Updated on 12/12/2021
Q: There are two seemingly contradictory statements about when Supporting characters act during the casting call?
A: Yes, the intent is as written (on page 50) “Supporting characters generated from Qualities (such as Sidekick) or summoned (such as through the School of Magic: Summoning, page 95) go last on the Call Sheet (page 31).
Q. There is additional verbiage in the School of Magic: Summoning that’s intended to and flavor to this. “Summoned Monsters obey your commands, acting during your Dramatic Moment in the Call Sheet (see Core Rules: Call Sheet, page 31). The word during should be after meaning your monster can’t obey you unless you speak and act.
Q: How does the Casting Call rules work with Dramatic Moments and One Act/Three Scenes?
A: This is an example of how to run them as described using the Morra rules.
First, I’d review the One Act/Three Scene Structure on page 32. In Scene I: The Setup and in Scene II: Reveal the Conflict, you have plenty of time to drop clues or force a Dramatic Moment with Notice before there is Scene III: Resolution. The idea being that just in a film, you set things up dramatically to give the audience the experience of being in a movie. In a John Woo directed movie, the cast might notice doves or pigeons flying away. In a Quentin Tarantino directed movie, there might be a comedic beat here where they simply run into each other.
When we get to Scene III: Resolution, the Director creates their Call Sheet to storyboard the scene. In Step Two: Determine the Action Pool (page 29), the Director and each member of the Cast discuss what they want to do and determine their Action Pool. Experienced cast members will have this down, but new cast members might need a little help figuring out the coolest thing they can do in a scene. This is my way (the Director) of getting the input from the writers, the stunt team, and the actors (aka the cast). The Call Sheet locks them into their choices for Scene III and then you roll the dice to see how well it went. Remember, while there are tactics in this game, it’s designed to be cinematic in a fun, collaborative way.
Here’s a quick and dirty example of the flow.
1. Scene I (The Setup): The cast is walking down a dark alley. Maybe they quip. Maybe they talk about why they are there.
2. Scene II (Reveal the Conflict): A noise is heard. Perhaps, the Director allows for a Dramatic Moment: Notice to determine the location giving them a Wild Card bonus in Scene III. If there was a Quality that gave someone an advantage or disadvantage, I’d slip it in here. For example, if someone had Quality: Nick of Time (Page 55), I’d give them an edge. Dove coo and fly in the crossfire. The needle drops in the soundtrack.
3. Scene III (Resolution): Pistols are drawn. Cast members lock in what they want to do on the Call Sheet as described on 31. And then they roll the dice to see how well things went. Now, if the member of the cast really wanted to do both the shooting and the notice in the same moment (and I thought it was dramatically appropriate), I’d follow the guidelines in the side bar on page 32.
Q: Upgrading seems to be a downgrade in certain situations, such as with minor projectile to major projectile - the option to pay 15 more experience to get one shot for 6 consequences an episode versus an unlimited number of 3 consequence shots seems like an oversight.
A: Upgrading is always a tradeoff. You always have the option to purchase both items. In this case, minor and major projectiles each have their own unique fields of awesomeness that doesn't always overlap.
Q: With Supporting Characters generated from qualities such as Familiar in Ravenswood Academy, since it is stated they are created in the same way as the lead characters, do these familiars still receive Archetype Bonuses? If so, does it remain the same Archetype as the character who it belongs to?
A: Typically, in the language it will say something like this: You create your Feline Companion as a standard Supporting Character for the Genre. Standard supporting genres are made just like lead characters and must have an Archetype, an thus get bonuses. Could you have a neat story when you (as a member of House Armitage) stole a Wakefield familiar? Yes. Lots of edge spaces and if I was the director I would require there to be reasons to be a different Archetype.
Q: A similar question - at a certain point the line exists that Followers generated by a Quality (such as Sidekick) or MacGuffins cannot have Qualities that generate additional followers or MacGuffins. This line can be read either that the quality is meant not to replicate itself (sidekicks cannot make more sidekicks), or that you cannot have a side kick who can take - say - enchanter or super science as a quality, nor a MacGuffin such as the Necromonicon which can summon the undead. I'd like to clarify if the latter is the intention?
A: Followers generated by a Quality can't then have Followers to avoid a perpetual motion machine of creating an army of followers.
Q: If a Leng student (Archetype from Ravenswood Academy) takes Enchanter for their Inventive Mind quality does that mean they can upgrade it to Master of the Mystic Arts at the 4 cost or the 2 cost?
A: No Because of this rule: “You can’t upgrade a Quality you received for free when buying another Quality.” (Page 49). As you said, a Leng student may take Inventive Mind, which gives them one of two qualities for free. One of those qualities is Enchanter. This is by design.
The +3 bonus to the Fighting skill is a Wild Card bonus.
The following line is a legacy element that was changed when single-use MacGuffins were play tested but accidently not deleted in the final copy.
"Once per Episode, you can share this fortune with others, but only as a single-use."
The following word Chosen is from Set Features (Page 77) and should be the Quality: Worthy (page 57). They have the same meaning, as one grants the other, but we’re listing it here for clarity between a Quality and a Set Feature.