Powers Check
The idea behind the powers check mechanic is suitably thematic for a Gothic setting. Committing evil acts in Ravenloft triggers rolls to see if your character is warped by the powers of darkness until they ultimately become a villainous NPC under the control of the Dungeon Master. Along the way toward becoming an NPC villain, a character gains strange powers and finds their body and mind twisted and corrupted.
Although that descent into evil is a very Gothic notion, the mechanic mostly serves the purpose of enforcing 2e AD&D's sense of morality to deflect any holdover criticism from the years of the Satanic Panic. In my view, the mechanic can be a roleplaying straight jacket instead of game design that reinforces the Gothic mood. If a player wants to lean into the idea that their character has become tempted by evil or corrupted by darkness, which also seem perfectly cromulent in a Gothic setting, the mechanic punishes them for playing in that mode by eventually taking their character away. The road down into the abyss also has a tendency to cripple your character in one way or another.
The Realm of Terror box set is explicitly clear that powers checks are intended to make players play the game the right way: "The AD&D game is designed for heroes, but the best intentions of the DM and all guidelines to the contrary, some people insist on playing the opposite. These players, if not careful, may find their characters gradually wrested from their control." You can almost hear the beleaguered sigh of the camp counselor as they tell you kids to knock it off or nobody will be allowed to go swimming after lunch.
However, since the base concept of characters becoming warped by choosing evil is a compelling one, I leave this up to the player's choice instead of mechanizing it in my games; if a player wants to see their character changed by shadowy forces, I'll work with them so that we can see that happen in a way that is satisfying to the player instead of a punitive measure.
hmm...I guess since I was mostly shielded from the Satanic Panic of the late 80's and early 90's, I don't interpret it as such. I always saw it as the reasonable reaction of a place that tends to trap evil beings.
ReplyDeleteInterestingly enough, the red box version of the Ravenloft Campaign Setting expands on when to use the powers check by making evil vary between cultures:
"There are two general guidelines for the resolution of such cultural or moral conflicts. The first assumes that an act is not evil unless the individual committing it sees it as such...The second second consideration dictates that the cultural norms of a given domain define good and evil...The decision as to which guideline to follow is left to the Dungeon Master."
I always understood that a Powers check was to be used sparingly and at the discretion of the DM, rather than a strict consequence.
Granted, D&D has always had a non-relative notion of good an evil, and I always considered Ravenloft more "Castlevania Horror" than gothic, but in that last matter, I'm definitely not an expert.
Think of that quoted statement in the context of all the other changes that got made in the switch from 1e to 2e: no half-orcs, no assassins, renaming demons and devils, heavy-handed "you play heroes" statements in the books...
DeleteYou're right, though, that the rules shifted a bit and became more open as the 2e years went on (and as the Satanic Panic faded from view). I should look at the 3e rules for powers checks and see how they stack up.