Hey there !
So after our current season of 1-on-1 Monsterhearts2 between my girlfriend and me concludes, it’s likely we’ll take a break from it and we’ll switch MC charges. I’d like to MC Urban Shadows (and just for kicks, have it take place in Portland, since our Monsterhearts setting is a fictional town near Portland). i had two questions.
1/ MH isn’t supposed to be playable with only one player and one MC, but we did it anyway and it’s working great, we didn’t even have to change anything in the rules (beyond a custom move to resist seduction when it comes from NPCs) : knowing this, would US be the same, do you think ?
2/ Among all the playbooks (both Core and Dark Streets), my girlfriend really really loved the Vessel. Of course, she chose the only one that breaks the mold of Corruption. Do you think it’s ok to play US for the first time like this, or will we miss a crucial part of the game by not experiencing Corruption ? (this really bothers me).
She doesn’t want to avoid Corruption, it’s just that as far as “monster types” are concerned, this golem/frankenstein creature archetype really excited her, rather than a more classic urban fantasy archetype.
I’m sad because one of the things I love in US is the fact that Corruption is so enticing; you can keep telling yourself that you just need this special power it gives and then you’ll be careful and never raise your score again.
On 1, I think Debts are just as strong with NPCs, especially if it’s a 1-on-1 game. I bet it’d be fine
As for corruption, I believe it’s the killer app of this game, and avoiding it is missing out on the best thing. Others have different opinions, but I think playing xp vs corruption is an amazing thing,
Aaron Griffin That’s what I think as well (about the Corruption) but she really fell in love with the Vessel. I don’t know what to offer her instead. Another Archetype that I could steal the mechanics of, but say it’s a golem, maybe? because she probably doesn’t care about the specific Vessel’s powers (being unstoppable and everything), it’s just the character concept.
Amaury Fourtet – We actually wrote a section in the book about running 1-1 games, including a few mechanics that should help make things a little smoother.
One of the big problems is that one PC can’t really deal with bigger problems that require non-dominant skills without help (frex: the Oracle in a fight), but there aren’t good mechanics for deciding a fight without the PCs rolling dice and taking the lead. Custom moves (+Debts) can easily cover the gap!
As for the Vessel, I think playing through a regular archetype might be a better place to start with the system. You could pretty easily do a Tainted that has a gargoyle form? Or maybe a Wolf that’s a golem-style monster? There are ways to skin stuff that should make it work okay. 😀
Thanks Mark Diaz Truman , that’s what I thought, I’m going to peruse the classic archetypes to check which one would work best as a reskin of the Vessel. Yes, I was thinking of the werewolf, for its aspect of protecting an area and its people (don’t think I didn’t saw “inspiration: gargoyles” in the blurb ! my most favourite cartoon of all time, too bad the french fandom is non-existent)
I’m just not sure how to reskin the wolf transformation.
By the way, why DID you say gargoyles was an inspiration for the Vessel ? I’m curious, since being created and slowly crawling towards humanity isn’t really thematically close to them ? (assuming we ARE talking about Greg Weisman’s Gargoyles…)
We listed Gargoyles because they are a great inspiration for some of the motifs and tropes for the Vessel. The core Redemption mechanic is probably more closely tied to Promethean: the Created than anything else!
Okay, so I kinda love the idea of someone playing a Gargoyle in Urban Shadows, so here are some alternate Wolf mechanics that might work for you.
First, I think that you want the Gargoyle to have a human form during the day. That gives the character the ability to go do stuff in the normal world, including more social conversations with Mortality. But…
The Transformation
By default, you change into your gargoyle form each night; you gain natural weaponry (2-harm) and 1-armor; you can resist the change, but it’s not easy; and you can only change back at sunrise.
Choose 2:
– You inflict +1 harm while transformed
– You gain +1 armor while transformed
– Your harm is armor piercing (ap)
– You cannot die from non-magical causes: if destroyed, your body reforms the next night.
– You have functional wings: gain +1 ongoing to Escape while transformed
– When battling groups, you fight like a small group
– You are all but immune to elemental attacks while transformed
Choose 2:
– Magical or enchanted weapons ignore your armor
– You sleep every day, awakening into your form each night
– You are tied to a physical place; you cannot travel far from it without suffering serious harm.
– You inspire terror and fear in mortals who view your monstrous form.
– You are heavy and bulky, unable to enter small spaces or move across fragile surfaces.
New Corruption Move:
When you refuse to protect an innocent from danger, mark corruption.
I hope these are fun!
Hey Mark Diaz Truman ! man, thank you for that answer. My girlfriend is thrilled that you went and created a gargoyle tweak just for her, so she’s now going to play one instead of a “promethean” (even without ever playing it, i’d recognised that inspiration by simple “hobby knowledge bleeding”).
As for me, i’m going to use your transformation rules, but i’m likely to play Dr Frankenstein about some of the wolf moves/particularities, and swap them for other archetypes moves. it’s not certain, though. i’ll tinker tomorrow during my day off.
one thing I see right now however, is the corruption move you propose : doesn’t it make it very easy not to get corrupted? I mean, from what I see from other archetypes, a corruption move is tempting because it’s easy to fall for it. the Wolf probably won’t hesitate too much about hunting someone, for example. If a gargoyle’s gimmick is to protect people, this corruption move goes too much against what they stand for, and it’s not tempting enough.
I should maybe make it less easy to resist the temptation, like changing “innocent” to “someone”. As in, tempt the gargoyle to decide that this particular person deserves what’s happening to them, and let it happen willingly. Also, if saving them would entail too much difficulty and they decide it’s not worth it.
Something like :
When you refuse to protect someone from danger (because you think they got it coming, because you think it would be too dangerous for you…) mark corruption.
What do you think? I wouldn’t want to make it too easy to qualify for corruption either.
I think that trying to help every innocent person in danger is pretty much impossible. But I am a devious and cruel MC sometimes!
I think your tweak is great. If you’re making the gargoyle pick, then they are engaging their own corruption mechanics. 😀
Also… this is why we playtest!
I’ve been tinkering with things, I’ll have to translate it back to English when I think it’s done, and i’ll show you 🙂
I’m excited! Glad to see you making the game your own.
Mark Diaz Truman ok so, I’m almost finished. I don’t have time yet to translate the playbook back to English, but here’s a rough presentation :
Strong and protective, the gargoyle watches over a small human neighbourhood community. Alas, to constantly witness the city’s baseness always ends up making them abandon their territory. One day, they wake up without memories in a new city, with a new territory and a new face, repeating a cycle that’s been going on since the first cities of mankind.
In brief, they’re immortal watchers and protectors who’ve been around since the days of Sumer. As their corruption fills up, they become more and more disgusted with their current city, until they snap and leave for good. It’s their last Corruption advancement. They end up in another city, possibly a continent away, and lose all memories of their previous life (lives). Their face change as well. And the playbook is basically reset to zero. One of the questions in the presentation asks “who recognised you despite your new face and didn’t tell you how ?” hinting that there are some means (magical ? supernatural senses?) to recognise a gargoyle through their different lives.
Very cool! Let us know how it plays!