[Planescape] Ideas for a PbtA hack..

[Silva]

I made something..

Have emotional Conditions as a central concept:

- Inspired (+1 ongoing),
- Shaken (-1 ongoing and xp advancement locked),
- Enraged (+1 ongoing but you always collaterally hurt people around you, be it physically with damage, or verbally by applying the Shaken condition).

What applies conditions?

- the "Influence" move (think Manipulate from AW, but different).
- Planes (at chargen pick an alignment for your character - Chaos or Order. You're automatically inspired/shaken on aligned/unaligned planes from you. Ie: a Chaosman is inspired in Limbo; but shaken in Mechanus).
- the "Meditate" move. It allows you to erase any conditions applied. Assuming you have time and solitude to do it.

Exceptions?

- Dustmen will have a move, "Corpses don't cry", making them immune to Conditions altogether.
- Godsmen can Inspire people more easily.
- Bleakers will have a move that let's them apply the Shaken condition easily (and resist it easily too). They're aldeady barmy afterall.
- Cyphers will have a move that makes their condition dependant on the current weather: Inspired when the sun is high, Shaken when it's raining, Enraged on a storm. "One with the planes" and all that, right?
- Mercykillers have one that makes people feel guilty, thus Shaken, but only if they first Enrage themselves with righteous (yeah right) fury.
- Harmonium get people easily Enraged with their demagogy. Watch out.
And other tidbits.

How to resist conditions?

- Have a strong EARTH stat. By the way, I'm thinking of making the stats the inner planes: EARTH (resist), FIRE (fight), AIR (mind), WATER (influence).

Thoughts?

[Silva]

Another idea: having a paired set of stats, Chaos and Order, that must sum to zero. So if you got Chaos 2, your Order is automatically at -2 and vice-versa. And these could be tested and shifted during game (by planes or player moves?) Just like a set of Pendragon virtue traits.

Ie: Perhaps stepping into Limbo (the plane of ultimate chaos) enacts a Chaos test? What if its successful? Are you now Inspired (thus taking +1 ongoing)? What if its a fail? Regardless, how does it change you? Does it? Could we ask the player to say how and, maybe even shift the stats so it's now Chaos 1, Order -1 ? And how does it affect it's belief-based powers? (as per default Planescape factions) ? Do those stop working if that stat goes below a threshold?

Hmmm....

[LibraryOgre]

Another idea: having a paired set of stats, Chaos and Order, that must sum to zero. So if you got Chaos 2, your Order is automatically at -2 and vice-versa. And these could be tested and shifted during game (by planes or player moves?) Just like a set of Pendragon virtue traits.

Ie: Perhaps stepping into Limbo (the plane of ultimate chaos) enacts a Chaos test? What if its successful? Are you now Inspired (thus taking +1 ongoing)? What if its a fail? Regardless, how does it change you? Does it? Could we ask the player to say how and, maybe even shift the stats so it's now Chaos 1, Order -1 ? And how does it affect it's belief-based powers? (as per default Planescape factions) ? Do those stop working if that stat goes below a threshold?

Hmmm....

I would go with two set of paired tests... Chaos and Order, Good and Evil.

Which plane and layer you are on affects these tests... it is easier to be Chaotic in Limbo than on Mechanus. It is easier to be good in Pandemonium and the Abyss.

Some abilities in different playbook will call for Law, Chaos, Good, or Evil tests to enact. A Lawful action in Limbo should be hard to do, but effective if it works.

[Silva]

Still a very early version, but it's shaping up to something interesting, I think.

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By now only Stats, Alignment, Race and Moves are more or less defined. (don't consider the Faction part, I got it from the AW "Turncoat" playbook but still need to convert it to Planescape).

The basic framework is: playbooks as factions; 3 main stats (Body, Mind and Soul), 2 special stats (Chaos and Order, that sum up to zero, so if a PC has Chaos+1 it's Order is automatically at -1), basic moves that use a mix of all stats. Alignment dictates how you gain xp (together with your race). And the idea of Conditions (applied by basic various moves, planes, items, etc) that mess with Chaos and Order (ie: "Shaken" lowers one of them, while "Inspired" raises it, etc). The playebook moves will mostly function with Chaos or Order, thus making it important for the player to keep their special stats within certain thresholds. I thought having this interplay of Conditions central to the game could be a good way to depict the setting's ideological battle. The main inspiration for the pairing of Chaos-Order here was actually Pendragon's virtue traits.

Oh and specifically for the Xaositech playbook, I envisioned it more of this manipulator of Fate through Chaos or something like that. The moves reflect that. If someone misses more combat moves, that will be the Cypher playbook, which will be "chaos in action".

Ideas and suggestions are welcome!

[Silva]

I would go with two set of paired tests... Chaos and Order, Good and Evil.

Which plane and layer you are on affects these tests... it is easier to be Chaotic in Limbo than on Mechanus. It is easier to be good in Pandemonium and the Abyss.

Some abilities in different playbook will call for Law, Chaos, Good, or Evil tests to enact. A Lawful action in Limbo should be hard to do, but effective if it works.

Oh yeah, that's the idea! I'm just going with Chaos vs Order at first to make things simpler. After I have a better grasp of what I want, I insert Good vs Evil. Actually, I think I have a harder time grasping this later axis, don't know why.

[Silva]

Please, gimme a hand if you can folks: do the races in the left look fun to play? And are they making sense D&D-wise? I'm not much of a D&D player and know the setting more from the Torment videogame (though I do have the PS box and a couple supplements here). Thanks!

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Edit:

By the way, a friend suggested revising the githzerai nature, and I agreed. How about this?

Githzerai: When you risk yourself to put freedom - yours and others' - above everything else, mark xp.

Githyanki: When you harm others in name of your own freedom, mark xp.

I think this would depict the philosophies of Zerthimon x Gith better as per setting canon, while still looking fun to play with, right?

[Silva]

Does this spread of the factions ideologies by the Chaos x Law axis make sense?

Chaotic:
Xaositechs
Doomguard
Anarchists
Sensates
Bleakers

Neutral, or orthogonal to Chaos-Order altogether:
Indeps
Athar
Cyphers
Signers
Fated

Lawful:
Guvners
Harmonium
Mercykillers
Godsmen
Dustmen

Thanks in advance.