I mentioned using the Resistance rules for 'my' Kult. The Spire is the only rpg I know of that uses the system, so I have been looking over its shoulder for guiding examples.
Characters in The Spire are larger than life. They are revolutionary leaders, spider-priests and bar-brawling knights. The character types may choose from a range of abilities that are labelled LOW, MEDIUM and HIGH.
I imagine that Kult player characters start out as inhabitants of a world that is almost ours, and that they have very human limitations. On the other hand I would like them to be able to engage with the wondrous and horrible beneath the surface, and accept or reject their part in it. This potentially involves transformations, strange faiths, magic, and even an existence as a god.
I have decided to go about it this way:
Players start by picking a template. It is quite broad, but is meant to give an idea of the character's view of the world, and the strangeness in it.
The Listless: The world has no meaning, and you have not been able to make any of your own. You got a job, possibly some kind of education because it was the done thing. Now your days are routine, and when you palliate with sex, alcohol or consumerism, that feels like routine as well. The Listless is an everyperson whose ennui and world-waeriness is about to be challenged.
The Lost: You have nothing. No goal, no home, no one to lean on. You do have plenty of time to observe the world though. Plenty of hunger, cold sweat and loneliness to push you past the garish mirage that is supposed to be the world. Plenty of aimless hours ending up in places that should not exist. The Lost has the dubious pleasure of being in the middle of the crumbling illusion, because they have nowhere else to go.
The Seeker: You are always willing to go deeper, to understand more, and question your sources. You actively push yourself to find meaning, or to debunk it. Maybe you seek out altered states or discredited philosophies. Maybe the thing you look for is a permanently altered consciousness, a Grand Unified Theory, or a tangible god. in any case you have left the everyday behind to seek it out. The Seeker finds the edges of the illusion because they are looking for it.
The Wrothful: You have been wronged, made a victim, but that is about to change. You are arming yourself to deal with your persecutors and enemies, both physically and mentally. You will make them suffer. Your enemy might be an idea, a system, an institution, or even individual beings, and you believe that anger and loss have made you impervious to fear and pain. The Wrothful meets the world with bared teeth. They are likely to see the creatures beyond the illusion as either a weapon to be used or a truer enemy. Their rage is either something to be transcended, or a descent into transformation and monstrosity.
The Sorcerer: You have found power. It is just a small thing, but it is symbolic of what is possible for a person with true will. A person like you. Maybe power was your birthright, maybe it was something you learned or bargained for. Your motives may be selfish, altruistic, transgressive or transformative, but you are certain that you are just the right person to have power. The Sorcerer has taken the first step through the mirror, and might yet live to regret it. They have knowledge they cannot unlearn, and no way to go back.
Each temple starts with some LOW abilities to choose from, but as they Advance they may choose from a list of MEDIUM and HIGH powers, depending on their attitude to the world they discover. These are not temple-specific, but depend on in-game choices.
Characters in The Spire are larger than life. They are revolutionary leaders, spider-priests and bar-brawling knights. The character types may choose from a range of abilities that are labelled LOW, MEDIUM and HIGH.
I imagine that Kult player characters start out as inhabitants of a world that is almost ours, and that they have very human limitations. On the other hand I would like them to be able to engage with the wondrous and horrible beneath the surface, and accept or reject their part in it. This potentially involves transformations, strange faiths, magic, and even an existence as a god.
I have decided to go about it this way:
Players start by picking a template. It is quite broad, but is meant to give an idea of the character's view of the world, and the strangeness in it.
The Listless: The world has no meaning, and you have not been able to make any of your own. You got a job, possibly some kind of education because it was the done thing. Now your days are routine, and when you palliate with sex, alcohol or consumerism, that feels like routine as well. The Listless is an everyperson whose ennui and world-waeriness is about to be challenged.
The Lost: You have nothing. No goal, no home, no one to lean on. You do have plenty of time to observe the world though. Plenty of hunger, cold sweat and loneliness to push you past the garish mirage that is supposed to be the world. Plenty of aimless hours ending up in places that should not exist. The Lost has the dubious pleasure of being in the middle of the crumbling illusion, because they have nowhere else to go.
The Seeker: You are always willing to go deeper, to understand more, and question your sources. You actively push yourself to find meaning, or to debunk it. Maybe you seek out altered states or discredited philosophies. Maybe the thing you look for is a permanently altered consciousness, a Grand Unified Theory, or a tangible god. in any case you have left the everyday behind to seek it out. The Seeker finds the edges of the illusion because they are looking for it.
The Wrothful: You have been wronged, made a victim, but that is about to change. You are arming yourself to deal with your persecutors and enemies, both physically and mentally. You will make them suffer. Your enemy might be an idea, a system, an institution, or even individual beings, and you believe that anger and loss have made you impervious to fear and pain. The Wrothful meets the world with bared teeth. They are likely to see the creatures beyond the illusion as either a weapon to be used or a truer enemy. Their rage is either something to be transcended, or a descent into transformation and monstrosity.
The Sorcerer: You have found power. It is just a small thing, but it is symbolic of what is possible for a person with true will. A person like you. Maybe power was your birthright, maybe it was something you learned or bargained for. Your motives may be selfish, altruistic, transgressive or transformative, but you are certain that you are just the right person to have power. The Sorcerer has taken the first step through the mirror, and might yet live to regret it. They have knowledge they cannot unlearn, and no way to go back.
Each temple starts with some LOW abilities to choose from, but as they Advance they may choose from a list of MEDIUM and HIGH powers, depending on their attitude to the world they discover. These are not temple-specific, but depend on in-game choices.
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