It’s time for another Rules Ramble with Jonathan! Each week, I’ll introduce a topic in the DR rulebook in a deep dive that focuses on explaining it in more detail than the book alone can provide. There are four core pillars of the DR game in my mind: Combat, Roleplay, CvC, and Economy, and today’s blog post will touch on a bit of things concerning Roleplay. This week is a continuation of our discussion on how you can “take the wheel” of your role play to be more immersed, have a better experience, and build better behaviors in game through the use of STEERING.
Tickets for our next event, COLLECTION DAY, are live now!
A quick aside, for those that might have been expecting a Story Recap this week. During our last game, QUEENSGRACE, we gave players a few examples of how we saw the SUMMIT ending for the Tribes Disparate. We prepared some ideas for options A, B, and C but in true Bravado fashion y’all found a way to choose option D instead. We will be working with the players that played our Regents and our ST team over the next few weeks to craft a story resolution that honors the decisions that were made in character, and still feels good. We’ll have more on this soon!
We also previously covered some similar topics on Steering, specifically dealing with some best practices for how to be involved in plot. This was published in a series of guest blog posts by Heather Halstead, which you can find here:
An unfamiliar vocabulary
Before we begin on our topic today, let’s first look at some words and phrases we will be using during this blog post. Several of these definitions are included in the DR Corebook, but I’ll include a short description here. A lot of these terms are used in “Nordic” larps, which I normally associate with low rules and heavy roleplay (most of these larps are in Sweden, but more options have been available in the US over the last few years). Dystopia Rising is definitely inspired by some Nordic concepts, but sticks to a more American ideal of rules-centric escapism gaming.
Not that kind of Nordic!
Bleed (p. 13) - This is the concept that the mind-set and emotional state of our characters can cross into our actual emotions as a player. You can have positive bleed (such as being happy about something your character would enjoy) and negative bleed (such as feeling depressed because your character experienced a sad moment). There a bunch of articles on managing bleed out there, but one I particularly enjoyed can be found here.
Negotiation (p. 16) - We touched a bit on this in my articles on CvC, but this is a technique that allows ALL players to have agency, to compromise, and build with one another to turn conflict into a positive aspect. Good negotiation and communication can reduce negative bleed.
Transparency (p. 16) - We practice this a bunch in DR:TX, but the goal is to clearly communicate as much as possible prior to an event (or action) to make sure that everyone involved can make an informed decision to be involved. Radical Honesty is a goal we strive towards every day as we put our trust in our players to choose what is best for them.
Steering (p. 17) - Steering is the process in which a player influences the behavior of her character. This is our main topic today, but it is simply making in-character decisions based on out-of-game reasons. Steering can help you be more aware of bleed, and ensures that everyone has a more enjoyable experience.
Immersion - This refers to a state of mind where a player does not need to actively suspend disbelief in the fictional universe, and where role-playing flows as naturally and easily as if you really were the character. When you are immersed, you can quickly find yourself acting as your character would in the moment. Immersion is often the goal of intense roleplay experiences.
Coherence - This is a bit more advanced topic in Nordic larp theory, but it is effectively just how your character ‘makes sense’ and your actions back up your character background, strain, motivations, and more. Most players try to at least maintain an outward appearance of coherence, while also trying to staying true to the their internal coherence of “what the character would do”..
Now that we have a baseline for the language I’ll use, let’s look at what the book says about Steering, with a little emphasis of my own. This is a RULES RAMBLE after all!
Steering and you!
The book outlines a definition of STEERING on p. 17. There’s not a lot of actual RULES for this, so we are going to focus primarily on Best Practices.
Steering is a concept that players individually, as groups, and in relation to staff use to help improve potential quality of their own experience and the experience of participants and staff around them. Steering uses both negotiation and transparency to allow a participant to direct the actions of their character, to negotiate a mutually agreed upon direction for a character with another player or staff member, and to identify that the actions and a direction that a character takes are under the purview of the participants who are portraying the characters. […] Steering not only functions as a means to be aware of potential bleed and ensuring that all involved have a more enjoyable experience, but also facilitates both shared storytelling and the opt-in culture that makes for healthy larp experiences. (p. 17, DR Corebook)
Steering is simply the process in which a player influences the behavior of their character. Any time you make a decision that impacts the game, you are probably engaging in a bit of steering. When we talk about role play, we often tend to separate the player from their character. This helps you remember to not associate negative traits with your friend, helps reduce bleed, and helps you remember that it is just a game we play with our friends.
Steering is often subtle and can happen in the moment. It’s important to note that not every decision you make as a character is informed by your player decisions, and you can still do several things as your character without it necessarily being “steering”. But in actual games, your player decisions seep into your roleplay constantly and that’s not necessarily a bad thing.
Not that kind of steering, silly!
Steering can look like changing up some aggressive roleplay during a scene when you notice the other person isn’t enjoying the experience, or it can be as simple as slowing down or posing when you see our wonderful camera folks nearby so you can capture a dramatic shot for your Facebook profile. It might look like seeking out something to do when you are bored out of character, choosing to heal your friend as they are in Bleed Out despite the danger of the fight, or even simply accepting that the guy across the field with two white boffers and makeup is actually a “zombie” and not your buddy in a costume.
Steering happens naturally, but it is ALWAYS intentional.
You can never steer by accident, and it requires you to make a conscious choice to change your behavior. Steering can be used to create good behaviors, but it can also be used to justify bad behaviors as well. We often practice steering in ways that we forget about once the scene is over, and it can happen without you really thinking about it. But you can generally identify it later, even if you didn’t realize it in the moment.
It’s important to note that Steering is something you do to your OWN character, not to someone else’s character.
Even if you are Steering on behalf of another character, or changing your behaviors to adjust for a scene, YOU are still in control of that behavior. You can’t really control the actions of another player, so it’s up to you to be in control of steering for yourself while you trust your fellow player to control the steering for themselves. Steering can definitely benefit another player, but it’s still something YOU do.
Types of Steering
Steering can address a few needs in game. Generally, this can be grouped into some general categories: practical needs, smoother play, aesthetic choices, personal experiences, or even ethical (and unfortunately, unethical) behaviors. (Art of Steering, Montola, Stenros, Saitta)
Self-Care is the best form of steering..
Steering for practical needs might be looking for someone in game so you can get the keys for the car, or making up a reason to go to the Depot because you are hungry and haven’t eaten, or filling up a water bottle because you need to hydrate. It might mean going into the Wasteland because that’s where the nearest toilet is, or not running into the pitch-black darkness at night, even when the Hunter is fleeing because your night-vision isn’t adjusted yet. These weren't decisions your character necessarily made, but ones that the PLAYER made. These are some of the most overt examples of steering, and often the easiest to forget about in game.
Steering for smoother play might mean exaggerating your roleplay to clearly communicate your character’s feelings in the moment, like loudly crying when you are upset or actively playing up your Fracture so others realize something is wrong. This might look like agreeing to help that RRC employee with their lost luggage, even though you the player realize this is simply a hook for a mod, or pretending not to see someone that is using the Stealth symbol. Most importantly in my mind, this includes steering to include Dusters into your roleplay, such as reacting when they call out “I’m too young to die!”, or involving them in a mod or plot even when you don’t really have much reason to do so in-character. This type of steering requires more active behaviors, but can still happen in the moment.
Steering for aesthetic needs can be simply fulfilling your need for a better story for yourself, like using CAPS and submitting a personal plot request or sending the STs a background submission. It can be purposefully seeking out good Bleed by picking a “fight” and arguing with your friend over their character actions, or getting involved in deep roleplay. This might look like finding reasons to hang out with that character who shares your faith in game so you can have them use Faithful Patterns to baptize you and to engage in some faith-based roleplay. It can even involve “playing to lose” by seeking a character death in game, so you can experience a Grave Mind scene, or even just embracing your need for success by wanting to WIN a fight and feel like a badass hero. But remember - even in the most intense scene, you can always use the OK Check-In System to make sure that EVERYONE is still having a good time.
Steering for personal experiences can often be close to the need for aesthetic experiences, and these two categories tend to blend together in my mind. You might simply decide to say “yes” to that mod hook because you are bored and want something to do, even if you have no reason to care about that poor farmer. This can look like getting closer to the weekend plot arc, by actively engaging with mechanics or roleplay that is related to the key events of the game, or it can even be a way to address a change you want to see in your personal game, like seeking out different characters or crews to engage with, changing your character roleplay to give you more opportunities to engage, or just avoiding the same things you’ve been doing. After all, that loner character seems interesting as you write your background, but it can be lonely brooding in a corner and not interacting with your friends.
Some steering behaviors including STOPPING a behavior.
Lastly, steering can be both ethical and unethical. This type of steering can be used to create both good behaviors and bad behaviors. One example of good ethical steering is using the OK Check-In System to make sure the scene is still ok with everyone involved, or asking for consent to touch another player before beginning medical roleplay on someone in Bleed Out. Other examples of ethical steering is involving a Duster in a scene even when they have no real reason to be there, or setting good boundaries about what type of roleplay you enjoy by working it into the conversation or negotiation of the scene.
Some examples of unethical steering are using your character to stalk another player for out of character reasons, treating a character poorly because you don’t like the player, seeking out romantic role play with someone you are attracted to out of character without telling them about that interest, or seeking revenge on another character because you recognized their player when they killed you or stole something from you despite their use of a Disguise. Most of these examples are also Community Guideline violations, meta-gaming, or cheating, and can be a clear reason for you to receive a Refusal of Service.
By using these types of positive Steering, you can have direct influence on ways to make the game better for everyone. YOU have the power to make your game better by actively seeking out ways to be involved.
“But it’s what my character would do…”
The last part of our Steering discussion is going to involve a phrase that always makes me cringe a little bit — “but, it’s what my character would do!”.
“I can’t steer - the steering wheel is locked!”
It’s a common enough idea: good roleplaying means that you should act in a way that your character would. This is a concept known as Coherence. After all, that’s how you become immersed — by reaching a point where you start to act like your character. You take actions as your character because it’s something that helps maintain that illusion that your character is real and the outward appearance of their actions are consistent with how you’ve been roleplaying. Keeping this internal and external consistency is the key concept of Coherence, as it helps tell a better story.
Sometimes, good steering is taking actions that you know are not a good idea out of character, like continuing to walk into the darkness with a Hunter following you, because you don’t have Basic Awareness. Your character in this example is known to not be good at seeing things hiding in Stealth, so you should continue to act as you were before even though you, the PLAYER, knows it’s about to be a bad time when you get Mangled from behind.
However, sometimes this kind of thinking and desire to maintain Coherence gets people to start justifying bad behaviors in the name of their character. It’s not that you are an asshole out of character, your CHARACTER is the asshole so he can’t modify his screaming at you because the other player feels uncomfortable out of character. You stole that critical plot item because your character is Fractured, so clearly we can’t be mad at the player for derailing a scene. You simply HAVE to murder that character in the Wasteland or because they are on the SES List, it’s not something personal — it’s just something “your character would do.”
They never even saw that Hunter behind them…
All of these examples are simply excuses to avoid consequences for your choices as a player, by blaming the action on your character instead.
These character concepts or actions aren't inherently bad for gameplay by themselves, but any sort of character concept or action can be misused to “justify” non-cooperative behavior.
The challenge of this phrase, used to justify behaviors, comes in when you consider a key part of the STEERING definition from the DR Corebook above - that you want to ensure that “all involved have a more enjoyable experience”. Remember, Steering is something you do to YOUR character, not to someone else’s character.
You can play a character that is part of Murder, Inc. and still involve another character in a steering discussion before character deadly CvC. You can play a quirky gremlin character that steals things constantly, but keep it to inconsequential things like tools from the workbench, or minor props that have no cards. You can still play a bad guy character without taking actions that are harmful to other players. You can respond properly to a OK Check In thumbs down and simply end the scene, no matter if you still had a reason to be involved. These types of steering behaviors are ways to improve the game for EVERYONE, even if it means acting in a way that’s against the idea of Coherence.
you ARE IN CONTROL OF YOUR CHARACTER. tHE CHARACTER IS NOT IN CONTROL OF YOU.
Period.
You always have a choice when it comes to your character decisions.
Remember the Sainthood of Ashes tenet: “Choose for good, always.” When you prioritize the safety and wellbeing of EVERYONE (including yourself!) involved in your roleplay, you will have a better time. Try to find ways to say “Yes, and..” instead of “but it’s what my character would do.” While it’s important to take responsibility for ways you can steer for your yourself, you should never forget that this game includes more than just you and your immediate circle of friends.
I’ll leave you with a final quote that really stuck with me:
Whenever we see interesting developments that will enhance our story, our experience and our character immersion, we have to jump at the chance to engage with them. Otherwise we’re not doing anyone any favors. In a larp you should be your own game master and help your own character immersion by building a better game for yourself.
- Mike Pohjola, You’re in Charge of You
That’s it for today, Vados! My next article will cover some cool ideas about how to include Steering into your game in a positive way, by submitting better plot requests and backgrounds, and using the 10 Foot Rule while you are in game. See you next week!
References:
If you’d like to read more about Steering, I’d highly recommend this article. A lot of the terminology I used is clearly outlined here, and it was a great inspiration for my version of talking about this topic.
The Art of Steering - Bringing the Player and the Character Back Together – (nordiclarp.org)