Heartless – Page 4
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Nadav is doing several things here.
First, he puts something interesting in an otherwise trivial scene. When Mac arrived at his hometown, everyone around the table expected him to meet with his parents. The problem is, it’s a pretty straightforward encounter – so it should probably be waived quickly or pushed off-screen – while at the same time, we’re talking about a meeting with his parents in his former home, so this scene does deserve some respect.
One solution is to make the parents less straightforward, by having them take some part in the adventure, or inject something dramatic into the relationship they have with Mac. Tricky, because Markos was already injecting drama into Mac’s life, so having interesting parents might place too much spotlight on a single player, Guy. Markos – and Fab – unlike the parents, are not “just Guy’s”; other players can form interesting interaction with them (as we see in today’s page, for example). Upgrading the siblings into dramatis personæ, and not the parents, might be a matter of taste of Guy’s or Nadav’s, and in other parties they might prefer it the other way around, but I think that since Markos was already established as an “interesting-for-all NPC”, it makes some sense to keep to this line and have a sister involved, instead of upgrading the parents. The difference between the types of relationships one has with their parents compared to with their siblings, is just too yummy, drama-wise, and if we give Guy two kinds of interesting relationships, we’re only aggravating the danger of keeping the spotlight on him for too long.
So Nadav decided that the parents should be exactly as straightaway as they seem. They’ll just stand there, in their manor in Rhyr, probably until the end of the campaign, being Generic Noble Fjordstadians. To spice up the encounter, Nadav created a new character, Mac’s older sister. He liked that she is motivated and manoeuvrable (that is, we might be able to see here popping up in the story in various places, and in different roles), because these attributes stand in stark contrast to the parents, making the whole thing a bit more interesting for everyone involved.
Second, by bringing Markos up, Nadav reminds everyone that he exists; and by making him the linchpin of this conversation, and apparently Fab’s whole reason for contacting Mac, he also signals that we’re not done with Markos. He is still important. This needs to be said because up until now, all of the adventures were more or less stand-alone, their own ecosystems. From now on, the opposite is true.
Third, by having Fabiola act in an emotional way, Nadav begins establishing her character, and the relationship between her and Mac. Despite presenting herself as a calculated general, in front of him, she allows herself to be emotional, so they’re close; and she is quick to trust Mac’s friends (‘call me Olly’), but not so quick as to have this personal moment in front of them.
On a different matter, have you seen this review of Crystal Heart, by the GM Table? You should, and then share it with all of your parents and siblings.
