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It generally makes sense that a Sleuth takes +1 damage when she takes Cool damage from a Like relationship; that sort of betrayal stings ("Damage" BGS 66).

But BGS 89 ("You Hate Me but I Love You") talks about Relationships where party A Likes party B while party B Hates party A. We've got a situation like that in my game, and I anticipate running afoul of the "Damage from a Like" rule soon.

I gave one of our Sleuths a free one-point Like with the culprit of our current mystery (she friended the culprit on Facebook as part of the investigation; "Creating New Relationships" BGS 100), but the Sleuth finds the culprit distasteful at best and is not happy he Likes her. We're likely to throw down with the culprit in our next Bubblegumshoe session (and/or later on in the campaign), and by the rules it seems like Cool damage he inflicts on the Sleuth he Likes should deal +1 damage... but since it's unreciprocated, I'm not sure that follows narratively.

I suspect this an edge case where we just rule what makes sense, but I'd like to know if I'm missing anything in the book about this kind of circumstance.

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The extra damage is exactly from betrayal. The damage goes to the one betrayed.

The rule specifies:

If you take Cool damage from one of your Likes or from a fellow Sleuth, that's another +1. If you take Cool damage from one of your Loves, that's +2 Cool damage.

(Emphasis mine)

What this means is that if the relationship is specified on the character sheet, the Sleuth will take extra damage. Putting it on the sheet means the character (and indirectly, the player) is invested in and interested in this relationship.

The character sheet does not purport to define the relationship of every NPC with the PC - that would be impossible. The player has a limited number of Relationship build points to spend. Therefore, a relationship that appears on the sheet represents a quite-literal investment on the part of the player, creating a capital-R Relationship.

If the player is not interested in the relationship, the character is not vulnerable to the additional damage.

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  • \$\begingroup\$ This doesn't seem to answer my question about dealing with damage from unreciprocated Likes where a Sleuth doesn't have any sense of camaraderie with an NPC who Likes her. \$\endgroup\$
    – BESW
    Commented Feb 3, 2017 at 8:23
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    \$\begingroup\$ It seems to be clear to me: an unreciprocated Like isn't on your sheet, it's on hers. She takes +1 from you, but you take the normal amount from her. \$\endgroup\$
    – fortyCakes
    Commented Feb 3, 2017 at 9:39
  • \$\begingroup\$ Relationships are a weird and not always well-explained mechanic, but if there's one thing that's clear, it's that they're "written from the point of view of the Sleuth," say "what the NPC feels," (26) and go on the Sleuth's sheet. Examples from the same page include "GREG HANOVER Likes me, even though I broke up with him" and "MONICA PARK (Mom) Loves me and worries I'm pushing myself too hard." "Your Like" is used consistently throughout the text to indicate a Like on the Sleuth's sheet describing an NPC's feelings toward that Sleuth. \$\endgroup\$
    – BESW
    Commented Feb 3, 2017 at 10:48
  • \$\begingroup\$ It's precisely the "your Like" language which led me to ask this question, as it seems to be used differently here than anywhere else. If your answer is that "your Like" means the exact opposite in this line than it does elsewhere, it's going to need more support. \$\endgroup\$
    – BESW
    Commented Feb 3, 2017 at 10:55
  • \$\begingroup\$ Ah, I understand the source of the question, @BESW, forgive me, it seemed awfully simplistic before. \$\endgroup\$
    – gomad
    Commented Feb 3, 2017 at 13:45

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