One of the two things I’m taking to Origins Games on Demand
is Magic, Inc.: slacker office workers in a supernatural corporation trying to keep their jobs. I posted some departments from it a couple of weeks ago.
I've done a f2f playtest with character playbooks and special decks. It went off well and I spotted a few things to tweak. For example, everyone picked
Magick as part of their Training & Experience. So I’ll make that a default
and add in another pick. Below are some notes on the system and the selections for three of the sample roles: Financial, Reception, and
Drone. I’ll talk about Keys & the Personality Profile in another post.
Strength & Flaw picks generate special cards which get added to the
character’s deck.
SKILLS
- ACCOUNTING: Math, business, and number…stuff.
- AUDIT: Research, investigation, and locating stolen lunches.
- AVOIDANCE: Fleeing, dodging things, and ducking out early.
- GRIND: Willpower, data entry, and overtime.
- IT: Information technology, computers, and floating down here.
- LABWORK: Science, procedures, and domestic chemistry.
- LIES: Deception and budget assessment.
- OFFICE POLITICS: Knowing Magic, Inc
- PILFER: Petty theft, carry-in scavenging, and lockpicking.
- REPAIR: Mechanics, turning on and off, and general fixes.
- ROUGHHOUSE: Fightin’ n such.
- SCARE: Causing terror, intimidation, or popping up unexpectedly.
- SCHMOOZE: Charm, awkward insertions, and talking yourself up.
- SPORTS: Athletics and exercise. Includes fantasy football.
- TRIVIA: Lore, miscellaneous information, and “well, actually”.
CONFLICTS
There are three kinds of damage all measured on a single
track, called Suffering:
- Wounds: Physical damage from faceslaps, fireballs, or falling photocopiers.
- Attention: Getting noticed and marked for HR review. Possibly hit with a promotion to a position where you actually have to work.
- Stress: Being yelled at.
CHARACTER CREATION
- Pick title. This serves as an Aspect.
- Choose Name.
- Identify your Demographics
- Assign 12 checks to skills.
- Pick three from Training & Experience
- Pick three from Personality Profile
- Pick Two Strengths
- Pick One Flaw
- Describe the dirt you have on the character to your left
Role: FINANCES
DEMOGRAPHICS (PICK ONE EACH FROM A & B)
A B
Demonic Airbender
Mind-Wiped Animated
Doll
Mirror Universe Cat-Person
Mundane Human
Psychic Luchadore
Variable Scarecrow
TRAINING AND EXPERIENCE (PICK THREE)
- Accountant: You have an acute eye for accounts. You can easily pick out patterns and problems in a ludicrously short time.
- Armor of Fear: You can use Scare (Social) as a defense, but only until the first time you’re dealt suffering. You make opponents hesitate, but when someone shows them you’re only…human(?) your advantage vanishes.
- Bad Temper: You do +1 damage when you Yell at Someone.
- Gold Star: You begin with another title you can invoke for an effect. You also start with +1 fate points.
- Mentor: You have a mentor or patron with access to special knowledge. Once per session you may freely invoke your mentor as an aspect in appropriate situations (to represent insight, advice gained from contacting them).
- Magicks: You have a Supernatural Talent. Choose an Aspect for it and two actions it can be used for (Overcome, Create Advantage, Discover, Defend, Attack).
PERSONALITY PROFILE (PICK
THREE)
- Key of the Commander: You love being in charge. Gain a point when you come up with a plan and giveorders to make it happen.
- Key of Procedures: Things have rules. People are supposed to stick to the rules. That’s how things should work. Gain a point when you try to correct someone’s violation of a rule.
- Key of Reputation: You’ll make a name for yourself! Gain a point when you brag in in the wrong place to enhance your reputation.
- Key of Soft Touch: You are, at heart, kind and gentle. Gain a point when you show kindness or mercy.
- Key of the Traveler: You love talking about travelling & seeing sights. Gain a point when you drop an offhanded brag about your travels and how it connects to the present situation.
- Key of the Unrequited: You fall into love and infatuation easily and deeply. Gain a point when you fixate on a new person.
STRENGTHS (PICK TWO)
- Executive Material
- Idealist
- Leader
- Prepared
FLAWS (PICK ONE)
- Confrontational
- Gullible
- Obsessive
- Uncoordinated
Role: RECEPTION
DEMOGRAPHICS (PICK ONE EACH FROM A & B)
A B
Celebrity Deep
One
Demi Gremlin
Enchanted Human
Mundane Vampire
Paroled Werewolf
Prince(ss) Zombie
TRAINING AND EXPERIENCE (PICK THREE)
- Eavesdropper: On a successful Audit test to create an advantage or discover via eavesdropping, you can ask one additional question or create one additional aspect (though this doesn’t give you an extra free invocation).
- Heard it Before: You take one less Suffering when someone Yells at You.
- Know the Lingo: You’re excellent at talking with a particular group (name it now or later). You get a +1 any time you try to negotiate or chum up with them.
- Name Tags: When you meet someone new, you can spend a fate point to declare you’ve met them under a different name & identity. Create an aspect to represent your cover story, and you can use Lies for any social checks when interacting with that person.
- Rumormonger: You gain +1 to create an advantage when you plant vicious rumors about someone else.
- Magicks: You have a Supernatural Talent. Choose an Aspect for it and two actions it can be used for (Overcome, Create Advantage, Discover, Defend, Attack).
PERSONALITY PROFILE
(PICK THREE)
- Key of the Bad Break-Up: Your significant other left, truly and finally. Gain a point when you make a connection between something in a scene and your ex.
- Key of the Bruiser: You enjoy overpowering others. Gain a point every time you defeat someone solo.
- Key of Curiosity: Gain a point whenever you your curiosity sidetracks you or gets you into trouble.
- Key of the Impostor: You are in often disguise. Gain a point when you perform well enough to fool someone with it.
- Key of the Matchmaker: You like seeing romantic pairings work, though perhaps not your own. Gain a point when you try to set up two (or more) persons (or things).
- Key of the Watercooler: You like rumors & hearsay. Gain a point when you spread gossip about someone you shouldn’t.
STRENGTHS (PICK TWO)
- Lucky
- Quick Thinker
- Recycler
- Studious
FLAWS (PICK ONE)
- Guilty
- Needy
- Self-Absorbed
- Unfocused
Role: DRONE
DEMOGRAPHICS (PICK ONE EACH FROM A & B)
A B
Ancient Angel
Enlightened Doppelganger
Foreign Exchange Elf
Glowing Frankenstein
Half-Blood Ghost
Mundane Human
TRAINING AND EXPERIENCE (PICK THREE)
- Alarmist: You’ve run into enough traps and alarms to gain an instinct for avoiding them. You gain +1 to checks to spot and notice them.
- Duck and Cover: You take one less damage when someone Points You Out.
- Giant-Killer: You do +1d damage in conflicts with opponent much larger or important than you.
- Voice of Reason: You’re adept at stepping into a bad situation and dialing it down to something more reasonable (or dial up into more crazy). So long as you are not the direct reason someone is upset, your attempts to calm or incite gain a +1 bonus.
- Without a Trace: By spending a fate point, you can move through cubicle farms and leave no trace. You can also rifle colleagues’ desks and leave them the way you found them.
- Magicks: You have a Supernatural Talent. Choose an Aspect for it and two actions it can be used for (Overcome, Create Advantage, Discover, Defend, Attack).
PERSONALITY PROFILE (PICK THREE)
- Key of Klepto: Other people have nicer things. Gain a point when you riskily steal someone’s stuff or score a big payoff.
- Key of Martyrdom: You thrive on suffering. Gain a point every time you take on someone else’s workload.
- Key of the Nice Girl: Gain a point when you do something nice because that’s what’s expected of you.
- Key of Panic: The pressure’s on. Gain a point every time you take a condition card.
- Key of the Prudent: You avoid combat like the plague. Gain a point when you flee a potentially dangerous situation.
- Key of the Twice Shy: You’ve learned to avoid blame, and credit. Gain a point when you pin your success on someone else.
STRENGTHS (PICK TWO)
- Ambitious
- Bargainer
- Model Employee
- Tester
FLAWS (PICK ONE)
- Careless
- Cursed
- Passive-Aggressive
- Troublemaker
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