Considering Transit Moves…
In our Boston game, we have a custom move for getting around the city using a magical subway line controlled by Power. It has been handy for getting from place to place instantaneously, and also giving an opportunity mark a faction easily, but we’re now at a point where everybody is terrified to ride the Gold Line for good reason. So, I’m considering how else folks might get around the city. Options include…
1. Skip over transit time entirely. Just cut to them being where they want to go. Kind of eliminates some tension and ignores just how hard it is to get around this city sometimes (in real life!), though, and makes it unlikely they’ll ever use the Gold Line again.
2. Narrate transit only briefly to indicate how annoyingly long it takes (“A Red Line delay and a short Lyft ride later…”), and advance one of the threats in the Storm. (If only they’d risked the Gold Line, maybe they would’ve gotten there in time before the werewolves started their assault!)
3. Offer alternative transit moves for other factions based on what’s already established in our setting. All told, they’d probably look like…
When you ride the Gold Line, roll with Power. On a 10+, you travel instantaneously to any location connected to it, no problem. On a 7-9, you leave something behind, or you owe Braithworpe a Debt. On a miss, you wish you’d waited for the next car.
When you rely on mundane transit, roll with Mortality. On a 10+, you get where you’re going in about as much time as your Maps app predicted. On a 7-9, you still get there, but the GM will tell you what you missed thanks to the delay. On a miss, you get an unwelcome reminder of what it means to have a commute or a day job like any other mundane chump.
When you use the Silver Branch to take a shortcut through Tir Na Nog, roll with Wild. On a 10+, you get through in minutes, no problem. On a 7-9, somebody spots you who you wish hadn’t, or you exit not quite where you expected, GM’s choice. On a miss, walking into another world turns out not to be a shortcut after all.
When you take a shortcut through Night-controlled territory, roll with Night. On a 10+, you get there much quicker than you would’ve on the T or in a cab, that’s for sure. On a 7-9, it’s still a quick ride, but you need to call on one of your gang contacts to make it through; consult with the GM on who you might owe a Debt. On a miss, you walked into the wrong neighborhood.
Thoughts?
Cool moves. I would usually not care so much about transportation, but when time or secrecy is crucial, you can tell them the consequences and ask.
Sure, no problem, you can take a cab instead of the gold line, but if you do Xamira will have the time to cast a couple nasty rituals on her sanctum.
Well, ghosts are searching for you all around the city, and they can feel the misery in the car you stole. You can use it islnstead of the gold line, but you have to deceive them or something like that.
Should the Tir Na Nog move roll with Fae?
Just as is, until other factions start setting up their own shortcuts and such, I’d like option 2.
Aaron Griffin Yes, thanks for catching that! Edited.
Since you’ve made this a “thing” in your game, I’m in favor of adding additional moves. These are all great moves, so it should add some new stuff to your game and expand the setting.
If you’re worried that things are getting too repetitive, then it might be time to tie travel to a countdown clock and eventually resolve it as a thread within your game. Either way… this is awesome stuff.
Added to my own campaign plan!
Thanks again to everybody for feedback. We’re finally having our next session this week. I ended up splitting the difference between a couple of the above options with a new version of Mortality move…
When you take a longish trip through the city by mundane means, the Pike’s backed up, two #1 buses drive by before a third finally stops, and there are moderate delays on the Green Line due to a signal problem. If you happen to find out you missed something important while you were stuck in traffic (GM’s discretion), mark Mortality.
Looking forward to seeing how it all goes!