The Viper´s tongue
In these troubled times, being the alpha boy´s quite a job: too many responsibilities, plus you´ll be the one blamed if sth goes wrong. No protection from bullets and crazy people, sadly.
But you don´t take the glory path. You´ll rather act behind the curtains, have others mess their hands while you stand as clean as a princess. Good for you.
NAME
Viper, birdie, snake, flea, worm, rata
Tiny, goodboy, grammy, pal, little p., candy, sugar
LOOK
Man, woman, ambiguous or transgressing
scrounge wear, formal wear, luxe wear, fetish wear
sweet face, thin face, grotesque/striking face, pale face, worn face
calculating eyes, indifferent eyes, sharp eyes, cold eyes, big, creepy eyes
crippled body, fat body, small, dwarven body, rangy body, hunched body, childish body, gorgeous body
STATS
Cool+1, hard0, hot+1, sharp+2, weird-1
Cool+1, hard-1, hot0, sharp+2, weird0
Cool+2, hard-2, hot0, sharp+2, weird0
cool+1, hard-1, hot-1, sharp+2, weird+1
VIPER´S TONGUE´S MOVES
Choose 3
Behind the curtains: (you must have an affiliation group to apply to: gang, cult, family, friends, crew, etc.)
At the beginning of the session, or when some downplay time has elapsed, roll+SHARP. On a 10+, hold 3. On a 7-9, hold 2 with their tweaks.
Spend your hold during the session or prior to it to:
-Know a secret about someone inside the group. (tweak: someone knows you´re watching people)
-Have someone do something for you, and no one will discover you told him (tweak: someone will discover that indeed).
-Influence the group as a whole to take a new direction or do something (tweak: you´ll be blamed if something goes wrong)
-Gain a new, stronger position within the group. (tweak: you make sb fall, and he´ll have his vengeance)
-Get 1-barter (tweak: in exchange for an obligation).
An obligation means the group demands something from you, a service, whatever it is.
On a miss, you get an obligation, and you may choose something from the list (except gaining a stronger position) with a tweak.
From the back: When you do it from behind or unexpectedly, roll+SHARP instead of HARD to go aggro.
Savvy boy: roll+SHARP instead of HOT when you manipulate someone. If he´s a PC, roll +Hx.
Good sammaritan: when you help somebody without asking for retribution, you get hold 1 over him. While you have hold, they can´t act against you; if PCs, it´s acting under fire to go against you.
They may spend 1 of your hold over them if they:
-Give you something you want
-Do something for you (and keep the secret)
-Act as your eyes and ears
-Become a supporter/ally
If you help a PC, you also get +1Hx with her.
Dirty secrets: when you reach the psychic maelstrom looking for info, roll+WEIRD. Say a name, and on a hit, ask a question from the list:
-What does he contain under the surface?
-Is he involved in a forbidden relationship?
-What sin or mistake haunts her mind?
-Has she got something that doesn´t belong to her?
On a 7-9, you gotta have an input first to get the data. The MC wil ask you one question, and if you answer it you get the secret. The MC will tell you also who knows your secret now.
On a miss, you receive a secret from someone else (MC´s call), plus answer one question from the list. Someone knows your answer, but you don´t know who she is.
If you get a PC´s secret, you get +1Hx with them on your sheet.
I´m nothing!: When trouble arises and you have something to do about it, or are in the middle of it, roll+SHARP. On a 10+, hold 2. On a 7-9, hold 1. Spend your hold:
-Not to be blamed or deemed responsible for the trouble, offense, etc. If already known responsible, they show mercy instead.
-to make them fail their vigilance upon you for a moment, or make them underestimate you.
-Keep your reputation untouched and clean.
GEAR
You get:
1 weapon easy to conceal:
-A dagger (2-harm hand)
-Sleeve pistol (2-harm close reload loud)
-Syringe (1-harm intimate)
Plus choose 1:
-drugs (applied, valuable, psi-harm, must be ingested)
-poison (3-harm, applied with the syringe or in food/drink)
-sedatives (s-harm, aplied with the syringe or in food/drink)
-Oddments worth 1-barter
HX
Everyone introduces their characters by name, look and outlook.
Take your turn.
List the other characters´ names.
Go around again for Hx. On your turn, choose 1 or both:
-Choose somebody you pretend to really like. Tell that player Hx-2.
-Choose somebody to whom you´ve revealed your true nature. Tell that player Hx+1
Tell everyone else Hx-1. You keep your stuff secret.
On the others´ turns, choose 1, 2, or all 3:
-Choose somebody you know a secret about. Whatever number that player tells you, ignore it, and write Hx+3 with him instead.
-Choose somebody who helped you honestly once. Whatever number that player tells you, give it -1 and write it down in your sheet.
-Choose somebody you´ve fooled once. Whatever number that player tells you, add +1 to it and write it down in your sheet.
IMPROVEMENT:
-Get +1Cool (+2 max)
-Get +1hard (+2 max)
-Get +1hot (+2 max)
-Get +1weird (+2 max)
-Get another Viper´s tongue move
-Get another Viper´s tongue move
-Get a gang plus pack alpha
-Get a holding plus wealth
-Get a move from another playbook
-Get a move from another playbook
VIPER´S TONGUE SPECIAL
When you and another character have sex, roll+HARD.
On a 10+, you don´t reveal yourself, but he reveals something to you (as in dirty secrets).
On a 7-9, either no one knows anything new, or both reveal a secret to the other (your call).
On a miss, you reveal him a secret.
THE SECRETS
You may learn secrets from your own moves, from reading somebody, following him in secret, whatever makes sense. It´s up to you and the MC whether any piece of information about sb is actually a secret: generally, it should be something harmful if revealed.
-You may obviously use a secret as leverage over an NPC. You may trade a secret for 1-barter.
-When you suddenly reveal a secret in public, you cause psi-harm to sb involved or affected (if PC, roll +2). If he´s an NPC, choose only the "her sanity shatters" effect if it really makes sense.
When a secret goes public, it obviously stops being a secret.
I think it´s finished. How could I edit it to make it look like a playbook?
Would you change anything from it? Maybe dropping a move or two to make it simpler? What do you think about secret revelations causing psi-harm?