Heroes have three Drama Traits to go with their Hero Traits. These traits also represent aspects of your character, but these traits represent aspects that would make your Hero’s life MORE complicated and harder if they are introduced to the story.
Drama Traits work differently than Hero Traits in the following ways;
- You can use these traits only AFTER making a dice rolls that you want to improve.
- You don’t have to collect or track Drama Points. (The GM does that part) Use them as often as you like. They have their own consequences.
- When you use a Drama Trait, tell the GM which one you’re using and give them a Drama Token. It is the GM’s responsibility to make note of which Drama Trait was used, and then use the Trait to make your character’s story more complicated and difficult in the future. You are giving the GM permission to use your Drama Trait against you!
- You do not need to role-play your Drama Trait when you use it: the GM will bring that Trait into the story at a later point.
Here are some examples of Drama Traits in a few categories. These are only examples, and (like Hero Traits) you are encouraged to come up with your own.
- Dark-sides: pessimistic, careless. suspicious, disrespectful, impatient, etc.
- Secrets: A secret ID to protect, some past villainy, you have a rival or enemy (in or out of costume), a personal problem that can pop up at any time, you owe a debt to someone powerful, you’ve been through some traumatic past event, etc.
- Disabilities: You have a physical disability*, communication difficulties (unable to speak or write, not fluent w/ local language), a physical or biological requirement (an addiction, or needing water to breathe), an unlikely physical weakness (kryptonite, light from a red star, etc.), etc.
- Responsibilities: There is an organization you must run, you have a family member who needs care, a demanding boss (in or out of costume), an emotional or spiritual requirement (like prayer at dawn, or Linus’ blanket), etc.
- Other Limitations: you have a a phobia, strong ethical code or obsession that can decide your actions, you have an object that must be worn or carried, there is a specific time or place when your powers can or cannot be used, etc.
Anything is good so long as the GM can image ways to use your Drama Trait to make things harder for your character. (*A note about role-playing real-world disabilities: be respectful of the people have similar disabilities. This can be a powerful way to learn about their lives. Learning about others builds real-world empathy!)
There should be an easily accessed pile of Drama Tokens in the play area for all the players to use.
After a dice roll that you want to make better, give the GM a Drama Token. When you do, tell the GM which of your Drama Traits you are spending against – this gives the GM permission to make that Drama Trait an important part of this (or some up-coming story). Spending a Drama Token this way allows you to:
- Roll one more die and add it to the total, AND THEN re-roll one die (presumably the lowest.)
Note that you can give the GM a Drama Token almost anytime you like. You are not limited to only a certain number of Drama Tokens per scene or per game. However, think carefully about this, because each Drama Token can be used against you!
GMs can spend the Drama Tokens the players have given them to make the current adventure harder in some simple, generic way: to bring in another group of thugs, or to make a specific challenge more complicated. The GM can also use the Drama Tokens in a specific way to bring the associated Drama Trait(s) into the story to add drama! OR, if the GM has collected enough Drama Tokens, they can spend them to end the scene cinematically in favor of the villains!
The only time you are NOT allowed to use a Drama Trait to make a challenge easier is when the GM has already used a Drama Token to make the challenge harder. Similarly, the GM may not use a Drama Token to make a challenge harder if a player has already used one to make a challenge easier.
Drama Traits give you, the player, a way of influencing the story in collaboration with your GM. As you invoke your Drama Traits to give the GM Drama Tokens, you are telling the GM to use your Hero’s background as fodder for future character-centered complications or future stories.