Saturday 6 March 2021

In Love And War (part 1)

I have been watching princess principal and I have become inspired. Here's a loose skeleton for a game.

 A PbtA game about spies, and dangerous sapphic romance.


Each player character is a spy, is gay, and is in over her head.
A spy's Classification determines her capabilities, initial relationships to others, and ultimate loyalties.
Everybody is lesbians because it's my game and you can't stop me.

Assets:
You have 3 sets of assets, each rated from -1 to +3. They rate how good you are at an area of spy work.
-Lies, for concealing yourself and hiding your intentions.
-Clues, for gathering information and understanding others.
-Weapons, for using force to get what you want.

Perils
You have 3 perils facing you, threats that can end your career if they rise too high.
-Heat, as you expose your identity and damage your cover.
-Suspicion, as your handlers come to trust you less.
-Pain, as you're physically hurt.
Each Peril starts at 0. When it reaches 5, it triggers a Crisis Move - a moment of truth where the accumulated peril threatens to overwhelm you.


Increasing Perils
Sometimes a move will tell you to increase a Peril.
There will also be moments in the fiction when it makes sense for a Peril to increase. Some examples:
-Backchat your handlers, and Suspicion will rise. 
-Let a civilian know too much about you, and Heat will rise.
-Get caught in an accident or similar danger, and Pain will rise.
When this happens, increase Peril by 1. 


Hooks:
Hooks represent how much emotional leverage you have over a fellow spy. You build up a pool of Hooks, and can spend them to do things.
A hook can be spent to:
-Give her +1 or -1 to a roll by or involving her. Spend after you see the result of the roll.
-Offer her Experience as a bribe to do something. If she does as you wish, you both get one Experience for it.


Experience:
You rack up experience as you get pulled deeper into the spy world, representing what you're learning. You get experience whenever a move says so. Further, at the end of every mission each spy who took part is awarded 1-3 Experience depending on the danger and complexity of the mission. Every full five experience can be spent go get an Advance. An Advance can:
-Give you +1 to an Asset (can be take up to 3 times, no Asset can go above +3).
-Gain a new Special Move from any Classification (can be taken up to 3 times).
-Reduce one of anybody's Perils by 1 (as many times as you like).


Resolving Moves:
When a move is triggered, roll 2d6 plus the relevant asset. 6 or less is a bust, 7-9 is a shaky success, 10+ is a flawless success. 
Some moves roll with Hooks instead of an asset. Roll 2d6 plus the number of Hooks you have in them, and then lose a Hook in them.
Moves are divided into three sorts: Field Moves and Intimate Moves. Field Moves are for on a mission and revolve around action and suspense. Intimate Moves are for interpersonal, emotional scenes and handle how your spies relate to each other.
Finally, Crisis Moves are triggered when a Peril reaches 5, determining your spy's ultimate fate. Crisis moves aren't tied to a specific asset: which one you roll with will depend on how you try to resolve it (if you reach out to another spy who can help you, roll with Hooks as normal). A crisis move should get a whole scene to resolve it after the current scene resolves: set the situation up, see how the spy in question handles the crisis, roll for the move, and then narrate the results.


Field Moves:

Escape Notice (lies)
Bust: You attract unwanted attention. Increase Heat by 1, and you've been spotted. You'll need to find another way out of this mess.
Shaky: Its touch and go. Pick one:
-You get away barely, but leave a dangerous clue behind. Increase Heat by 1, but you're safe for now.
-You're spotted. You'll need to find another way out of this mess.
Flawless: You remain nicely hidden, no complications. You get +1 to act from surprise or using cover as a result.

Assess the Situation (clues)
Bust: You fuck up badly in pursuit of answers. You may still ask a question and get an accurate answer; if you do pick an appropriate Peril and increase it by 1.
Shaky: You get something useful. Ask a question and get an accurate answer, and get +1 to your next roll to act on the answer.
Flawless: Things fall into place. Ask one of the questions, and get +1 to your next roll to act on the answer. You, and every spy you share the answer with, get one Experience.

Resort to Violence (weapons)
Bust: You're badly injured before you can escape. Increase your Pain by 1, and you fail to achieve what you wanted.
Shaky: It's close, and getting what you want will hurt. Pick one:
-You're forced to retreat, and don't achieve what you wanted.
-You get what you wanted but are injured in the process. Increase your Pain by 1.
Flawless: You get what you wanted, without any injury.

Rescue Her (hooks)
Bust: You fuck it up, and now you're in just as much peril as she was too. Pick an appropriate Peril and increase it by 1.
Shaky: You get her to safety without anything terrible happening.
Flawless: You get her to safety. Each of you gets a Hook on the other.


Intimate Moves:

Flirt (lies)
Bust: She sees what you're doing, and gets one Hook in you as a result.
Shaky: She's into it. She picks one or both:
-You each get a Hook on the other.
-She offers you something she thinks you want.
Flawless: She's really into it, it's a moment. She picks one or both:
-You each get two Hooks on the other.
-She offers you something she thinks you want.

Read Her (clues)
Bust: You push too much, and spook her. She gets a Hook in you.
Shaky: Ask her a question. If she answers honestly, she gets a Hook in you. If she evades, you get a Hook in her.
Flawless: Ask her a question. If she answers honestly, she gets a Hook in you. If she evades, you get a Hook in her. Either way, you get an Experience, and if you're happy with what you learned so does she.

Push Her Away (weapons)
Bust: It ain't working. She gets a Hook in you.
Shaky: Its painful. You each lose a Hook from each other. If she leaves, you each lose another hook from each other.
Flawless: It's too easy. If she stays, you get a Hook in her and she loses a Hook in you. If she leaves, she loses two Hooks in you.

Open Up (hooks)
Bust: This is awkward. You lose a Hook from her.
Shaky: Expose something about yourself to her, and she gets a Hook in you. If she accepts it you get a Hook in her, too.
Flawless. Expose something about yourself to her, and she gets a Hook in you and one Experience. If she accepts it, you get a Hook in her, too, and one Experience.

Crisis Moves

Heat: Exposed And Pursued 
Bust: You don't escape. Maybe you're taken prisoner, maybe you die unceremoniously. Either way, that's the end of the road.
Shaky: You're able to give them the slip, narrowly. Reduce your Heat to 4. 
Flawless: You wriggle out of the trap effortlessly. Reduce your Heat to 0.

Suspicion: Left In The Cold
Bust: Your agency considers you a liability to be dealt with. Maybe you get a bullet to the back of the head, maybe you're cut off and abandoned. Whatever the case is, you won't be seeing your companions again.
Shaky: You're on thin ice, but you placate your handlers for now. Reduce your Suspicion to 4. 
Flawless: Your name is cleared. Reduce your Heat to 0.

Pain: Bleeding Out
Bust: Well, this is it. At least you might get some last words in before you die, but it's game over for you.
Shaky: You pull through, just about, but are gravely wounded. Reduce your Pain to 4.
Flawless: You make a miraculous recovery. Reduce your Pain to 0.


That's part 1, the basic mechanics. Parts 2 and 3 will detail the different Classifications of spy, and tools for generating missions and events.

1 comment:

  1. Hook is such an evocative term and fits so well for this fiction, more then the Bond from Dungeon Bitches would here.

    ReplyDelete