What was the belief that Aaron’s player was going against in that moment? If there isn’t a specific belief that he was wrestling with and breaking, I think that was more of an Embodiment moment than a Moldbreaker moment.
I try not to think of Embodiment as a roleplaying award. The rubric I use is: Did the player show me something new and true about their character? Was there a moment that crystalized my understanding of that character, made me see them in a new light? That’s Embodiment.
Embodiment doesn’t necessarily turn on a belief. It’s about the gestalt of the character.
I think of Moldbreaker as the obverse of Embodiment, but entirely focused on the character’s current beliefs. Does the character confront a belief, struggle with it, and ultimately break it? In essence, is the player allowing the character to change their relationships with their beliefs as a result of what they experience?
For instance, let’s say Aaron’s character has a belief about supporting the king’s right to rule. We see the character righteously smiting the king’s enemies and securing the king’s throne. Over time, though, Aaron’s character sees the people suffering because of the king’s policies and begins to question just how righteous the king’s rule is. Aaron’s character struggles with this, strives to justify the actions taken in the king’s name, but finally decides to start working with the rebels to bring about the king’s downfall. That’s Moldbreaker.
Workhorse I would cast out. You can’t work behind the scenes to support the other players when you’re the only player.
I don’t know that I would throw out MVP entirely, but I’d set the bar very high. In a one-on-one game, most of the Persona should be coming from Embodiment and Moldbreaker (and accomplishing beliefs) – everything is focused on the one character after all! I would consider awarding MVP when the character takes bold and decisive action toward furthering the story. If something happens in the game and you both look at each other and say, “Holy shit! That changes everything,” that’s probably a good candidate for MVP.
If Deeds is the award given for the big things – stop the Invasion, overthrow the tyrant, break up the Zhentarim slave trade in the north – the Persona awards for MVP should flow from the important steps taken toward achieving that ultimate goal.
What do you think?