Playbook: The Man in a Box

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Playbook: The Man in a Box
« on: April 09, 2011, 06:32:36 PM »
Not so long ago someone posted a playbook, The Gent. The British feel about it made me want to make this one. It is a bit (lot) of whatnot stupidity. I made it for fun and who knows, someone might be able to fit it in an AW campaign!

The Man in a Box

Creating a Man in a Box
To create your man in a box, choose name, look, stats, moves, blue box, gear, and Hx.

Name
Doctor, Professor, Bishop, Master, Mentor, Teacher or Director
Sarg, Sir, Lord, Captain, Caesar, Lady, Rodin or Synapse

Look
Man, woman or ambiguous
Vintage wear, tweed wear, colorful wear or casual wear
Handsome face, old face, tired face, unlighted face or aristocratic face
Sharp eyes, kinky eyes, deep eyes, thoughtful eyes or laughing eyes
Slim body, sturdy body, bony body, fat body or angular body

Stats
Cool+1 hard-1 hot+1 sharp+2 weird=0
Cool+2 hard-1 hot=0 sharp+2 weird-1
Cool=0 hard+1 hot-1 sharp+2 weird+1
Cool+1 hard+1 hot-1 sharp+2 weird=0

Moves
You get all the basic moves. You get allons-y and another man in a box's move.  

Allons-y: when you are in your blue box and you twiddle that knob-a-thing, roll+sharp to move through the World Psychic Maelstrom. On 10+, choose 3. On 7-9 choose 2:
You’re close to where you wanted to go
You’re blue box isn’t in want
You do not suffer psy-harm
Nobody sees you coming
On a miss, well you don’t get to choose any of the above and you moved only a few feet away or a few miles the other way.

Understand the weirdness: when you are in your blue box and you look through the thing-a-screen-bob, roll+sharp to open you mind to the psychic maelstrom instead of rolling+weird.  

Come on! Do it, sweet Blue Box: when you are in your blue box and you fiddle with the wobbly-jiggle it gets connected in a weird way to the World Psychic Maelstrom. Your blue box gets +augury.  Also, unless you hit a 10+ your blue box is in want after performing an augury.

Talk your way out: when you try to seduce or manipulate someone to get out of a charged situation, roll+sharp instead of +hot.

Now’s a good time to run: name your escape route and roll+sharp. On a 10+ you’re running. On a 7–9, you can go or stay, but if you go it costs you: leave something behind, or take something with you, the MC will tell you what. On a miss, you’re caught vulnerable, half in and half out.

Aren’t I clever: when you talk your plan out loud using technical gibberish, roll+sharp. On a 10+ you and all those you included in your plan get +1forward. On a 7-9, you get +1forward, but those included in your plan didn’t quite follow your thought, they get -1forward. On a miss, it did sound like a good idea, but the MC gets to make a move as hard as sees fit.

Special Move
If you and another character have sex, they become a key to your blue box until you have sex with another character.

Blue Box
You’ve got the key to a blue box that is somehow connected to the world psychic maelstrom and will only let a key holder in. What does it look like?
Card board box      
Barrel      
Phone box    
Sheet metal box   
Wooden box   
Container   

   
What is so special about it? Choose 2:
It’s bigger on the inside
It defends itself against intruders (2-harm hand area messy)
It’s got a spare key
You don’t have a key, you ARE a key
It will let a key holder AND guests in


Also, what does it want? Choose one:
Sexual energy      Psychic energy      Vital energy

When your blue box is in want, you cannot use any of your moves that involve it.

Gear
In addition to your blue box, detail your personal fashion. You also get oddments worth 1-barter and a weird-screw (?-harm ap hand loud-optional)

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 2:
• One of them saw you coming with your blue box. Tell that player Hx+1
• One of them you’d like to bring along for a ride. Tell that player Hx+2
• You keep to yourself with the others. Tell everyone else Hx-1.

On the others’ turns:
• Your blue box told you about one of them. Whatever number they tell you, write Hx+2 next to their character’s name.

At the end, find the character with the highest Hx on your sheet. Ask that player which of your stats is most interesting, and highlight it. ?e MC will have you highlight a second stat too.

Barter
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: any weapon, gear or fashion not valuable or hi-tech; the material costs of a crash resuscitation by an angel; repair of a piece of hi-tech gear by a savvyhead; a week’s hire of the protective companionship of a battlebabe or gunlugger; a year’s tribute to a warlord; a month’s maintenance and repairs for a hi-performance vehicle well-used; bribes, fees and gifts sufficient to get you into almost anyone’s presence.
For better stuff, you should expect to make particular arrangements. You can’t just wander around the commons of some hardhold with oddments ajangle and expect to find hi-tech or luxe eternal.

Improvement
__ get +1sharp(max sharp +3)
__ get +1hard (max hard+2)
__ get +1cool (max cool+2)
__ get +1weird (max weird+2)
__ get a new man in a box move
__ get a new man in a box move
__ get a new man in a box move
__ add something so special to your blue box
__ get a move from another playbook
__ get a move from another playbook

Re: Playbook: The Man in a Box
« Reply #1 on: April 10, 2011, 06:48:06 AM »
Strangely, most of those moves would work great for the Rust Shaman, too.

Re: Playbook: The Man in a Box
« Reply #2 on: April 10, 2011, 08:51:29 PM »
Like witch move? If I understand well, the Rust Shaman is some sort of guy who wanders around unnoticed and hears things, but he's not a magical sort of character. I thougt that Allons-y could work for your shaman, but that clearly is traveling through le psychic maelstrom and would sound magical without the blue box.
Anyway, take anything you like and play with it to make it fit the Rust Shaman, if you want.

Re: Playbook: The Man in a Box
« Reply #3 on: April 10, 2011, 10:27:33 PM »
The Rust Shaman is more the spooky, listening to the spirits kind of guy but could just as easily be Kwai Chang Kane of the wasteland. The strange guy with strange ways whose advice is cryptic but useful if you can figure it out and who certainly seems magical even if a rationalist Quarantine can explain it all away. It owes equal parts to the native shaman in Western movies, Kane from Kung Fu and the RPG Walkabout. Allons-y really hits what I was going for with Dust In The Wind. Come on, Do It and Now's a Good Time To Run are good fits, too.

Link to Walkabout, which is free to download:
http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product_info.php?products_id=85404