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Houses of the Blooded: Play Dirty

I’m including Play Dirty sidebars in the GM chapter. I’m also following Machiavelli’s advice: I’m not using any abstract, theoretical or hypothetical examples. All my examples are real experiences. Here’s a taste of what I mean.

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Munchkin to Storyteller in 60 Seconds

It’s easy to categorize players as “munchkins,” “actors,” or “rules lawyers,” but that misses the point. There’s a reason gamers act the way they do. I find, most of the time, that reason is as simple as “I want my shtick to work.” Let me show you what I mean.

Earlier, I mentioned my buddy Vach. In every game, he always wants to play something completely outside of genre. What I didn’t mention was that Vach is also one of the world’s best munchkins. He can tweak any system beyond its limits, almost breaking it. He completely exploits rules. Completely. So, one day, I sat down with him and asked him why. What I found out during the conversation made sense.

Vach wants his character to be distinct. He doesn’t want to be “just another Bear” or “just another Wolf.” He wants his character to stand out, to have his own voice, to be something unique. As for the munchkin stuff, Vach also wants his character to work. What I mean is, if his character is supposed to be stealthy, he wants to sneak across a crowded room without anyone knowing he’s there. Even if he rolls like crap, he still wants his stealth to work at least a little bit. After all, if he’s the greatest thief in all Shanri, shouldn’t he be able to get some level of success from even an abysmal failure?

I agree with Vach on both points. Players should feel their characters are unique. After all, we’re talking about protagonists from ven opera and pillowbooks. They should have a distinct voice and flavor all their own. At the same time, I also agree with him on the other point. If he’s the greatest thief in all Shanri, he should get some level of success, even if he fails.

This conversation with Vach inspired much of the system you see in this book. Even if you fail, you’ve always got one wager to play with.

So, here’s my solution for Vach.

Dude, I know you want to play a distinct character, so I recommend you play a servant who’s been secretly Blooded by his liege. That’ll probably be a player from the group, or if you like, I’ll play him as an NPC. As a servant, you’ll stand out. You won’t be like the other characters and you’ll have opportunities the other characters don’t have. And, like we talked about, you’ll also have unique challenges. I also recommend you get yourself a really high Cunning and Wisdom. Possibly Strength as well. You could also go for the no Wisdom option. After all, you are a peasant, but you can make up for your lack of Wisdom with Aspects like “I Never Forget a Face” or “Quick Learner.”

You can also play a Mountain Man: one of the ven who has gone native, joined the orks, and embraced their culture. (Orks have culture? Damn your tongue for such blasphemy!) Again, you’ll have unique circumstances on your side, making your character distinct, and at the same time, you’ll have access to benefits the others do not.

Finally, remember that your unique circumstance also puts you at a serious disadvantage. Whatever kind of outsider you choose to play will put you on what Sun Tzu called “serious ground.” You’ll always be at a disadvantage, always be treated as an inferior, always get spit on—even if it’s behind your back. I know you like this kind of challenge, but I wanted you to know it is there.

I won’t use it to piss you off, but I will use it to make stories.

I won’t use this as an excuse to be a jerk, but the ven will.

What a player does and why a player does it are two different things. Go beyond the cliche. Find the motivation. 

Just a few questions turned Vach from a “munchkin gamer” to a “storyteller.” It all rests in the motivation.

(Sorry, Shel.)

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The Mist

Two movies in a row with un-Hollywood endings. This one comes in the form of a sledgehammer.

I loved this movie, and I don’t know if I can reccommend it.

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Houses of the Blooded: NPCs and Style Points

Prelude
I’ve been struggling with this for a long time.

In all the games I run, there’s usually a reward mechanic. Void Points, Drama Dice, Trouble. And now, with Houses, we have style points. The GM rewarding the players for throwing themselves into the game, for helping other players’ enjoyment, for being Good People. Throw them a point. A game bonus. Just give it to them.

And in all the games I run, there’s always that moment when everything goes right and the players gasp and the whole game stops because of some little twist I threw in. Some little surprise I’d been savoring. Something that knocks the players off their feet. And someone says, “Give John a style point!”

Unfortunately, that mechanic doesn’t really work. You see, giving the GM a point… it just doesn’t go anywhere. They don’t want to give me points because I’ll just use those points against them in some way. It isn’t so much rewarding me as punishing them.

So, when I started writing Houses, I had a lot of goals. One of those goals was this: “Have a mechanic that encourages the players to reward the GM.”

Listening to the second Sons of Kryos playtest .mp3… and I found it. I finally fucking found it.

NPCs in Houses of the Blooded (and pretty much every roleplaying game) are like ghosts. They exist for a short while, then disappear. They touch the world, then vanish. Like trained monkeys, they do their little trick, make everyone laugh, then go back to the cage and everyone moves along, forgetting about them.

I don’t want you to forget about my NPCs. I want the names of my NPCs burned on your brain. At least one of my NPCs is so hated, the players have vowed to kill him whenever they see him. Forget the consequences. Forget the costs. Just kill the bastard. Kill him so hard, the world hurts when it thinks about him. Likewise, there are NPCs the players absolutely adore. They would kill or die to protect them.

I work hard to make my NPCs as real–sometimes more real–than the players’ characters. I work damn hard at it. And now I have a mechanic that lets the players help me out.

Whenever a player ends a scene with an NPC, and the player finds he really likes the NPC, he can give the NPC a style point. (Which is really giving the GM a style point via proxy.) The NPC can then use the style point just like a player character. Most importantly, he can deny compels, veto wagers, and otherwise protect himself from player machinations.

The more style points the players invest in an NPC, the more real the NPC becomes. The more he can tell the players, “No, I’m not falling for your plots,” or “Yes, I will spend a style point to say something is true in your favor.” The NPCs truly become the avatars of the GM. Anything the players can do, the GM can do… through the NPCs the players invest in.

Official rules later.

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Wicked Heroes: Character Creation

Okay, cut text for all those not interested. But here’s what I’ve been working on while I took a quick writing break from Houses. (I needed it. 150,000 words for Eris’ sake).

Preparation

Get a deck of cards. Then, get sheets and write down the following questions:

·        Who am I?

·        When did I Awaken?

·        What is My Gift?

·        What is My Curse?

·        What is My Motivation?

Who am I?

Think of a normal, everyday person. Someone walking the streets. A cop. A lawyer. A sanitation engineer. A college student. A little boy. A stay at home mom. Someone who has no idea who they are. Who they truly are. Write that down on your character sheet.

When did I Awaken?

The Gift and Curse are only awakened when you come into contact with another Child of the Mirror. Think of when that happened. Write that down on your character sheet.

What is My Gift?

Now, draw a card. Any card. Pull a card and leave it out of the deck. Then, pass it on to the other players, each drawing one card. Keep your draws out of the deck. This way, no-one will have the same draw. Every player draws until every player has one card. Then, look at the chart below to determine your Gift. Then, put all the cards back.

What is My Curse?

Now, draw a card. Any card. This determines your Curse. Pull a card and leave it out of the deck. Then, pass it on to the other players, each drawing one card. Just like above. Look at the chart for Curses and determine your Curse. Then, put all the cards back.

What is My Motivation?

Choose a single word or phrase that expresses what motivates you most. “Revenge,” “Love of my children,” “Justice,” “Protect the innocent.” Just one.

Gifts

Whenever you invoke a Gift, your character’s eyes turn pitch black. All those around him feel wrong. Sick. Like someone just walked over their grave.

3D Senses

You have a kind of three-dimensional sense that allows you to know everything that’s around you. Like a radar, three hundred and sixty degrees. All the time. No-one can surprise you.

Ageless

You do not age. There’s really no telling how old you are. Characters with this Gift are usually quite old and may have two more “Who Are You?” answers on their sheet. You do not have any extra healing abilities, just the Gift that you never age.

Animal Speak

You can speak with any animal that is capable of verbal speech. Cats, dogs, birds, monkeys, whatever. If it has vocal cords, you can talk to it.

Breaker

You can sense the weakest point in any object or person. That bad knee. The loose joint. You know where things break.

Brilliant

Your mind is always active, always aware, always thinking. Always two steps ahead. You gain one automatic slammer for any risk and you can always use your slammers first.

Chance

Luck is on your side. Always draw one additional card for any risk.

Charisma

People just like you. Exert this Gift to make any other character agree with you.

Claws

Your fingernails can rip through flesh and bone. Not metal.

Clone

You can create a duplicate of yourself. A walking, talking duplicate. Be warned. Your duplicate may have its own agendas. You can also dispel your duplicate at will.

Cold

You can freeze any object large enough for you to hold with one hand. It must be within your line of sight. It instantly freezes to 150 degrees below zero.

Darkness

With a moment of concentration, you summon an inky black cloud that surrounds you and fills up the room. No-one can see through it but you.

Density

You can change your molecular density at will. You may turn yourself incredibly heavy or completely intangible, passing through objects. You cannot turn parts of yourself heavy or intangible. All or nothing.

Disintegration

You can completely destroy any object you can touch. You may only destroy inanimate objects. For objects you can hold in your hands, the disintegration is immediate. You cannot disintegrate larger objects, but you can make holes in them, burning your hands through.

Electric

You store electricity and can release it at will. You can only release electricity through touch—you cannot “throw bolts”—but, for example, you can put your hand in water and release a large enough electrical charge to fry skulls.

Empathy

You can sense the emotions of individuals and of small groups. You can also push those emotions in a direction of your pleasing. You cannot alter thoughts or memories, but you can make people happy, angry, depressed, terrified, etc.

Finder

Name a thing. Any thing. You can find it. You know the most direct route to find it. Even if that thing is “money,” or “gold” or “my ex-girlfriend.” You know exactly where it is.

Fire-Starter

You can create fires with sheer will. manipulate fire. Fire also has no affect on you.

Flash

You can create a large flash of blinding light. Any looking at you are stunned for at least ten seconds.

Flight

That’s right. Go on. Jump off the building. You can fly. You can’t break the speed of sound, but you can fly.

Force Field

You can generate a force field around yourself, keeping out all physical objects. Unfortunately, this also means oxygen. You can only maintain the field as long as you don’t need to breathe.

Forget

You can make others forget up to 24 hours of their lives. Even a single moment. Even an entire day.

Guardian

Your power assists others, giving them healing and hope. While in your presence, others may not be affected by any Gifts that steal or rob or injure another. You are still vulnerable to such attacks, but put your hand on someone else, and they are not.

Healer

You heal from all injuries except from a single source of injury. Fire, electricity, etc. You pick. And don’t pick something like “sand from Venus.” Nobody likes playing with that guy. Except the Venusian beach volleyball team. Go play with them.

Heightened Senses

You can hear, taste, smell, feel and see better than most every creature on Earth. You can even determine fine details. Singular scents, identifying ingredients in foods, etc.

Illusionist

You can change the appearance of one thing—including yourself. You cannot change its size or weight, but you can fool someone into thinking it is something it is not, just as long as the two things are similar enough.

Invisible

You can turn invisible. Unfortunately, while invisible, you also cannot see. While invisible, anything you carry with you is also invisible. Your clothes, your purse, a gun. Not a person.

Iron Will

You can resist any Blessing that forces you to act against your will. You are also immune to the effects of mind-altering drugs and anything else that may inhibit your will. Including fear.

Machine Speak

You can talk to any machine that requires memory.

Magnetism

You can attract and repel items made of metal. Even crush them if you spend enough time and effort.

Memory

You never forget a face. In fact, you never forget anything. In fact, you don’t even need to memorize. Anything you see, you automatically remember.

Mimic

You can mimic any physical action you see with perfect ease and grace.

Mind Weapon

You may kill with your mind. A single thought (“Die!”) will cause another to drop dead for no apparent reason.

Mind-Reader

You can pick up on the thoughts of others. All you need to do is get within touching distance and you can read their mind.

Null

No Blessing works while in your presence. As long as you can see them, their Blessing doesn’t work.

Plant Speak

You can communicate with any living plant. You cannot speak to individual fruit or vegetables—like the apple on the counter; that’s dead—but you can talk to apple trees.

Premonition

You receive flashes of insight before dangerous or opportune moments occur. Whenever something of that description happens, you may play a face card from your hand to describe exactly where you were a moment before it happened. You can play another face card to act before the moment occurs, but you cannot stop, halt, or hinder the action.

Projection

You can project your mind outside of your body. Your projected form experiences the world normally, but your body appears to be asleep. Your body will not move unless your spirit returns. If your body is injured, you immediately return to it.

Pusher

You can look another character in the eye and make a single demand that they must follow, regardless of their own safety or the safety of others.

Seductive

Turn it on and they turn on. Anyone. They just can’t resist.

Shut Down

If you touch it, it stops. A computer. A car. A human heart. It just turns off.

Speed

You are fast. No, faster than that. You move so fast, people don’t see you move. You do leave behind tell-tale signs of movement, however, including swishing papers, dust trails, a burst of wind, etc.

Strength

How strong are you? You can pick up a car. That strong. You can break bones in your grip, bend steel bars, punch through concrete. You’re that strong.

Telekinesis

You can manipulate small objects with your mind. The objects must be small enough to find in one hand. You must also be able to see the object. You can’t manipulate something you can’t see. The objects move at the rate you wish; you can “throw” objects if you like.

Three Steps

Close your eyes, hold your breath, and take three steps. You are now anywhere else in the world, just as long as you’ve been there before. In order to use your power, you must be able to hold your breath and take three steps.

Tough

You don’t feel pain. Not an ounce of it. You still get injured, you just don’t feel pain.

Transmutation

You can turn any basic element into any other basic element. Just consult the element table. Lead to gold? Check. Silver to mercury? Check. Oxygen to Co2? No. Co2 is a compound element. No luck there. But you can change oxygen to mercury.

Vampire

You suck the life out of others. Just touch them and watch their energies fade. They turn into withered corpses. Nothing left. Takes only ten seconds.

Aces

If you draw an Ace, have a Gift but no Curse.

Jokers

Put this card aside and draw two more cards. You have two Gifts. You’ve murdered for one of them.

Curses

Whenever you confront your Curse, your eyes turn blood red. Everyone around you feels cold. Frightened. A knife along the throat.

Any player can drop a card to invoke your Curse. He must drop the correct suit. You must obey your Curse. You have no choice. The only way to dismiss your Curse is following its course to the inevitable end.

The four Curses are: Hate (clubs), Lust (hearts), Greed (diamonds), and Fear (spades).

You must destroy what you Hate. If you see it, it must be destroyed. Killed. Murdered. Obliterated.

You must submit to what you Lust. You must acquiesce to its wants. You must appease it. You must win its favor.

You must satisfy your Greed. If you want it, you must take it. Make it your own.

You must run from what you Fear. It will destroy you. Once and for all.

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Wicked Heroes: Children of the Mirror

[info]oshiah

 watches Heroes. I don’t. I don’t need to. He tells me all about it on the way in to work every Tuesday morning. And while I don’t watch the show, it still makes me pine for the days of running my Champions campaign.

And then, just the other day, I had this thought. A supers game.

Wicked Heroes

In 1724, an obsidian mirror, discovered in the distant lands of South America, was brought back to Spain. The captain of the ship went mad, the mirror went missing, but the seed had already been planted. 

A seed of wickedness and evil. 

The sorcery did not sleep. Over the next century, it crept into the womb of the world, infecting the innocent. Granting gifts both blessed and cursed. 

Now, the children of the mirror walk our streets. Their secrets are not our own. The sorcery in their blood marks them. Makes them beautiful. Makes them dangerous. Makes them better than us. 

Gifts and Curses. Those who fly. Those who can change. Those who can see. Each is given a single Gift. And a Curse. Those who become infected with the sorcery of the black mirror pass these Gifts and Curses on to their offspring. 

We know the inheritors of this legacy. Their names ring in our memories. And as the mirror changes hands, almost by a will of its own, new generations are born, bearing the mark. 

Each born with one Blessing, one Curse. But if one kills the other, he steals her Blessing, adding it to his own, replacing his Curse with hers. 

They are faster than us. They are stronger than us. They are better than us. 

Children of the Mirror. Blessed and Damned.
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Wicked Heroes: Children of the Mirror is a horror superhero roleplaying game. You can play it in any setting from 1724 to current day, any part of the world. 

In the game, you play a human who has been tainted by the obsidian mirror, a deeply sorcerous artifact that grants superhuman abilities. You have one Gift and one Curse from the mirror. You may be able to fly, read minds, move objects with your will, speak to plants, summon fire, or any other number of abilities. But you have one. Just one. 

You also have a Curse. A single defect that others can exploit. It may be color blindness, a lack of the sense of smell, a phobia, or a relentless passion for sex. But you have one. Just one. 

There are others who have been touched by the mirror. They also have a single Gift and a single Curse. But then there are others with multiple Gifts. And they gained those Gifts through murder. 

Kill one of your Cousins and you take his Gift… and his Curse. Add his Gift to your own, but replace your Curse with his. 

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They Call Me The Workin’ Man

I volunteered to work Thanksgiving and the Day After this year. 6-3 on Thanksgiving, 6-6 on the Day After.

Reasons?

The days are usually very slow, so I’ll get a lot of work done on the Houses edits.

Also, Perot pays double time and a half for working holidays.

*sings*
I guess that’s what I am.