SILENT MOBIUS ZETA

COMMON THEMES


When running a Silent Möbius game, there area few recurring themes that Game Masters may want to keep in mind. These themes are:

  1. It is always raining. Always. In Side 1, Katsumi asks "Oh how I hate this rain... When will it stop?" Only very rarely does the sun come out and we see a bright and 'cheery' day. This is much like the movie Bladerunner in which the rain fell constantly.
  2. Most of the action looks to take place at night. Very rarely do we see the AMP fighting a Lucifer Folk in broad daylight. It happens, but not often. At several points in the manga, the AMP is getting to work at 11:00 PM (or a similarly late hour).
  3. It is a world of really tall buildings. The buildings all look to be 70 stories or better. In Side 3 Robert deVice and his fellow officers assault a tall office building in a armored vehicle. It is stated that the 'freight elevator' (big enough to haul their APC) is 200 meters away. It is also stated that their target is 43 floors below them. 200 meters is close to 660 feet, while 43 floors is over 430 feet. Obviously, this building is huge.
  4. The pubic is unaware of the 'real world'. The public seems to be unaware of Lucifer Folk, which the AMP encourages. The public also seems to be unaware of magic as well.
  5. Magic is real and very destructive. Airports, orbital elevators, buildings, whole streets... magical attacks are capable of destroying just about anything in a single shot. Interesting enough, many magicians can withstand being hit with these spells.
  6. Love can and will conquer all. If you love someone strong enough, you can withstand almost anything to save them. Kiddy, nearly dead from her injuries, is able to get up and save Ralph from getting killed by a Lucifer Hawk. Katsumi and Roy are able to defeat the Entity hunting them, due to the power of their love for each other. Mana states that love is what gives the AMP the power to keep fighting. This is a bit hard to define in a game, but anyone who sees a close (very close) loved one (fiance, lover, parent) in serious trouble should receive bonuses to succeed with their next action. Love makes the impossible, possible. Even Ganossa admits it.

This last theme is very important to a Silent Möbius setting. Characters with a power relationship to another character (either a love affair or deep friendship) , or with strong ties to people in their past (usually deceased parents) should be allowed to call upon that relationship in time of need. What constitutes a "time of need" is up the Game Master, but it usually should be taken to mean any point where the character's life is directly threatened, or if something major is at stake (fate of the AMP, fate of the city and so on). EGO rolls may or may not be required. In any case, the character may receive the following benefits: pluses to their OCV, bonus dice to an attack, or bonuses to an EGO roll overcome an Psych Lim or to perform some action.

Aside from the "love can and will conquer all" theme, I have found the following suggestions for underlying themes in the series. These are more geared toward expression how characters relate, as opposed to how the world works.

Silent Möbius tells us nothing this spectacular, but it does have some things to say: Forgiveness is very important in relationships. Communication between family members is difficult. We do not control our anger, it controls us. It is okay to cry now and then.

Keep fighting, you never know when your opponent will give up. Dealing in bad faith will only hurt yourself in the long run. Cry, but keep on going. People are worth more than you know. Also, never think that a monster is dead until you've seen it explode.

What does this mean in my game?

One central idea I've wanted to use in my game is that the AMP is a small group of underfunded, outgunned and outnumbered people fighting to protect an unknowing populace from terrors they can't comprehend. All the AMP has to rely on is each other. They need to be a team, in fact they need to be a family in order to survive. Other Game Masters may wish to express themselves differently.

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