I’m not sure if this is the right forum, let me know if it should be moved.
I’m having trouble planning sessions around beliefs. Our sessions are all good fun, but they lack a certain punch. I’m struggling to think of conflict that really tests their beliefs.
The situation as it stands now is basic cyberpunk, mercenaries for hire, who recently botched a job and are now on the run from the privatized police force.
One of the players is a young ex-gang member who has the belief. “Reputation is everything, I’ll make someone remember my name!”
A couple of sessions ago he earned a 1D reputation ‘fucking snake’ for joining a gang to only turn around and stab the leader of said gang in the back.
Have people so scared that they can barely do business with him. Have his friends scared of him. Have his name come up linked to murders he didn’t even do because they assume that it was him because he’d be bad-ass enough to do that kind of day-time murder in broad daylight.
Show him that he is succeeding and see if he likes it. He might!
Don’t twist the knife. Play with the belief, see how dedicated his character is to the premise. Don’t make him pay for his beliefs. Make him pay for his actions; those should have consequences.
Honestly, I think you have nothing because the next part of this Belief doesn’t come from you. It is too general as it is written. Ask the player, how does he intend to make people fear his name? And is his ambition really so generic? “Someone” needs to fear his name? Who needs to fear his name? The bosses of the underworld? The private police force? The populace at large? Some rival that’s been making his life Hell? The Belief as it is now is a Fate mine. It gets him Fate points for acting scary but doesn’t really point in a specific direction. You want him to have a Belief like this.
“Reputation is everything! I’ll take down the head of the police squad tracking us to show you don’t mess with me!”
“Reputation is everything! The thugs will quake in their boots when I take down Yakuza Boss Shimura!”
“Reputation is everything! I’m going back to site of the botched job and taking out every witness!”
Once your player has settled on a course, the story should flow from there.
This looks like a twist already done. He wants to be remembered. Well, he is. Did he really want to be feared and loathed? (This is an infamous reputation, right?)
If so, okay. You don’t test Beliefs by playing literal genie and making the Belief turn to ashes. You test them by making the character have to really struggle in order to fulfill it. This looks like part of an ongoing struggle, so you’re good. There are probably people going for this guy’s back with knives now—for revenge, to make names for themselves, whatever. See how he likes having a name. See if he stands by that Belief or changes it.