Greetings all,
The party tension meter is certainly one of the more odd additions to 3e and I have been contemplating its use, specifically towards role-playing. I would like to share some thoughts and get some feedback on how you use or intend to use the meter as well as what is believed to be the design intention.
I would like to ask; what is the casual relationship between Party Tension and Role-playing? In effect, does the Tension inform the Role-play (the increase in Tension should cause the players to start role-playing the tension) or does the Role-play inform the Tension (the role-playing of in-party friction causes the increase in tension)?

The quoted use is as follows: (wfrp core, p21)
"Party Tension is a representation of the friction, anxiety, and apprehension a group of heroes struggle with in the face of new challenges, arguments within the party, or as a consequence for certain role-playing actions"
Further examples exist in the ToA, on p10 it says that role-playing causes the tension and the players should overcome these conflicts to achieve victory. On p.20 it says that the GM can use Party Tension to help resolve conflicts between players or their characters. Then on p.26 it gives an example that a dwarf and an elf in the party pushes the tension up.

First things first - there is no way I am going to use in-game mechanics to influence out-game behaviour. If your players are bickering then it should be resolved like resonable adults; punishing characters for player actions is right out for me.
But other than that, lets consider the other examples. I will use the stereotype of the Dwarf and Elf to illustrate my point. How would you handle this situation? The confusing examples cause a cyclical increase in Party Tension – there is a Dwarf and Elf so increase Party Tension, the increase in Party Tension should cause the Dwarf and Elf to start role-playing their tension, which in turn causes an increase in Tension, and so on ad infinutum.
Ok, so my example is deliberately formulated to break the system and no-one would really play it like that. But I am confused as to the design intention for this feature and rather than just abandon it, I would like to try to see if anything can be salvaged from it first.

If the role-playing is supposed to inform the Tension, then why should anyone really be punished, in a mechanical sense, for good role-playing? And if the Tension is supposed to inform the role-playing, then why would there be an example of increasing Tension for “certain role-playing actions” and why should players be, in essence, be punished mechanically when you are already ‘forcing’ them to role-play their characters increased friction?
Personally, I am leaning towards the Tension informing the role-playing, but both ways sit uncomfortable with me.

So, how do you use it?

I use to represent racial tensions - whether it is PCs or NPCs influencing the party (i.e. an elf traveling with the party which contains a hot-headed dwarf). I also use it for high-stress situations where the party must perform (and there isn't a focus on a given character). For example, the party is racing to locate clues, or is up against the clock so to speak. Individual failures/delays can ratchet up the group tension.

I also use it for a particular demon they're going to encounter; the first sign he is close (they won't know this at first) is a slow ratcheting up tension/sense of doom.

I used individual stress for apprentice wizard when a witch hunter came to the small village she was in; likewise if there are NPCs who can adversely affect more than one character, I would use group tension.

I don't use it to influence meta-gaming all that much; maybe if I need to continually prompt players to act/decide what to do I might add a stress to that character or if the situation warrants it, I might up the group tension, but I haven't actually done that and not sure if I will have to. I certainly won't use it to influence roleplaying per se (i.e. as a penalty for poor roleplaying).

The first session I ran last sunday we had a Celestial Wizard, Priest of Morr, Road Warden and a Commoner. Oddly enough it was one of my more power-gamey players that lept at the chance to play a commoner. For the lulz.
Anyhow, before the game started I broke out the fluff section of the rules and had them read up on magic and priests and the world of warhammer. I've been playing warhammer tabletop since 4th ed so I know the world pretty well, but for 3/4 of them it was brand new, but they all took to it pretty well.

Hence the party tension. The Road Warden and the Commoner played the fearfulness of traveling with a wizard to the hilt. Anytime the wizard started talking about the winds of magic or started casting spells, they reacted with all the distrust their primitive minds could muster. It was great.

The party tension came from the roleplaying only, not the out of game bickering (not that there was any).

The party sheet is easily one of my favorite parts of the game.

I think this is a very good question...

I love the idea of moving the tension along as things get heated however would that promote a very cautious approach or reward it worth thinking about i think...

For what it's worth i think promoting the way a character plays by giving out fortune points frequently makes this mechanic work well...

Hope that helps

boggle said:

Exactly - you can couple ratcheting up the tension from in-game or in-character play, with rewarding fortune for the same.

All great uses mentioned here. Although I'm playing with a different group than some of my normal players, and probably won't need it there's a couple other good uses.

In a group of 8 players that get distracted easily with their cell phone, lap top computers, and what I did last night stories, then have to ask me 100 questions when their turn comes up. I would use the tension meter. This is mostly a large group distraction issue, but I could see using it, wish I had it for my 8+ player group of DnD, that's for sure.

I would also use it the second that a fight between characters, become a fight between players.

I could see increasing Tension for things like:

• A party member trying to pick a lock while his comrades are fighting incoming creatures. Lock-picker fails a check, or maybe rolls a Chaos Star, than "bam", tension increases.
• Two party members attempting to seduce the same bar-maid (happens in my group anyway).
• The party has a "civilian" with them that they must protect, especially if it is a family member of one of the PC's (like a younger sibling or child). Some of the parties' normally reckless "adventurer" decisions might amp up the tension.
• One of the PC's tells another to use "Action X" (in character), but the character performs some other action.
• An atheist in the same party as a priest of Sigmar (or any priest really).
• A womanizing rogue in a party with a female character.
• An overly violent individual, like someone who makes a point to go around and slit the throats of any of the enemy lying on the ground (unless of course the whole party is like that).
• Party members who descrate sacred places in front of pious characters (not necessarily priests).
• Spending time in a tavern drinking ale when one of the character's is a recovered alcholic.
• Reckless actions performed by one member of the party that cause the group to be attacked and/or injured.
• After a member of a party has died I would keep the tension up a few spaces for a while, especially if one of the survivors was responsible for the PC's death (intentionally or not).
• When the party has had a split decision regarding which course of action to take and then the course taken starts going horribly wrong (and the other guys are saying "See, I told you so!")

These are just a few things off the top of my head, I'm sure that there are dozens of additional ways to use party tension.