LogFAQs > #924682006

One thing I really enjoy about the nature of this campaign is that it puts a premium on characters playing a political game. In the No Man's Land of my Gotham City, villains and various supporting Bat-characters have carved up the city into small feudal territories, each with a unique governmental structure. Some are rich in resources, some are living in absolute squalor. However, the rich may not be in the best positions to expand, and the poor may actually be the best choices for leadership. There's no clear and easy road to how to progress in the campaign goal of reuniting Gotham under a single banner.

Both groups, for example, have spent time in Cluemaster's territory. Cluemaster is presented as a career politician who has taken complete advantage of the NML in order to create a system in his image. And his image is actually not far removed from a regular system of city government. It hinges on a massive, complicated bureaucracy, and it demonstrates far more structure than most territories. At the same time, Cluemaster pushes a bit of a cult of personality. He gives grand orations and speaks of the common man rising up in times of tumult to meet the challenges of a changing world. The earthquake has presented an opportunity, and he has seized on it.

At the same time, Cluemaster can be flaky with people who don't present him with immediate incentive for discussion. He sees his own time as the most valuable. And he may or may not have absconded with one of the players' cars thanks to a bureaucratic snafu that ended up being one of the funniest moments in the campaign so far. So, you can still spot the roguish streak in the guy; he hasn't completely forsaken that life of larceny.

So in Group 1, there is a sense that Cluemaster isn't trustworthy and that his system sucks. Despite having a flourishing market in his territory, the bureaucracy has infuriated a couple players. Combining that with his complete personality that only seeks convenience, they've soured on him. In Group 2, there's a sense that Cluemaster is someone that can be worked with and reasoned with. After all, one of their own members is beloved by Cluemaster for inspiring him to action prior to the No Man's Land decision.

I think the perspectives of the different players becomes extremely important in this campaign because, outside of the standard fighting and exploring, the REAL meat of this story is in how characters play the game of diplomacy and decision-making. They can't be kings, but they can be kingmakers. And what is the right balance of power and morality? How much ethical ground will you give up for convenience's sake? It's an interesting dilemma that never really is resolved until the whole story wraps itself up.
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"It is too easy being monsters. Let us try to be human." ~Victor Frankenstein, Penny Dreadful