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The one constant among all Daredevils is their uncanny luck. When circumstances seem darkest, the Daredevil finds an opportunity that a lesser individual would have missed, seizes that chance and runs with it. Whether its discovering a lost scroll in a well-explored archaeological site or learning the hostile cannibal tribe worship's a god whos name sounds like the character's own, this luck is the one thing that, above all else, defines the character. Awe-inspiring powers are all well and good, but it is fortune that favors the Daredevil.
The game mechanic that represents this uncanny luck is called dramatic editing. In short, dramatic editing allows a player to spend Inspiration to insert details specific to his character into the scene, as long as the Storyteller approves of it and it does not contradict anything that's already been established. Dramatic editing departs from the usual conventions of roleplaying, in which the player controls his character's actions in the game but cannot dictate how his character is acted upon. It does not allow the player to supercede the Storyteller's descriptions of the scene, but rather to supplement them for purposes of heightening the story.
Dramatic editing costs Inspiration to use. How much depends on what you want to accomplish, as outlined in "Cause and Effect" bellow. Regardless of the specific effect desired, all dramatic editing abides by the same overall parameters.
The result of dramatic editing must be something that could conceivably occur within the setting and the events of the story. If the Storyteller doesn't see how a proposed dramatic edit could realistically occur, she is free to demand clarification from the player. This serves to maintain suspension of disbelief and encourages players to think of dramatic editing opportunities that keep the tone of the game. Finding six pristine sets of jungle survival gear in the vine-covered ruins of a Mayan temple isn't very believable. However, finding them in the decaying hulk of an Army Air Corps transport that crashed near the temple a decade ago is a lot more plausible (and could give rise to further plot ideas). Likewise, buying passage out of Hong Kong on a Soviet nuclear ballistic missile sub is out of the question circa 1930, when there aren't any Soviet nuclear subs in existence. However, if the submarine is a prototype German U-boat whose crew mutinied and turned privateer, the trip becomes more likely.
The dramatic edit may not contradict anything that's already been established or overrule the results of a dice roll that's already occured unless the dramatic editing is being performed for the explicit purpose of saving a player character from certain death. If the Storyteller has already stated that a supply locker is completely empty, the player may not use dramatic editing to say, "Hey, I found two Thompson guns and 12 pounds of gold coins in this supply locker!" However, if some palooka shoots the hero for 10 health levels of damage, the player may use dramatic editing to say (assuming the hero isn't utterly naked), "Fortunately, the bullet ricochets from my character's St. Christopher medalion! He's knocked unconscious, but he's not dead! Whew!"
Along similar lines, dramaic editing may not be used to contradict or negate other Telluric effects in a scene. This covers everything from the use of powers and charms by other characters (whether player or Storyteller controlled), to other dramatic editing uses, to Telluric phenomena not originating from a player or character.
Dramatic editing is a function of the player's self-motivation, not the character's. Under no circumstances should the character - or any other character - be aware that dramatic editing has just occured. Dramatic editing is an out-of-game way to explain and facilitate within a game setting the incredible surprises and amazing coincidences common to the pulp genre. It's not a reality-altering power that characters consciously or even unconsciously wield. Although his Inspiration powers the dramatic edit, the character is not the source of it.
(Cutting edge research in the field of Telluric studies offers the following model for understanding the strange luck of Daredevils: The wavelength of Telluric energy to which they are attuned, the "paramorphic band" governs perpendicular time - that is, probability. Their personal resevoirs of Paramorphic engery make them focal points [sometimes called "gyres"] for strange and near-impossible coincidences. While they do not appear to have conscious control over these events, and even subconscious control seems counter-indicated, the distortions of probability are 1) observable empirically and 2) seem to favor the Daredevil they are linked to, on average, aiding in the pursuit of their conscious and subconscious goals and in particular serving to protect them from harm and death. At present, the dominant theory is that the pool of Paramorphic engery creating the gyre is innately self-perpetuating, but the death of the Daredevil to which it is linked will cause it to dissipate. Therefore, the coincidences which it generates naturally favor the Daredevil, as the survival of each is intertwined.)
The Storyteller is the ultimate authority in every game. As such, she has the final say on what sorts of dramatic editing are and are not believable. If a given dramatic edit will ruin the entire plot, seems overly powerful or intrusive, or simply doesn't fit the setting, the Storyteller is completely within her rights to deny the player that dramatic edit. Negotiation and refinement is acceptable (see "Believability," above), though, to keep the pace of the game running smoothly, such modifications should be handled quickly and with decisive action by the Storyteller. Once the Storyteller's final answer is "no," that's it. End of discussion. If the Storyteller refuses an edit, the character does not lose the ponied up Inspiration, since it was never actually spent.
| Dramatic Editing Costs Table | |
| Inspiration | Effect |
| 1 | Minor offscreen effect |
| 1 | Minor extension of an other player's effect |
| 2 | Minor onscreen effect |
| 3 | Major onscreen effect |
| 4 | Obvious continuity violation |
| +1 | Plot ramification |
| -1 | Plot complications for the character |
This section outlines the dgree of influence characters may apply to dramatic editing; Inspiration costs are listed in brackets.
A minor offscreen effect cannot possibly save the character right away, but it can bring help within 15 minutes to an hour. That may be too late depending on the circumstances (like a vat filling with acid), but works just fine for less immediately deadly events (like a shipwreck with no help in sight). Examples: An airplane flying far overhead happens to see the characters' SOS; a firefighter 20 minutes away notices a collumn of smoke from the fire endangering the team.
A minor extension expands on a coincidence that another player's character has generated. This extension cannot get too blatant - no fair turning the piece of shipwreck flotsam into a motorboat - but it can build upon another character's coincidence in order to let it help the current character as well. Examples: That convenient vine dangles just a little lower down thanpreviously thought; look, there's another parachute behind the one you just found in that cabinet!
A minor onscreen effect won't completely solve the character's problem all by itself, but it can give him some breathing room or a fighting chance. It may include the unexplained arrival of Background or Storyteller characters who, while unable to rescue the character directly, can provide other sorts of aid. Alternatively, it may be a piece of (easily concealed) equipment the character "forgot" that he'd had or something similar. Examples: The character wriggles an arm free from the ropes tying him to the buzz saw; a large piece of wreckage from the shipwreck crests a wave nearby just as the character begins to tire out.
A major onscreen effect saves the character's life or even the lives of the whole team. This effect can be just about anything that doesn't contradict the Storyteller's summary of the situation. Examples: The plane's emergency supply locker has enough parachutes for the whole team; just a few feet below the character is a meter-wide ledge along the cliff that leads to safety.
An obvious continuity violation directly contradicts the Stoyteller's description of the scene or is just thoroughly beyond the bounds of plausability. Clearly, this use of dramatic editing demands the Storyteller's scrutiny, but it should be possible as long as it is appropriately creative and maintains the feel of the game and genre. Examples: Oh, this is Dr. Smith's submersible car, you see; the assassin about to strike the killing blow is actually an old friend from grammar school; the flames lick at the spilled gasoline - but those barrels labeled "Petrol" were actually filled with water.
A plot ramification gives the character a clue to solving a mystery that has plagued them, winds one of the villain's henchmen in jail or brings any character in the group an unexpected benefit. This extra cost also applies if a player chooses to solve the team's problem by making another player character's life much harder through injury, social inconvenience or great expense. Relatively minor things (loss of proerty worth two dots less than the target's Resources Background, a loss of cleanliness or a basic human dignity) do not incur this cost penalty. Feel free to pile those sorts of things on.
This charge can be used to directly influence the character's situation in the present scene, but it is meant to represent fortuitous events that occur perpendicular to current events. In other words, it won't generally aid the character in dealing with their immediate situation, but will provide a useful benefit to the story afterward.
A plot complication is a circumstance during the scene that makes life harder for the character who spends the Inspiration. He breaks his leg leaping to safety just as the car careens over the cliff; he escapes from certain death only to fall under the influence of a lesser enemy; the character's efforts to escape a deathtrap give the Czar enough time to make off with the character's significant other; and so on. Remember: there is no cost break (and there is often a cost penalty) for giving complications to other characters. That's plot ramification, above. This cost break applies only if you give your own character a complication. As above, this should not be a trivial complication; breaking a nail or losing a pair of shoes will not scoreyou this bonus.
A plot complication calls for particular scrutiny by the Storyteller. If one player is deliberately messing with another player's character for out-of-game reasons (rather than to make the episode more interesting), the request should be rejected flat-out. If both parties find the complication entertaining, the Storyteller should feel free to let it go through.
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