I love the game, just two things that has been bothering me a little.
1. Is the “my tag team partner/faction partner helps me win by hitting the other guy while the ref is looking the other way” or “I hit my opponent with a low blow while the ref is distracted by my buddy” staples assumed to be covered by the Heel move or should there be a separate move for that?
2. The False Finish. How do you set that up and get anything out of it? You know when you hit your finisher in a big match and your opponent still manages to kick out.
Maybe a move along the lines of (the move is intended to only be added to “Big Matches” like title fights and/or main events)
Roll (that’s right, like your actual finisher you add nothing)
10+ You gain 1 Audience and choose 1 from 7-9
7-9 Choose 2: Your opponent gains 1 Audience, Gain 1 momentum, Gain 1 momentum and your opponent gains 1 momentum, You and you opponent gains +1 Heat with each other.
On a botch your opponent chooses: You injure your opponent or he no-sells it so bad it’s time for a new finish move (you can start using your old finisher again when you have either changed gimmick or won a title).
The move is something I made up while writing this so this is a VERY rough draft, please critique.
Both options can just be narrated.
#1 is the heel move, absolutely.
Narratively the false finish you describe would be +Heat wrestling. Although, I do like the idea of a custom move as well
For cues, how about “When nobody knows what the finish is” or “When the normally booked finish becomes impossible…”
My thoughts with the heel move were along the lines that you are specifically breaking booking/kayfabe without having to roll. But you can always narrate a heel finish if you are booked to win.
Any move that allows +Audience should carry a real risk to it, especially if it’s in a 7-9 choice. Also, is there a penalty to losing your finishing move? Thematically, maybe, but people cycle through finishing moves all the time.
I’d just stick with Wrestling with Heat for false finishes. If you do make a custom move out of it, make it more punishing for a 6- (both sides get injured, losing your finisher and the match, etc) or more likely less strong in the 7-9 range (Remove the +1 Audience choice here, maybe make it drop control).
I’m working on a false finish move for the “Indy Darling” Gimmick, glad to see discussion of it here.
In my play, #1 generally tends to fall under the Heel Move or under a Heel or Heel Manager narrating the finish to a match.
I think using + Heat to narrate a false finish is really smart!
I was discussing this last night after our session. I like the idea of on a botch the sequence goes wrong and the booking is reversed.
That’s a great idea Justin Hunt
Glad to see so much discussion, the Heel finish works narratively as suggested above, and the false finish could as well with Wrestlin +Heat, but I just feel that the false finish is a big match staple that needs a bit more bite.
I agree that it needs to be either less rewarding or more punishing though, as I said I just pulled that together in a few minutes to show the concept more than anything. While we wait for Nathans new Gimmick I’ll see if I can revise this move.