An Arresting Skinner

Hi Guys,

I have a couple of questions on handling the skinner move "An Arresting Skinner."

   Here's the text:

An arresting skinner: when you remove a piece of clothing,
your own or someone else’s, no one who can see you can do
anything but watch. You command their absolute attention. If
you choose, you can exempt individual people, by name.

My questions all surround this hypothetical situation:

The text would seem to indicate that a skinner player could take off an article of clothing very slowly and force Player 2 to do nothing. The skinner could then exempt Player 3. The Player 3 could then shoot, maim, otherwise mutilate Player 2 without Player 2 being able to do anything (except maybe interfere with a history roll).

So, the questions:

1) If player 2 survives, and the skinner says she's still stripping, does Player 2 still have to stand there and take round after round of abuse from Player 3?

2) Can player 2 opt-out of the situation in any way? Maybe by acting under fire?

In the case of player 2 being replaced by an NPC, I'd say fuck him. We're looking at him through the crosshairs and giving the skinner PC the full benefit of her moves, so the NPC can just die.

But in the case of all PCs, isn't someone being deprived of the full benefits of their moves here?

   * In the case that player 2 is just fucked and can't do anything, he's the one deprived (of moves and even of the ability to play his character after a while).

   * In the case the player 2 can do something to look away, the skinner's player is deprived.

If the MC decides to rule in favor of either, or to veto the exchange, someone is being deprived, right? In any case, any feedback to help get my mind straight on this issue would be appreciated.

Depends on the situation, but I might rule that doing anything else besides staring at the Skinner is Acting Under Fire for PCs.  For NPCs, you're totally right, fuck 'em.  For PCs too, doing anything that's not outright murdering them is probably A-OK too (no roll allowed), since the move doesn't really offer them an out.  AW isn't fair.

Also, when somebody is totally paralyzed like that, I'm not sure why you'd even bother thinking in "rounds" or whatever.  You probably wouldn't deal normal damage or whatever.  You'd just slit somebody's throat or gut them like a fish.  Dead.  Forget about Harm. D-E-D, dead.

This came up in my last game session.  The Skinner started stripping and exempted the Battlebabe.  The Battlebabe then took all of the Gunlugger's guns away.  He was like "I can't do anything about them taking my guns?"


I've limited the move at times in the past.  My Skinner was captured during a battle and wanted to (while restrained) start removing clothing to completely end the battle while her allies cleaned up.  I didn't allow that, but I'm not sure how crazy this move is supposed to be...

Well, keep the world real, and make the character's lives interesting, and giving them an unbeatable combat combo that involves distracting entire groups of people while you take off your clothes doesn't really seem either, does it, unless you accept that it's a supernatural effect, yeah?

But I mean, I've been there. Standing at a post as a security guard at the casino, mostly only checking to make sure minors or people with large luggage don't get on the gaming floor, and somebody so damn fucking hot walks by that all my higher brain functions just shut down, and I just stop and stare for a bit despite myself. I think we've all been there, right?

Now imagine, just like a dream, just like a gift from the gods, they start taking off their clothes. Slowly, teasingly, revealing more and more of that perfect skin, that perfect body.

And furthermore imagine that up until now, everyone you've ever seen in this goddamn world has been diseased, starving, unwashed, broken and scarred by the harsh and merciless cruelties of day to day life that everyone's got to labor under, and this is the first vision of true beauty that you've ever seen. Nothing else even compares.

And sure, part of your brain is probably going "this has to be a trap!!!" even if you don't want to listen to it. And if you're a PC, maybe you can act under that all-consuming fire, maybe some movement in the corner of your vision, or some half-heard sound of somebody approaching you from behind diverts your attention for a crucial second, and the spell is broken.

But maybe it doesn't. Maybe you could die a happy man, or woman, or whatever, having seen what you've seen today. Maybe that'd be all right. And all you can think is "Let those other fuckers go first, because the skinner's about to get to the good stuff."

Ben,

Or all your brain functions turn off when they're removing the hat from the fat guy next to them. Piece of clothing, someone else's.

I dunno, this move is the move that bugs me the most of all the moves in the game. Most of the equivalent moves (battlebabes holding people's eyes, hypnosis, etc) have limitations on them that are pretty obvious and often mechanically enforced.

This one doesn't have those limits and it irritates me. Both because of the gameness of it and because of the "Yes sure skinners are hot but fuck, how dumb are these bastards anyway"ness of it.

That skinners are that hot sometimes, in limited situations or with some resistance, that's cool. That skinners are that hot just cause they're taking off their sock? Not so much.

Now, wait for Vincent to come along and convince me that I'm wrong.

Um, it's obviously a supernatural power. Other types have supernatural powers, too.

So....

Arresting Skinner is a good "move from another playbook" for a Battlebabe with Impossible Reflexes to take, so if she gets into trouble with her clothes still on, she can buy time to strip and get her 2-armor.

But it is the move I like least, because of its unconditional nature. I'd rather see it roll+Hot as a Seduce with "Don't take your eyes off me and I'll show you something wonderful", which PCs could then either deal with by Acting Under Fire or Marking Experience.

I was thinking about reading this as "When the Skinner does their shtick" rather than specifically stripping.  I have a Skinner character in mind who's a bony old Asian dude with the world's last cello, and while I cannot imagine him fascinating anybody with a peek at his underwear, I can totally imagine him improvising a gigue on the cello which overwhelms everybody in hearing distance.  I could imagine the same thing with a thespian capturing everybody with his declamation of the St. Crispin's Day speech form Shakespeare. 

I'm sure someone will be along soon to explain why I'm wrong. 

You are wrong. I would love to see that bony old Asian guy's underwear.

Yeah. This move is crazy.

That isn't even the Skinner's best move!

Don't worry about it. It's good.

That isn't even the Skinner's best move!

Don't worry about it. It's good.

It just seems too similar to Artful & gracious and Hypnotic, and less evocative and with less interesting choices (does An arresting skinner have any choices involved?).

Hmmm.

It just seems too similar to Artful & gracious and Hypnotic, and less evocative and with less interesting choices (does An arresting skinner have any choices involved?).

Hmmm.

Well, they are all variations on the theme, aren't they?  And to point out, you don't HAVE to take it.  It's just for those incarnations of a skinner where the physicality of their actions really plays in.  If I was playing the cellist I would avoid that move.  There's so many interesting moves that can be stolen from other playbooks as well, y'know?

Well, they are all variations on the theme, aren't they?  And to point out, you don't HAVE to take it.  It's just for those incarnations of a skinner where the physicality of their actions really plays in.  If I was playing the cellist I would avoid that move.  There's so many interesting moves that can be stolen from other playbooks as well, y'know?

Yeah. I don't mind the concept of the move, so much as its execution, like others have said.

Most importantly, I prefer the moves that create choices. This move doesn't really. It's like, "Do this and this happens."

Unlike, say, Hypnotic, where they become fixated on you and then you can make choices about the effects.

It's just a minor difference of style I guess.

I have a Skinner character in mind who's a bony old Asian dude with the world's last cello

Hey, WTF!?!?!? That was MY idea!!!  :)

Plus, I always forget that the skinner isn't ALWAYS sexual. It's just as easy to play an old man who plays the last remaining cello.

I KNEW I should have copy written that.