Really nice! I love the idea of a postman/messnger/delivery boy playbook! A great fit for the game!
Here's some of my favorite points:
- Zoot is a great name for the Messenger! Lovely!
- Oh, I also love the dutiful heart! Definitely creates an image of a specific vibe of goblin!
- I also love unexpected Entry. A great feat, but I think it would be better as an advanced feat though. It also overlaps a little with "The Mail Must Get Through".
- No Matter Where You Are: Also great! Maybe useful to specify it as "a person you know"? Or maybe even better: "A person whose name you know". That has weird mystical implications!
- Speed Sorter is also a great feat!
Here's some additional feedback, which you might want or not:
I Read Your Mail
I don't like the fact that the Messenger opens letters. While it fits the goblin mind I think it's intrusive in a way that might be squicky for some players. I wouldn't bake it into the playbook. Players can still opt for that, if they want.
Here's an alternative suggestion that gets you a similar in-game result: The Messenger is really good at reading cues and understanding people. Tells and mannerisms. Interpreting writing and words. So he gets a lot of information by just holding a letter, looking at the writing of the address, the way it smells. So a little sherlock-holmes-y.
Which is also interesting because it's in some ways a trauma response. If you grow up in a highly unstable environment, many people learn to be very observant in the hope to avoid instability. And since mental health is an undercurrent in the game, that feels like a good fit, for me :)
The Mail Must Get Through
Interesting move! I feel it overlaps a little with the Rascal though. I think unexpected entry might be a better core move. Or instead doing the whole "I Read Your Mail" thing from above as the core feat.
How do you carry your messages?
The feat question is remarkably important to help people come up with a character. I think it should be as open ended as possible and allow for as many different interpretations of the character as possible, without leaving the core idea behind. As such, I think always assuming the goblin has a vest might be too contained.
Here's some suggestions for different questions:
- Why are you so passionate about delivering messages? (one answer could be: Because I'd be bored otherwise)
- Where does your duty as a messenger come from? (I like the idea of "duty" being a thing for this goblin)
- What do you deliver? (Opening it up into a wider delivery boy idea: Parcels, paper route, everything, magical ingredients, food?)
Just What's Needed
I like the idea of delivering something that will turn the recipient into a friend to goblins. However this feels like it can't come up very often because how likely are you to have the perfect thing? Unless you have the feat that gives you that, and then it's trivial. (Also that feat kind of infringes on the Rascal a little, I think).
Advanced Feats
Advanced feats are a really important part of the playbook. All regular playbooks have 7 complex and 2 simple ones. That's a pretty good number to hit. You're a little short of that so maybe by putting Harebrained Schemes back into the Starting Feats you can move one down to fill out the lineup a little.
Also here's some ideas:
- The ability to produce some authentic/official/important looking document
- The ability to lob something precisely on target without damaging it (paper delivery)
- The ability to pilot/operate/ride any kind of vehicle/beast (but it might not come out unscuffed)
- The ability to find a mode of transport anywhere?
- The ability to (once per errand) deliver an important piece of news to someone. Come up with the news, as strange as they may be. Good news? Bad news? Your call. (Might be a replacement for Just what's needed and rewards creativity)
Feat Capitalization
Your feat capitalization is a little inconsistent. "I ready your mail" should probably be "I Read Your Mail" (here's a tool that helps: https://capitalizemytitle.com/)
