Author: Andy Hauge

So, I’m thinking. Very dangerously. With respect to a character, a playbook is one of two things: a Nature (“this is what I am”) or a Stricture (“this is how I have to be”). Okay, more honestly, a playbook is some mixture of both.

I mused over this as Monsterhearts (surprise surprise!) was simmering in the back of my brain. Specifically the Witch’s special move, leaving a sympathetic token in exchange for a sympathetic token. An impulse of mine was to say “that’s absolutely stupid! Why would you leave some sort of vulnerability like that?”

Then I started going over the various answers. “Because the Witch wants to.” “Because the Witch feels obligated to.” “Because that’s just what the Witch does.” “Because it’s a thing Witches usually do.” “Because it suits a typical Witch.”

Each of those answers lies somewhere on the spectrum between Nature and Stricture. And I think that’s very interesting. Every character you make will respond to their Playbook by way of motivation and action. You’ll give out-of-playbook advances to the characters who see their role as a constraint, and in-playbook advances who choose to embrace their role as their true nature.

And that reflects something really cool about fiction, too. Take the Destined Hero archetype (or the Chosen playbook from Monsterhearts or Monster of the Week)–the character can embrace their playbook (become a destined fighter of evil) as their nature, or rebel against it (branch out and take other moves) because they view it as a burden or an unnecessary restriction on their individualism.

That’s smokin’. I’m getting a lot of interesting ideas for if/when I make a *World hack.

Sudden Monsterhearts realization: Strings are a specialized form of hold.

DUH. (I feel like an idiot now for not noticing that.)

But it gets me thinking about what other ways the concept of hold (using a resource to represent the ongoing effects of a prior move) can be adapted.