In their youth, they journeyed to a land of wonder. There they became heroes and saved lands from a great evil. Then they grew up. Now as adults, they’re called back to fight peril to a realm transformed.
Inspirations: The Magicians, The Chronicles of Narnia, Ni No Kuni, The Books of Magic, Grimm, Final Fantasy Tactics Advance, Digimon, The Phantom Tollbooth, Zot!, Alice in Wonderland, Return to Oz, The Talisman, Coraline, Pan's Labyrinth, Un Lun Dun, The Weirdstone of Brisingamen. The game's pitch line riffs on the Fate World of Adventure, Nest.
I'd sketched the basic idea before, but reading Nest's premise got me to add my pitch to our "what should we play?" list. I've actually avoided reading Nest until after we get a few sessions in. It looks awesome though. To play I put together a loose set of PbtA rules, building on what I wrote earlier for Pug'buttah and adding Keys to the mix (h/t to Rich). I'll probably put those out there after we see how it plays and I clean it up. In any case, I put together some sample characters to include with the rules. GMs might find these useful for a modern fantasy game, for a Nest play-through, or even for When the Dark is Gone.
NAME: Jessie Vont
REALM: Tar-no-Bog, the Land of Hidey-Holes
ADULTING: Administrative Assistant
Tough +0
Swift +1
Clever +2
Wise +0
Charming +1
Fierce -1
Vanishing +0
(fading out, making other things disappear)
Childhood Key: Key of the Odd Girl: +1 XP when
you do something small but weird to everyone around you. +3 XP when you do something
that causes you to be excluded from a group or event. Buyoff: Figure out
what’s driving you in this behavior.
Adult Key: Key of the Nice Girl: +1 XP when you
do something nice because that’s what’s expected of you. +3 XP when being nice costs
you a significant opportunity. Buyoff: Loudly put your own interests ahead
of someone else’s expectations.
Skill: Wallflower Awareness: Your natural worry
makes you preternaturally aware when you enter a new place. You have +1 when you
make a Move that relies on knowing the layout or exits of a location.
Stuff: Invisibility: You can turn invisible for
as long as you hold your breath.
Critical Move: Yes, But: On a 12+ with a Discover
move, you may suggest a modification or significant addition to an answer received.
Story
Jessie grew up as the youngest child, with two older sisters.
Not as pretty as them, her mother drilled into her that she needed to be good to
fit in and get along. When Jessie fell into Tar-no-Bog, she fell in love with the
wilds and brambles of the place. Her natural skill at Hide-and-Go-Seek allowed her
to trick the Lukbugs that tormented the inhabitants. When her family moved, Jessie
expected she’d still be able to go to the Realm. But though she sought high and
low in their new town, she never found passage again.
NAME: Vedat Iskander
REALM: Ferdumpus, the Exalted Scrapyard
ADULTING: Ticket Scalper
Tough +1
Swift +2
Clever +0
Wise +2
Charming +0
Fierce +1
Scavenge +0
(reusing the broken, finding the useful)
Childhood Key: Key of the Unrequited: You fall
into love and infatuation easily and deeply. Gain +1 XP when you fixate on a new
persons. Gain +3 XP when you do a risky or embarrassing thing in front of that person
to gain their attention. Buyoff: Suffer
a painful rejection.
Adult Key: Key of the Thrifty: People toss away
good stuff. Gain +1 XP when you rescue and hang on to something someone throws away.
Gain +3 XP when a rescued object proves useful. Buyoff: Clean out your hoard.
Move: Finders Keepers: When you search for a necessary
or significant object, ROLL…
10+ You discover what you want. Choose one: it has key
importance to the moment or scene; +1 it offers +1 Ongoing for the scene (choose
move); or it offers +2 Forward (Set Up). You may only have one such item “effective”
at a time.
7-9 You make a discovery, as above, but you must lose or sacrifice
something of importance.
Skill: Hunger Artist: You’re used to living on
little and getting buy. You know how to stretch resources. Add +1 to a Move when you have to survive or aid
others to survive.
Stat: +1 Wise
Story
Vedat grew up in a massive family, a gathering of immigrants
who’d chosen shared living and a communal lifestyle. The result was a herd of children,
all struggling for attention. Like his brothers and sisters, Vedat collected things
for memories and a sense of his own place. He found Ferdumpus after one of his brothers
stole his small stash. There Vedat could find anything needed, a talent useful in
bringing down the Crusherman and his Hoist Boys.
NAME: Amanda Eagleton
REALM: Sunspark, the Questers’ Freehold
ADULTING: Road Worker
Tough +2
Swift +0
Clever +1
Wise -1
Charming +0
Fierce +1
Hercules +0
(lift heavy things)
Childhood Key: Key of the Competitor: You love
contests and love to win. Gain +1 XP when you enter a competition. Gain +3 XP when
you actually win such a contest. Buyoff: Gracefully concede to another.
Adult Key: Key of the Matchmaker: You like seeing
romantic pairings work, though perhaps not your own. Gain +1 XP when you try to
set up a pairing. Gain +3 XP when you try to set up a pairing and it actually clicks.
Buyoff: You turn your attention to your own romantic life.
Stuff: Red Lead Sword: Weapon does +2 Harm. May
be taken away.
Stuff: Resilient: +1 Harm box.
Move: Bring Down the Pillars: When you try to use
your great strength to create a massive change in the environment, ROLL…
10+ You do what you set out to do: walls come tumbling down,
statues fall, hillsides crack open.
7-9 It breaks, but not as you wish. Something’s damaged, others
endangered, or a new peril revealed.
Story
Amanda grew up, a small young thing, raised by a father who worked
as a bouncer, lifter, and general strongman. He said men should be strong, but she
shouldn’t have to. Then her father died of a heart attack while working a club.
She found her way to Sunspark even as she swapped between family members’ care.
Her ability to lift nearly anything allows her to complete Brancow’s Seven Challenges
and save the realm. She left the realm reluctantly, but knowing she had to find
a way to be as strong in the real world.
NAME: Nadja Salt
REALM: Summertithe
ADULTING: Temp
Tough +0
Swift +1
Clever +1
Wise +0
Charming +2
Fierce -1
Speaker +0
(Talking to anything)
Childhood Key: Key of the Twice Shy: You’ve learned
to avoid blame, but reflexively avoid credit as well. Gain +1 XP when you can pin
your success on someone else. Gain +3 XP when they readily take full credit. Buyoff:
Exclaim your own awesomeness.
Adult Key: Key of the Procrastinator: Gain +1 XP
when you’re able to successfully delay a due date for yourself. Gain +3 XP when you manage to finish something
major after the last minute after putting it off. Buyoff: Get something done
well in advance.
Move: Tempest in a Teapot: When you ask a tool
or weapon to create problems, ROLL…
10+ It does so, creating and effect and causing Harm if you wish
it to.
7-9 It does so, but causes damage to or problems for an ally
or yourself.
Skill: Musician: You can coax a tune out of most
instruments. But you only gain a +1 when you’re not trying to play a set piece or
established song.
Stuff: The Unspent Quarter: You have a quarter
that always returns to you at sunset.
Story
The only time Nadja got noticed in her family was when something
went wrong. Then, it felt to her, she’d be the scapegoat, regardless what had happened.
Even good stuff usually got turned around on her by parents who seemed to relish
laying verbal traps for her. In Summertithe, no one expected anything of her. She
could laze about and just talk and dream. That’s how she learned the secrets which
stopped the Helperman taking the younglings away to the Work-School. Nadja’s kept
that detachment in her adult life, cutting corners and gliding by as best she can.
Even when she’s inspired, she tries to hide it.
NAME: Cole Winters
REALM: Galloping Gulch
ADULTING: Safety Inspector
Tough +1
Swift -1
Clever +0
Wise +1
Charming +0
Fierce +2
Sheriff +0 (Keeping
things orderly, enforcing the rules)
Childhood Key: Key of the Right Way: Things have
rules. People are supposed to stick to the rules. That’s how things should work.
Gain +1 XP when you try to correct someone’s violation of a rule. Gain +3 XP when
your complaints change the person’s action or decision. Buyoff: Let the breaking
of rules go by unremarked.
Adult Key: Key of the Skeptic: Gain +1 XP when
you find an alternate explanation for a fantastical event. Gain +3 XP when your
unwillingness to accept the strange keeps you from progress or success. Buyoff:
Finally acknowledge the reality of the Realm.
Stuff: Catch: Do +2 Harm when striking someone
who has broken a promise to you or your allies.
Critical Move: Tin Star: When you Act to avoid
danger or Harm and roll a 12+, you may protect a group of others (like nearby innocents
or your group).
Stuff: Loophole: Tell the GM when you want to spot
a loophole, gap or weakness. They will offer you one, though not necessarily related
to the immediate problem. Once a session.
Story
Cole grew up in a household with two busy and ambitious parents.
They worked hard at their jobs and badly juggled obligations and promises. That
only worsened when they divorced. In Galloping Gulch, Cole enforced the rules and
kept the peace. He learned how to use those to put down the Rampagers and Backgivers.
In the Gulch everything had its place, and you just had to figure out their codes
to keep them in line. It was a forced therapy session that taught Cole the Gulch
wasn’t real, couldn’t be real. The world didn’t work that way. Eventually he bought
into those rules and forgot his experience there.
NAME: Michael Gyo
REALM: The Last Tower
ADULTING: Call Center Rep
Tough -1
Swift +0
Clever +2
Wise +1
Charming +1
Fierce +0
Wizarding +0
(Magic spells and conjurings!)
Childhood Key: Key of Keepsakes: You like to hang
on to mementos. Gain 1 XP when you find and pocket a significant object. Gain 3
XP when you tell a story about one of your collectibles that connects to the moment.
Buyoff: Dump out your pockets in the trash.
Adult Key: Key of Lies: You’re a habitual liar,
not necessarily about big stuff. Gain 1 XP when you tell a lie when you don’t have
to. Gain 3 XP when one of your lies creates a major problem. Buyoff: Tell
the truth to someone you’ve lied to for years.
Move: Magic Tricks: When you attempt to use simple
magic to entertain or distract, ROLL…
10+ You succeed and you may add something to the scene: conceal
a small object, change something’s color, unstitch threads, etc.
7-9 You succeed, but something’s
goes wrong shortly: chair breaks, milk sours, pages catch fire.
Stuff: Bryzantimus the Rat: You have a small and
exasperated rat familiar. He can scout out ahead for you, lift tiny objects, and
criticize your decisions.
Stuff: Fan Fiction Followers: You have a gaggle
of people who keep up with your posts about “The Last Tower,” which you loosely
position as fan-fiction for a popular YA series. You can use them for aid or information
in the real world.
Story
Michael started lying early. He had to. He couldn’t tell his
parents about the Last Tower, about how they taught him to be a wizard, about how
he excelled there. He never excelled in regular school, much to his parent’s disappointment.
Michael burned through every excuse covering for his travels and adventures. All
of that stuck with him later, sitting at his mindless 9-5 job. He began to write
up tales of what he’d seen. But he buried them by attaching them to the coattails
of more famous worlds. His gift for imaginative lying served him well and garnered
him an audience. But he even lies about that success still, hiding that from his
well-out-of-his-league girlfriend for fear of losing her.
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