Snuffed - A Morbid Hack

From a request made by one of my players, I've started putting together a Swarm playbook. Is this is ok with you, would you mind if I made it, and would you like to see it once it's halfway complete?

Absolutely - if you want to PM me a link or throw it up on here I'd love to see what you come up with.

Currently working on the Padfoot - I like the idea of a more 'Gaia' playbook over the more typical modern ones. We'll see.

He asked for something similar to the movie Gremlins, no idea if you've seen it (I haven't). Rather than being natue-spirity, it's just a swarm of narsty spiteful biting things. The core move is: Spend 1 creep, gain another (somewhat impermanent) body, based somewhat on the Macaluso. I'll post it here once I finish writing enough of it

- The Swarm -

Name:
Gremlins, Critters, Birds

Jinx, Growler, Snider, Oliphant


Look:
Slimy body, scaly body, furry body, chitinous body

Wings, tail, big ears, forked tongue, large eyes

Cute demeanor, gross attitude, violent outbursts

Jagged teeth, block teeth, rotting teeth, fangs

Buzzing, padding, squeaking, slopping, twittering


Stats:
Wrath-1, cold-2, sly+2, spirited+2, eerie+1
Wrath=0, cold+1, sly+2, spirited+1, eerie-1
Wrath+1, cold-1, sly+2, spirited+1, eerie=0
Wrath=0, cold=0, sly+2, spirited+1, eerie=0


Moves:
You start with all the basic moves and Exponential Horror. Choose two more.


Bonds and Grudges:
Someone here is extremely palatable. Mark +1 Grudge (Tasty) against them.

Someone here has given you a delectable snack or shiny bauble. Mark +1 Pact (Greedy) with them.


Violence:
1 harm (Arcane, close/far)


Manifesting:
You manifest as (Disparate, Distracted, Delicious)

When you take physical form in the mortal world, roll+spirited. On a hit, you are where you want to be, no problems.

On a 10+, pick three tags.
On a 7-9, pick one tag.

Coalesced (drop Disparate)
Concentrated (drop Distracted)
Crunchy (drop Delicious)
Vicious (+1 harm)
Annoying (+distracting)
Tricksy (+1 Sly)
On a miss you are spread out all over the place. It’ll take a while for you to find yourself.


Swarm Moves:

Exponential Horror – Spend 1 Creep to generate another functional body. Depending on your primary size, this may be a cloud of insects, or a single small creature, but each can function independently. You can accurately control three+spirited bodies at any one time. Others may be created, but you do not control them specifically. Each body takes harm as a mortal NPC.

Quarantine Buster – When the majority of your bodies are killed or captured in one swoop, roll+sly. On a 10+, one of you got away clean. On a 7-9, one of you got out, but is in a fix. On a miss, you’re done.

Great Big Gnashing Teeth – Gain new violence, 3-harm (Physical, melee, messy, swarmed), so long as a bunch of you are threatening a single target

Tricky Buggers – Gain +1 Sly (Sly+3)

Innocent Antics – When you Traumatise, roll+sly.

Jack-of-all-Trades – While in the mortal realm, spend 1 Creep to succeed on a roll as if you rolled a 7-9

Consume – You gain 1 Creep whenever you consume a huge amount of food. Additionally, when you return to the afterlife you can convert bodies you control to Creep in a 2:1 ratio.

Adapt – Take a move from another playbook


Swarm Signature Moves:

Oh Dear God No – When there are too bloody many of you for someone to deal with, take +1 ongoing against them.

Biblical Plague – You can now control an extra two+sly bodies. Have fun.

---

My first thoughts: I need suggestions for the names, but I think the look is alright, for now at least. The stats are a mess, no idea what to do with them, I just splattered them down and followed the rules Vincent put down. Not sure about manifesting, but I'll leave it for now. The moves are OK. The sig moves are hot garbage. Any suggestions?

I frigging love it thus far. I figure it might be interesting to prescribe it the same gang setup as the Chopper or Hocus, so they can be more 'erratic trickster' or 'flesh-eating swarm' as the player wishes during setup.

As for signature moves, perhaps something like being able to 'infest' a mortal NPC when they can get one alone, then walk around in their skin, a-la the cockroack alien from Men In Black.

Also, dude, watch Gremlins. And Gremlins 2, which is arguably better.

Love that sig move. Heres yours:

Unholy Infestation - When you kill an NPC and their body is mostly intact, you may drag away the corpse. One of your bodies takes up residence over the course of a few minutes, manifesting as (Dead, Slow, Vile), with the appearance of that NPC. You may spend Creep to remove tags as usual.

I think I'll drop Oh Dear God No (as Great Big Gnashing Teeth sort of covers that). I've also made:

For the Greater Good – by sacrificing one of your number, you can grant a the remainder of the group of bodies either +2 armor or +1 forward

What do you mean by gang setup? I like the sound of it, I just have no idea what it is :P

That's cool - in terms of gang setup, I figured something like picking two positive traits and one negative trait for your swarm, plus a move for using your swarm en masse to do something. For example:

When you have your swarm commit to performing an action, roll +Spirited. On a 10+ it happens, with all the mess and horror you desire. On a 7-9, it happens, but you've committed yourself to the outcome no matter what. On a miss, thanks to bad luck or over-entheusiasm, you've put yourself in harm's way.

When you create your Swarm, pick 2:

o You're agile, flexible, worming in and out of any tight spot (+Flexible)
o You're easily mistaken for simple vermin at a glance (+Inconspicuous)
o Aww! (+Cute)
o The fluttering of little wings opens up many doors for you (+Flight)
o Ugly? Sure. Dumb? Not quite. (+Savvy)

Pick 1:

o FEED ME (+Ravenous)
o Ooo! Shiny! (+Thief)
o They come! Run! Hide! (+Hunted)
o WOO! (+Reckless)
o Oh crap *pop* (+Weakness)

Something like that.

I love it. I've got this idea that there are two kinds of Swarm bodies (which I need a better name for), those that you control personally (up to a maximum of whatever), and those that you have made but don't . It doesn't mean they act against you, that is you as the player, but you can't make moves with them. Well, apart from that one ^ just there, which looks pretty neat. Do you think Exponential Horror should be a non-move as well, that is, part of the playbook rather than the list of moves?

Two kinds of swarm make sense, one that's more of a taskmaster (more capable of big moves, but has to control their spawn) and a hive-mind (easy to control, but limited in ability).

I think Exponential Horror is best left off the table to other playbooks, so have that as an ingrained move, maybe? It could be folded into the 'Gang Move' section, so you have all the rules for expanding and using your swarm in one place.

Perhaps there could be an additional option:

o Legion: You are one, eyes and ears in every shadow and nook. When you Read A Scene or use Influence, you can burn some of your Swarm to ask an additional question, even on a miss. However, when your Swarm suffers Harm, you suffer 1 Harm (Physical) along with it.

o Taskmaster: You crack the whip, they do your bidding. For now. When you Inflict Trauma or Menace, you can burn some of your Swarm to pick an additional option, even on a miss. However, when you use your Swarm to complete a task, on a miss, you lose some of your Swarm, down to a minimum of 1.

Seems we have had a bit of a misunderstanding. I don't really see the player as the leader of the Swarm per se, it's more that X amount of the swarm are somewhat more focused than the others, and are the ones that specifically interact with allies and enemies, even though they all have the same general goals.

Ah! Fair enough. More of a mob than a team? I'll leave it to you - I'm just curoius how it'd be shown in-game. Maybe it'd be part of the hard moves the MC makes?

I'm thinking in the line where you are granted the number of bodies you control, you would also create the impulses of the rest of the swarm. You made a great list:

o FEED ME (+Ravenous)
o Ooo! Shiny! (+Thief)
o They come! Run! Hide! (+Hunted)
o WOO! (+Reckless)

Which I think is perfect. They will act vaguely according to this, or cohesively when you roll+spirited. You can't get uncontrolled bodies to act against their impulse really, except maybe if they took +Savvy and it makes sense. Does this sound ok to you?

That sounds just about perfect for the creature style - and would undoubtedly cause some chaos in the midst of sessions. If you want to hash it all out, I'll slap it into the template and put up a proper Playbook for you.

Here's version 2. If it's an effort, hold off on doing the formatting, because I want to edit it (a lot) for version 3, particularly the Exponential Horror part and several moves. Then again, that part would go in the first page (where Tools of The Trade would go for the Ripper) so perhaps the second page would be all right.



Swarm Playbook

- Exponential Horror -

A Swarm is composed of nigh uncountable creatures, multiplying and consuming without end. Each is functionally identical, but a few are controlled specifically by the player, usually up to three+spirited. Each body is capable of all the basic and Swarm moves known, but only those controlled by the player can spend Creep.

Over the course of a few moments, a controlled body can spend 1 Creep and create a new body. Describe to the MC how this happens, whether it splits into two, lays an egg or the new creature emerges from the shadows. If you have an opening, choose whether it is controlled or uncontrolled. Every body, controlled or uncontrolled, takes harm as an NPC. If all of your controlled bodies die, your Swarm is scattered. A random uncontrolled body will come under your influence a few hours later, if there are any left.


While this playbook refers to bodies as if they were individuals, this isn’t necessarily the case. Choose the approximate size of each individual:

- Insect (each body is composed of dozens of individuals)
- Rat (each body is composed of several individuals)
- Dog (each body is composed of one individual)

The Swarm has a number of adaptions to assist its survival in the mortal realm. Choose two:

- You're agile, flexible, worming in and out of any tight spot (+Flexible)
- You're easily mistaken for simple vermin at a glance (+Inconspicuous)
- Aww! (+Cute)
- The fluttering of little wings opens up many doors for you (+Flight)
- Ugly? Sure. Dumb? Not quite. (+Savvy)

Most of the time, each uncontrolled body acts on its instincts in a vague manner. Choose one:

- FEED ME (+Ravenous)
- Ooo! Shiny! (+Thief)
- They come! Run! Hide! (+Hunted)
- WOO! (+Reckless)
- Something about a cat? (+Curious)
- *snore* (+Relaxed)
- RIP BURN KILL RIP BURN KILL (+Violent)

Unfortunately, the mortal realm is hostile for small squishy things. Choose one flaw:

- Hey! I’m talking to you! (+Aggravating)
- Argh! Garlic! (+Allergy)
- Oh crap *pop* (+Weakness)
- Eh… (+Lazy)
- Nuh-uh. No way (+Obstinate)


When you have your entire swarm act upon their instincts in a concerted manner, roll +Spirited. On a 10+ it happens, with all the mess and horror you desire. On a 7-9, it happens, but you've committed yourself to the outcome no matter what. On a miss, thanks to bad luck or over-enthusiasm, you've put yourself in harm's way.

It isn’t possible to have uncontrolled bodies act against their instinct. You’ll need to use controlled bodies for that.

- Creating a Swarm –

Name:
Gremlins, Critters, Crawlers, Birds

Jinx, Growler, Snider, Oliphant


Look:
Slimy body, scaly body, furry body, chitinous body

Wings, tail, big ears, forked tongue, large eyes

Cute demeanor, gross attitude, violent outbursts

Jagged teeth, block teeth, rotting teeth, fangs

Buzzing, padding, squeaking, slopping, twittering


Stats:
Wrath-1, cold-2, sly+2, spirited+2, eerie+1
Wrath=0, cold+1, sly+2, spirited+1, eerie-1
Wrath+1, cold-1, sly+2, spirited+1, eerie=0
Wrath=0, cold=0, sly+2, spirited+1, eerie=0


Moves:
You start with all the basic moves. Choose two Swarm moves.


Bonds and Grudges:
Someone here is extremely palatable. Mark +1 Grudge (Tasty) against them.

Someone here has given you a delectable snack or shiny bauble. Mark +1 Pact (Greedy) with them.


Violence:
1 harm (Arcane, close/far)


Manifesting:
You manifest as (Disparate, Distracted, Delicious)

When you emerge in the mortal world, roll+spirited. On a hit, you are where you want to be, no problems.

On a 10+, pick three tags.
On a 7-9, pick one tag.

Coalesced (drop Disparate)
Concentrated (drop Distracted)
Crunchy (drop Delicious)
Vicious (+1 harm)
Annoying (+distracting)
Tricksy (+1 Sly)
Evolved (add an extra Swarm adaption)

On a miss you are spread out all over the place. It’ll take a while for you to find yourself.


Swarm Moves:

Quarantine Buster – When the majority of your bodies are killed or captured in one swoop, roll+sly. On a 10+, one of you got away clean. On a 7-9, one of you got out, but is in a fix. On a miss, you’re done.

Great Big Gnashing Teeth – Gain new violence, 3-harm (Physical, melee, messy, swarmed), so long as a bunch of you are threatening a single target

Tricksy Buggers – Gain +1 Sly (Sly+3)

Innocent Antics – When you Traumatise, roll+sly.

Jack-of-all-Trades – While in the mortal realm, spend 1 Creep to succeed on a roll as if you rolled a 7-9

Consume – You gain 1 Creep whenever you consume a huge amount of food. Additionally, when you return to the afterlife you can convert bodies you control to Creep in a 2:1 ratio.

Adapt – Take a move from another playbook

For the Greater Good – by sacrificing one of your number, you can grant a the remainder of the group of bodies either +2 armor or +1 forward


Swarm Signature Moves:

Unholy Infestation - When you kill an NPC and their body is mostly intact, you may drag away the corpse. One of your bodies takes up residence over the course of a few minutes, manifesting as (Dead, Slow, Vile), with the appearance of that NPC. You may spend Creep to remove tags as usual. If the NPC was killed using Messy harm, you cannot remove Dead, and if it was killed with Gruesome harm, you cannot remove Dead or Vile.

Biblical Plague – You can now control an extra two+sly bodies. Have fun.

Right, back after a brief delay. I'll knock up a draft of your Playbook when I get a moment - for now, here's the Skinjacker.

Edit: Boom. Done. Let me know what you want to update. As it stands it still needs a Special worked out and the avancements picked. Other than that, and ideally a better picture and some fluff text, she's good to roll.

Introducing...

THE SWARM

*Distant chittering*