Cursed Hindrance for fun and profit

[Squidchild]

Finally got to play Deadlands this last Saturday. One of the players took the "Cursed" hinderance. As it stands, the player just gets one fewer bennie, but the player put quite a bit of thought into it. It's woven into his backstory about how "something dark" is chasing him. I love it. I've actually gotten an idea and was hoping for a little feedback on it.

One thing I loved about Deadlands Reloaded was the different color and effects of bennies: Red, White, and Blue. What I was thinking was reserving the white chips for everybody, but having a small bag of red and blue (and eventually black) bennies for the cursed player. Give him his two white bennies, then drawing one from the cursed bag, and offering it to him no real explanation. If/When he uses one of the colored ones, Give him a thoughtful look and write "something" down behind the screen.

Thing is, I'm not 100% sure what to do with it just yet. I'm thinking of making the bag more blue than red, and giving each negative effects when used. Maybe making blue causing making him to have trouble magnet for the game and red "advancing" the curse. Eventually putting black chips in there. I mean, his mind is going to make more scary things than I ever could. I've got many ideas floating around in my dome. Just looking for something to help congeal them to.

[Deskepticon]

Sounds fun!
The only thing I'd suggest is make sure the player is onboard with the idea first.

[Squidchild]

Oh, I'm sure he'll be on board. He loves this kind of "out of the box" thinking.

[Squidchild]

This is some of the backstory about the curse copy-pasted if it would help stir any ideas: He's a kid stealing some treasure to impress a young lady.

Linc found more than he bargained for. He did discover a golden drinking cup in the squire's study, a beautiful and terrible thing, decorated with grinning skulls and strange sigils. Thinking nothing of the grim adornments of the thing and unable to read its ancient script of warning, he seized it and made to flee. However, as he turned to go, he saw an awful sight; Squire Trelawney, slumped in his armchair before the fire, dead of a self-inflicted pistol wound
Linc fled the house in terror, clutching his prize. He concealed it in his mattress ticking and tried to sleep, but his rest was troubled by terrible nightmares in which he saw an awful spirit, a bane-sidhe, who promised him unimaginable torments for daring to despoil her treasures. Upon waking, Linc learned that his true situation was little better than his nightmares, for his approach to the manor had been observed by a local farmer. When the squire's death was discovered, he was the obvious suspect and, with the stolen treasure in his possession, his conviction and hanging would be assured. Linc escaped his house scant minutes ahead of the constables who came for him. With nothing but the clothes on his back and his purloined chalice, he stowed away aboard a ship bound for America. He had outdistanced his mortal pursuers, but the bane-sidhe was not so easily eluded. The dreams continued to torment him until, desperate to rid himself of the unquiet spirit's evil whispers, he cast the cup into the middle Atlantic. To his horror, he found that this did not dispel the curse under which he lived. With no way to retrieve or destroy the cursed cup, Linc landed in New York harbor. There he fell into bad company, becoming a gambler and debaucher, seeking to drown his fears in rotgut liquor and questionable company. He made money with his cards, building up a small stake, and gradually became inured to his nightly horrors. He developed a dark sense of humor to cope with his situation and acquired the twin reputations of a man who laughed in the face of despair, and was utterly unafraid to die. He even went so far as to name his soul's undead passenger, calling her "Shelagh" and holding one-sided conversations with her; this sometimes made his acquaintances nervous, thinking him slightly mad; they were probably correct in this belief. So Linc lived for several years, until he heard rumors of strange magicks to the West. Hope, long forgotten, stirred in him. Perhaps there was a chance that some magician or shaman could rid him of his undead inner passenger. He liquidated all his assets, pulled up stakes, and moved west

Was thinking of making the cursed tokens have some small benefit, like a +1 to the reroll to entice their use, but provide some temporary minor hindrance for a time, or the (temporary) boosting a stat/trait (then weakening another) based on a die roll depending on chip color (red or blue) and after so many are used, adding black ones to the bag that indicate "she's getting closer". Kind of like a corruption mechanic. But he has to USE the tokens to discover what they do...

[lunchmoney]

Any time the curse comes into play, and causes a hindrance, give the player a bennie.

[Squidchild]

Any time the curse comes into play, and causes a hindrance, give the player a bennie.

Ahhh.. I see. The other way 'round from my thinking. I like that too!

[ellipses]

I don't want to speak for lunchmoney, but I assume their intention was to remind you that players should get Bennies when their Hindrances are played into or cause problems...

[Squidchild]

I get what you're putting down ellipses. And lunchmoney.

[lunchmoney]

Yeah, this is how it works in the book. Was supposed to be a gentle reminder of that and sometimes you don't need fancy doodad rules. Not to knock your idea, it is pretty cool

[Squidchild]

I guess my worry is I don't know the best invoke/evoke the curse. I'm running them through Horror at Headstone Hill. Should I just have him roll Spirit rolls when things get freaky or when he's alone or when he's having nightmares? With other hindrances, you can kind of "tease/offer" the benny at them: "Who cares that there are three of them and one of you? Aren't you OVERCONFIDENTin your abilities?"

I wonder if I should pick a handful of semi-random things that trigger it? Kind of like superstitions but weirder? Being alone in the dark for too long, seeing unattended gold, deep water... Just ideas.