From: "Colin J. Wynne" <cwynne@liberty.uc.wlu.edu>
Subject: Pure Zone effects on Characters
X-Gated-By: The Black Marble Wombat@morticia.cnns.unt.edu
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Organization: University of North Texas
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Date: Fri, 11 Sep 1992 07:57:31 GMT


I recently ran the Land Below one act from the back of I-verse Update.  In
fact, I ran it as the second act of the adventure I started writing up
(and will finish, really!) as 'Mission in the Nile'.  This was the first
time our characters have spent any significant amount of time adventuring
in Pure Zones.  In fact, most of the adventure took placein either NE of
LB pure zones.

There was some disagreement 'twixt my players and I concerning how a SK's
personality is affected by the reality in which they find themselves.

For example, in the LB, the LoSavagery allows that clothing will be lost,
while minimal modesty is retained.  Elspeth, the Victorian were-tiger, in
the society in which she was raised, would feel absolutely naked wearing
anything less than a corset, three petticoats, a high-collared blouse, an
ankle-length skirt, etc.

So, in a LB pure zone, where LoS is the norm, how would she feel? 
Elspeth's player, Michelle, feared that by my forcing her to accept the
changes as part of the way of life down in Meretika, I might, as GM, also
go so far as to decide that Elspeth would simply lose all inhibitions and
begome a raging jungle-slut.  Needelss to say, this was *not* my
interpretation.

The way she ended up playing it was what I, at least, had in mind. 
Several other players had their various ideas about what should, or might,
happen, too.  The end result was along these lines:

Elspeth basically took the loss of her clothing in stride (she ended with
a tattered skirt that was no more than mid-thigh length, and the remains
of a blouse which were tied in front, leaving her midriff bare and
everything important covered [and don't any of you horny TORGers out there
get excited about all of this -- the player is married to a big mean
Italian guy!]), and decided she would be really mortified when she
recalled the whole thing later.

More or less, what I'm looking for here is who agrees or disagrees with my
interpretation of Pure Zones.  And that is that, since WL's make up the
general feeling and atmosphere for a cosm, then if you are in a Pure Zone
and subject exclusively to those world laws, you will start behaving like
a native, but without losing the overall sense of self needed to maintain
your identity and your mission.

So, whereas Elspeth shed (if you'll allow that word :) her Victorian
modesty, her basic personality did not change.  And whereas the Brenden,
the covert operative, had trouble thinking about 'king and country and the
good of the entire world by thwarting the plans of the evil Dr. Mobius',
he knew they were trying to rescue somebody in the dangerous jungles of
Meretika.

And if a player refuses to act appropriately for the reality whose PZ he
is in, I, as gm, shouldsimply assume that he is blowing a p-point every
fifteen minutes.  Right?

What are your thoughts on this?

Colin

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
==  Colin J. Wynne                       cwynne@liberty.uc.wlu.edu  ==
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
|  Heaven:   A place where the French are the cooks, the German are  |
|             the engineers, and the British are the policemen.      |
|                                                                    |
|  Hell:     A place where the British are the cooks, the French are |
|             the engineers, and the German are the policemen.       |
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