Hi people!
I am running a game situated in New York, and sadly one of the players won’t be able to attend the next two sessions, so I wanted to write him a love letter for when he gets back. He plays The Wolf who is currently lost in the wintry wastes of Arcadia, as a conesquence of ingesting a lot of troll blood near a portal (a way to park him while the player is on vacation).
I was wondering if any of you had any ideas for a cool move to give him for when he returns?
How is his turf being handled when he is gone?
Is anyone looking after it? Was it set up before hand? A friend? A pack mate? Another PC?
Did someone in his turf go missing?
Is someone trying to move in during his absence?
Where is his turf?
Yoshi Creelman His turf is not being handled by anyone in his absence and no precautions were made.
His disappearance was very sudden and unexpected. Essentially at the tail end of the session he told that he would miss the next two sessions so we ran a quick scene where he killed a few trolls while wolfing out and vanished at the end of the scene.
I can most definitely see the entrepreneur encroach on the area and start construction on condominiums.
Lisa Padol His turf is located in Harlem.
However, what I was looking for was more in the veins of a move that would relate to his travels in Arcadia. If someone had some good ideas or inspiration for what could befall him.
My preference would be to make the move roll forward with action. So if you want it to be about Arcadia, make it about the prize he secured to help him shore up defenses on the home turf or the enemy he made who is coming for revenge.
Mm, something like “Roll with X [Faction: Wyld?]. On 10+ pick 2, on 7-9 pick 1” and have three options. What they are depends on what he wanted to do in Arcadia — or did he want to do anything?
One option can be “No one tried to move in on your turf while you were gone” or something like that. Another can be “You didn’t make an enemy in Arcadia.” The third can be “You got the thing you wanted from your trip to Arcadia” if there’s some nicely concrete thing that describes it.
Maybe let him check Faction Wyld regardless, if it isn’t already checked.
Ok. So this was what I came up with (thanks for your input):
Dear Kareem
Last time we saw you, you crossed over into the fae realm of Arcadia and were lost in its snowy wilds. During your stay you are unable to return to your human form and are forced to hunt the various creatures of that strange realm for food. You also have various interesting adventures that, sadly, happens off-screen. To simulate these adventures I have made this move for you.
When you sit down at the table to play with us again: roll with Wild, since you are in the very seat of wild, and mark that faction.
On a 10+ choose 3, on a 7-9 choose 2:
– On your journey you saved a fae from some calamity, it owes you one debt. Who is it and what was the calamity?
– You’ve stumbled upon a rare treasure of the fae that you can bring back, what is it and how did you procure it?
– Your journey home was done through a portal that allows access to an otherwise secure location and you believe that you will be able to use it again. Which place does the portal lead to?
– Leroy Brown doesn’t get any traction in the community back home.
On a 7-9 also choose 1 from this list:
– You have angered a fae noble who will seek you out and demand redress. What did you do to anger it?
– You had an altercation with a dread creature of the Arcadian wilds, during the fight you were hurt and had to indulge your beastial nature. Mark 2 harm and 1 corruption.
– You were a wolf for too long. Until the next full moon you are clearly marked as beastial for everyone to see. Take -1 ongoing when interacting with mortality.
On a miss you are chased by the Wild Hunt and they have followed you home. Mark a scar as a consequence of an earlier encounter with them. What happened and how did you barely survive?
XOXO
Your MC
I think your initial move and it’s choices are very good. They give the player agency in growing the fiction. I think your additional 7 – 9 choices are not needed. The move would play better if you added: ‘On a miss choose (1) from the above and…’ then use the 3 choices from your 7-9 add-on where the player must pick 1 of those. Just my 2 cents.
Mike Maher
I agree.
Mike Maher So something more along these lines:
Dear Kareem
Last time we saw you, you crossed over into the fae realm of Arcadia and were lost in its snowy wilds. During your stay you are unable to return to your human form and are forced to hunt the various creatures of that strange realm for food. You also have various interesting adventures that, sadly, happens off-screen. To simulate these adventures I have made this move for you.
When you sit down at the table to play with us again you have just returned from Arcadia: roll with Wild, since you were in the very seat of Wild, and mark that faction. Where have you returned?
On a 10+ choose 3, on a 7-9 choose 2:
– On your journey you saved a fae from some calamity, it owes you one debt. Who is it and what was the calamity?
– You’ve stumbled upon a rare treasure of the fae that you can bring back, what is it and how did you procure it?
– Your journey home was done through a portal that allows access to an otherwise secure location and you believe that you will be able to use it again. Which place does the portal lead to?
– You have stumbled upon a clue to the whereabouts of someone who has gone missing. What is it? When sharing this clue with someone searching for that person they owe you one debt.
– Leroy Brown doesn’t get any traction in the community back home. Why is this?
On a miss also choose 1 from this list:
– You have angered a fae noble who will seek you out and demand redress. What did you do to anger it?
– You had an altercation with a dread creature of the Arcadian wilds, during the fight you were hurt and had to indulge your beastial nature. Mark 2 harm and 1 corruption.
– You were a wolf for too long. Until the next full moon you are clearly marked as beastial for everyone to see. Take -1 ongoing when interacting with members of the Mortality faction. How does the mark manifest itself?
– You found yourself in a dangerous situation and a fae saved you. You owe it two debts (they are crafty creatures). Which situation did you need saving from and who is the fae?
I see that the move more closely follows the format of pbta games in that variant. I am a bit sad to remove the Wild Hunt option on a miss, but then again, there aren’t any real options with regards to the fiction with that choice. If he misses, then he has been chased for all of his time in Arcadia, and that might be a bit dull?
For the miss, don’t forget ” choose 1 from above…” in addition to 1 from the miss list.
Dang, thought I’d remembered to write it. Cheers 🙂