Working on a hack for playing a superpowered campaigning with an AW base. Primary inspirations is part Marvel and part Aberrant RPG, I guess you could say. What is important:
- People are real people, with superpowers.
- Personal relations are central. Stuff that are what makes the supers people, just like us, the players.
- No measuring of the exact tonnage the hulk can lift or of how far spiderman can jump.
- uhm, more, I guess. It'll get clearer.
Some basic movesThese feel really basic, and maybe too flat or something. Many do just what the AW basic moves do but with different wording, I think...
When you fight for something, you get worn and hurt. Roll+strong. On a strong hit, you choose three. On a weak hit, you choose two:
- You get what you fight for
- You opponents are defeated
- You are not worn
- You are not hurt
- There is no collateral damage
When you try to outspeed someone or something, roll+fast. On a strong hit, you're fast enough. On a weak hit the MC tells you what it will cost you if you keep speeding, like getting you worn or hurt or causing collateral damage, for example, and then you choose.
When you defy the odds, roll+cool. On a strong hit, you pull through. On a weak hit, you can choose to do it, but the MC will tell you the consequences, like getting worn or hurt or causing collateral damage, or something else depending on the situation.
When you set something up, describe what you do and how it gives you or an ally +1forward, and roll+bright. On a strong hit, it goes as you say. On a weak hit the MC tells you what consequences you must accept if you go through with it and lets you choose.
When you push people to do as you want by telling them something good or bad that will come to them if they do or don't, roll+suave. On a strong hit, they take your word for it. On a weak hit, they need you to prove it before they do as you say.
When you go up against superior numbers, take -1ongoing against them if they're a bunch. Take -2ongoing if there's a shitload of them.
When you attempt something that is obviously out of your league (according to the MC's judgement), you just can't do it.
The last one might be a bit superfluous, but it's there as a reminder that, since we don't measure
how super someone is, there's going to be some calling to on the MC's part. There's an "obviously" there, because it should be apparent from how things are established in the fiction, but the MC needs to be the one to ultimately call it. I think.
Also, I guess setting something up should give you hold to spend instead. I'll rewrite that.
Next up, a different way to do injury and the like...
Getting worn, getting hurt, and Recovering
When you get worn, you check one of the worn traits and follow what it says, and the same with getting hurt. If you have one checked, you cannot choose it again, obviously.
Worn traits:
- Angry: you take -1ongoing when you do things that requires calm demeanor or a friendly face.
- Stressed: you take -1ongoing when you don't go for immediate results.
- Down: you take -1ongoing when you do things that require confidence.
- Desperate: you take -1ongoing when you don't act self-destructively.
- Scared: you take -1ongoing when you act boldly.
Hurt traits:
- Stunned: you take -1forward directly after you get bruised.
- Lost balance: you take -1forward when you need to be quick with a follow-up.
- Slowed: you take -1ongoing when you need your speed.
- Hurting: you take -1ongoing on everything you do that requires your health.
- A mess: you take -2ongoing on everything you do that requires you health, but this does not stack with Hurting.
When you spend some time recovering in some way with at least one other person, like chilling out, sparring to blow off steam, getting drunk, having sex or something similar that means recovering in some way, you can remove one of the worn traits.
If the recovering includes getting patched up or healed in some other way, you also get to remove one of the hurt traits. This has to take some reasonable time, depending on how you are hurt.
Yes, recovering is very much based on refreshment scenes in Solar System/Shadow of Yesterday. I've had so much fun with that in the last few years.
The idea with the hurt traits is of course that you take the "lesser" ones first, and then you have to take the harder ones. Also, in a physical fight, you generally would prefer to get worn instead of hurt, since getting worn usually does not ruin your ability to fight on. But they are all ongoing, so you'd probably like to get rid of them soon. Thus, more recovery scenes, for that lovely change of pace in the session.
Of course, there will be character moves that will trigger from these traits and manipulating them. I'm thinking a standard toughness move will let you become worn instead of getting hurt.
Oh, and since I don't track damage the same way AW does, I need different gang rules. Hence the rather primitive -1/-2 move above. I'm not sure if this is a bit lame or not.
Stuff on threats, and lives, and super types will follow, but thoughts on just this is welcome!
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