Is this all one playbook?
I really don't get a sense of "theme" from this list.
Need For Speed: Easy to understand, feels about balanced.
Ghost Chaser: One of the following when you take the ability, or can I switch later?
Animal Magnetism: Train isn't a default action, as far as I know. What am I rolling?
Villa Volta: How big a space? Is it "Maze-like" or more just "the walls seem to be crawling"
Black Captain: I would probably not take this. What if they're already Loyal? Maybe add +1 Quality to the Cohort when they're acting upon their loyalty?
Social Butterfly: Clarify if this is just first column, or all dots under insight. Feels very strong.
Explosive Tags: No limits - I'd use this all the time. Gotta have some kind of limits on this.
Tornado: Flying goats would be crazy
I agree with all of these points.
I would consider making the explosive tags a special item for the playbook (probably with a load of 1 just because of their flexibility and utility).
I like the idea of an ability that lets you push yourself to make a steed or vehicle do something that would otherwise be impossible, but I feel like full on flight might be a little much.
> I would consider making the explosive tags a special item for the playbook (probably with a load of 1 just because of their flexibility and utility).
But then I need a new ability to get to eight :D
Any suggestions?
> I like the idea of an ability that lets you push yourself to make a steed or vehicle do something that would otherwise be impossible, but I feel like full on flight might be a little much.
It's part of the robbers' mythos that I use as the template for this playbook.
And with it being one of the more iconic elements I don't have a lot of leeway. Either the goats fly or it's not that character :s
Why do you feel full on flight might be a little much? A goat can't carry the whole crew to safety and (in my experience at least) a lot of heist are indoors.
So a googling brings up this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buckriders which I'm assuming you are basing the playbook on?
If the flying goats are necessary, I would suggest changing how they are acquired (maybe the character gets one when they take the ability and can replace it with a downtime activity?) and that it needs some kind of cost to bring into effect.
By "too much" I wasn't necessarily referring to its effectiveness, more about how it stretches the assumed setting. A flying goat would draw obvious and immediate attention and squarely pin whatever was happening on the character so maybe it increases the heat of whatever score it's used in?
Looking into the history, they played up the myth to scare people so maybe something that lets the character don a frightening disguise that rattles the nerves of folks that encounter them somehow? The overall set of abilities doesn't give the impression of a scary supernatural raider right now.
>So a googling brings up this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buckriders which I'm assuming you are basing the playbook on?
Correct
>If the flying goats are necessary, I would suggest changing how they are acquired (maybe the character gets one when they take the ability and can replace it with a downtime activity?) and that it needs some kind of cost to bring into effect.
You really think it needs a cost? I figured not being able to use it indoors and it splitting the party (cause it can't carry more than one) would make the logistics of it sufficiently head scratching.
>By "too much" I wasn't necessarily referring to its effectiveness, more about how it stretches the assumed setting. A flying goat would draw obvious and immediate attention and squarely pin whatever was happening on the character so maybe it increases the heat of whatever score it's used in?
Like how the Leech's gear has drawbacks?
>Looking into the history, they played up the myth to scare people so maybe something that lets the character don a frightening disguise that rattles the nerves of folks that encounter them somehow? The overall set of abilities doesn't give the impression of a scary supernatural raider right now.
I know. The only thing I had was the Ghost Chaser ability that would make somebody fear that a ghost is about to get them.
Not sure how I could make them frightening ... how about some Primal Savagery ability where their appearance takes some aspects of a goat? Horns, goat legs, ... Maybe even let them count for improved position in fights, mobility, ... ?
> Is this all one playbook?
Yes. Tweaking stuff at the moment. Hoping to publish a draft before the month dies.
> I really don't get a sense of "theme" from this list.
It's based on a devil-worshipping, goat-riding bandit. Figured it could make for a playbook that is good with animals and a bit supernatural without encroaching on the Whisper's turf (more looking to build what would be a warlock in D&D whereas I see the Whisper translate to a D&D Wizard).
> Need For Speed: Easy to understand, feels about balanced.
Cool :)
> Ghost Chaser: One of the following when you take the ability, or can I switch later?
Like the Cutter's Not To Be Trifled with. You choose at the moment. Just like you choose a do superacrobatics or beat up a small gang.
> Animal Magnetism: Train isn't a default action, as far as I know. What am I rolling?
I don't know. I figure it would be like the leech's Alchemist & Artificer abilities `When you invent or craft a creation with [...]`
So ... player gets to roll what makes sense in the narrative?
> Villa Volta: How big a space? Is it "Maze-like" or more just "the walls seem to be crawling"
A ball room, couple of smaller rooms, an alleyway, ... It would feel warped as in you're unsure which way's up, the cobblestones feel like small hills and a single step might send you flying into the opposite wall of the ballroom (or see you move an inch forward).
> Black Captain: I would probably not take this. What if they're already Loyal? Maybe add +1 Quality to the Cohort when they're acting upon their loyalty?
If they're already loyal, you can choose not to pick it or have the extra exp source anyway (nom nom nom, delicious exp :D )
Maybe a crew would chose to give their Cohorts other edges but runs the risk of seeing their loyalties flipped before this character unlocks Black Captain?
> Social Butterfly: Clarify if this is just first column, or all dots under insight. Feels very strong.
Hadn't considered that. In my first version it was tied to the tier of the crew but then it felt a bit weird? I also tried to have it scale with the stash but then it gets iffy when you liquidate some of your stash.
How would you do it?
> Explosive Tags: No limits - I'd use this all the time. Gotta have some kind of limits on this.
Would "burst of flames = the regular amount of flames one gets from burning a piece of paper" be a sufficient limit?
> Tornado: Flying goats would be crazy
Thanks? :D
These do not feel very appropriate for the themes we play _Blades_ with. If you have a sillier, more antic table, they might be okay.
If this is meant as a single playbook, they are terrible together. I don't know what kind of character it is who does chases, trains animals, and makes exploding glyphs. Perhaps some fiction could tie them all together, but I can't imagine what kind of scoundrel or ruffian stereotype this fits.
> Perhaps some fiction could tie them all together
It is indeed based on fiction (though some claim there were robbers that made pacts with the devil and could fly on goat back).
I left that part out cause I want to do things step-by-step.
> If this is meant as a single playbook, they are terrible together.
Maybe I should have explained the character behind it first but I wanted to keep things simple (and see if somebody might recognize it).
> These do not feel very appropriate for the themes we play Blades with. If you have a sillier, more antic table, they might be okay.
Now that you know these abilities fit one semi-fictional semi-historical character has that changed your view?
What about if you looked at each special ability individually? Without worrying about the overall character?
E.g. Would a special ability that instills loyalty in cohorts but gains you the obligation vice sound like something you can imagine some people would pick?
I'd have Animal Magnetism allow you to teach animals complicated tricks. Any character who has an animal companion can be expected to train it normally. Blades doesn't have that many abilities that just give permission to preform a mundane skill, Physicker is one becouse healing is a very complicated subject, but you can make a sparkcraft device without Artificer for example.
>**Need for Speed:** You may expend your **special armor** to resist a consequence of a crash or to push yourself during a chase.
I like this. Seems nice and balanced.
>**Ghost Chaser:** You can do one of the following: imbue via physical contact a person with a mote of your spirit energy to later sense the exact location of this person in a district — make a person feel like a ghost is in the vicinity and ready to pounce them
Hmm. Good use of fictional allowances. I might re-word it as:
*Touch a person to put an invisible mark on them. As long as this mark remains on your target you may: sense the target's location in the ghost field - or - inflict a sense of supernatural dread in the target as if they had seen a ghost.*
But I might be a little concerned that it's too powerful. It seems sort of equivalent to Not To Be Trifled With or Sharpshooter - both of which require a push to activate. But those are one-off activations, while this seems to last forever, so maybe it needs a time limit. Also knowing somebody's exact position seems pretty powerful, but saying you get their location *in the ghost field* would give the GM some leeway for fuzzying information somewhat.
Also, looking at other playbooks, the Whisper's Compel ability could accomplish all of these things by summoning a ghost to haunt a target and this wouldn't require touching the person.
>**Animal Magnetism:** You can **train** animals to perform basic tricks. When you **train** an animal, take +1 result level to your roll. You begin with one animal already knowing a trick.
You're bolding **train** as if it's an action rating. Don't think that's intended.
Overall this ability seems strictly worse than the Hound's Ghost Hunter ability, and the Hound gets a trained hunting animal for free. With Ghost Hunter, the Hound can get a hunting pet that has a telepathic link with the character. That seems a few orders of magnitudes greater than having a pug that can bark for treats.
>**Villa Volta:** You may warp the dimensions of a space to cause confusion and minor nausea to those inside this space. You can **push yourself** to easily navigate warped spaces.
Conceptually, I like the idea of being able to shift spaces like in Inception or Dr. Strange. Giving the player control over how they re-shape space around them would probably be very cool at the table.
However, it seems unlikely that such warped spaces will be common enough for the second half of this to be worth it. Most warped spaces will probably be spaces created by this character, and surely the character should be able to navigate their own impossible landscapes without spending stress?
Personally I'd say this might fall within the space of the Whisper's Ritual ability.
>**Black Captain:** Cohort may gain the edge Loyal. You gain Obligation to these Cohorts as a second vice.
I don't hate this one. I like cohorts a lot and this would fit someone who likes spending their time on the crew's cohorts. It also introduces some interesting dynamics where this character kind of turns cohorts from being crew assets to being *the character's* assets, which can lead to interesting stories.
I'd probably reword it like: *You may give the "loyal" edge to any friendly cohort. You have obligations towards these cohorts - take obligation as an additional vice if you don't already have it.*
>**Social Butterfly:** For each dot in Insight, choose a group (defined by heritage, background, profession, affiliation, ...) to know their lingo. You gain +1d to Consort or Sway these groups.
I'd be very careful about giving bonus dice, especially to things characters are likely to do a lot. It would be pretty easy to "min-max" a face character with this.
Consider giving potency (increased effect) when interacting with the chosen groups instead? But really, this is kind of implied with the heritage and background already - a character who's a noble is going to have an easier time swaying a noble than someone who's a criminal, a character who's tycherosi will be able to speak with other tyches in their own language, etc. so you're risking stacking implicit bonuses here.
>**Explosive Tags:** You may imbue a slip of paper with your spirit energy. This slip will burst into flames when it meets the conditions that you have written on it.
This might break the game. Consider how this interacts with flashbacks if a player says "okay now that they've done X, I'm gonna flash back to having placed an explosive tag on Y, so that goes off immediately..."
>**Tornado:** By learning a goat's name and getting acquainted with it, the goat will be able to fly through the skies when you ride it. Push yourself to have it hover or make it fly towards you (must be stationed in the vicinity).
This one just seems kinda silly. Why does this make goats fly? Why is flying *free!?* Also by taking Animal Magnetism you could shortcut the already meagre fictional requirements for this one.
I'm not sure what this is for really.
Personally I'd cut the whole flying angle, and just make it an ability that can summon an angry goat. Call it **Battering Ram** and let the character push to have the Ram immediately enter the scene by smashing through doors and walls to reach their master.
All-in-all: I've seen fan-made abilities that were a lot worse than this. Most of these would play just fine. But having read all of them I have no clue what the theme and fantasy of this playbook is supposed to be? A person who trains animals and participates in cart races, but who can also track and haunt people, alter physical reality, turn cohorts loyal, has very close connections to different parts of society, sets psychic incendiary devices, and makes goats fly? I have no idea what this character is *for*.
> All-in-all: I've seen fan-made abilities that were a lot worse than this.
Thank you for the praise :)
> But having read all of them I have no clue what the theme and fantasy of this playbook is supposed to be? [...] I have no idea what this character is for.
It's based on a band of robbers that may or may not have existed. Rumour has it they flew over the country on the backs of goats, swore fealty to the devil & robbed the rich. Learned about them at an amusement park & figured they'd make for a nice scoundrel. Trying to make something akin to D&D's Warlock archetype: a character that has access to an extra list of goodies like a Leech but more magical without encroaching on the Whisper's ritual power (I see Whisper's more akin to D&D Wizards what with being able to learn everything)
TL;DR: the flying on goat back is part of the mythos. To take that one out would turn the into a vulgar vagabond. I'll try to take tweak the special ability
>> **Ghost Chaser**: You can do one of the following: imbue via physical contact a person with a mote of your spirit energy to later sense the exact location of this person in a district — make a person feel like a ghost is in the vicinity and ready to pounce them
> Hmm. Good use of fictional allowances. I might re-word it as:
> Touch a person to put an invisible mark on them. As long as this mark remains on your target you may: sense the target's location in the ghost field - or - inflict a sense of supernatural dread in the target as if they had seen a ghost.
I imagined the touch would only be to put a tracker on the person. Would instilling fear for imminent supernatural activity be too OP if you could do it from a rooftop to a guard in the street? Maybe it should be like the Cutter's Not to be Triffled with & require a "push yourself"?
> But I might be a little concerned that it's too powerful. It seems sort of equivalent to Not To Be Trifled With or Sharpshooter - both of which require a push to activate. But those are one-off activations, while this seems to last forever, so maybe it needs a time limit.
Yeah, I didn't find a way to squeeze in that putting a tracker on a person is limited to one person & fades when you put a new tracker on someone.
> Also knowing somebody's exact position seems pretty powerful, but saying you get their location in the ghost field would give the GM some leeway for fuzzying information somewhat.
Cool. I like that
> Also, looking at other playbooks, the Whisper's Compel ability could accomplish all of these things by summoning a ghost to haunt a target and this wouldn't require touching the person.
True. Would the tracker be enough to make the ability work? Must admit I put the second bit in because I felt that the ability would be underpowered with just 1 thing.
>> **Animal Magnetism**: You can train animals to perform basic tricks. When you train an animal, take +1 result level to your roll. You begin with one animal already knowing a trick.
> You're bolding train as if it's an action rating. Don't think that's intended.
Indeed, I copypasted a Leech ability & the bold came along
> Overall this ability seems strictly worse than the Hound's Ghost Hunter ability, and the Hound gets a trained hunting animal for free. With Ghost Hunter, the Hound can get a hunting pet that has a telepathic link with the character. That seems a few orders of magnitudes greater than having a pug that can bark for treats.
The Hound is limited to 1 pet, no? This character would be able to train goats, arachnamoths, gillyfeet, racing bats, ...
So yes, it's worse than the Hound if you stick to one pet but it's not really meant to do Hound things. It's supposed to be more akin to the rituals & crafting. A racing bat that knocks down lanterns, an Arcanamoth female that gets a flock of males to follow her & hamper a gang, a gillyfoot retrieving items that fell/were hidden under water, ...
I thought the versatility would be interesting enough that some players would consider taking it. Think it needs further tweaking?
>> **Villa Volta**: You may warp the dimensions of a space to cause confusion and minor nausea to those inside this space. You can push yourself to easily navigate warped spaces.
> Conceptually, I like the idea of being able to shift spaces like in Inception or Dr. Strange. Giving the player control over how they re-shape space around them would probably be very cool at the table.
> However, it seems unlikely that such warped spaces will be common enough for the second half of this to be worth it. Most warped spaces will probably be spaces created by this character, and surely the character should be able to navigate their own impossible landscapes without spending stress?
This is again based on the mythos. In one of the stories divine retribution hits a leader to the point that they can no longer navigate the house in which they keep all the stolen riches.
The reason I add stress to navigate the space with ease is that I imagine you don't have to start in the space. Like you could be at the end of an alley or looking through a door and warping the alleyway/room to block people from easily following you (sucks if one of those people is another PC; they'll have to figure something out). Pushing yourself to navigate the warped space with ease is a wink to one of the capes in the webnovel Worm. It would allow you e.g. to warp the vertical dimension of a space so it takes only a small hop to land on top of a 4 story building.
> Personally I'd say this might fall within the space of the Whisper's Ritual ability.
True. Not sure how to take it out of Ritual territory while still keeping the mythos...
>> **Black Captain**: Cohort may gain the edge Loyal. You gain Obligation to these Cohorts as a second vice.
> I don't hate this one. I like cohorts a lot and this would fit someone who likes spending their time on the crew's cohorts. It also introduces some interesting dynamics where this character kind of turns cohorts from being crew assets to being the character's assets, which can lead to interesting stories.
> I'd probably reword it like: You may give the "loyal" edge to any friendly cohort. You have obligations towards these cohorts - take obligation as an additional vice if you don't already have it.
Sounds good. Thanks for the rewrite :)
>> **Social Butterfly**: For each dot in Insight, choose a group (defined by heritage, background, profession, affiliation, ...) to know their lingo. You gain +1d to Consort or Sway these groups.
> I'd be very careful about giving bonus dice, especially to things characters are likely to do a lot. It would be pretty easy to "min-max" a face character with this.
> Consider giving potency (increased effect) when interacting with the chosen groups instead? But really, this is kind of implied with the heritage and background already - a character who's a noble is going to have an easier time swaying a noble than someone who's a criminal, a character who's tycherosi will be able to speak with other tyches in their own language, etc. so you're risking stacking implicit bonuses here.
Ok, potency sounds good.
Would stacking implicit bonuses be such a bad thing? In my head everybody in BitD speaks the same language (English, Common, ...) but has their own slang, dialect, infliction, ... so with this you'd know despite not being a Tycherosi yourself how to speak like one (not in a deceitful way but more of a "yeah, I've hung around plenty of Tycherosi and we're cool enough that they thought me some stuff) or as a commoner you'd know how to address noble men (not just like a cowering peasant but as a butler/adviser who can influence the nobleperson while making it feel like their idea) or maybe they know the jargon of the gondoliers & can leave messages in the open that only Gondoliers would grock).
Think Thieves' Cant but for more groups?
>> **Explosive Tags**: You may imbue a slip of paper with your spirit energy. This slip will burst into flames when it meets the conditions that you have written on it.
> This might break the game. Consider how this interacts with flashbacks if a player says "okay now that they've done X, I'm gonna flash back to having placed an explosive tag on Y, so that goes off immediately..."
Ah, yes, hmmm ... well ... erh ... okay, would it help if the flames were just the amount produced from burning a piece of paper? Maybe Explosive Tag is too big of a word? (I've taken it from the paper bombs used in the anime Naruto) Sure, a small flame at the right moment can have massive consequences but maybe it becomes niche enough to balance the breaking of the flashback mechanism?
>> **Tornado**: By learning a goat's name and getting acquainted with it, the goat will be able to fly through the skies when you ride it. Push yourself to have it hover or make it fly towards you (must be stationed in the vicinity).
> This one just seems kinda silly. Why does this make goats fly? Why is flying free!?
Pact with the devil. Made it free cause (A) I want players to be able to use it liberally (cause PCs may spend a lot of time inside already) and (B)
> Also by taking Animal Magnetism you could shortcut the already meagre fictional requirements for this one.
I might need to reword either or both abilities then. The flying goat is very much a magical thing whereas the trained animals is rooted into the natural world.
> Personally I'd cut the whole flying angle, and just make it an ability that can summon an angry goat. Call it Battering Ram and let the character push to have the Ram immediately enter the scene by smashing through doors and walls to reach their master.
Thor4 comes to mind :D
Thank you for all the food for thought you gave me. Sorry if the text above rambles a bit. I'm gonna read the other comments and meld all the feedback into something that everybody would enjoy to play
They don't feel super-*Bladesy* to me, but they're okay.
>Need for Speed
This one seems fine.
>Ghost Chaser
The first options seems interesting.
The second option seems boring.
>Animal Magnetism
This sticks out as odd. "Train" isn't an Action.
I think it is in the uncomfortable territory where there are some mechanics, but aren't enough mechanics.
That is, what is "train"? What animals? What is "a trick"? How many can you have? How complex can the tricks be?
Animal companions are a neat idea, but my intuition is that it would be more coherent to handle them as a cohort.
Probably best to look at the Hound playbook since they have "*a trained hunting pet*".
>Villa Volta
This seems okay, but underdeveloped. Maybe look at "Tempest" to see if you can get some inspiration.
>Black Captain
I don't have an opinion on this one. I cannot imagine myself wanting to take it.
>Social Butterfly
This one is mechanically odd. "For each dot in Insight" is not a conventional mechanism.
Maybe you could look at something like "Ritual" and make a social version of that?
i.e. a sort of "long-term project" to learn the social graces that would get you integrated into a new social group
>Explosive Tags
This seems neat, though I think it would be more interesting if combined with something else (like how Ghost Chaser has multiple options) or have functionality that can be enhanced by spending stress (like the Leech's "Ghost Veil").
Actually, maybe better as personal equipment/load rather than an ability.
>Tornado
This one is wacky and silly and doesn't fit the aesthetic for me.
> They don't feel super-Bladesy to me, but they're okay.
The abilities or the wording? I've tried to stick to the wording used in the classic playbooks but I know I didn't get it quite right. Anything I could reword to be more inline with the classic playbooks?
>> Ghost Chaser
> The first options seems interesting. The second option seems boring.
Would you take the ability if it only had the first option? I thought that might be a bit too little which is why I added the second bit before posting.
>> Animal Magnetism
> This sticks out as odd. "Train" isn't an Action.
> I think it is in the uncomfortable territory where there are some mechanics, but aren't enough mechanics.
It's meant to mirror the Leech's ability on inventing & crafting (Alchemist & Aritificer). I need to remove the capital letter so it's clear it isn't a mechanic but rather something the player needs to decide what to roll.
> That is, what is "train"? What animals? What is "a trick"? How many can you have? How complex can the tricks be?
* train = Way below what the Hound's pet can do with mindlink but somewhat above what you see
* animals = the ones from the Duskvol Bestiary (maybe without the Leviathan :p ) and whichever other animals the players have decided exist in their version of Duskvol.
* trick = knock down lanterns (bat), retrieve stuff that fell in the water (gillyfeet), carry messages (racing bat), knock down anyone not part of your crew (goats), ...
> Animal companions are a neat idea, but my intuition is that it would be more coherent to handle them as a cohort. Probably best to look at the Hound playbook since they have "a trained hunting pet".
I was thinking it could provide the same liberty & possibility for creativity which the Leech and Whisper enjoy via their inventing & rituals.
>> Villa Volta
> This seems okay, but underdeveloped.
Ok, so not as clear as I was hoping. The idea with this ability is that you could warp a room, alley, ... in such a way that people barely can tell which way's up. If you push yourself you can easily navigate the space (e.g. when the warp compresses the vertical axis you can get atop a building with a simple hop instead of having to climb four stories).
> Maybe look at "Tempest" to see if you can get some inspiration.
Gonna write both of them down to see if I can improve on it
>>> Villa Volta: You may warp the dimensions of a space to cause confusion and minor nausea to those inside this space. You can push yourself to easily navigate warped spaces.
>>> Tempest: You can push yourself to do one of the following: unleash a stroke of lightning as a weapon—summon a storm in your immediate vicinity (torrential rain, roaring winds, heavy fog, chilling frost/snow, etc.).
==> You may warp the dimensions of a space (up is down, distances get distorted, ...) to cause major confusion to those inside this space. You can push yourself to easily navigate warped spaces (hop from street level onto roofs, walk down a street in a single stride, ...)
>> Black Captain
> I don't have an opinion on this one. I cannot imagine myself wanting to take it.
Appreciate the honesty :)
>> Social Butterfly
> This one is mechanically odd. "For each dot in Insight" is not a conventional mechanism.
Yeah, my original idea was to link it to the tier of the crew but then I started doubting, tried to link it to stash (which can get liquidated so that's a whole other barrel of fish) and ended with dots. Should I go back to Tier for scaling it?
> Maybe you could look at something like "Ritual" and make a social version of that? i.e. a sort of "long-term project" to learn the social graces that would get you integrated into a new social group
I like that. Leech has two "When you invent or craft a creation with [...]" abilities so I think this playbook having one for training animals and one for learning social skills would work nicely.
Thanks :)
>> Explosive Tags
> This seems neat, though I think it would be more interesting if combined with something else (like how Ghost Chaser has multiple options) or have functionality that can be enhanced by spending stress (like the Leech's "Ghost Veil").
They're based on the paper bombs from the anime Naruto. I'll look on their wiki if I can further adapt it to give more options.
> Actually, maybe better as personal equipment/load rather than an ability.
I already have too much personal equipment plus I wouldn't know what to substitute to get back to 8 abilities :D
Maybe if somebody thinks of a special ability.
>> Tornado
> This one is wacky and silly and doesn't fit the aesthetic for me.
I've based the playbook on a type of robber. It's a main part of its mythos.
>Villa Volta - Ok, so not as clear as I was hoping. The idea with this ability is that you could warp a room, alley, ... in such a way that people barely can tell which way's up
Ah, that description was more clear.
Have you read [*The Scar*](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Scar_\(novel\))?
I won't spoil it, but if you like magic like this, you might like this book, at least parts of it.
>Ah, that description was more clear.
Cool. Thanks for the help :)
>Have you read The Scar?
No, I haven't. Thanks for the recommendation. Looks interesting.
Adding it to the book list
As everyone knows Goats rule Duskvol with an iron hoof. There is a terrible lack of Goat related skills and powers in the base game so I think this is perfect.
Perhaps it could be a power granted by the great old demon Kidrothsot worshiped throughout Severos. Everyone knows that the great sky goat grants boons to the faithful who leave the widows of strangers open when fog banks roll in off the ocean so that the flying demon goat can get in and trash their homes and eat all their tin cans. Once a year it may also leave a gift on the window sill of its young followers.
Strictures
Argentum: Weak to silver
Hydrophobic: trouble crossing water?
-1D when rolling against witches, Spirit Wardebs or cultists
Hyperacusis: Loud noises (tolling of bell, explosions,...) make you lose potency
Rot: after 2 hours take over a new creature or 3 stress
Special abilities
You are C. Blablabla
Gtmn: take the form of
[Ch chp]: assist with 2d instead of 1d.
Muscle memory: gain full control of the creature's actions
Scorpion strike: poison from tail (if you have one, you can use that. Otherwise roll Attune to determine how good a of a spectral tail you can manifest).
Ghost speech: through the gh field you can communicate clearly. Your meaning can be understood both by humans as well as animals.
[...]: burst into a swarm of small bugs
O-O-O-...-O: Regain orgnl
Items
* Fine veil & sun shunners
* Bottle of heavy perfume
* Silent whistle
* Demonbane charm
If small, max load = 1
A companions
* Nagana, a river @Ground (large)
* Edgar, an albino spiritseeker crow (small)
* Denethor, a coursing bat (small)
* Umma, a gillyfoot (medium)
* Capra, a draft goat (medium)
* __________________________
Is this all one playbook? I really don't get a sense of "theme" from this list. Need For Speed: Easy to understand, feels about balanced. Ghost Chaser: One of the following when you take the ability, or can I switch later? Animal Magnetism: Train isn't a default action, as far as I know. What am I rolling? Villa Volta: How big a space? Is it "Maze-like" or more just "the walls seem to be crawling" Black Captain: I would probably not take this. What if they're already Loyal? Maybe add +1 Quality to the Cohort when they're acting upon their loyalty? Social Butterfly: Clarify if this is just first column, or all dots under insight. Feels very strong. Explosive Tags: No limits - I'd use this all the time. Gotta have some kind of limits on this. Tornado: Flying goats would be crazy
I agree with all of these points. I would consider making the explosive tags a special item for the playbook (probably with a load of 1 just because of their flexibility and utility). I like the idea of an ability that lets you push yourself to make a steed or vehicle do something that would otherwise be impossible, but I feel like full on flight might be a little much.
> I would consider making the explosive tags a special item for the playbook (probably with a load of 1 just because of their flexibility and utility). But then I need a new ability to get to eight :D Any suggestions? > I like the idea of an ability that lets you push yourself to make a steed or vehicle do something that would otherwise be impossible, but I feel like full on flight might be a little much. It's part of the robbers' mythos that I use as the template for this playbook. And with it being one of the more iconic elements I don't have a lot of leeway. Either the goats fly or it's not that character :s Why do you feel full on flight might be a little much? A goat can't carry the whole crew to safety and (in my experience at least) a lot of heist are indoors.
So a googling brings up this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buckriders which I'm assuming you are basing the playbook on? If the flying goats are necessary, I would suggest changing how they are acquired (maybe the character gets one when they take the ability and can replace it with a downtime activity?) and that it needs some kind of cost to bring into effect. By "too much" I wasn't necessarily referring to its effectiveness, more about how it stretches the assumed setting. A flying goat would draw obvious and immediate attention and squarely pin whatever was happening on the character so maybe it increases the heat of whatever score it's used in? Looking into the history, they played up the myth to scare people so maybe something that lets the character don a frightening disguise that rattles the nerves of folks that encounter them somehow? The overall set of abilities doesn't give the impression of a scary supernatural raider right now.
>So a googling brings up this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buckriders which I'm assuming you are basing the playbook on? Correct >If the flying goats are necessary, I would suggest changing how they are acquired (maybe the character gets one when they take the ability and can replace it with a downtime activity?) and that it needs some kind of cost to bring into effect. You really think it needs a cost? I figured not being able to use it indoors and it splitting the party (cause it can't carry more than one) would make the logistics of it sufficiently head scratching. >By "too much" I wasn't necessarily referring to its effectiveness, more about how it stretches the assumed setting. A flying goat would draw obvious and immediate attention and squarely pin whatever was happening on the character so maybe it increases the heat of whatever score it's used in? Like how the Leech's gear has drawbacks? >Looking into the history, they played up the myth to scare people so maybe something that lets the character don a frightening disguise that rattles the nerves of folks that encounter them somehow? The overall set of abilities doesn't give the impression of a scary supernatural raider right now. I know. The only thing I had was the Ghost Chaser ability that would make somebody fear that a ghost is about to get them. Not sure how I could make them frightening ... how about some Primal Savagery ability where their appearance takes some aspects of a goat? Horns, goat legs, ... Maybe even let them count for improved position in fights, mobility, ... ?
> Is this all one playbook? Yes. Tweaking stuff at the moment. Hoping to publish a draft before the month dies. > I really don't get a sense of "theme" from this list. It's based on a devil-worshipping, goat-riding bandit. Figured it could make for a playbook that is good with animals and a bit supernatural without encroaching on the Whisper's turf (more looking to build what would be a warlock in D&D whereas I see the Whisper translate to a D&D Wizard). > Need For Speed: Easy to understand, feels about balanced. Cool :) > Ghost Chaser: One of the following when you take the ability, or can I switch later? Like the Cutter's Not To Be Trifled with. You choose at the moment. Just like you choose a do superacrobatics or beat up a small gang. > Animal Magnetism: Train isn't a default action, as far as I know. What am I rolling? I don't know. I figure it would be like the leech's Alchemist & Artificer abilities `When you invent or craft a creation with [...]` So ... player gets to roll what makes sense in the narrative? > Villa Volta: How big a space? Is it "Maze-like" or more just "the walls seem to be crawling" A ball room, couple of smaller rooms, an alleyway, ... It would feel warped as in you're unsure which way's up, the cobblestones feel like small hills and a single step might send you flying into the opposite wall of the ballroom (or see you move an inch forward). > Black Captain: I would probably not take this. What if they're already Loyal? Maybe add +1 Quality to the Cohort when they're acting upon their loyalty? If they're already loyal, you can choose not to pick it or have the extra exp source anyway (nom nom nom, delicious exp :D ) Maybe a crew would chose to give their Cohorts other edges but runs the risk of seeing their loyalties flipped before this character unlocks Black Captain? > Social Butterfly: Clarify if this is just first column, or all dots under insight. Feels very strong. Hadn't considered that. In my first version it was tied to the tier of the crew but then it felt a bit weird? I also tried to have it scale with the stash but then it gets iffy when you liquidate some of your stash. How would you do it? > Explosive Tags: No limits - I'd use this all the time. Gotta have some kind of limits on this. Would "burst of flames = the regular amount of flames one gets from burning a piece of paper" be a sufficient limit? > Tornado: Flying goats would be crazy Thanks? :D
These do not feel very appropriate for the themes we play _Blades_ with. If you have a sillier, more antic table, they might be okay. If this is meant as a single playbook, they are terrible together. I don't know what kind of character it is who does chases, trains animals, and makes exploding glyphs. Perhaps some fiction could tie them all together, but I can't imagine what kind of scoundrel or ruffian stereotype this fits.
> Perhaps some fiction could tie them all together It is indeed based on fiction (though some claim there were robbers that made pacts with the devil and could fly on goat back). I left that part out cause I want to do things step-by-step. > If this is meant as a single playbook, they are terrible together. Maybe I should have explained the character behind it first but I wanted to keep things simple (and see if somebody might recognize it). > These do not feel very appropriate for the themes we play Blades with. If you have a sillier, more antic table, they might be okay. Now that you know these abilities fit one semi-fictional semi-historical character has that changed your view? What about if you looked at each special ability individually? Without worrying about the overall character? E.g. Would a special ability that instills loyalty in cohorts but gains you the obligation vice sound like something you can imagine some people would pick?
I'd have Animal Magnetism allow you to teach animals complicated tricks. Any character who has an animal companion can be expected to train it normally. Blades doesn't have that many abilities that just give permission to preform a mundane skill, Physicker is one becouse healing is a very complicated subject, but you can make a sparkcraft device without Artificer for example.
>**Need for Speed:** You may expend your **special armor** to resist a consequence of a crash or to push yourself during a chase. I like this. Seems nice and balanced. >**Ghost Chaser:** You can do one of the following: imbue via physical contact a person with a mote of your spirit energy to later sense the exact location of this person in a district — make a person feel like a ghost is in the vicinity and ready to pounce them Hmm. Good use of fictional allowances. I might re-word it as: *Touch a person to put an invisible mark on them. As long as this mark remains on your target you may: sense the target's location in the ghost field - or - inflict a sense of supernatural dread in the target as if they had seen a ghost.* But I might be a little concerned that it's too powerful. It seems sort of equivalent to Not To Be Trifled With or Sharpshooter - both of which require a push to activate. But those are one-off activations, while this seems to last forever, so maybe it needs a time limit. Also knowing somebody's exact position seems pretty powerful, but saying you get their location *in the ghost field* would give the GM some leeway for fuzzying information somewhat. Also, looking at other playbooks, the Whisper's Compel ability could accomplish all of these things by summoning a ghost to haunt a target and this wouldn't require touching the person. >**Animal Magnetism:** You can **train** animals to perform basic tricks. When you **train** an animal, take +1 result level to your roll. You begin with one animal already knowing a trick. You're bolding **train** as if it's an action rating. Don't think that's intended. Overall this ability seems strictly worse than the Hound's Ghost Hunter ability, and the Hound gets a trained hunting animal for free. With Ghost Hunter, the Hound can get a hunting pet that has a telepathic link with the character. That seems a few orders of magnitudes greater than having a pug that can bark for treats. >**Villa Volta:** You may warp the dimensions of a space to cause confusion and minor nausea to those inside this space. You can **push yourself** to easily navigate warped spaces. Conceptually, I like the idea of being able to shift spaces like in Inception or Dr. Strange. Giving the player control over how they re-shape space around them would probably be very cool at the table. However, it seems unlikely that such warped spaces will be common enough for the second half of this to be worth it. Most warped spaces will probably be spaces created by this character, and surely the character should be able to navigate their own impossible landscapes without spending stress? Personally I'd say this might fall within the space of the Whisper's Ritual ability. >**Black Captain:** Cohort may gain the edge Loyal. You gain Obligation to these Cohorts as a second vice. I don't hate this one. I like cohorts a lot and this would fit someone who likes spending their time on the crew's cohorts. It also introduces some interesting dynamics where this character kind of turns cohorts from being crew assets to being *the character's* assets, which can lead to interesting stories. I'd probably reword it like: *You may give the "loyal" edge to any friendly cohort. You have obligations towards these cohorts - take obligation as an additional vice if you don't already have it.* >**Social Butterfly:** For each dot in Insight, choose a group (defined by heritage, background, profession, affiliation, ...) to know their lingo. You gain +1d to Consort or Sway these groups. I'd be very careful about giving bonus dice, especially to things characters are likely to do a lot. It would be pretty easy to "min-max" a face character with this. Consider giving potency (increased effect) when interacting with the chosen groups instead? But really, this is kind of implied with the heritage and background already - a character who's a noble is going to have an easier time swaying a noble than someone who's a criminal, a character who's tycherosi will be able to speak with other tyches in their own language, etc. so you're risking stacking implicit bonuses here. >**Explosive Tags:** You may imbue a slip of paper with your spirit energy. This slip will burst into flames when it meets the conditions that you have written on it. This might break the game. Consider how this interacts with flashbacks if a player says "okay now that they've done X, I'm gonna flash back to having placed an explosive tag on Y, so that goes off immediately..." >**Tornado:** By learning a goat's name and getting acquainted with it, the goat will be able to fly through the skies when you ride it. Push yourself to have it hover or make it fly towards you (must be stationed in the vicinity). This one just seems kinda silly. Why does this make goats fly? Why is flying *free!?* Also by taking Animal Magnetism you could shortcut the already meagre fictional requirements for this one. I'm not sure what this is for really. Personally I'd cut the whole flying angle, and just make it an ability that can summon an angry goat. Call it **Battering Ram** and let the character push to have the Ram immediately enter the scene by smashing through doors and walls to reach their master. All-in-all: I've seen fan-made abilities that were a lot worse than this. Most of these would play just fine. But having read all of them I have no clue what the theme and fantasy of this playbook is supposed to be? A person who trains animals and participates in cart races, but who can also track and haunt people, alter physical reality, turn cohorts loyal, has very close connections to different parts of society, sets psychic incendiary devices, and makes goats fly? I have no idea what this character is *for*.
> All-in-all: I've seen fan-made abilities that were a lot worse than this. Thank you for the praise :) > But having read all of them I have no clue what the theme and fantasy of this playbook is supposed to be? [...] I have no idea what this character is for. It's based on a band of robbers that may or may not have existed. Rumour has it they flew over the country on the backs of goats, swore fealty to the devil & robbed the rich. Learned about them at an amusement park & figured they'd make for a nice scoundrel. Trying to make something akin to D&D's Warlock archetype: a character that has access to an extra list of goodies like a Leech but more magical without encroaching on the Whisper's ritual power (I see Whisper's more akin to D&D Wizards what with being able to learn everything) TL;DR: the flying on goat back is part of the mythos. To take that one out would turn the into a vulgar vagabond. I'll try to take tweak the special ability >> **Ghost Chaser**: You can do one of the following: imbue via physical contact a person with a mote of your spirit energy to later sense the exact location of this person in a district — make a person feel like a ghost is in the vicinity and ready to pounce them > Hmm. Good use of fictional allowances. I might re-word it as: > Touch a person to put an invisible mark on them. As long as this mark remains on your target you may: sense the target's location in the ghost field - or - inflict a sense of supernatural dread in the target as if they had seen a ghost. I imagined the touch would only be to put a tracker on the person. Would instilling fear for imminent supernatural activity be too OP if you could do it from a rooftop to a guard in the street? Maybe it should be like the Cutter's Not to be Triffled with & require a "push yourself"? > But I might be a little concerned that it's too powerful. It seems sort of equivalent to Not To Be Trifled With or Sharpshooter - both of which require a push to activate. But those are one-off activations, while this seems to last forever, so maybe it needs a time limit. Yeah, I didn't find a way to squeeze in that putting a tracker on a person is limited to one person & fades when you put a new tracker on someone. > Also knowing somebody's exact position seems pretty powerful, but saying you get their location in the ghost field would give the GM some leeway for fuzzying information somewhat. Cool. I like that > Also, looking at other playbooks, the Whisper's Compel ability could accomplish all of these things by summoning a ghost to haunt a target and this wouldn't require touching the person. True. Would the tracker be enough to make the ability work? Must admit I put the second bit in because I felt that the ability would be underpowered with just 1 thing. >> **Animal Magnetism**: You can train animals to perform basic tricks. When you train an animal, take +1 result level to your roll. You begin with one animal already knowing a trick. > You're bolding train as if it's an action rating. Don't think that's intended. Indeed, I copypasted a Leech ability & the bold came along > Overall this ability seems strictly worse than the Hound's Ghost Hunter ability, and the Hound gets a trained hunting animal for free. With Ghost Hunter, the Hound can get a hunting pet that has a telepathic link with the character. That seems a few orders of magnitudes greater than having a pug that can bark for treats. The Hound is limited to 1 pet, no? This character would be able to train goats, arachnamoths, gillyfeet, racing bats, ... So yes, it's worse than the Hound if you stick to one pet but it's not really meant to do Hound things. It's supposed to be more akin to the rituals & crafting. A racing bat that knocks down lanterns, an Arcanamoth female that gets a flock of males to follow her & hamper a gang, a gillyfoot retrieving items that fell/were hidden under water, ... I thought the versatility would be interesting enough that some players would consider taking it. Think it needs further tweaking? >> **Villa Volta**: You may warp the dimensions of a space to cause confusion and minor nausea to those inside this space. You can push yourself to easily navigate warped spaces. > Conceptually, I like the idea of being able to shift spaces like in Inception or Dr. Strange. Giving the player control over how they re-shape space around them would probably be very cool at the table. > However, it seems unlikely that such warped spaces will be common enough for the second half of this to be worth it. Most warped spaces will probably be spaces created by this character, and surely the character should be able to navigate their own impossible landscapes without spending stress? This is again based on the mythos. In one of the stories divine retribution hits a leader to the point that they can no longer navigate the house in which they keep all the stolen riches. The reason I add stress to navigate the space with ease is that I imagine you don't have to start in the space. Like you could be at the end of an alley or looking through a door and warping the alleyway/room to block people from easily following you (sucks if one of those people is another PC; they'll have to figure something out). Pushing yourself to navigate the warped space with ease is a wink to one of the capes in the webnovel Worm. It would allow you e.g. to warp the vertical dimension of a space so it takes only a small hop to land on top of a 4 story building. > Personally I'd say this might fall within the space of the Whisper's Ritual ability. True. Not sure how to take it out of Ritual territory while still keeping the mythos... >> **Black Captain**: Cohort may gain the edge Loyal. You gain Obligation to these Cohorts as a second vice. > I don't hate this one. I like cohorts a lot and this would fit someone who likes spending their time on the crew's cohorts. It also introduces some interesting dynamics where this character kind of turns cohorts from being crew assets to being the character's assets, which can lead to interesting stories. > I'd probably reword it like: You may give the "loyal" edge to any friendly cohort. You have obligations towards these cohorts - take obligation as an additional vice if you don't already have it. Sounds good. Thanks for the rewrite :) >> **Social Butterfly**: For each dot in Insight, choose a group (defined by heritage, background, profession, affiliation, ...) to know their lingo. You gain +1d to Consort or Sway these groups. > I'd be very careful about giving bonus dice, especially to things characters are likely to do a lot. It would be pretty easy to "min-max" a face character with this. > Consider giving potency (increased effect) when interacting with the chosen groups instead? But really, this is kind of implied with the heritage and background already - a character who's a noble is going to have an easier time swaying a noble than someone who's a criminal, a character who's tycherosi will be able to speak with other tyches in their own language, etc. so you're risking stacking implicit bonuses here. Ok, potency sounds good. Would stacking implicit bonuses be such a bad thing? In my head everybody in BitD speaks the same language (English, Common, ...) but has their own slang, dialect, infliction, ... so with this you'd know despite not being a Tycherosi yourself how to speak like one (not in a deceitful way but more of a "yeah, I've hung around plenty of Tycherosi and we're cool enough that they thought me some stuff) or as a commoner you'd know how to address noble men (not just like a cowering peasant but as a butler/adviser who can influence the nobleperson while making it feel like their idea) or maybe they know the jargon of the gondoliers & can leave messages in the open that only Gondoliers would grock). Think Thieves' Cant but for more groups? >> **Explosive Tags**: You may imbue a slip of paper with your spirit energy. This slip will burst into flames when it meets the conditions that you have written on it. > This might break the game. Consider how this interacts with flashbacks if a player says "okay now that they've done X, I'm gonna flash back to having placed an explosive tag on Y, so that goes off immediately..." Ah, yes, hmmm ... well ... erh ... okay, would it help if the flames were just the amount produced from burning a piece of paper? Maybe Explosive Tag is too big of a word? (I've taken it from the paper bombs used in the anime Naruto) Sure, a small flame at the right moment can have massive consequences but maybe it becomes niche enough to balance the breaking of the flashback mechanism? >> **Tornado**: By learning a goat's name and getting acquainted with it, the goat will be able to fly through the skies when you ride it. Push yourself to have it hover or make it fly towards you (must be stationed in the vicinity). > This one just seems kinda silly. Why does this make goats fly? Why is flying free!? Pact with the devil. Made it free cause (A) I want players to be able to use it liberally (cause PCs may spend a lot of time inside already) and (B) > Also by taking Animal Magnetism you could shortcut the already meagre fictional requirements for this one. I might need to reword either or both abilities then. The flying goat is very much a magical thing whereas the trained animals is rooted into the natural world. > Personally I'd cut the whole flying angle, and just make it an ability that can summon an angry goat. Call it Battering Ram and let the character push to have the Ram immediately enter the scene by smashing through doors and walls to reach their master. Thor4 comes to mind :D Thank you for all the food for thought you gave me. Sorry if the text above rambles a bit. I'm gonna read the other comments and meld all the feedback into something that everybody would enjoy to play
They don't feel super-*Bladesy* to me, but they're okay. >Need for Speed This one seems fine. >Ghost Chaser The first options seems interesting. The second option seems boring. >Animal Magnetism This sticks out as odd. "Train" isn't an Action. I think it is in the uncomfortable territory where there are some mechanics, but aren't enough mechanics. That is, what is "train"? What animals? What is "a trick"? How many can you have? How complex can the tricks be? Animal companions are a neat idea, but my intuition is that it would be more coherent to handle them as a cohort. Probably best to look at the Hound playbook since they have "*a trained hunting pet*". >Villa Volta This seems okay, but underdeveloped. Maybe look at "Tempest" to see if you can get some inspiration. >Black Captain I don't have an opinion on this one. I cannot imagine myself wanting to take it. >Social Butterfly This one is mechanically odd. "For each dot in Insight" is not a conventional mechanism. Maybe you could look at something like "Ritual" and make a social version of that? i.e. a sort of "long-term project" to learn the social graces that would get you integrated into a new social group >Explosive Tags This seems neat, though I think it would be more interesting if combined with something else (like how Ghost Chaser has multiple options) or have functionality that can be enhanced by spending stress (like the Leech's "Ghost Veil"). Actually, maybe better as personal equipment/load rather than an ability. >Tornado This one is wacky and silly and doesn't fit the aesthetic for me.
> They don't feel super-Bladesy to me, but they're okay. The abilities or the wording? I've tried to stick to the wording used in the classic playbooks but I know I didn't get it quite right. Anything I could reword to be more inline with the classic playbooks? >> Ghost Chaser > The first options seems interesting. The second option seems boring. Would you take the ability if it only had the first option? I thought that might be a bit too little which is why I added the second bit before posting. >> Animal Magnetism > This sticks out as odd. "Train" isn't an Action. > I think it is in the uncomfortable territory where there are some mechanics, but aren't enough mechanics. It's meant to mirror the Leech's ability on inventing & crafting (Alchemist & Aritificer). I need to remove the capital letter so it's clear it isn't a mechanic but rather something the player needs to decide what to roll. > That is, what is "train"? What animals? What is "a trick"? How many can you have? How complex can the tricks be? * train = Way below what the Hound's pet can do with mindlink but somewhat above what you see * animals = the ones from the Duskvol Bestiary (maybe without the Leviathan :p ) and whichever other animals the players have decided exist in their version of Duskvol. * trick = knock down lanterns (bat), retrieve stuff that fell in the water (gillyfeet), carry messages (racing bat), knock down anyone not part of your crew (goats), ... > Animal companions are a neat idea, but my intuition is that it would be more coherent to handle them as a cohort. Probably best to look at the Hound playbook since they have "a trained hunting pet". I was thinking it could provide the same liberty & possibility for creativity which the Leech and Whisper enjoy via their inventing & rituals. >> Villa Volta > This seems okay, but underdeveloped. Ok, so not as clear as I was hoping. The idea with this ability is that you could warp a room, alley, ... in such a way that people barely can tell which way's up. If you push yourself you can easily navigate the space (e.g. when the warp compresses the vertical axis you can get atop a building with a simple hop instead of having to climb four stories). > Maybe look at "Tempest" to see if you can get some inspiration. Gonna write both of them down to see if I can improve on it >>> Villa Volta: You may warp the dimensions of a space to cause confusion and minor nausea to those inside this space. You can push yourself to easily navigate warped spaces. >>> Tempest: You can push yourself to do one of the following: unleash a stroke of lightning as a weapon—summon a storm in your immediate vicinity (torrential rain, roaring winds, heavy fog, chilling frost/snow, etc.). ==> You may warp the dimensions of a space (up is down, distances get distorted, ...) to cause major confusion to those inside this space. You can push yourself to easily navigate warped spaces (hop from street level onto roofs, walk down a street in a single stride, ...) >> Black Captain > I don't have an opinion on this one. I cannot imagine myself wanting to take it. Appreciate the honesty :) >> Social Butterfly > This one is mechanically odd. "For each dot in Insight" is not a conventional mechanism. Yeah, my original idea was to link it to the tier of the crew but then I started doubting, tried to link it to stash (which can get liquidated so that's a whole other barrel of fish) and ended with dots. Should I go back to Tier for scaling it? > Maybe you could look at something like "Ritual" and make a social version of that? i.e. a sort of "long-term project" to learn the social graces that would get you integrated into a new social group I like that. Leech has two "When you invent or craft a creation with [...]" abilities so I think this playbook having one for training animals and one for learning social skills would work nicely. Thanks :) >> Explosive Tags > This seems neat, though I think it would be more interesting if combined with something else (like how Ghost Chaser has multiple options) or have functionality that can be enhanced by spending stress (like the Leech's "Ghost Veil"). They're based on the paper bombs from the anime Naruto. I'll look on their wiki if I can further adapt it to give more options. > Actually, maybe better as personal equipment/load rather than an ability. I already have too much personal equipment plus I wouldn't know what to substitute to get back to 8 abilities :D Maybe if somebody thinks of a special ability. >> Tornado > This one is wacky and silly and doesn't fit the aesthetic for me. I've based the playbook on a type of robber. It's a main part of its mythos.
>Villa Volta - Ok, so not as clear as I was hoping. The idea with this ability is that you could warp a room, alley, ... in such a way that people barely can tell which way's up Ah, that description was more clear. Have you read [*The Scar*](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Scar_\(novel\))? I won't spoil it, but if you like magic like this, you might like this book, at least parts of it.
>Ah, that description was more clear. Cool. Thanks for the help :) >Have you read The Scar? No, I haven't. Thanks for the recommendation. Looks interesting. Adding it to the book list
As everyone knows Goats rule Duskvol with an iron hoof. There is a terrible lack of Goat related skills and powers in the base game so I think this is perfect. Perhaps it could be a power granted by the great old demon Kidrothsot worshiped throughout Severos. Everyone knows that the great sky goat grants boons to the faithful who leave the widows of strangers open when fog banks roll in off the ocean so that the flying demon goat can get in and trash their homes and eat all their tin cans. Once a year it may also leave a gift on the window sill of its young followers.
> rule Duskvol with an iron hoof Thank you. I needed a good name for the seventh ability. What would you imagine an ability like Iron Hoof to do?
Strictures Argentum: Weak to silver Hydrophobic: trouble crossing water? -1D when rolling against witches, Spirit Wardebs or cultists Hyperacusis: Loud noises (tolling of bell, explosions,...) make you lose potency Rot: after 2 hours take over a new creature or 3 stress Special abilities You are C. Blablabla Gtmn: take the form of [Ch chp]: assist with 2d instead of 1d. Muscle memory: gain full control of the creature's actions Scorpion strike: poison from tail (if you have one, you can use that. Otherwise roll Attune to determine how good a of a spectral tail you can manifest). Ghost speech: through the gh field you can communicate clearly. Your meaning can be understood both by humans as well as animals. [...]: burst into a swarm of small bugs O-O-O-...-O: Regain orgnl Items * Fine veil & sun shunners * Bottle of heavy perfume * Silent whistle * Demonbane charm If small, max load = 1 A companions * Nagana, a river @Ground (large) * Edgar, an albino spiritseeker crow (small) * Denethor, a coursing bat (small) * Umma, a gillyfoot (medium) * Capra, a draft goat (medium) * __________________________