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Girl Genius Game
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{{IS_A=Plot}} {{Name=The Brain Transfer}} {{Summary=A fun but silly side-plot: Helen has been convinced that the Wulfenbachs are evil. So she is going to deal with them in her usual fashion: by swapping their brains around. Totally failed to materialize in the first run, so may need some beefing up or scrapping.}} {{Description=This one is big and messy: it is the core plot of the [[Conquerors]], but they each have a slightly different view of it and different motivations. The high concept is that [[Helen]] has a particular special ability of [[Brain Transplant]]. Given a pair of willing (or subdued and unconscious) victims, she can in ten minutes switch their brains. (Yes, this could only happen one-way, but that would be unethical!) [[Othar]] has explained to her that this world is groaning under the tyranny of the Wulfenbachs, and she has agreed that the most logical way to deal with this is to switch his brain with that of [[Klaus]], or at least [[Gil]] -- then he can bring down the tyrants using their own powers against them. Meanwhile, this plot is being supported by several others. [[Beetle]] is helping out, because he believes [[Klaus]] to be in some fashion deeply evil. (Not clear in what way, but it's clearly mistaken.) [[Silas]] is doing so out of sheer revenge, and he would like to figure out how to be the one who gets transferred instead of Othar, so he can take over. [[Moloch]] wants a bit of revenge, but mostly is helping out because [[Othar]] is his ally, and he would be content to have an ally in charge of things. [[Theo]] is *not* in on it -- while [[Othar]] wants to bring him in, [[Moloch]] convinced him that Theo wouldn't think well of it, and he's right. Theo is suspicious that there is something going on against [[Gil]], and he is worried about that: while they may not be exactly on the same sides, they are old friends, and he doesn't want Gil hurt. ''Darker: If two brains are switched, how is this handled from a gameplay standpoint? "Swap name badges" seems faintly unsatisfying, but "swap characters" seems actively problematic for a great many reasons.'' Justin: I'm thinking of this as effectively a disguise mechanic. I agree that it's not as satisfying as one would wish from a metagame POV, but it's what makes sense from a game-goals POV. That is, the point of doing a brain swap is precisely that these characters are now wearing each others' bodies. (And no, they don't learn anything about each other in the process -- this is very explicit in the Narbonic source material the mechanic is drawn from.) One implicit assumption that I probably haven't stated explicitly, which is relevant: game badges are *pictures*, not text. I'm planning on buying a button-maker, and giving everyone a badge that shows what they look like, rather than what their name is. (That's why I've been noting good pictures for everyone in the notes.) That makes the brain-swap at least slightly more visceral. As part of this plot, [[Helen]] is deliberately flirting with [[Othar]] to manipulate him. She isn't really particularly attracted to him, but she *does* know how to use feminine wiles. And heroes are so much *fun* to manipulate! }} {{Notes=This was intended to be a "go where the characters lead you" plot. If the players got their act together sufficiently to kidnap [[Gil]] and swap brains, we'd allow it, and see where the chaos went.}} {{NextTime=This plot simply didn't happen in either game; only in the second run did the players even come close. The plot web as currently constructed appears to be too tight for this plot. If we de-emphasize the Castle next time, loosening up the plot web more, and provide more impetus for more players to *want* this to happen, it might have more chance. But it's an incredibly dangerous plot, so rewrite with caution.}}