LONG TERM CVC
[This post was original made as a Rules Ramble Blog Post, by Jonathan Loyd]
The Long Term CvC section in the DR Corebook is only 4 paragraphs long, so I don’t have much here to work with as we explain this section. However, I have some good advice and lessons I’ve learned in my years in DR to share with you. Hopefully, what this looks like in practice that may be helpful to you in your own CvC negotiations.
The book outlines a few steps in these paragraphs on p. 161 (emphasis mine):
Have a conversation with the other person BEFORE you escalate into conflict
Check if they are okay with that conflict in advance!
Define what sorts of conflict you are comfortable with, and what CvC means to you
If they are NOT okay with conflict, deescalate the situation, find an alternative path, or plan to avoid situations or people where conflict would occur.
The big takeaway from the book for me is that Long Term CvC is PLANNED CvC, where as Conflict in the Moment tends to be UNPLANNED. Long Term conflict is something you think about in advance and communicate with the other players on BEFORE it happens, while the more short term conflicts can often be a reaction to an event of some kind in game and need that communication on the spot instead.
The need for communication here is so very important. At first glance, it might seem like a good idea to want to initiate a CvC fight in game without talking to that person first because you want the attack to be a surprise. You don’t want to give them an edge in the fight if they know it’s coming, after all! This kind of mindset is really common for new players, players from other games like Vampire or Nero, or even veteran folks that might remember an earlier time of CvC in the DR 2.0 world. However, not only is that idea against the spirit of the rules, it’s a recipe for a bad time.
This style of conflict misses a BIG component of the CvC rules above because it lacks that element of communication. The only person or group that really enjoys this kind of surprise attack is the aggressor, in my opinion. When you don’t communicate your intentions in advance and set a social contract for the conflict you want to see in the world, it’ll be much harder for the other person to respond positively to the conflict. If you really want to see that ambush style event happen, TELL the other party about that! You don’t have to plan out every swing in a fight if you want to keep it organic, but you DO have to talk about it first.
JONATHAN’S ADVICE: WHILE IT MIGHT SEEM A LITTLE COUNTERINTUITIVE, YOU CAN STILL HAVE ROLEPLAY THAT INVOLVES SURPRISES, TRAPS, AND AMBUSHES EVEN IF THE OTHER PLAYER KNOWS ABOUT IT IN ADVANCE.
Seeing a trailer for a movie, reading a synopsis of a show, or reading a cover of a book doesn’t necessarily spoil the content for me, but I can’t guarantee that another person will feel that same way. If we don’t talk about it first, it will just lead to resentment and anger because our social boundaries were crossed — all because we didn’t communicate them first! When expectations aren’t communicated and met, resentment and anger grow.
“If you can’t talk about CvC with someone without the potential for real-world drama, then the pairing of you two for CvC probably won’t work out.” (p. 161)
Lastly, sometimes people just shouldn’t CvC with each other. There are many reasons why a person would want to avoid CvC with a particular person, both in game and out of game. CvC is both a privilege AND a responsibility in DR. It’s not just about one player’s fun, but about BOTH player’s fun! Your focus in CvC should consider the benefit of the story versus the potential for real-world conflict. If it’s not going to be fun for everyone, it’s better to walk away and find a different story than potentially create a conflict that will hurt someone in real life.
Why should you consider Long Term cvc?
So, you’ve reached a decision that you still want to pursue long-term CvC and you’ve found a willing partner in crime to help you tell a great story. Great!
Long Term CvC can provide real consequence and a great story because it’s now an opponent with access to the same skills, same equipment, and same abilities that you have across the field. They might have friends to back them up, or a powerful political position. They might have more XP on their character than you, or better equipment. And when a fight has bigger stakes, you can have bigger stories. The main advantage of long term CvC is that it provides a way to push your character towards meaningful conflict.
A meaningful conflict applies pressure to a character to act, because if they refuse to take action, that story ends.
Meaningful conflict is conflict that reveals something about your character. A rival character is in play for much longer than that quick NPC encounter in game, so the possibilities to continue that story are endless. That fight doesn’t have to end with character death. With the Infection, even dying is temporary and that rival could come back for revenge and bring friends with them! CvC can present an engaging challenge but it can be a wider variety of scenarios than you might think.
CvC can really include ANY action that undermines the safety, stability, or security of another character or group, and it can take other forms than just combat. It might be an attack on another character directly with a boffer, sure. But it could also be a series of heated arguments about faith around the Depot, a price war between your crews as you try to sell some of your hard earned scrap and herb, or it could be a bragging contest between two master thieves trying to steal something more noticeable or important to that person when they aren’t looking, all while leaving a calling card to taunt them with their skill.
The most important part of Long Term CvC for me is to really decide what those stakes are in advance, and what you want that conflict to look like. It starts with an out-of-character CvC negotiation, so let’s look at some ideas of things to consider in this conversation.
CVC NEGOTIATION IN PRACTICE
The book is very lacking on actual examples of what kind of things you should discuss in a CvC negotiation, so I’ve built a list of some of the best practices I’ve seen over the years. Here are some boundaries you should look out for in a CvC negotiation, but I’ve probably missed a few to be fair. I’ve grouped these into two main categories — things that cause a change to your character sheet, and some of the common situations to consider for CvC.
possible Changes to your Character:
How do you feel about short term effects like entering Bleed Out, or being Mangled?
What about roleplay affects like being affected by a Hallucinogen or Intoxicant?
How do you feel about poisons (particularly ones that can be secretly put into your food or drinks) being used in a conflict?
What about long term effects like being inflicted with a Disease or story effect?
How do you feel about Infection loss as a potential consequence?
What about more than one Infection loss, or repeated deaths?
What about permanent character death?
What about items or effects that interact with your Grave Mind scene like Necrokinetics or Death Brews?
How do you feel about losing items to theft like weapons, blueprints, or Brass? Is there a limit that you’d like to set on what is fair game?
How do you feel about Larceny attempts to pickpocket you?
How do you feel about gaining Fractures as part of the conflict?
Situations to watch out for:
Do you want to arrange a Guide to observe the conflict in advance?
THIS IS SUPER IMPORTANT! It’s okay to ask for a Guide to observe a scene — it’s still CvC after all. If you cannot agree on this very basic situation, then maybe you shouldn’t consider CvC with that person. Long Term CvC ultimately requires trust between both sides!
How much do you want to plan out the actual conflict scene in advance? Do you want to heavily script the encounter in game, or keep it in the moment?
How do you feel about yelling, screaming, insults and other aggressive roleplay?
How you feel about physical touch or boffer combat?
Are surprise attacks okay? What about nighttime raids of your cabin?
What about conflict during another scene or module? Is engaging you while you are fighting zed or raiders, or negotiating with that Face NPC going to be okay?
Do you want to sign up for the SES System?
Who is going to be involved in the conflict?
If it’s a violent conflict, it’s especially important to consider allies or a crew into the conversation too. Nothing can make a person change their mind about CvC like feeling overwhelmed or ganged up on!
Are there any areas of the site that are off limits for conflict?
How do you feel about indirect CvC against your character, like a whisper campaign to ruin your reputation or economic sanctions like convincing crews not work with you?
If someone makes your favorite crafting area or cabin dangerous, how do you feel about that?
Are there any times of day or night you don’t want to consider CvC conflict?
Can you set up a safety system like a safe word to handle changes in the moment? What if you were ready for a conflict but something has changed? How will you communicate that change?
It’s also important to consider what happens AFTER the conflict. Say everything goes swimmingly with the scene, and it’s really rewarding for you and your CvC partner. What about onlookers that decide to jump in to help? What will your crew think about someone else starting conflict with one of their friends? How will you handle Law Dogs chasing you down for murder? One of the quickest ways a CvC encounter can spiral out of control is failing to account for ALL of the people impacted by the scene, not just the immediate actors.
Follow up AFter the CVC conflict:
How will you handle spillover, impacting other characters in the game? Are there any limits you need to consider first?
Does your crew know about the CvC Negotiation, or are they already involved? What about outside contacts like friends or members of your faith?
How will you handle other characters being involved that you didn’t expect?
How do you feel about social ramifications or consequences for the encounter?
Remember that theft and murder are breaches of the Law of the San Saba, even if you agree to the CvC encounter first or are in the Wasteland. These types of actions can earn the attention of the Law Dogs!
What do you consider a Conflict of Interest?
Is there any character or player that you don’t want to include in CvC?
I’ve attempted to cover a lot of the situations to watch out for in CvC, but I’m sure I missed something. This is not meant as a replacement for simply having a conversation with your CvC partner. You are going to make mistakes, but if you can be honest about your feelings and communicate with the other players it will go a long way to avoiding hurt feelings or bleed.