Having just reached the end of a mystery in which the two hunters on the team (one down due to player sickness) not only defeated the monsters, they did so without letting a single civilian come to any harm at all, I realised that I wanted back one of the rules that got dropped somewhere along the way:

• At the end of the mystery, if nobody else was killed since the hunters got there, mark experience.

That's there as a benny for doing the job without any collateral damage, or letting people get killed while they muck around (like when they go shopping for crazy gadgets to trap or kill the monster, which seems like every mystery).

That also reminded me that the list of hunter relationship moments that trigger experience marks is definitely not fully done yet. Please let me know if there have been any moments in your games that ought to be on that list, because I think the current ones are probably only about half as many as it ought to be.

There are monsters out there. Most people don't believe in them, but they're real. Mostly, when someone finds out that monsters are real, that's just before they die.

But some people are mean enough, smart enough, crazy enough, or hurt enough, that they live. And some of those people go and hunt down more.

That's who you are – someone who decided to go on a crusade against the evil critters that are scurrying around out there.

It could be that you make a stand and defend your hometown from everything evil that comes there. It could be you take to the road and go find them. It could be you have magic powers that help out. It could be that your name came up in prophecies thousands of years ago.

The one sure thing is you aren't gonna go back to your old, safe life.

You can read the hunter playbooks if you want to see a little more.

I've got a minimal, but playable, version of my Monster of the Week hack now. I'd like a few people to have a look and (hopefully) playtest it as well.

It's all about monster slaying in a world pretty much like this one, but with monsters  and magic. Emphasis is on action-horror. The main inspiration comes from stuff like Supernatural and Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

If that sounds fun, drop me a PM or reply and I'll hook you up with a copy.

So, I've been thinking a lot about the game I'm playing in, with Simon C MCing.

It's been a hard start - both in-game, due to the way that the little trading post we're based it got made up, and the fact that it took all three of us players a little while to get into our characters' heads. Last night's session - the 4th (although one player has missed one) - everything really seemed to come together and it has got really interesting.

There's a couple of places that the game's hitting hard for me. The big one, is that my battlebabe Sunset, I made him super lethal. So he's got a default way to deal with anyone who stands up to him, i.e. blowing them away. That, plus the fact that we're in a total anarchy, not even a hardholder around to enforce some order... well, it makes dealing with trouble difficult. Maybe it's a mindset thing: he can seduce or manipulate with the best of them, although I haven't often been in a position to do so. Then, at the end of session two, I took the advance to gain a gang (I'd previously killed the leader of these guys), so I've been in the position of having to run this group of violent bastards. This isn't easy when your default way to resolve a conflict is a deadly ultimatum. I'm finding all this pretty fascinating (and disturbing) to work through. I didn't really have a strong concept for the character at first - I was planning to let that fall out in play. I think what has ended up happening is that the game start was a turning point for him, when he decided working as any chump's bodyguard or muscle wasn't good enough, and that he'd try to do some good instead. I don't think I've managed yet, but I'm trying. Man, heavy stuff.

The other thing that came out last night was this incredibly sad and poignant series of events around our brainer, Lively. She'd been in a psychic maelstrom induced coma for a few days (i.e. the missed session) and we left her in the care of Pepper, a refugee we'd rescued from the gang that I now lead. Lively's been a profoundly broken, creepy brainer and her relationship with Pepper gave her someone to protect coupled with a tenderness that had previously never been hinted at. Later in the session, Lively blew an acting under fire roll and had to make an ugly choice - let the bad guy shoot her or Pepper. She choose Pepper, who died of those wounds. That left Lively angry, and she went to kill Millions who she decided (irrationally) to blame for the death, but couldn't bring herself to do that when the moment came (because Millions, a kind of ogre-matriarch, has all these kids who would be left behind - at least, that seemed to be the reason. Maybe also that the death wasn't really her fault in any way). So... wow... that play was really intense and awesome.

In the aftermath of that, the characters made a plan - to get out of this doomed trading post and look for a holding secure enough to ride out the storm that's coming, and hire on there (or maybe take it over if we have to). That shared decision and plan for them is the final piece of things falling into place, I think. I am really looking forward to the next session, to see where it goes.

I'm not really going anywhere in particular with this - I think I needed to write it all down to work through some of it. Plus, I figured some of the others in the game might be interested (and the rest of you, watching from the sidelines). Steve, if you read this, I'm not leaving Must out because your stuff isn't interesting, too. It's just thay I didn't need to process any of it to that level, myself.

I got an urge to have some powered armour in my post-apocalypse, and the idea wouldn't let go, so I wrote it up (partly just to try out writing up a new class).

Any and all thoughts and comments are welcomed. I'm not in love with the name, in particular.

The Metal Beast

You and the machine, you are one. When you climb inside you become its brain. You are untouchable and indestructible. Nobody can stand against you.
Outside the machine, you’re just a chump like the rest of them.

Creating a Metal Beast

Choose your name, look, stats, moves, armour, gear and Hx.

Names

Heavy, Wolf, Gunhead, Chomp, Squaddie, Hardware, UNPC, Mark IV, Teeth.
Chuck, Sarge, Jane, Ace, Snafu, Bill, Lucky, Terri, Lois, Maverick, Sam.

Look

Man, woman, concealed, ambiguous.
Utility bodysuit, hi-tech bodysuit, military bodysuit, scrounged bodysuit.
Pale face, tough face, pudgy face, thin face.
Haunted eyes, sharp eyes, moving eyes, remote eyes.
Small body, thin body, wasted body, wiry body.

Stats

Choose one set:
Cool=0, Hard +1, Hot -1, Sharp +2, Weird+1
Cool+1, Hard=0, Hot+1, Sharp +2, Weird-1
Cool-1, Hard=0, Hot-1, Sharp +2, Weird+2
Cool+1, Hard +1, Hot=0, Sharp +2, Weird-1

Basic moves

You get all the basic moves

Metal Beast Moves

You get this one:
Beast Of War: When you are piloting your armour, you always count as a gang in combat (small, 3 armour, harm based on your suit’s weapons). You also get +1 on rolls to open your brain, go aggro or seize by force.

Then pick one of these:
I Am Iron Man: gain +1 Hard (max +3).

Heavy Suit: take an extra strength and another serious weapon for your armour.

Armory: you get a workshop to look after your armour, and maybe one or two crew to help (Sparks and Pulp, maybe). You can work on armour and weapons here like you were a savvyhead in a workshop.

Innerspace: When you are wearing your armour, you can use augury.

Recon Drones: You have a few small hi-tech machines that you control from within your suit. You can see and hear everything they see and hear. If your suit has night vision, so do these guys. If you make them fight, they’re a small gang 2 harm 1 armour. They can track someone or something without your active control, but they won’t react to anything that changes.

War Drone: You have a big hi-tech drone that is built to help you fight. You control it directly from within your suit. It has one serious gun, and 2 armour. Make a harm countdown for it, which tracks how much repair it’s gonna need when it gets shot up. You can order it to guard an area or a person or a thing, but it’s not too good at identifying friend or foe without you.

Armour

Your armour is a powered combat exoskeleton that is driven by direct neural connection. Most importantly, it has 3 armour and a weapon mount (or two).

This armour does not count as a vehicle for the A no shit driver move.

Pick your armour's look:
Hi-tech, Military, Biomechanical, Jury-rigged, Chunky, Construction, Delicate, Fluid.

Pick a strength:
Efficient, Strong, Stealth, Camo, Unstoppable, Reliable, Fast, Night-vision.

Pick a weakness:
Breakdowns, Guzzler, Rare parts, Loud, Unwieldy, Slow, Exotic fuel.

Pick it's armament, either one crazy big weapon or two serious weapons:

Crazy big weapons:
Railgun: 3-harm hi-tech far
MG: 3-harm close/far area messy
Grenade launcher: 4-harm close area messy
Rocket launcher: 4-harm far area messy loud

Serious weapons:
rifle: 2-harm far loud
shotgun: 3-harm close messy
smg: 2-harm close area loud
flamethrower: 3-harm    close area fire
power fist: 4-harm hand messy

Gear

In addition to your armour, you have:
Enough fuel to last yourself a month or so
Oddments worth 2 barter
Clothing suited to your look (maybe a jacket to go over the bodysuit)
A small handy weapon

Small handy weapons (choose 1):
• .38 revolver (2-harm close reload loud)
• 9mm (2-harm close loud)
• big knife (2-harm hand)

Special Move

When you and another character have sex, you can choose to have a recon drone track them at all times (regardless of whether you have the Recon Drones move).

Barter

If you’re charging someone wealthy for your services, 1-barter is the going rate for: one message or valuable delivered; one convoy led through hostile territory; one week’s employment as bodyguard, leading a gang into a serious battle, one month’s employment as a tank on hand.

1-barter will cover a month’s living expenses, if your tastes aren’t too grand.

As a one-time expenditure, and very subject to availability, 1-barter might count for: restoration of a damaged suit to working order, a month’s maintenance of your suit well-used but not damaged; a night in high luxury & company; any weapon, gear or fashion not valuable or hitech; repair of a piece of hi-tech gear by a savvyhead; a year’s tribute to a warlord; bribes, fees and gifts sufficient to get you into almost anyone’s presence.