Maelstrom Ghost proto-playbook

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Maelstrom Ghost proto-playbook
« on: January 05, 2011, 06:30:24 PM »
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.

Re: Maelstrom Ghost proto-playbook
« Reply #1 on: January 05, 2011, 09:00:35 PM »
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.

Re: Maelstrom Ghost proto-playbook
« Reply #2 on: January 05, 2011, 09:49:45 PM »
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.

Re: Maelstrom Ghost proto-playbook
« Reply #3 on: January 05, 2011, 11:39:44 PM »
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).

Re: Maelstrom Ghost proto-playbook
« Reply #4 on: January 09, 2011, 03:26:13 PM »
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.

Re: Maelstrom Ghost proto-playbook
« Reply #5 on: January 09, 2011, 04:26:09 PM »
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.

Re: Maelstrom Ghost proto-playbook
« Reply #6 on: January 10, 2011, 07:43:33 PM »
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

Re: Maelstrom Ghost proto-playbook
« Reply #7 on: January 10, 2011, 08:04:24 PM »
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.

*

Suna

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Re: Maelstrom Ghost proto-playbook
« Reply #8 on: January 11, 2011, 04:14:04 AM »
Neat idea! This slightly reminds me of what characters become once they're dead in Poison'd. Very elegant.
"The Moving Finger writes: and, having writ, /Moves on: nor all thy Piety nor Wit /Shall lure it back to cancel half a Line, /Nor all thy Tears wash out a Word of it."

--Omar Khayyam, Rubaiyat

Re: Maelstrom Ghost proto-playbook
« Reply #9 on: January 11, 2011, 04:21:54 AM »
Well, it went pretty damn well in play, and our creepy brainer went to new levels of creepy. Definite win!