(MUCK) Ponderings

So, in my brief trip away from things (all too brief, perhaps), I did come up with the framework for a Threshold character. It's not fully fleshed out, but it's enough to start with for me. But I'm left wondering if it's enough...


I can picture this character in my mind in certain scenes. A coyote infernalist/summoner who deals with and calls upon demonic powers in his magic.

Cautious, but "morally questionable" in the sense that he's ultimately out for himself first. Not "evil" in the usual fantasy sense as he doesn't really have any reason to be a psychopathic killer, though I see a touch of nihilism in his beliefs - a sense of "life and the world will all end eventually, don't get too attached to it." He may pay lip service to some deities, depending on the situation, but his only reverence in the sense of religion is for Mika the Demon Lord (as opposed to Mika the Goddess). I suppose that would make him something of a "cultist" by most standards.

I picture him working out of a narrow, run-down little shop space with a small room accessible up stairs on the outside in an alley. Strange details, perhaps, but this is definitely a vision of an aging lower city structure of poor design that's was added bit by bit. There, he could offer simple magical services and charms.

Amusingly, I also picture him clubbing. Dancing in some similarly run down home-turned-tavern. Of course, given the setting, that wouldn't be doing the rave thing. Probably belly dancing (with Sinti accoutrements) to a pounding drum rhythm, in a poorly-lit, smoky room. Something to do "for fun" or even perhaps an experience offered to the demons he pacts with - to "ride" in him through the night to see what mortal life is like. Full possession for limited periods of time isn't out of the question either, so to the observer, he could be prone to radical behavioral shifts from time to time.

I can see the character in these scenes. I can feel his reactions in some scenarios. That's excellent, actually. That's where I want to be when making a character. As I've said before, I find it hard to get into a character when I don't have this sense of them and have to just throw together stats and work from there. In this case, I have a sense of the character even though I have no idea what he'll be able to do in the rules (because we haven't settled on a system yet).

But at the same time, I don't know if it's enough.

Because while the character may be motivated by a design to gain power both magical and temporal (ha!), he doesn't have any set goals or plans, per se. I could drop him into RP and have fun while impacting the scene, but he doesn't really start scenes or plots by himself. He is... I suppose, a reactive character, for the most part. And while that's perfectly okay in some games, it feels like it's what we should be getting away from on the MUCK. We want people to actually generate RP rather than waiting for someone else to do so. And this idea doesn't really seem to accomplish that.

I'm not sure how to feel about this.