Gotham - Forged in the Dark - Playbook Ideas (+)

[Fenris-77]

Both excellent points. I may change Helm to Handle, but I hadn't thought of a better verb earlier. I dont see every character taking it, much like S&V but I can see some taling it, and fancy driving sounds useful.

As for attune, again, yeah, I want a different verb. Nothing occered to me though, and I was going to wait and see exactly how and where it got used in the playbooks to suggest a better name and exact definition for it. Your example pretty much match what I was thinking so far though. I dont think it's a quibble though, the action names should be evocative.

 

[hawkeyefan]

Yeah, I think that they are absolutely fine for now. At worst, they're placeholders till you can see how they go in play, and then decide.

I watched a chat yesterday between John Harper and Ryan Dunleavy (one of his original players for the Blades playtest and the cartographer for the Doskvol maps) and a lot of their talk was useful from a design perspective. They talked about how many iterations the Actions went through. It was pretty cool to hear.

Here's the link: John Harper and Ryan Dunleavy Conversation

It's two hours long, but there is some good stuff in there, for sure, from what I saw of it.

 

[Fenris-77]

That looks very cool. I'll give it look once I have the little guy put to sleep. Meanwhile, I think I have a prototype write up for powers. Or most of one. I'm going to steal from Worlds in Peril and have the player write it up narrative, but with some mechanical guidance.

First, there are a series of questions that will help detail what the power is and what it does, each question tied to a mechanical use of the power.

First: What does you power do? This is the base power, in this case a straight +1d tied to a skill, no cost.

My character can produce a lightning field around his fists. (+1d to Scrap in melee)

Second: What can you power do if you push yourself? This the standard 2 stress push. Options include potency, quality, scale, and range. Other things at GM discretion.

I can push myself to fire lightning bolts from my hands. (+1d to Scrap at range, potency)

Third: What can your power do at the risk of burning yourself out? I'm not sure of the mechanic, maybe more stress and/or trauma and potential loss of power for the scene or job. ( I think this is where any significant AoE gets slotted)

In an emergency I can create a lightning field around me that electrocutes everyone within 10 feet. (+1 d, potency)

Fourth: What else might you be able to do with your power? This is cross-skill, costing 2 stress (?). Too many possibilities to mention.

I might be able to create a lightning shield to absorb incoming blows in melee. (+1d to resist w prowess in melee).

The last question is not supposed to be limiting, I would want players to think they can creatively use their power in any way that makes sense. Same with all the questions really. For each question I'll try to provide a whole list of possibilities, with at least one example done like this for the range of possible skills. This power would be represented as one pip on the character sheet, much like an action, but not tied to an ability. I'm not yet sure about XP cost, nor how to add more pips. Maybe another pip adds to the base skill, and changes instances of 1d in the write up to 2d. I'd probably gate powers past a certain point behind an ability or crew upgrade (like Master Level Training). More than one power would also probably have to be gated, probably pretty heavily.

I also think that extraordinary skills that aren't powers could be done using the same system.

 

[hawkeyefan]

I like that. I think that’s a really good base to work with. The specific questions help define the power in use and help frame those uses in game mechanical terms. But it still allows for a lot of leeway for creative use and wide application.

I also agree with your last point about extraordinary skills. I don’t think there’s any reason not to have them function as powers.

 

[Fenris-77]

Conceptually I think that basic chassis can handle most low-key powers. Stealth, hypnotism, resistances, telepathy, etc. I can at least see way forward there. A couple of things escape me. Flight, for one. That doesn't really fit the mold. The other sort of thing that troubles me is powers that absorb energy and then release it again. Maybe the character can 'hold' dice equal to his pips in the power or something. Those are wrinkles though, not cases contra.

Stuff that is straight resistance might have to cost more. If we have a power like, say Tough as an Old Boot (+1d to resist with prowess), that's a different thing that adding a die to a skill check. Maybe? That's a step deeper than I've pulled the mechanics apart so far.

The plan is to index each playbook roughly with one (or two) kinds or themes of powers, and have some abilities in the playbook that synergize with those powers in some way. Thematically at the very least. Since PCs can pull abilities from other playbooks no one is locked in. I'm going to start compiling a list of themes for powers, probably cribbed in part from Worlds in Peril, and start taking a look at the individual playbooks.

Edit - I think I'm going to change Attune to Arcane, and that can be the skill base for all the magical and mystical type stuff.

 

[Tun Kai Poh]

I suggest Invoke instead of Arcane, since Arcane isn't a verb

For absorption and storage, there's always the trick of turning an energy effect into Stress relief? Or recharging Special Armor?

For Flight, maybe it's a special effect to tack onto Scramble or Invoke?

 

[Fenris-77]

Ahh, yeah, I like Invoke. That works. It was bugging me that Arcane wasn't a verb. It's also not quite so specifically magical, which makes it descriptive for other stuff.

I don't know about reducing stress for absorption, that would make it really powerful, especially paired with another power. Recharging special armor might work though, although not everyone has special armor. Perhaps if there was a special armor component to the power. It might have to be one of the 'special' powers that gets it's own thing. Or just not be a thing, IDK.

Flight. Yeah, I really don't know. It's 'always on' and I can't decide if it's too powerful or not. It fits the four questions fine though, so maybe just a raised buy-in cost, if anything. The skill index would be Handle, for sure, since that's the skill they'd be rolling for maneuvering. Anything short of flight is obviously ok, like power jumps or gliding. I can see it working with Invoke too, which presents an interesting conundrum. Hmm...

 

[Tun Kai Poh]

Ahh, yeah, I like Invoke. That works. It was bugging me that Arcane wasn't a verb. It's also not quite so specifically magical, which makes it descriptive for other stuff.

I don't know about reducing stress for absorption, that would make it really powerful, especially paired with another power. Recharging special armor might work though, although not everyone has special armor. Perhaps if there was a special armor component to the power. It might have to be one of the 'special' powers that gets it's own thing. Or just not be a thing, IDK.

I always think of Special Armor as the "daily power slot" from D&D4e, if it helps. Certainly the absorption being tied to a special armor power means it has an automatic prerequisite - take it only if you have an ability that uses special armor already.

Flight. Yeah, I really don't know. It's 'always on' and I can't decide if it's too powerful or not. It fits the four questions fine though, so maybe just a raised buy-in cost, if anything. The skill index would be Handle, for sure, since that's the skill they'd be rolling for maneuvering. Anything short of flight is obviously ok, like power jumps or gliding. I can see it working with Invoke too, which presents an interesting conundrum. Hmm...

Well, provide a Stress cost for using flight for a score? And let the player customise it - to only work with one Action, Handle or Invoke!

 

[hawkeyefan]

What’s bothering you about Flight? Just the advantage it brings? I feel like it’d mostly be a narrative power, and wouldn’t need much in the way of rolls. Not any more than any kind of maneuver, anyway.

All the movement type powers would seem to be similar in that regard. Superspeed and teleporting beingg the two immediate ones that spring to mind.

Maybe it’s a question of scope or scale though? I mean, look at the fiction. Flight in Batman comics tends to be a guy with wings, like Man-Bat, or a guy with a jetpack, like Firebug. These aren’t breaking the sound barrier type fliers. You could kind of cap it in that way.

Same with the others. Superspeed isn’t like the Flash, but more like Deathstroke. That kind of thing. Maybe allow a push to increase speed or distance?

These kinds of powers are going to negate certain kinds of obstacles...but I feel that just means the GM will have to shift things a bit to find challenges in other ways.

 

[Fenris-77]

I think special armor could be a key mechanic for some powers.

There may be another way to handle things like flight. Heat in this game means a progression of interested parties from the GCPD ranging up to Batman. My plan was always to have power use on a job potentially add Heat, the more egregious the power use the higher the heat. Mechanics tbd. Things like flight could be deincentivized by higher heat production.