Going outcast in Angel only Game

[PenitentDemon]

I've wondered this a time or two... does it give advice anywhere?

On what happens, if someone goes outcast in a game comprised entirely of the host, if someone goes outcast?

Is it better to retire them, rather then force the GM to hold separate SESSIONS for the "go alone" atoner?


or to have the Superior almost Handwave the incident, if the PC still wants redemption.

[robkelk]

There might be something in the Game Master's Guide - I don't have time right now to look, sorry.

Instead of saying that "your character is now Outcast", give the angel a chance to plead his case in front of his Superior. If he's truly penitent and looking for redemption and forgiveness, don't Outcast the angel; give him forgiveness after he performs some appropriate penance.

If, on the other hand, he's set in his ways... your gaming group may be different, but in my gaming group, then the problem character would be a disruptive influence on the rest of the group as the other players line up their characters in support or opposition to this character. It might be best in that case to just say "he's Outcast, he's an NPC, create a new character".

(If all the PCs end up Outcast, though, that's another matter.)

[Jason]

I think this pretty much depends on the kinds of adventures you run and how much direct oversight your PCs have from Superiors. If they're left to their own devices much of the time and only receive occasional instructions through intermediaries, and/or if you kind of "go with the flow" rather than follow a more structured and linear plot, getting the Outcast back into the fold is probably going to be the next thing on everybody's agenda. It becomes an adventure all its own. If it happens in the middle of a mission for some Superior(s), the PCs may even think they could finish it up before anybody catches the Outcast, earning points to get back in good graces. (And actually, until a triad shows up asking questions about the Outcast, none of the other PCs necessarily know that one of their buddies just felt a Heart shatter.)

I did one run adventure with one PC who started Outcast and the rest who were Servitors in good standing (including one of Judgment and two from his old Superior, Destiny). It was hard, and I don't recommend it if you can persuade your players that being the dark and moody antihero is not necessarily cohesive to group cohesion. Unbeknownst to him, though, some of the PCs knew he was an Outcast (the Judge and the ranking Shepherd, of course) and were specifically assigned to the group to see whether he was salvageable. It helped give everybody an excuse to stick together, but it was hard on the players who wondered why they would ever collaborate with a Mercurian who insists upon carrying a pistol in each hand.