Here’s another Gimmick idea: the Sideshow.
The Sideshow
“When you’re born, you get a ticket to the freakshow. When you’re born in America, you get a front-row seat.” – George Carlin
You’re kind of scary, but you’re not a Monster. You’re kinda silly, but you’re no Clown. Some people might think you’re on drugs, but you ain’t Wasted. You’re one of God’s own prototypes; too weird to live and too strange to die. The audience may love or hate you, but they sure as hell can’t ignore you. People show up just to see what bizarre thing you’ll do next.
Stats
Look +1
Power -1
Real -2
Work 0
Add +1 to one stat.
Heat Questions
Who finds you incredibly unsettling?
Who wishes they could get the crowd’s attention like you do?
Who thinks they can make you “normal”?
Who got pushed out of the spotlight when you went strange?
Starting Audience
+1
Moves
Finishing Move – When you’re booked to win a match, roll 2d6. On a 10+, you hit your Finisher clean. Gain +1 Audience. On a 7-9, they make you work for it. Choose: you make it weird and get +1 Momentum; or they bail rather than take your Finisher and you get +1 Heat with them. On a botch, choose: you confuse the crowd and lose -1 Audience or you pin your opponent normally and lose -2 Momentum.
That Ain’t Right – When you do something freakish and disturbing in the ring, roll +Look. On a 10+, choose 2, on a 7-9, choose 1: gain +1 Audience, get +1 Heat with your opponent, gain +2 Momentum. On a botch, choose: lose -1 Audience or you injure yourself.
Unorthodox but Effective – Take +1 Work.
Behind the Mask – Sometimes, you have to drop the act and say how you really feel. When you do this, roll +Real. On a 10+, gain +1 Audience. On a 7+, make Creative book you in a match with the target of your promo or gain + 2 Momentum. On a botch, the fans are bored and you lose -1 Audience.
Friggin’ Unreal – Take +1 Look (max +3)
Injury
When you are injured, check an injury box. When your opponent uses your injury to gain an advantage, you gain +1 Momentum and they get +1 Heat with you. Pain is fun!
If you have three checks, you can no longer compete.
Awsome: Mike Shaw made a career of this, The oddities (Kergan, golga, Silva), missing link, The french angel, lots of examples.
I was also thinking of Kizarny, the Boogeyman, and Tommy Dreamer getting over by eating his own puke. Would the Dust brothers and Mankind also qualify?
Honestly, Alter Ego was kind of my answer for Foley’s personas (Mankind, Cactus Jack, Dude Love) and the overall basis for the gimmick when I first created it. It goes to show that there is a huge overlap in a lot of gimmicks and there is a huge importance on really definining what you want out of the role. I totally get the idea overall and see the direction, and maybe it’s just the lack of detail from it being a first draft, but it might need some tightening up to really define it as a role. Try and cut down on the passive stat moves and think of something creative they can do as moves that really define the gimmick. Make it extremely distinct in comparison to things like The Clown or even my gimmick (which is not to say that I think you are copying mine!). I really like the idea though and can’t wait to see you fine tune this bad boy!
Yeah, this is very much a first draft. I don’t have the Clown Gimmick yet; I plan on picking up the Season One Gimmicks once they become available to non-Kickstarter backers. I’m considering a Move that takes Momentum away from an opponent and gives it to you, but I’m not sure how to word it. Psyching them out, maybe?
That seems like a neat idea, yeah. You could try to make the role all about that kind of playstyle, constantly swapping momentum with your opponent at the high risk of losing heat with them. I mean nobody wants to work with a guy that ACTUALLY creeps them out, right? Hahaha.
Whenever I’m skinning or creating something original that is a play option for the players in the game, I find it’s the most important thing to really decide how those roles/options directly influence the ways the players will play the game directly. You can actually use subtle things like stats and moves to influence the way you make players feel they SHOULD play the character, so it makes your role as a creater pretty important as you have to make something that feels distinct as well as playable and fun. Try to pinpoint how you imagine the character to be played from a technical standpoint, then adjust it for the social roleplaying standpoint. It has to hold ground as a class archtype in someway as this still has the RPG elements to it, you know?
love this idea. would love to play this gimmick under the fluff that my character was a promising and very talented worker but couldn’t connect with the crowd the way creative wanted, and as opposed to making him a jobber they’ve stuck him with a ridiculous freaky gimmick to make him psyche out the crowd as well as his already mastered ring psychology, perfect gimmick for having your character get over and when max’d out audience they could be given a new gimmick (continuing your original character background) as a way of progression/