Custom Moves Compendium

I put this move together for a Hatchet City con game, but it never got used.  But I was really excited by it, and thought I'd share:

The ruins are the ruins of a huge city, which used to be a forest of skyscrapers.  All the buildings have been cut off somewhere about 5 stories up, the tops poking up raggedly, lots of them leaning away from the only skyscraper left:  A tower of glass and steel way off in the distance.

Mechanically, the ruins were a Landscape: Prison.

If you try to make your way through the ruins towards the tower, roll +cool.  On a 10+, hold 2.  On a 7-9, choose 1:

You see something new
You remember
You don't bring trouble back with you

When mcdaldno tells you what to do in a thread, roll +cool. On a 10+ you can continue posting whatever you want. On a 7-9 if you wish to post anything against mcdaldno's request, you're acting under fire.

Foster's End is an old strip-mine which has been filled with vile, toxic, foetid, stinking shit for as long as anyone can remember.  Recently, Mercer's people have been doing something odd there, and the maelstrom's been reacting badly to it.

When you get near Foster's End since Mercer's people moved in, the psychic maelstrom forces your mind open.  10+ tells you something about what Mercer's people are up to.  7-9 drives you nuts with that constant chatter that you can't quite understand: take -1 ongoing until you're clear of the area.  On a miss, the maelstrom lets you know what it's like at the bottom...

Quote

When Monk reaches into your soul and silences you, roll+weird.

Just one quick question - shouldn't it be something that PC does, not NPC?

Technically it is, since the PC is resisting. Much like you are acting under fire when an NPC is shooting at you. Of course, I could reword it, and maybe it will make more sense:

When Monk reaches into your soul and silences you, you die.

If you try to resist, roll+weird.

For the Faceless, add to the list: I'm Right Here

I'm thinking about the way the Faceless rises out of the shadows when everyone's looking around for him and of course cannot find him or her.

Tweak mechanics to taste. My untested inclination is that on 10 or better, the player distributes 3 Harm among targets as he or she chooses. 7-9 might be 1 Harm to one target, maybe.

Best, Ron

Oh, I just came up with one I thought was really neat!

When you enter the Slave Pits roll+hot:
On a 10+ you are immediately noticed, isolated and ambushed.
On a 7-9 you are approached and persuaded to sell your body into "indentured servitude"
On a miss you avoid attention entirely (hotties: tell us how!).

I like it because it's like the Harm move: you don't want to hit this one! Can we discuss this it a bit? Do you think it's unfair to penalize people with good scores? I think this is all win, because even if you "fail", you get spotlight time and an interested thing happens to you!

(cross-posted on story-games.com)

Ron:

The Unholy One is Among Us: when you suddenly appear amongst your enemies, roll+weird. On a 10+, choose 1 or 2. On a 7-9, choose 1:
* deal 1-harm to every enemy present
* deal your full harm, by weapon, to any one enemy
* deal s-harm to any one enemy
On a miss, you leave yourself wide open and vulnerable.


Works best if you are using stealth moves to set it up, making it pretty easy to just appear amongst your enemies.

This is a joke one, admittedly, that came from us discussing where to eat prior to a game of AW.  Add it to the Vegan playbook.

When you go out to eat with your friends, ROLL + VEGAN

On a 10+, all three
On a 7-9, two
On a miss, you go hungry in the McDonalds Parking Lot

- The meal is good
- It's NOT a salad
- Your friends don't resent you dragging them to a vegetarian restaurant

A couple from my current game.  (Cheapside is a slum, and Seers are little weird blind albino pygmies that live underground and have an unusual connection to the psychic maelstrom.)

If you enter Cheapside, roll +sharp
On a 10+ walk free.
On a 7-9 choose 2:
-You don't lose anything.
-You don't hurt someone weaker than you.
-You don't turn back unsatisfied.


When you touch a Seer, roll +weird
On a 10+ your brain has opened to the psychic maelstrom and you gain insight from it.
On a 7-9 your mind opens to the psychic maelstrom unprotected.
On a Miss you come to somewhere else later with no recollection of what has happened.


When you pilot a finicky and difficult helicopter, roll +weird.  
On a 10+ get all of the below.
On a 7-9 choose 2 of the below.
-It'll take you where you want to go
-It arrives in full working order
-It goes fast, smooth, and responsive
-All passengers and cargo stay secured

Couple moves from my current game (With their threat to put them in context)

Threat 4
Is called: what is that thing
Kind: grotesque: disease vector
Impulse: craves contact
Resources: truth
Description: occasionally some poor soul or animal overcome with mold sickness develops a weird capability of walking around half dead and trying to infect people. These near-dead moldy wet carcasses are horrific and terrible. They moan and drip and cry and perhaps still feel and think, but I’m not waiting around to find out!

Custom move: the first time you see one of these things roll+cool. On a 10+, you keep your wits about you: you can act normally. On a 7-9, what the hell is that thing: take -1 forward to any act which approaches or looks at it closely. On a miss, you freak out: doing anything but running away is acting under fire

Custom move: if you open your brain in the presence of one of these things roll+weird. On a 10+ you communicate with the creature to some degree. On a 7-9 you understand something new about the creature or about the mold. On a miss the creature exerts influence over you. Doing anything but slowly approaching it in fascination is acting under fire.

Our Holding is the flooded ruins of the Big City, where the ocean has rolled in to cover the first 4-5 floors, depending on where the tide is...

When the fog rolls in, roll+weird.  On a 10+, choose 3 of the following.  On a 7-9, choose 1 of the following, and I choose 1.

    * You have nightmares, flashbacks, or both.  Take -1cool ongoing until the fog rolls out.
    * The psychic maelstrom is that much closer.  Hold 3, and spend 1 to take +1 weird forward.  If the fog rolls out, you lose them.
    * The fog is thick enough to separate you from everyone around you.
    * You hear voices in the fog, and you can ask one question (mentally) and get an answer to it.
    * Something you own goes missing in the fog.
    * Something of value or interest appears from the fog.

When you find yourself alone in the fog (outdoors or on the water, no other people that you can see, roll+weird.  On a 10+, you know exactly where you are and all is well.  On a 7-9, you are either lost for a time, or something or someone finds you by accident - your choice.  On a miss, you are lost or confused long enough for something in the fog finds you.

When you find yourself in the water, roll+sharp.  If you are in unfamiliar waters, take -1 to the roll; if you cannot take a moment to survey the water, take another -1 to the roll.  On 10+, you get wet.  On 7-9, choose one of the following:

    * You are noticed by a shark or sharks.
    * You are noticed by something else.
    * You find a particularly nasty bit of effluvium.  Take -1ongoing until you can get clean.
    * You run into something sharp.  Take 1-harm, and you are now bleeding.

<We're actually playing this one by e-mail. It's been fun so far, but I'm really looking forward to a F2F session at the table. Props go to our MC Charlton for coming up with these...>

-Jim C.

I had a chance to use this custom move this week.  Due to a player dropping out of the game and another joining we had a Driver that needed to be disposed of.  Thus the move:

Killing Errol
Well, now you've gone and done it.  That little shit finally pushed you too far, and now he's lying dead at your feet.

Roll +cool or +sharp.  On a 10+ choose 4.  On a 7-9 choose 2.  On a miss, you're really in for it...
     *you don't get hurt in the struggle
     *only one person saw you do it
     *any witnesses agree he was really asking for it
     *he wasn't in the middle of an important job for Marco
     *you don't damage the bus (vital for hauling the town's water)
     *somebody is grateful to you for whacking the jerk (+1 Hx with appropriate PC)
     *you pry something you want from his cold dead hands
     *mark experience

As a start-of-session move that was up for grabs by any player who wanted it, it commandeered the story for the entire session as everyone got involved.

A couple from my current game:

So the sea is on fire. What's burning? Who the fuck knows, but it's always been like that, as long as you can remember. When you try to cross open water, roll+cool.

On a 10+, no problem.
On a 7-9, it's either turn back or take 1-harm (ap) for being fucking on fire
On a miss, take the 1-harm (ap) whether you turn back or not

----

The holding's got a drug problem. When going aggro against a mold addict, on a 7-9 they'll always choose to suck it up. Being wasted kinda wipes out the grey areas, y'know?

----

Something's gone wrong with those people in the Ruins. When Camo touches you and looks into your eyes, roll+weird.

On a 10+, it's cool. What a creep.
On a 7-9, you black out or something, just for a sec. WTF?
On a miss, you wake up bloody, you don't know whose

We came up with this in a con game I ran for the Hocus' drowning cult.

When you try to see if a sinner is worthy of Ascencion (by drowning!) roll +weird.
On a 10+, The person is found worthy and ascends to Heaven (they die)
On a 7-9, The sinner is not worthy but wishes to prove themselves (they join the cult)
On a miss, The sinner is not worthy. (And probably isn't too happy that you just tried to drown him)

Here's on for our druggy Angel "X"... yes, his name is "X"... what do people think?

Hey X, you’re a generally mellow guy, but sometimes you need to blunt the harsh edges around you; here’s something just for you:

When you use chillstabs recreationally, roll+hard:
On a 10+: choose one
On a 7-9: choose two

• take +1cool forward
• take -1sharp ongoing until you shake it off
• damn, all out… no more chills until you resupply… that might be tough on patients
• soooo sleepy… pass out for a while, blissed out and happy

On a miss: I’ll pick one or two… and ask you to fill in a segment on your addiction countdown

Love and kisses, Your MC