There’s a basic move that I’m not sure about, so I thought I would ask you all what you think of it.

There’s a basic move that I’m not sure about, so I thought I would ask you all what you think of it.

There’s a basic move that I’m not sure about, so I thought I would ask you all what you think of it.

See Things

This is what you do when you’re a seer in the presence of an apparition; apps don’t like being seen and humans aren’t meant to see apps, so it’s bad all round. When you see things, roll+sight. On a hit, you don’t grow colder; on a 10+, the app doesn’t react to being seen.

Essentially, it’s the default move for learning about the apparitions the PCs face in the game… only the move doesn’t really say that. Also, it looks really passive: the character isn’t doing anything except checking to see if the app reacts to being seen. Is this still a basic move? Or is it a peripheral move? I was thinking of re-modelling it around the read a person move, with the PC being allowed to ask specific questions, but then there are a couple of unique moves in the playbooks that sort of cover that ground.

Opinions?

WIP.

WIP.

WIP.

Originally shared by James Mullen

Apps: Mates, Dates & Spooky Fates:

Here’s the other playbook I mentioned yesterday; it’s mostly finished, still needs a sex move and frozen condition.

The Shaman

Your existence is a statement, with your body being the canvas you declare it on; your flesh is yours to do with as you will, so make it beautiful, make it ugly, make it striking, make it serve you.

You get this one:

Body Modification: when you get a new piercing or tattoo, reset your cold to zero and feel the pain. Describe three body modifications you start with.

Then choose one:

Blood Cost: when you rip one of your piercings from your flesh, take +1 pain and feel the pain; take +1 ongoing until you heal a pain bar.

Animate: when you bring one of your tattoos to life & make it real, roll+envy. On a hit, you don’t grow any colder. On a 10+, it’s the real deal and it lasts until you lose sight of it or put it back. On a 7-9, it’s just an illusion. On a miss, it’s just an illusion and you take +1 cold.

Iron Skin: choose one type of damage you have +2 armour against, from blows, blades, bullets or burning.

War Paint: when you expose at least half your body modifications at once, take an additional 1 hold against anybody who doesn’t give you what you want when you make demands.

Spirit Guide: you can stick your nose in against apps without growing any colder.

The player-facing part of the rules are pretty much done, but I keep getting distracted by Pringles Playbooks.

The player-facing part of the rules are pretty much done, but I keep getting distracted by Pringles Playbooks.

The player-facing part of the rules are pretty much done, but I keep getting distracted by Pringles Playbooks.

Originally shared by James Mullen

Apps: Mates, Dates & Spooky Fates

I’ve decided to cap the starting playbooks at 9 Seers and 9 Mundanes, but that hasn’t stopped me from creating more playbooks: I can always save them for another time.

Today, I’ve created two Seers, the first being The Terror:

There’s something unnatural inside you, a nasty bug you caught during a run-in with an app; every day, it makes you a little bit stronger and a little bit stranger but also a little bit less human.

Choose two:

Predator:  when you cause pain, your target takes +1 pain; if you take +1 cold at the start of a session, your targets take +2 pain.

Devil’s Eyes: choose whether you can see in the dark or you can see heat; if you take +1 cold at the start of a session, you can see both.

Thrill of the Chase: you can outrun anyone else; if you take +1 cold at the start of a session, you can outrun road vehicles.

Bestial Rage: take +1 anger (anger+3); if you take +1 cold at the start of a session, take +1 ongoing to lash out.

Scent: you may spend 1 hold you have against someone to find them, wherever they are.

Hurt: take -1 cold whenever you get 10+ to feel the pain.

Freeze: you’re a monster and physically transform into something less than human for as long as you are frozen; you lose all ability to communicate and are dedicated to ruthlessly pursuing your most recent goal in the most direct way possible. Take -1 cold if you kill or hospitalise anyone.

Apps: Mates, Dates & Spooky Fates

Apps: Mates, Dates & Spooky Fates

Apps: Mates, Dates & Spooky Fates

Group Mind access requested…

Originally shared by James Mullen

I’m thinking of adding another Seer Playbook who would be a kind of urban sorcerer, using graffiti as the source of her magic; these are the moves I’ve got so far:

You get this one:

Tag:  when you tag a public space, roll+fear. On a 10+, both; on a 7-9, choose one; on a miss, neither. When you tag a public space for the first time, take -1 cold. Design your tag on another sheet of paper and tell the MC where your first three tags are located.

o   It doesn’t take you too long to get it just right.

o   You don’t draw attention while you work.

Then choose one:

Infamy: take +1 ongoing when you are in sight of one of your tags.

Portal: touch one of your tags and take +1 cold to move instantly to any other public space with your tag.

Eyes on the Streets: when you use your tags as your eyes, roll+sight. On a hit, you can see through them as if you were there; on a 7-9, take +1 cold.

Facade: take +1 armour when you are in sight of one of your tags.

Magic Image: when you tag a public space, choose a move from another seer’s playbook; you can make that move as long as you are touching that tag.

It doesn’t feel like I’ve really hit the nail on the head though: are the moves powerful enough to compensate for the fact that making them is tied to the locations you’ve tagged? Do they say ‘magic’ to you?

Apps: Mates, Dates & Spooky Fates

Apps: Mates, Dates & Spooky Fates

Originally shared by James Mullen

Apps: Mates, Dates & Spooky Fates

Here’s the other half of the playbooks, the mundanes: they don’t have the sight stat like the seers do, so the otherworld is largely invisible to them, though they can feel its effects.

I liked the way the Smallville RPG dealt with ‘soaperhero’ stories, by making it so that playing the families, friends and rivals of the powered characters was just as interesting as having super powers, so that’s what this hack aims for.

The inspiration for a lot of these playbooks comes from The Fades:

Mac, Paul’s friend, is The Zeppo.

Meg, Paul’s mum, is The Castellan.

Mac’s dad is The Veil.

Also, The Bank is David Nabbit from Angel and The Operative is Shaw from Person of Interest, because why not?

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B1iTjRUomaBXOEYwOGRTZUhsSjA/view?usp=sharing

Apps: Mates, Dates & Spooky Fates

Apps: Mates, Dates & Spooky Fates

Originally shared by James Mullen

Apps: Mates, Dates & Spooky Fates

This is what I’ve been toying with for the past couple of days, creating playbooks for another AW hack that’s sort of a mash-up between Misfits and The Fades, but these are only half the playbooks…

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B1iTjRUomaBXZTQxalU4Qk01YjQ/view?usp=sharing

Magnetic: you never lose your grip on any metallic object; take +1 now whenever you make a basic move which could be…

Magnetic: you never lose your grip on any metallic object; take +1 now whenever you make a basic move which could be…

Magnetic: you never lose your grip on any metallic object; take +1 now whenever you make a basic move which could be affected by this.

Question: is the above a legitimate playbook move? The intent is that you get a bonus when you’re swinging a steel pipe, climbing a metal pylon, etc, but does the move convey that? Does it need further explanation? Is it too open & vague, leaving too much to the MC’s judgement?

The Russian ‘Hood (На раёне) – part 1

The Russian ‘Hood (На раёне) – part 1

The Russian ‘Hood (На раёне) – part 1

The MC is the guy who started my last couple of weeks with a question “Is it done yet? Is it here?” and also helped to correct lots of typos and unclear moments in Russian edition. So thank you, Ngoroth and hope you guys will have many great games in your ‘Hood.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kJx4NSVcbWU&feature=share

I really ought to be adding more content to  #BloodAndWater  or preparing some of my convention games, but no, I’m…

I really ought to be adding more content to  #BloodAndWater  or preparing some of my convention games, but no, I’m…

Originally shared by James Mullen

I really ought to be adding more content to  #BloodAndWater  or preparing some of my convention games, but no, I’m not doing that.

Instead, it’s another Style for #JustHeroes  bringing the total up to 16: some days, making PbtA-style playbooks is like eating Pringles…

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B1iTjRUomaBXREE3eGg0aXFPTVU/view?usp=sharing

Roughing out what I want the front Cover of my #JustHeroes  playset book to look like, I’m quite happy with the…

Roughing out what I want the front Cover of my #JustHeroes  playset book to look like, I’m quite happy with the…

Originally shared by James Mullen

Roughing out what I want the front Cover of my #JustHeroes  playset book to look like, I’m quite happy with the result so far.