As explained in the last post, I explained how the original hack had playbooks and an independent choice of specialty. So you might be a Maverick Doctor or a Boomer Counselor. That’s a combined PCE.
And actually, that last post in this series there new PCEs. When I can write Self: Thrillseaker, I don’t need a Maverick playbook anymore. And writing your specialty under Professional makes a separate choice of Specialty obsolete.
And playbooks aren’t required either. That is good because I ran into some problems with naming the playbooks and some were more popular than others. As for the playbook moves, we can Brindlewood them. Offer a small to medium pool of moves for everyone to draw from.
It seems the PbtA hack got thoroughly FATEed. But that’s alright, people seem to like the more introspective character creation of Star Trek Adventures. And after all, we’ll always have Basic Moves.
Among those basic moves, some were better than others. Some actually were mostly there, you could speicalize in them (Command, Counseling), which is suboptimal in hindsight. They also didn’t always snowball so well.
So we have moves that can stay, except I just delete the specialty clause and the hardcoded stat.
When you open fire or throw punches, roll. On a 10+, choose 2, on 7-9 choose 1
- You hold them at bay.
- You don't suffer heavy retaliation.
- You take something from them or disable one of their systems.
- You allow an ally to move into an advantageous position.
When you are in an advantageous position, you may also choose:
- Take them out.
When you come in peace, roll. On a 10+, hold 3. On a 7-9, hold 2. Spend hold to…
- Have them sit down and talk.
- Learn what they want right now.
- Learn what they need in general.
- Make sure they stick with a deal.
Hold one less, when you don't share a language.
When you rely on false pretenses, roll. On a hit, choose one:
- They let you pass.
- They do as you ask.
- They expose a weakness.
On a 7-9, you don't have long.
When you plan to repair or modify a piece of tech, say what you want to achieve and roll. On a hit, you have a plan. On a 10+ choose two, on a 7-9 choose three.
- I need a fully functional starship or I need several days of work.
- I need some additional materials or I must dismantle another system.
- Someone has to do something hazardous.
- It will only work once.
When you take a scan, ask a question pertaining to the situation at hand and roll. On a 10+, your measurements provide a clear answer. On a 7-9, you find out where and how you can get a complete picture.These moves snowball nicely. In a fight, we can have an ally move into an advantageous position, so they can take them out. An engineer might require a character to do something hazardous. And Come In Peace and Take A Scan are generally good for setting up further play. False Pretenses of course will have often have complications.
Take the Helm had the problem of giving several options, but you only want one. It needs drawbacks on 7-9 instead.
When you take the helm, roll. On a hit, you may avoid a hit to the ship, bring it into an advantageous position or go really, really fast. On a 7-9, there is some damage to the ship, or you need an engineer to work their magic for you.The Face Obstacles move didn’t have a clear goal. The basic move I actually need, is when for some reason they have to track through the desert after a shuttlecrash or something similar.
When you exert yourself beyond your daily routine, roll. On a hit, you soldier through. On a 7-9, take an injury or a condition.Helping and morale, will be discussed in a later post.
Sea Cucumbers and RPGs 