Maelstrom Ghost proto-playbook

Here's the skeleton of a thing that my be getting introduced in our game:

When you take harm past 12:00 and your brain is open to the world's psychic maelstrom, you can, at your leisure, change your character type to Maelstrom Ghost.


Maelstrom Ghost

Choose a look

Wisps of smoke, shadows in darkness, flickers in dreams, glimpses in mirrors

Choose a voice

Whispers in ears, crackles over the radio, writing in the dust, signs and portents

Basic Moves

Of the basic moves, you get Read a Sitch, Seduce and Manipulate, Act Under Fire, and you can Help or Interfere

You can't physically interact with anything, except by virtue of one of your moves.

Maelstrom Ghost Moves:

You get 2:

Open a Brain:
When you open someone's brain to the world's psychic maelstrom, roll +weird. On a hit, they get glimpses into your world.
10+ you can show them something you've seen in the maelstrom, and you can ask them questions
7-9 The MC will show them something, and might ask questions
On a miss, they take ?-harm.

Move through the Maelstrom: (this is pretty particular to our own maelstrom)
When you attempt to manipulate the world's psychic maelstrom, whether you're physically moving, or just taking a look, roll +weird.
10+ choose 3
7-9 choose 2
- right time
- right place
- right reality
On a miss, the MC will take you somewhere interesting.

Familiar Spirit:
When you use any other move, if it makes sense, you can roll +Hx instead of what you'd normally roll.

Possession:
When you force yourself into someone's brain, roll +weird.
10+ you control their body, like a fleshy puppet, for as long as you want it. When you make them do something, PCs can act under fire to force you out, in which case you take s-harm. If the body you're controlling takes harm past 12:00, you take s-harm and are forced out.
7-9: You are acting under fire to make them do something. On a miss, you'll take s-harm and are forced out of their brain.
On a miss, you take s-harm.

Spirit Fingers:
When you have time and intimacy with someone, at your option, they take ?-harm.

Are there rules against taking this playbook other than via the custom move at the beginning? (For example, can you switch to it, or start as it?).

What is ?-harm.

Cool! This happened to my character in one of our first AW games (she became a psychic ghost), but we didn't think to make a new playbook. Nicely done.

DShock, it's definitely emerged out of us evolving our understanding of what the psychic maelstrom is while playing the game. That first move very specifically reflects our Brainer's disastrous attempt to in-brain puppet strings the local hardholder and then escape via the maelstrom.

In terms of switching playbooks, I think I could make a good case to Simon to for my former Hocus to switch to being a Maelstrom Ghost (if it made sense with the fiction).

Yeah, a lot of this is about what the Maelstrom is in our particular game. That said, I think a lot of the moves would work in any game.

DShock, ?-harm is from the Quarantine playbook.

I'm thinking I'm gonna do something kinda special with advancement for the Ghost too.

I feel like it needs one or two more moves, maybe taking it into different places?

Quick example:

Split position: When you want to be in two places at once, roll +Cool. On 10+, you are there. On a 7-9 you are not quite tuned to either place - the maelstrom may interfere with you while you maintain this state.

Mike, I think that's covered by the same (unspoken) move that governs other characters' presence in scenes:

You are a human being
When you are physically present in a place, you are able to interact with the people and things that are in the vicinity, like a person should. To be present in a place, you have to physically go there.

The maelstrom ghost gets a similar (also unspoken) move:

You are a ghost
When you are psychically present in a place, you are able to interact with the people and things that are in the vicinity, like a ghost should. To be present in a place, you have to psychically go there.

In other words, the ghost can be wherever they want to be, just like a person can be, except that the ghost is not inhibited by travel times, locks and bars, or having a single physical body.

That said, it's possible that's too powerful/not as interesting as it could be.

Here's an alternative:

When you want to manifest your presence in a location, roll +cool (yes you can roll +Hx with "familiar spirit").
10+ You can use all your moves, and your look and your voice.
7-9 You can use your moves (but not your look or your voice).
On a miss, some other part of the maelstrom manifests

Yes, I was subconsciously thinking of those unspoken moves too, except that being a ghost didn't necessarily allow you to instantly be anywhere :)

I'm not sure that a move should be required every time that manifestation is wanted - that will just lead to a lot of tiresome rolling, in order to say something or make a move. I figured the being in two places at once thing was different enough to normal to qualify as a move on its own, although I guess Move Through The Maelstrom could allow it, interpreted liberally.

Neat idea! This slightly reminds me of what characters become once they're dead in Poison'd. Very elegant.

Well, it went pretty damn well in play, and our creepy brainer went to new levels of creepy. Definite win!