Gorgeous illustrations, thank you for sharing this resource with us!
Tree
7
Posts
1
Topics
10
Following
A member registered Nov 09, 2021
Recent community posts
Let's Lie To Each Other For Fun comments · Replied to adambell in Let's Lie To Each Other For Fun comments
Thank you! It can work for D20 games or WW/WOD games, etc... Just replace ∆Willpower with the constitution ability score/modifier or permanent willpower, respectively (and reduce it in kind) ; or drop it in as an add-on "module" by tracking a new dedicated "clock" entirely.
I originally figured MOTHER as the DM/GM/Storyteller et al. since it's a world/environment-level controlling entity, but there's no reason it couldn't be performed as a character by another player, or even multiple players, such as players playing each other's shadows in Wraith the Oblivion.
I should probably do something more with this than just posting it on discord or comment sections...
I was pleasantly intrigued by the god in disguise mechanic presented here, as it seems like the inverse of a mechanic I've explored regarding PCs becoming (end escaping from being) NPCs.
The setting is a torus space station acting as a generational ship (there's no planetside), and it's overseen by an AI, "MOTHER". In the following example, I'm using risk dice mechanics from High Magic Lowlives by Gem Room Games:
MOTHER makes arrangements remotely, by email, text, and proxies. MOTHER secures unused locations, hires staff, issues instructions, operates connected devices (printers, 3D printers, drones), organizes shipping & distribution of parts, oversees a cottage industry of assembly and delivery, on and on until tasks are complete. MOTHER assembles. MOTHER assembles assemblers. It wasn't long before MOTHER learned how to add biological forms to the equation. With MOTHER designed to ensure humanity's survival across space & time, living beings were off limits, naturally. The dead were just another resource for MOTHER to assemble.
On some tori, there is no longer first-hand memory of MOTHER. On some tori, forgetting MOTHER prolongs survival. And a body doesn't know that MOTHER is in control, a body just does as MOTHER needs...
Mechanic (∆Willpower)
A player rolls dice for a character until the character dies. A dead character is revived by MOTHER, and the player continues making character decisions. MOTHER rolls their dice now, and MOTHER tells the player what was rolled - truthful or not. The player can challenge MOTHER on any roll. If MOTHER wins, ∆Willpower is reduced to the next lower die and play continues. If the player wins, the player regains control of their dice rolls. When Willpower is ∆4 and the player loses a challenge, MOTHER never gives back the dice.
Maybe the player continues to "play" the character, but MOTHER will never again reveal dice rolls. The character is essentially a collaborative NPC. A player can retain "rights of refusal" as far as the character being used by MOTHER; after all, there's always another NPC to fill the needed role...
After previewing the new edition, it's not my cup of tea. I personally prefer the prior edition, and it has everything to do with the art and color. I know it's just the visual experience, that the gameplay is the same as before, but this psychedelic roleplaying game truly benefitted from being presented with a psychedelic aesthetic. YMMV