Page 87 - Chronicles of Darkness

The Social Chase addictions keep dragging him back to old habits. It’s all
conflict, and conflict is what stories are all about.
The chase rules can be used for scenes besides traditional When conflict is so irreconcilable that words and compro-
foot pursuits or car chases. You could use this for tracking mise aren’t enough to resolve it, violence breaks out. In the
a suspect, for example. Or, you could use this system as an Chronicles of Darkness, violence breaks out a lot. Monsters
alternative to Social Maneuvering, which normally reflects at- prey on unsuspecting victims, creating vengeful survivors.
tempts to find vulnerabilities and wear down social defenses. People see things they can’t deal with and lash out against
These rules offer a more direct social “chase.” It doesn’t even what they don’t understand. Horrors that lurk behind the
require direct modification; you can simply use these rules world’s facade of picket fences war with each other, and the
with slightly different narrative framing. In a social chase, ripples throw lives into chaos. Inevitably, something calls the
the goal is to get a character into a social position where he characters to fight, even if it’s just for survival. This section
has to act in a certain way. Picture a character trying to con- presents rules for resolving violent conflict.
vince a wealthy patron to financially back her run for Waste
Management Commissioner. Her efforts are all about getting Intent
the patron in the right place at the right time, where he can’t
say no. It means maneuvering into the right venue, when just Most people don’t resort to violence unless they want
the right witnesses are around, and all before he has a chance something badly, more than they care about other people’s
to back her rival. Sounds kind of like a chase, doesn’t it? safety. The first thing to do when combat begins — before
worrying about who attacks first or anything like that —
Violence is to determine what each character wants to get out of
the fight. Boil it down into a simple sentence that starts
with the words “I want”: “I want to kill Johnny,” “I want
Everybody wants something. Drama happens when the book that Francesca is holding,” or “I want what’s in
characters want things that are mutually exclusive. A vampire Larry’s wallet.” Even “I want to get away from this gun-
wants to drink the local bartender dry, but the bartender toting psycho” is a valid intent. A character’s intent has to
wants to go on with her life and raise her daughter in peace. be something he could achieve through an act of violence
A street gang wants to stake its claim to a neighborhood, in the current scene — even a gunman on the White House
but another gang wants the same territory and isn’t willing lawn couldn’t get away with “I want to be President of the
to share. An ex-con wants to turn his life around, but his United States.”

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infernal engines -dramatic systems