Barf Forth Apocalyptica
powered by the apocalypse => Monster of the Week => Topic started by: John B. on July 30, 2012, 11:19:26 PM
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So I have all of the extra playbooks for MotW that I'm aware of (except the Exile, and I'll submit a AP report of MotW when I get a chance to get that from Mike).
That's gotten me thinking about new playbooks that I'd like to see. The problem is that while I would normally love the challenge of making them myself, the sad fact is that with a recent job change, five kids, and a talent for procrastination, I know that I won't finish any of them anytime soon.
So, here's the deal: I will give any playbook I have in trade to anyone who creates a new playbook (either based on one of the below ideas or else another idea of your choosing), then posts it for discussion on this forum, and then makes revisions based on the feedback they get. Send me a write-up of the playbook (after at least one round of forum feedback and revision) and let me know which playbook you want in exchange.
Here are some playbooks I'd particularly like to see:
- The Freak: (based loosely on Abe Sapien from Hellboy) - You don't remember what happened to you, or anything from before you awoke or were discovered the way you are now. The mystery of your transformation or origin drives you onward. Your form grants you some useful abilities (perhaps you have gills and can breathe under water, or perhaps an elongated skull and modified brain gives you telepathy), but it also alienates you from others until they get to know you well enough to look past your appearances. The truth of what happened to you is out there... (I'd like to see something like a mix between the Monstrous, though a little less physically powerful in general, combined with the social alienation move of the Summoned, and then add solving the mystery of your own origin into the improvement options, similar to the Wronged's quest for revenge.)
- The Risen: (based loosely on the first Crow movie) - You were killed by monsters and, worse, others that you loves were murdered, too. Then you were given a chance to come back and exact your revenge. But it isn't free and your Guide watches you--sometimes helping and sometimes punishing you for straying from the path of righteous justice. (I picture this as sort of a mash-up of a certain build of Monstrous combined with the Wronged--but with one or more Moves built around the Guide, whether a crow or some other form--possibly bearing some resemblance to the Spooky's dark side.)
- The Escaped: You were a thrall of a monster for years. He used you, consumed your spirit, and left you a broken shell. The worst of it is that you loved him for it (part of you still does). Eventually you escaped or were freed or were discarded. When you look at yourself in the mirror, you don't recognize yourself anymore--you just see a hollowed-out shell. But you know the monsters from your time among them, and you use that knowledge now to hunt them down and kill them. Maybe you're looking to make them all pay for what was done to you. Or maybe it's all a desperate ploy to get his attention. Either way, you're good at what you do.
- The Fugitive: Not all monsters look like monsters. Some explode or shrivel or vanish, but some leave human-looking corpses behind. So now they call you a mass murderer or a serial killer. Law Enforcement at every level have you on their Most Wanted lists. They're after you and they're looking to bring you in, dead or alive. You're going to take down as many monsters as you can before the cops catch up with you. (I'm picturing something similar to the Hard Case and Wronged, but with Moves relating to being hunted by the law--maybe beginning of mystery moves and/or regular moves and/or improvement(s) leading to a final showdown, like the Wronged's eventual chance to confront the one who wronged them. I also kind of like the idea of making a recurring NPC law enforcement character who makes their life difficult, though it's just a thought).
Anyway, if no one's interested, I'll eventually try to get around to making one or more of the above. But if someone would consider taking a crack at one of these (or any other playbook that interests you), I'd love to bribe you with playbook(s).
-John B.
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I also look forward to some of those being written! Great ideas, John.
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I think I'm gonna take a crack at doing the Fugitive. I need an extra creative project to busy myself with over Christmas, so I'll see about putting a playbook together for that. :)
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That sounds great! I can't wait to see what you come up with.
-John B.
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Your initial idea for The Escaped really caught my attention, John B. It makes me think of the protagonists from Changeling: the Lost game; ordinary humans who were captured or lured into the Fae Realms, kept as pets/slaves/objects/servants/lovers by an inhuman Fae Keeper for an unknown length of time, and then finally were freed/cast out/escaped back into the real world only to find they'd been changed by the experience. Some try to get back, some merely try to avoid their Keeper, while others actively hunt them down. It's my favorite of the White Wolf nWoD games.
So, even though I too have the equivalent of a Masters Degree in procrastination, I'll give this thing a try. I love tinkering around with AW game playbooks, and who knows. Maybe I'll actually finish this one. :)
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Hi there, new guy here. I'll save the introduction for a more proper thread but suffice to say I've been lurking here for a couple weeks and I diddled up a draft for The Fugitive. I'm still getting the hang of how things work and this was more of a 20 minute draft that went a little more towards the serial killer part and less the "serial killer of MONSTERS" part.
I'll try to get a more proper draft up tomorrow as I've got a buddy willing to playtest it during a one-shot I intend to run this weekend. I realized a little too late into making it that you can't really stat-harm an enemy (such as reducing their effective Cool stat), but I'm looking into greater source material and this seems like a fun project to jump into.
The Fugitive:
https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B2FvNUzDAgTwcVRJeXM1OU1ycW8/edit?usp=sharing
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Once I figure this out and fix it all up I'd love to take a crack at either The Risen or the Escaped. The Freak seems like too much of a carryover with The Monstrous or the Summoned, but I like the angle of discovering ones origins/purpose for creation. Maybe it's just the Abe Sapien comparison that threw me off, as it feels more like a Roger than an Abe issue. Though I haven't looked at those comics in a long while, so I might be way off base.
Hope it's a decent enough framework, I'll get back to you with something better as soon as humanly possible.
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a draft for The Fugitive. I'm still getting the hang of how things work and this was more of a 20 minute draft that went a little more towards the serial killer part and less the "serial killer of MONSTERS" part.
Hm. Looks pretty good.
I have reservations about in the news + on the run - they are a little complicated, and it might be easier to combine them into one move/background. There's also no reason for why this character is a monster hunter rather than just a psycho, and I think that needs to be included.
Perhaps have a section where the player decides what crimes they are suspected of, and then an "on the run" move that:
- gives +1 when you manipulate with the threat of violence, or -1 otherwise
- gives you +1 hold when interrogating people to investigate a mystery
- cops and journalists will usually recognise you
I really like "hold out shank", that's going to be good fun.
I'd make "throat cutter" less like the expert move. A straight +2 harm on normal folks would be plenty - I don't see hunters fighting normal folk very often anyway, and I don't see the roll leading to anything cooler than the fugitive trying to explain why people keep dying around him.
For reducing cool on NPCs, you could include a move that does something like "Another hunter loses 1-Cool until they shake the effect, bystanders will freak out."
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Took your comments and second-drafted it. Aimed for less Slasher Movie and more towards Wronged (but it's your own damn fault in a way). More of a criminality/self-destructive play style to the Fugitive.
https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B2FvNUzDAgTwV3R0Zkk2bktkdmc/edit?usp=sharing
General thoughts?