Supernatural Hostility
Texto
Many GMs and players immediately assume that supernatural beings and elements in a game are hostile. Ghosts, for example, are usually frightening, while spirits have strange, alien motivations that are often inimical to mortals. It is certainly true that mystical adversaries can present the PCs with exciting and demanding challenges, testing the PCs’ ability to confront and defeat the adversaries before the PCs can be overcome and destroyed.
However, just as not every encounter in court, or on the road, necessarily descends into strife and bloodshed, neither does every supernatural encounter. Many mystical beings and phenomena are harmless, and some may even be beneficial. For instance, an old man by the roadside may actually be a disguised spirit, and aiding him may garner the PCs a boon of some sort (of course, ignoring him might likewise attract a curse). Even those encounters that seem hostile may not ultimately involve overt conflict. A ghost who plagues the party as they investigate a ruined shrine may be difficult or even impossible to actually fight; however, finding and properly interring its physical remains might be sufficient to put it to rest. By making some supernatural encounters benign, or even beneficial, the GM presents the players with a much more nuanced and interesting world for their characters to explore.
Texto do livro
Celestial Realms · Chapter 3: Power of Worship › The Nature of Supernatural Encounters › Supernatural Hostility · p. 127 p. 128
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Many GMs and players immediately assume that supernatural beings and elements in a game are hostile. Ghosts, for example, are usually frightening, while spirits have strange, alien motivations that are often inimical to mortals. It is certainly true that mystical adversaries can present the PCs with exciting and demanding challenges, testing the PCs’ ability to confront and defeat the adversaries before the PCs can be overcome and destroyed.
However, just as not every encounter in court, or on the road, necessarily descends into strife and bloodshed, neither does every supernatural encounter. Many mystical beings and phenomena are harmless, and some may even be beneficial. For instance, an old man by the roadside may actually be a disguised spirit, and aiding him may garner the PCs a boon of some sort (of course, ignoring him might likewise attract a curse). Even those encounters that seem hostile may not ultimately involve overt conflict. A ghost who plagues the party as they investigate a ruined shrine may be difficult or even impossible to actually fight; however, finding and properly interring its physical remains might be sufficient to put it to rest. By making some supernatural encounters benign, or even beneficial, the GM presents the players with a much more nuanced and interesting world for their characters to explore.