Help with a custom move

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Help with a custom move
« on: February 28, 2011, 03:25:51 PM »
So I'm idly toying with some ideas for a playbook called the Secretmonger. One of the moves as it stands (name still open to being changed) is:

POKER FACE: When a PC rolls to read you, or rolls their hx with you, they take -2.

Now, I'd like it to do something to your interactions with NPCs, too. But my various ideas so far haven't felt right. I mean, I could just leave it as is: there's plenty of precedent in moves like Opportunistic and such that only mechanically influence your interactions with the PCs. But if any of you all have ideas, I'd love to hear them.

Re: Help with a custom move
« Reply #1 on: February 28, 2011, 03:32:13 PM »
I have a custom move for one of my NPCs that works like this:

Pants On Fire: When you read this NPC and ask the MC "Is your character telling the truth?", the answer is always "Yes."

Edit: Gave it a title. :)

*

way

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Re: Help with a custom move
« Reply #2 on: February 28, 2011, 05:33:12 PM »
In our fantasy hack we toyed with a move called "the Invincible". If you took a critical wound in battle, you could just state "But that's not how it happened.", and rewind everything to the beginning of the battle. There were restrictions and a roll also probably, but this is the basic idea. It's quite like reading a sitch on steroids, isn't it?

I'm not sure what your Secretmonger is about, but it might fit with your concept. Also this move had never seen actual play so it might be fatally flawed.

Regards,
way

« Last Edit: February 28, 2011, 05:37:25 PM by way »

Re: Help with a custom move
« Reply #3 on: February 28, 2011, 07:47:12 PM »
Now, I'd like it to do something to your interactions with NPCs, too. But my various ideas so far haven't felt right. I mean, I could just leave it as is: there's plenty of precedent in moves like Opportunistic and such that only mechanically influence your interactions with the PCs. But if any of you all have ideas, I'd love to hear them.

A bonus to Act Under Fire rolls in social situations, where the fire is "does the NPC believe your story?" or the like.  But that presupposes you use the move that way.  I never thought of doing so until I was thinking about your move.

Re: Help with a custom move
« Reply #4 on: February 28, 2011, 09:42:27 PM »
Try to make it an action instead of a reaction.

Can't Read My Poker Face: When you bear an impassive face in a charged interaction, roll+cool.

For NPCs:
On a 7-9, hold 1. On a 10+, hold 3. As you interact, the MC will spend your hold 1-for-1 to make the NPC:
- Offer something to get something out of you
- Drastically change their tack
- Step off or back down

For PCs, pick one and then it's like you persuaded them.
« Last Edit: February 28, 2011, 10:16:01 PM by Shreyas »

Re: Help with a custom move
« Reply #5 on: February 28, 2011, 10:26:48 PM »
Oh, notice pursuant to the conversation around Merciless that the move I describe allows you to be nonimpassive if you choose. If you want to force it, then say, "You bear an impassive face in charged interactions, so when you're in one, roll..."

Re: Help with a custom move
« Reply #6 on: March 01, 2011, 12:54:52 PM »
Poker Face:
When anyone rolls to read you, you automatically interfere. When you roll to manipulate an npc and are called upon to offer assurance, they trust you regardless of how outlandish or unreasonable an assurance you offer.

Re: Help with a custom move
« Reply #7 on: March 03, 2011, 05:23:14 AM »
Well, I have no idea how to make it about NPCs, I'd probably be looking at The Operator's Reputation move.

But I wanted to chime in and say that if I were writing this, it wouldn't give your opponent -2 on your Read a Person rolls. It would let you spend the hold on their behalf instead, as long as you told them something they didn't already know. Thus ensuring that the Secretmonger still has to answer questions, and come up with weird allusions to other secrets, but letting them avoid the issue they actually want to keep hidden.

I'm guessing this entirely from the name, but I bet that if you're playing a Secretmonger then really you want people to be suspicious of you, to be trying to read you, but never quite to be getting what they want.

Re: Help with a custom move
« Reply #8 on: March 03, 2011, 09:29:26 AM »
I really like that idea, Tim.