WyshMaykers Designer Notes - The Society

In the game WyshMaykers, players have the opportunity to play characters that can do anything they want. THey are not the only ones, however. There is, in fact, an entire group in the game world of people with the same ability: the Society of WyshMaykers. THis group watches over the WyshMaykers in the world and makes sure that three basic laws are upheld so that the world does not devolve into a puddle of mud via a wyshing war. When we built the Society, we had some thoughts on what it was, what it wasn't, and how it could be used in games of WyshMaykers.


***What the Society Is and Isn't***  
The Society is, at its core, a group of WyshMaykers that have talked the vast majority of WyshMaykers into following their rules. In the game world, they serve a necessary purpose of a structured community empowered with the responsibility with keeping the world safe from their own kind. They don't want the world to know about the ability of wyshing, nor do they want WyshMaykers to get too far out of hand. It is an interesting balance to try to keep, really.  

The Society is not a bunch of power-hungry evil people bent on world domination. Well... they could be, but that's not what they tell everyone. The Council that leads the Society is really not all that power-hungry though. They alreadt have all the power they could want, and there is somethAs such, they are not meant to be the evil empire in the game, but characters may see them that way. The Society is also not interested in making all the other WyshMayker's lives more difficult with their laws and enforcers. They truely believe that the laws they have in place protect both WyshMaykers and normal humans from each other. At least, that's how they began. As with all great intentions, they sometimes can end up being roads to bad places.


***Intended Uses of the Society***  
When we made the Society, we really intended for them to be the lever for the Story Referee to use to help control the game. There are three laws that the Society enforces, as well as some courtesies that they expect people to follow. If characters do not respect these things, the Society could possibly come down on them so hard that their head would spin. Of course, this is all dependent on how reaching and obtrusive the Story Referee wants the Society to be. If the characters are not Wyshing for millions of dollars in their pockets every two hours, the Story Referee may very well keep the Society off their back. It really is a social, game world mechanic meant to be a control for the game so that the story can move forward. We totally encourage players to use the Society however they need to keep the story going.  


***Alternate Society*** 
A possible way to play the Society is to play it as the exact opposite of what it was intended to be: a dark, world-conquering group bent on control of all human will. To this end, they become an evil empire to rebel against, and something that the players' characters can take down and/or run from. It's worth a try, at least.


Check out the Society of WyshMaykers in WyshMaykers the Game of Magical Stories ( http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product_info.php?products_id=94202&affiliate_id=229603 )