Demon motives 2

A fundamental problem with using non-human characters is the problem of attempting, by using only a human brain (unless some of you have some rather unusual connections), to come up with alien motivations. It's one thing to say a demon has a Need; it's quite another to say why. Why did that demon spare the careless sorcerer's life? What do angels think about on their clouds?

Most games (and books, etc.) attempt to explain the motivations of alien entities in completely human terms, usually predicated on one or two human emotions: hate, jealousy, greed, etc. Certainly, any number of compelling stories can be told by assigning human motivations to non-human creatures, and letting the story play out. But this tends to give the (presumably) human player characters amazing insights into these alien entities. "The demon wants virgins," the player say in their huddle, "So if we use Sister Mary Margaret here as bait..." and so the fun begins.

But what if I (as GM) want to supply aliens with, well, alien motivations? How do you climb into an alien mind without resorting to using human emotional analogs? What if I really don't want my players to understand why the demon does what he does? Now, I could certainly allow the players to form their own opinions as to motivation in humanocentric terms, but the ultimate reaction I want from the players is not "how inhuman that thing is," but "how NOT human that thing is!"

Let me go a step further: how much of this information does a GM really need to know? I've had this idea in my head for some time now, but never put it into play: assign a non-human entity a few simple rules as to conduct: e.g., it attacks any character with an odd number of letters in his first name, and avoids characters with an even number of letters. This is symbolic of some kind of (non-human) motivation the entity has -- in other words, it gives me (the human GM) a way to determine what the beast does next, by having a formula for conduct that mimics some kind of unknowable motivation (I'm oversimplifying things here, but you get the idea, I hope), but provides a bafflement to the players -- "Why did it kick my ass and leave you alone? You were the one who shot at it, fer Chrissakes!"

Has anyone ever tried anything like this? I could see this falling flat, but I have a hunch that, used with forethought and restraint, it could be really interesting...

Comments?

RON EDWARDS:

Ran wrote,

Inhuman demon motives > I can't recall if this subject has been really grappled with (unless it was during the period the server was hiccuping), but if it has, then kindly direct me to the appropriate archive.

It's called "Demon motives" on the Development page of the Sorcerer website, and interestingly, Ran, you are the one who initiated that discussion too. It was a while ago, so maybe a look-see is a good idea.

> I've had this idea in my head for some time now, but never put it into play: assign a non-human entity a few simple rules as to conduct: e.g., it attacks any character with an odd number of letters in his first name, and avoids characters with an even number of letters. This is symbolic of some kind of (non-human) motivation the entity has -- in other words, it gives me (the human GM) a way to determine what the beast does next, by having a formula for conduct that mimics some kind of unknowable motivation

I like this sort of thing, or maybe a good way to put it is, for some demons, I do something like it, this way: have it behave more or less however I-the-GM feel like (with no preconceptions or reflection at the time), for a few scenes or maybe a couple of sessions. The only constraints would be its Desire and Need. Then look back at the story, and decide how to make sense of it -- sort of an improvisational way to define what the damn thing is or wants.

Unfortunately, I can't say it's always worked out perfectly, but that's an experimental art form for you.