Meet the Succubus

Damn, I never shared the last version on this forum, apparently! Here it is: https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B98eU24MQ87ubVZ0RjBRRXp5ZXc/edit

Ah yeah, Wet Dreams does make a pretty big difference. I was pondering a dream travel Move that would let you make another (single per use) move in the Dream world at a distance. Unfortunately, you'd want to include the sex move in the list of possible options and it just kept coming off as too rape-y. Addictive is definitely a nice touch.

I think the main difference between your idea and mine is that your Succubus helps people solve their own problems at a price whereas in my concept of it, she does the solving (although possibly through proxies) for them. Its more of a classic Faustian deal or Mr. Morden's "what do you want?" The Harm for hold sex move provides a mechanical encouragement to the succubus to BE the downside of the deals with the devil but it also leaves room to play a reluctant Mephistopheles.

As a small note, I'd make Just This Time also apply if the string is spent for a Manipulate An NPC bonus. It reminds me a bit of AW's Oftener Right move and I keep thinking a twisted version of that would be cool. Like if someone asks you for advice, you can just tell them whatever. It doesn't have to be good advice or it can be good advice in the eyes of a sex demon. If they follow it they take +1 ongoing towards their goal. If they succeed, you mark XP.

... It reminds me a bit of AW's Oftener Right move and I keep thinking a twisted version of that would be cool. Like if someone asks you for advice, you can just tell them whatever. It doesn't have to be good advice or it can be good advice in the eyes of a sex demon. If they follow it they take +1 ongoing towards their goal. If they succeed, you mark XP.

That's almost right...  :D

...With Good Intentions  If someone asks you for advice, you can just tell them whatever. It doesn't have to be good advice or it can be good advice in the eyes of a sex demon. If they follow it they mark XP while you take a String on them.

Love this skin. Printed and ready to be handed out as an option to my players!

Love this skin. Printed and ready to be handed out as an option to my players!

Great! If somebody chooses it, I hope they'll have lots of fun and be willing to share their impressions.

Oh, I will. It's an ongoing campaign, but maybe not everyone survives the next encounter with the Fallen...

I'm curious about the text "The bonus it gives also stacks with shapeshifter’s." Is that an artifact from an earlier version? Should Shapeshifter give some sort of bonus?

I'm curious about the text "The bonus it gives also stacks with shapeshifter’s." Is that an artifact from an earlier version? Should Shapeshifter give some sort of bonus?

It was supposed to give you +1ongoing if you met someone's fancy. I can't remember if I left it out intentionally or this was a mistake XD

hi! A player picked up this skin in my campaign (well, 2 sessions so far), and it seems to work fine, although it really needs to specify what happens if you bestow a gift to an NPC. The easy way could be to put them at an advantage, but maybe something different can be done, because the advantage is to NPCs the equivalent to a +1, and this is even better. Perhaps coming out of nowhere with a hard-hard move? (damage, strings, conditions, etc.)

Also, I think there are too many moves, in comparison with other skins. I'd perhaps cut out "the dark powers  are always willing to help", "just this time" (too specific, and only against PCs), and also cut out any one of "my bitch" and "the devil is a winner". Finally, addictive could perfectly be part of the sex move: "they lose all strings over you. If they have none, they gain instead the condition 'addicted to [your name]".

Has there been any other commentary/experience that people have had with this skin? I want to suggest/use this in the next game of Monsterhearts I play, but also want to make sure I can persuade the GM about balance and such. I really love the themes being explored with the Succubus!

No one's quite played the Succubus yet in my group (we've had one session), but it created pretty much our entire plot, with a little help from the Ghost's answer to one of my questions during homeroom creation.

Essentially, one of my players immediately decided to play the Zeppo (another fan-Skin) who desperately wanted into the cool group at school -- the Succubi.  He placed one in our homeroom and when I asked the Ghost what he had seen the Succubus doing last night, the Ghost answered, "Masturbating to a picture of the Angel".  Bam.  Plot.  The Zeppo went on to earn an advance that session and immediately took Dark Gifts.  He has tried twice to give them out and succeeded once, giving the NPC I originally described simply as "the nerd who gets all the chicks" in the beginning the Gift of Might so as to make him star of the track team the Angel's on in exchange for that NPC teaching him pick-up artistry.  Assuming the new player who might join decides not to play the Succubus (which is an option), I'm planning to have the NPC use that Gift to kill him, thereby opening a spot on the track team.

Anyway!  I also wanted to ask (off-topic) if TireTerpsiTlazo is perhaps short for Tiresias, Terpsikhore, and Tlazolteotl?  If so, first of all: you're awesome; be my friend? *bats eyes*  Second of all, I'm working right now on a Tlazolteotl-inspired Skin.  {This message has been placed here simply to ensure it is seen; I will not hijack the thread}

You might have a tough time convincing your GM.  I'd argue that the succubus is one of the most broken skins ever.  Not because its moves are mechanically powerful, per se.  But it breaks the fundamental nature of the game--That there's a fixed amount of happiness, and that if you're gaining, someone else is losing.  A MH succubus that makes people better by fulfilling their desires is the equivalent of an Apocalypse World Character that doesn't need to eat or drink.

In short, it's not feral

Have you seen he Incubus?  It's clearly based on the succubus but full of trade-offs and consequences.  Plus, rock and roll band.

Anyway!  I also wanted to ask (off-topic) if TireTerpsiTlazo is perhaps short for Tiresias, Terpsikhore, and Tlazolteotl?  If so, first of all: you're awesome; be my friend? *bats eyes*  Second of all, I'm working right now on a Tlazolteotl-inspired Skin.  {This message has been placed here simply to ensure it is seen; I will not hijack the thread}

Wow! Got it in one! I'm very impressed, though I usually spell it Terpsichore. Of course you can be my friend! Also, I hope you post your results soon. My interest in the Succubus comes from thinking it's a great skin to explore a teenager with gender confusion rather than sexuality confusion, but Tlazoteotl would also be an interesting way to explore that with the right powers.

You might have a tough time convincing your GM.  I'd argue that the succubus is one of the most broken skins ever.  Not because its moves are mechanically powerful, per se.  But it breaks the fundamental nature of the game--That there's a fixed amount of happiness, and that if you're gaining, someone else is losing.  A MH succubus that makes people better by fulfilling their desires is the equivalent of an Apocalypse World Character that doesn't need to eat or drink.

In short, it's not feral

Have you seen he Incubus?  It's clearly based on the succubus but full of trade-offs and consequences.  Plus, rock and roll band.

Aaaaaand, getting this thread back on topic, what would be ways to address that? I don't want to criticize Ernesto in his own thread, but if we're theorizing ways to improve or rejigger the skin, what would be concerns? I'm seeing a.) Too many powers and b.) The core gifts mechanic doesn't have any consequences for either the Succubus or the gift getter (who should ideally receive those consequences?). Or, should we move discussion on creating a different version of this great skin to another thread and let the author have full reign here?

As for the Incubus, I don't want to be the rough rock star. I actually think the powers are decent, but don't want to start off with the outwardly confident and sexy vibe.

Aaaaaand, getting this thread back on topic, what would be ways to address that? I don't want to criticize Ernesto in his own thread, but if we're theorizing ways to improve or rejigger the skin, what would be concerns? I'm seeing a.) Too many powers and b.) The core gifts mechanic doesn't have any consequences for either the Succubus or the gift getter (who should ideally receive those consequences?). Or, should we move discussion on creating a different version of this great skin to another thread and let the author have full reign here?

As for the Incubus, I don't want to be the rough rock star. I actually think the powers are decent, but don't want to start off with the outwardly confident and sexy vibe.

I think the fundamental problem with this skin is that there's not a real teenager behind it--all good skins have a teenager at their core that the monstrous trappings are meant to represent.  It's not that I think this skin lacks that teenager--clearly there's someone inside the skin.  I just think that someone is not a very real person.

You mentioned that you wanted to use it to explore gender confusion.  Is that just because of the shapechange move?  Or do you see other aspects of the skin that would help in that exploration--because focusing on those might give us a more real teenager under that skin to work toward.

Sidenote:
I also don't like that the succubus sex move is about the mechanics of sex.  That, for me at least, is on the wrong side of the veil--and not for any good reason that I can see.

You mentioned that you wanted to use it to explore gender confusion.  Is that just because of the shapechange move?  Or do you see other aspects of the skin that would help in that exploration--because focusing on those might give us a more real teenager under that skin to work toward.

It's definitely because of the shapechange move. This is the only skin that I've seen that directly spoke to me on the gender side of things. Most importantly, it made me wonder if a gender-confused teen would sell their soul for the chance to transform into the body they wished they were born into.