Some things:

-I'm thinking of erasing Oh, This is Nothing and adding "danger" to the list of stimuli for Feels Like Home. It's not that I don't think This is Nothing is a bad move, it just seems like danger is a Home in this case. High, drunk, well-fed, starving, and moving are also going on the list.

-@Anaphory: I like your edits to But It Wasn't Me! to let the player trigger the behavior (what was I thinking? silly me). I'd still like to keep it so that one player marks exp and the other gains a string, though, so that the other players have an excuse to try to stop the Host. So:

But It Wasn't Me!: Your Guest can influence you to do relatively harmless things that are outside of the social norm. When you act like a social norm from this place and time does not concern you at all, continue until someone speaks up against you or forces you to stop. Whoever has the advantage socially when this interaction ends gains a string, and the other marks experience.

-@KatieHal: Good question about the sex move! I guess I'd considered it as a way of asking the Host whether she believes she had sex of her own accord. If she did, it's a gentle boost to In Control; if she didn't, it's devastating to her sense of self. I wrote it while fairly tired, so it probably needs a rewrite. Your comment on the Darkest Self got me thinking again. Initially I imagined it as the mentally-plagued scatterbrain suddenly transforming into an unflinching ogre who cannot stop or comprehend logic, and only ceases feeling and hearing everything when it reaches a physical barrier that it cannot break, cross, or solve. The idea is that there is a problem to solve, but when the Host finds that not everything can be solved or broken, the serious/violent facade breaks down.

And you're right: in general, there could be more ways to use the Overwhelmed/In Control mechanic, rather than just move the scale around. Slight rework coming soon!

@both: Thanks for all your comments, it's really helped. :)

I haven't even found a group to play Monsterhearts with yet, but I'm addicted to reading the skins. I came up with the Host because I wanted to do something about possession, and it turned into a skin on mental illness. The Host is primarily inspired by Ava Ire from the webcomic Ava's Demon, and somewhat less by Naruto from the eponymous anime. Note that apart from limited personal experiences with people who are mentally disabled, I am not an expert on the subject, and I hope this doesn't offend anyone. It just seemed like a gap in the available skins. This is still very WIP, but I welcome any critiques!

The Host

It was fine when it was just a whisper. Sometimes it's still fine, now that it's louder - sometimes it's the only company you have. "I'll protect you," it said. "Just leave this one to me."

But then it changed. You've broken things, written horrible things on the walls. You can't hear people when they talk anymore, and you've even hurt some of them. You're slipping, and some others are starting to notice. The funny thing is... you might like it.

Names
Amelia, Mary Paige, Lauren, Christopher, Jonathan

a normal name, a Southern double name, a long name that's never shortened, referred to by last name

Look
distracted, dissheveled, cautious, worried, deliberate

faraway eyes, confused eyes, darting eyes, focused eyes

Origin
chosen at birth, summoned by accident, possessed, dead family member, past life awakened, schizophrenia

Stats
Hot -1, Cold +1, Overwhelmed/In Control 0, Dark 0

Abilities
Possessed: You're possessed by a spirit ("Guest") that you cannot control. It talks to you whenever it wants, and when you're weak, it acts and speaks for you. Instead of having a Volatile stat, you have a scale from Overwhelmed to In Control, and having any nonzero value counts as currently being Overwhelmed or currently In Control for the purposes of other abilities. If you ever reach 4 on either end, you trigger your darkest self.

Whenever you are given a negative social condition, roll to hold steady. On 10+, pick one from the list and carry 1 forward to doing it; on 7-9, pick two; on failure, pick three.

• lash out physically
• shut someone down
• give the aggressor a string
• tick towards Overwhelmed
• run away

Strange Aptitude: You can do things you shouldn't be able to. Pick a power from the list below, or pick your own with the MC's approval. Whenever you lash out physically (by Possession or otherwise), you use your power accidentally. If your power is primarily defensive or utility, associate it with a more appropriate action (i.e. someone with flight might use it when they attempt to run away). If you are currently In Control, you can use a watered-down version of your power.

Example powers: pyrokinesis, telekinesis, flight, speed, strength, plant powers, electric telepathy

Feels Like Home: You can get the voice of the Guest out of your head via the presence or absence of certain stimuli. Putting yourself there puts you one tick toward In Control; being in its opposite sends you one tick toward Overwhelmed. You get a +1 on any roll to hold steady while you are at Home.

Example stimuli: noise, silence, bright light, darkness, heat, cold, wind, water, dirt, sand, smooth things

Wait, You're Real?: You can speak with your Guest, but only verbally. You can speak with the Guest as "gaze into the abyss" with a +1 bonus. If anyone hears you talking to yourself, they gain a string on you.

Just Try It: Your Guest bargains with you; complete a simple goal, and it'll leave you alone for awhile. On the roll that completes the task, 10+ ticks you toward In Control, 7-9 either ticks you toward Overwhelmed or In Control with penalties, and failure ticks you toward Overwhelmed. Anyone who figures out what you're doing gets a string toward stopping you.

But It Wasn't Me!: Your Guest can influence you to do relatively harmless things that are outside of the social norm. Roll to hold steady at the start of a scene, where In Control is a bonus and Overwhelmed is a penalty. You continue until someone attempts to stop you

Oh, This is Nothing: Whenever you find yourself in a physically treacherous situation, roll to hold steady with Overwhelmed/In Control. On 7+, tick toward In Control.

Face-Blind: You have trouble distinguishing social cues, and frequently respond the wrong way. When someone attempts to turn you on or shut you down, roll to hold steady. On 10+, pick two; on 7+, pick one, and tick toward Overwhelmed.

• they become the recipient
• the moves switch
• they gain the condition "confused"
• they lose a string on you

On failure, you gain the condition "confused" and trigger Possession.

Your Backstory

You act and speak erratically. Everyone gains a string on you.

Someone has watched you struggle against the Guest in private. They gain two strings on you.

Your Guest has lashed out at someone before. Both of you gain a string on each other.

Advancement
-Take another Host move.
-Take another Host move.
-Take a move from another skin.
-Take a move from another skin.
-Take a move from another skin as Strange Aptitude.
-You find you have Therapeutic Connections.
-Add 1 to Hot.
-Add 1 to Cold.
-Add 1 to Dark.

Sex Move
If you had sex, roll to hold steady. If you succeed, tick once toward In Control; otherwise, tick twice toward Overwhelmed.

Darkest Self
You're not sure who's in control anymore, but you're listening to everything you hear, from anyone - your Guest, someone you love, someone you hate, someone on the street - and do what they say, unless what they say is "stop," or "kill yourself." You automatically fail any roll to hold steady relating to your abilities, and will strictly, joyfully follow them. If you have Strange Aptitude, you use it on anyone you find who has a string on you; otherwise, you either lash out physically or shut them down with Overwhelmed/In Control. Actually killing anyone is not important unless the Guest You keep moving no matter how crippled, and will only stop when you meet up with something impassable (i.e. ocean, ravine, busy highway, tall fence).

Playing the Host
Torn, impulsive, embarrassed, "touched." The Host is less about what's possessing you and more about how little you are in control of what you say and do.

The Host represents a person struggling with mental disorders. The defensive aspect of Possessed represents how much difficulty you have controlling yourself in social situations. Feels Like Home, which borrows from oversensitivity to stimulation, can also reflect physical/verbal ticks; a Host whose Home is noise can hum loudly, while a Host whose Home is heat might rub his hands or slap his arms. But It Wasn't Me! fills the trope of the manic who can't control her hands. Face-Blind is a common autism spectrum issue; where an autistic person may be blind to social cues, the Host is blind to them because of his constant internal distraction.

Mechanically, the Host is best played publicly. As you use your ticks and embarrass yourself, other characters gain strings on you; your darkest self weaponizes your weakness to them. That your darkest self triggers when you are fully Overwhelmed or In Control represents how you can never safely be either one, as you are fully possessed when Overwhelmed, and childishly enchanted with power when fully In Control.

You can play the Host as a fully mundane schizophrenic; if you take Strange Aptitude, your ability can be a really devastating right hook. Whether the Guest is real (or if there are more than one!) is completely up to you. The Guest can never take strings on you; it isn't independent of you, and causes enough havoc already with Possessed.