A friend of mine, upon hearing about a bunch of us playing Monsterhearts, was looking through the Skins to see what would be a good match for him as a teenagers (as a few of us seem to have drifted towards familiar territories in selecting our own Skins).
He was keen to find something that was selfish. I’m not sure exactly how he quantifies selfish, but he saw the Harpy skin and stressed “not bitchy selfish”. Are there any good selfish Skins floating around out there? Something like a fae but with less adherence to promises and contracts perhaps?
Mortal. Oh, god, the Mortal egotism….
And, of course Vampire.
He didn’t seem to be particularly taken by any of the standard ones. I think the closest he came was a Ghoul with a hunger for Chaos. I was just wondering if there were any non-standard ones outside the core book that might tap into something similar.
Of course, he might’ve shied away from the Mortal because it implies a reliance on another character, an intimacy that he wouldn’t like to commit to. I don’t know – just looking at other potential Skins we could show him that might mesh with his idea of a selfish character.
Mortal isn’t about commitment.
Make him understnd he could change loved one without nothing but a word.
He could browse any PC and NPC of the serie in a single evening, and each one will be their True Love Forever… 😉
How about Ghost, self absorbed to the point of retreating from the world (physically, emotionally) until they hit a breaking point of not enough attention…
Again, he wasn’t too taken on that. I pointed out that the Ghost does have a lot of selfish Moves (I’m playing a Ghost myself), but the Ghoul seemed to be the one that spoke to him more. I get the feel he wants to be more active than reactive.
Is it the first time he plays monsterhearts? If so, I would stick to the core skins. Some of the fanmade ones are less than perfectly written.
It will be, yes. I don’t think he’ll be joining the current game we’re playing, but I’ve offered to run the game for a few people somewhere down the line.
You’re probably right. I think ‘selfish’ is probably something that can be brought to any character, pretty much, through game-play.
Yes, absolutely! Do stress that almost all character “stereotypes” can be played through different skins, each highlighting different facets of it. A selfish Ghost is entirely possible, all the character’s attention being on its own unresolved trauma. A selfish Fae or Vampire is almost the norm, a selfish Ghoul works as well, and and a selfish Mortal works, too. I would definitely encourage playing the ghoul, because it’s a very cool skin, and it works very well. it drives you into the game very quickly and very strongly.
Infernal would be my guess
I’m going to suggest three skins for him to look at – two are part of the Second Skins if you have them? The Wyrm and the Neighbour both IME can qualify extremely easily as selfish. The third is my Kitsune who is written to be a commitment-phobic shapeshifting practical joker which fits some definitions of selfish. But first choice would be The Wyrm I think.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1P7JHnlN3e-1PM-5JXMTWOqePKDUKPshFal7gGhg5jLw/edit
The Wyrm is advised for experience players, though, and for quite good reasons, as some moves can be a bit fidgety (in a great way, if you know how to handle them). it may go down perfectly well, of course, but of the “official” skins (normal + second skins) it’s probably the most “mechanically” advanced, throwing around some interesting ideas, that require some experience to bring them to bear.
I’ve not got Second Skins, but I’ll definitely try to pick up a copy. Cheers!
I can’t access google docs from this computer, but will give it a go when I’m home later.
I’d recommend the Queen if it’s not already being played.
The problem with playing skins like the Ghost selfishly, is that it might result in a sort of turtling, especially if the player is already reluctant to get romantical. The Ghost has to establish the whole blame thing, and then goes invisible during their darkest self. The conflicts might not drive towards the other players.
When the Queen shuts you down, it’s because he knows he’s better. His selfishness is a driving force for the group, a piece of terrain, so he can be more stand-offish. He can escalate conflict while snipping heart strings. He gets a little gang of admirers to drive it home and then throws the parties that makes the haters grind their teeth.
Plus it’s rad if he just shows up at school. Who’s the new guy? How is he already dating Angelique and making everyone wear short hoodies with bare navels?
If you already have a loved NPC, the Queen is their brother who got kicked out of boarding school and is back now. They are the sibling who has needs you can trample. Make them stay in the basement all night during the party. Make them walk to school while you sleep in.
I’ve seen a few selfish infernals. The other nice thing about them is that they tend to generate plot and so if they are new to MH they won’t have any trouble getting into the thick of things. The other nice thing is that they have a strong connection to their dark power (who is played by the MC) so you can help them along in the game through that communication.
Absolutely! Infernal is perfect.
I win?
My favourite was an infernal who gave his dark power a string in return for a vanful of burritos. (His dark power appeared in the form of Angela Lansbury btw.) God, that character was a selfish dick.
Another infernal story, the very first scene the infernal is in a dodgy biker bar. He’s about to get beaten up by three vamps (he’s in debt to them from gambling losses, pints and pints of debt). The Chosen pulls his arse out of trouble and tells him to keep his nose clean. He thanks her and then hotwires a bike belonging to a gang and rides off right in front of her. What a douche.
Ghoul who wants Power makes sense, but a Chosen who’s selfish is a VERY interesting start, because your actions and your wants are perpendicular.