daemon multiple times is going to get harder each time...
And finding another "compatible" daemon is going to
require searching and learning the tricking all over
again...

> What do you think?

Overall, quite cool...

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