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Topics - J. Walton

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16
Apocalypse World / Playbook: Valkyrie
« on: August 10, 2010, 02:31:58 PM »
Here's a new character type I've been thinking about, based loosely on the "Broken Rainbow" post-apocalyptic valkyries-on-hovercycles game I ran this past year using Mouse Guard.  We probably should have used Apocalypse World, but I wasn't aware of it then.  This is me making up for it.  Right now it's a hack of a bunch of different existing character types, but it may move in a more independent direction.

Suggestions and feedback are most welcome, of course.

THE VALKYRIE

They're either the bastard daughters of some long forgotten god or a coven of death cult witches.  All I know is that they call the Maelstrom "daddy" and cackle to themselves like fucking hyenas. Do not enter.

NAME TBD

LOOK TBD

STATS

Pick from the Hocus sets, for now. Probably eventually create a new set that leans towards Hard and Weird.

VALYKRIE MOVES

You get these 2:

Soul Ripper: (variation on Seize By Force, for now) when you have time and physical intimacy with a recently deceased body, you can stick your fingers in its flesh and assert your mastery over their lingering psychic essence. Roll + Weird.  On a 10+, choose 3. On a 7-9, choose 1:
* You take definite hold of their soul, drafting it into your ghost army (see below)
* You can force the deceased spirit to truthfully answer 1 question.
* You suffer little harm.
* You impress, dismay, or frighten the soul.

Ghost Wrangler: (Pack Alpha / Leadership / Frenzy hybrid, for now) when you try to impose your will on your ghost army (see below), roll + Weird.  On a 10+, all 3. On a 7-9, choose 1:
* They do what you want
* They don't fight back over it
* They unite and fight for you (2-harm gang small invisible invulnerable)
* You don't have to make an example of one of them

On a miss the ghosts turn on you or make you vulnerable to your enemies.

Might be other optional moves, to choose between.  Specifically I'm thinking of one with some real fictional positioning, like "Dark Wings: when you attack from a higher position, take +1 forward."

BIKE

Identical to Chopper, for now.

GHOST ARMY

By default your army consists of about 15 fucking poltergeists that you ripped untimely from the violent womb of the Psychic Maelstrom. Likely, you murdered at least half these fuckers personally, with your bare hands, and for half the rest you were watching appreciatively as the killing was done.  They don't rightly believe your promises about riding out to glory in the end times, seeing as how the end times have come and gone without no glory to be had a'tall.  And the best part is: no one can see these fuckers but you, the occasional dog, horse, or child, and madmen who ain't full right in the head.

GEAR

You get 1 custom hand weapon, as per Battlebabe.  Valkyries generally like to do their murdering up front and personal, where they can enjoy the wetness of blood between their fingers.

VALKYRIE SPECIAL

If you and another character have sex, you make them vulnerable to your ghost army. Roll + Weird. On a 10+, you decide which ghosts leave your army and begin haunting the other character. On a 7-9, as above, but the GM can make one change to your muster order, shifting one additional ghost or preventing one from leaving your service. On a failure, the GM decides who the ghosts leave with.

DESIGN THOUGHTS

I really like the way that Wants and Obligations work and am still thinking about how they might work with this character type.  Does the Valkyrie owe her ghost army anything to keep them relatively satisfied?  Or does she just exert her will on them?  Is she driven by a drive to prepare for the end times, when she will lead the army to glory in the final battles?  Is she trying to collect as many souls into her army as possible?  Not sure yet.  Maybe some of these are decided in play, by individual players, and don't need mechanical backing.

17
Fingers on the Firmament / Art & Design for Firmament
« on: July 22, 2010, 04:03:31 PM »
A mock-up of a 11x11" booklet cover spread.
http://plays-well.com/firmament-cover.jpg

An example of what a starting map might look like, generated by the players before play begins in earnest.  The faded lines are pathways that are known or marked but not actively practiced and familiar to the group. I'm sure we'll come up with a much better map in playtest.
http://plays-well.com/firmament-atlas.jpg

18
Fingers on the Firmament / Basic Concepts
« on: July 04, 2010, 06:54:27 PM »
I'm porting a game I've been tinkering with off-and-on for years into being an AW hack.  This is the thread for talking about the concept and posting initial thoughts until I get a forum for it.

Concept

Firmament is a modern-day space fantasy, a space fantasy without spaceships.  People move through space by reaching out and touching the stars, pulling themselves to destinations millions of miles away.  But, because space is big, the biggest scarcity is human contact.  It is very easy to get lost amidst the stars and the infinite darkness and never see another human being ever again.  

Human civilization in space consists of less than 20 people clinging desperately to handful of memorized routes between stars.  You are gradually expanding this network in an effort to recover other lost people or stumble upon ruins of previous human settlements amidst the stars.

The biggest challenge facing your crew is that, with such a fragile community, everything could be snuffed out in a minute if you aren't careful... or if you choose to embrace The Darkness Between the Stars (the Psychic Maelstrom), the voice that talks to you and asks you questions when you're lost and alone out in the void.  If you allow the Darkness to get a hold of you, it could all end in an instant, leaving you all lost forever.

And perhaps, someone out there, there are ancient ruins that point towards home, towards the Sun and Earth.  Because the odds of you stumbling upon a way home, or even recognizing it if you did, are astronomical.

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