This week, we get a little insight into the game by hearing from our systems lead, Brett, regarding his favorite mechanical pieces of the game.
When it comes to my favorite individual design piece, the first thing that springs to mind is the group Morale resource pool. Put shortly, there are a number of points in this resource pool equal to the number of players in the game representing the combined willpower of the Party as a whole. This pool provides two universal benefits: any player may spend a point from this pool use a class ability or Advantage which requires the use of a Party Point (a separate, personal resource pool which drives many abilities in the game) if the player has no Party Points, or any player may spend a point from this pool to add 2 dice to a roll in any Conflict. However, the cost is steep as if Morale reaches zero, all Players are eliminated from the game. In addition to players spending Morale points as described above, a point of Morale is also lost each time a character is killed or driven insane during the course of a game.
Additionally, some Players may have a means of manipulating Morale. For example, The Occultist class gains the ability to ignore damage to their own Sanity by spending Morale instead. This is powerful when combating monstrous Adversaries, as well as when shunting Sanity damage taken from the Sorcery Advantage (which the Occultist gets for free), when close to insanity. However, not all powers reduce the pool. The Leader of Men Advantage allows a Player to add a point of Morale to the pool instead of adding to their personal pool of Party Points throughout the course of a game.
As you can see, this is a careful balancing act. Morale can be used to do powerful things during the course of a game, but the risk of spending too much is severe. Ensuring that there is a bit of Morale available is always good to ensure that the group is eliminated. But sometimes the only (obvious) means of success is dipping into the pool.
Brett Zeiler, Systems Lead Party First