The Kill Jar
What is the Kill Jar
On the game table we place a can or jar of some sort, suitably decorated, called The Kill Jar.
Each time the PC's kill someone, unless in active self-defense or defense of others against enemies using deadly weapons (knives, guns, bombs), the GM places one chip in the Kill Jar. The GM also puts a chip in the Kill Jar if a PC destroys a substantial item of property unless justified by immediate need to save a life.
Interpretation
Anytime innocent civilians are killed and PC's do not attempt to save them and could possibly do so, they count as kills for the Kill Jar. Anytime prisoners or unconscious foes are deliberately killed, they count as kills for the Kill Jar. Anytime the PC's use a gun or blade to kill an opponent who's fighting with fists or other non-lethal weapons, it counts as a kill for the kill jar.
Every time you kill a cop or city official, even if they are dirty and trying to kill you, it results in a chip in the kill jar.
GM has final say and interpretation of what is considered justifiable and what not, what warrants a kill jar chip. If a player argues, an extra chip is immediately added to the jar.
Effects
At least at first, from 0-5 chips has no effect on the players, from 6-10 has a noticeable effect, from 11-15 a severe effect and 16+ a rather severe effect (see synthesized_rewards_system). This scale may be adjusted based on play progression.
The Essential Question
Kill Jar good. Is this what you'd like? Would you rather all kills go in jar and presumably the cut off numbers up? I personally like the justified/not justified dichotomy.
I like the justified/not justified dichotomy. My idea was to add other “good” chips as well for accounting at the end.
So, maybe each good chip negates 1 kill chip, and thus the reward system can stay the same. I l'd like it better if the good chip was something countable–maybe a “save chip” every person saved or crime thwarted.
The problem then becomes if the PC'S save a bus full of kids, can they then murder 20 gangsters? How do we make it countable and proportionate? Ideas on what good chips given for?