I think this is possibly my new favourite move:
Well-to-Do
You can freely obtain mundane goods or services worth up to ten times your Charisma in coins without paying anything. You can also call on contacts and distant allies to acquire rare, unusual or particularly noteworthy items that would not normally be for sale, given enough time; the GM will tell you how much you need to pay for anything you want to obtain this way.
It’s from Andri Erlingsson’s upcoming Halfling playbook. It turns out 180 coins (assuming 18 Charisma) isn’t actually a huge amount – you can afford weapons and armour (no plate, though) and basically never have to pay for room or board again, but that’s pretty much it.
You can, however, buy “infinite” horses (75gp), hovels (20gp), wagons (150gp), boats (150gp) and assassinations (120gp). So if you want to pay the assassins’ guild to kill everyone who owns a logistics business then buy out all their equipment and become a combination shipping magnate/slumlord, you can do that and it’s awesome.
And obviously, just because you can buy those doesn’t mean it happens instantly or without hitches, so if you decide to do that, the GM’s just been handed infinite golden opportunities on a platter.
What is the fiction behind this? Do halflings get free stuff like this all the time? Then Id like to be one!
The fiction is that you’re well-to-do, i.e. rich and well-known as a respectable personage of some importance.
When you use your influence and position to gain favour, you may gain goods and services up to the value of your charisma x10 coin. If you ask for a series of favours, or your favour is complicated to fulfil, then the GM may stipulate one or more of the following:
It will take time to acquire.
It requires a good deal of effort.
You owe some people some favours.
Alex Norris OK, but why specifically halflings?
Wynand Louw: have you not read Lord of the Rings? Halflings being landed gentry who lead “respectable” lives instead of adventuring is kind of a thing.
It’s two sides of a coin. Bilbo was well-to-do: he could afford great big parties and exotic presents from his foreign friends, and was clearly an upper-class hobbit in comparison with others, supplemented by that dragon gold he brought home with him. There are also moves about having and meeting distant relatives and being respected. The class on the other hand also supports a more mafioso-style interpretation of the classic halfling character in the same set of moves, letting you be a slumlord, a respected “made man”, using your family as a spy network and similar – it’s a different take on a fantasy style Thief in many ways. Just as with my Elf class, Tolkien was a strong inspirational source but far from the only one, and most of all I don’t want to be a prescriptivist about how people play fantasy peoples in their elfgames – I want to open possibilities. Alex Norris freaking loves this move for entirely different reasons than I freaking love it, and that’s how it should be!
Look forward to Elf, Dwarf and Halfling all being out and bundled together before christmas!
This sounds interesting. Could you tell us more about this product, Andri?
Basically, it’s a look back at the race-as-class idea from way back in Basic DnD. Instead of relegating being an elf to a single mechanical bonus choice made during character creation, I wanted to explore how you could explore the thematic space of “Elf” more fully and in ways most RPGs “leave to role playing”, things like moves relating specifically to stereotyped elven culture or how elves are portrayed in fantastic fiction distinctly in a way other races are not. I then extended this to Halflings and Dwarves.
These classes aren’t meant to replace the extant race setup, but rather supplement it. You can be an elf wizard, but you can also be an elf and call upon the Elder Arts of your kind – similar effects, distinct style and emphasis.
The Elf has been linked online before, I’ll find a copy to post in a bit to show what I mean. ï
This is a slightly older version of what we currently have, but it’s one that’s currently hosted so: https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B05-2PdMTEo8aVBZdGxwRjI5cm8/edit
(And yes all jokes you find in there are intentional. Elves are a bit stuffy and I don’t want people to take them 100% seriously all the time! That would feel boring after a while, as many, many gamers can attest.)
e: Also also, since a lot of these are “cultural” moves there’s no restriction in f.e. a human character staying with elves and “learning their ways”, i.e. gaining Elf moves. Just so that intent is clear.
At first, I thought this seemed like more of a job for a Compendium Class, rather than a full playbook. But it’s a neat concept. Cheers.
The elf being a class and not just a race represents one of the iconic things of original DnD. Love the idea.
I feel like this move would benefit from being made into a roll, similar to the maestro D move from AW.