14 thoughts on “Version 0.2 of the Spy.”

  4. I’m not really a fan of “pick as many as Ability Mod” moves, as it makes it impossible to play a member of the class with a poor score in that stat – which I feel is a shame, as it means playing an entertainingly incompetent character is non-viable. 

    You could maybe make it a “pick 2” move instead, and then have an advanced move to allow an additional pick. 

  6. The +1 forward for Network seems a little awkward to determine, some of the questions could have some overlap; does using one invalidate any bonus from the others?

    “What’s my best way in?”

    “They don’t seem to be checking the peasant carts”

    “Ok, what’s the best way to blend in?”

    “You see an old man trying to pull his cart but having trouble. He’s a stubborn looking old codger, but he definitely needs the help.”

    Do you get +1 to convince the stubborn old man? To defy the guards gaze? To keep the old man from starting an argument with another peasant?

    Given the fiction behind the move, what if you just gave 3 prep, ala the Bolster move? Player spends when they feel it’s appropriate.

  8. I like like a ghost.

    It’s worded oddly but it’s supposed to supplement another move.

    Like if you roll to H and S, the spy can misdirect and do it silently alongside the standard H and S move options.

    My crit is that like a ghost is pretty powerful, and along with network it makes cloak and dagger superfluous.

    If it were me, I would just have the two starting moves.

  9. Yes, it’s a way of declaring that you’re doing something a certain way. To me, it’s a quick way to give a sort of “universal stealth ability”. It lets you take pretty much any action quietly, unseen, or leave no trace.

    How does it make Cloak and Dagger superfluous though?

  10. Because it goes against the tone set up by the others.

    Why snipe when you can get a same or better result when you “volley like a ghost?”

    Misdirection is also covered by LAG.

    I think close quarter combat is a little overkill, even the base thief’s backstab is only +n damage.

    Non lethal is ok, but its better off as a simple s-harm style tag (defined alongside your gear) that applies to a few weapons the spy has access to.

    Prod (hand, s-harm)

    But if you absolutely need 3 starting moves, I’d replace Cloak and Dagger with:

    Close Quarters Combat

    When you attack without weapons, your hands count as a weapon with the hand and s-harm tags.

    S-harm comes from apocalypse world originally, but can easily be renamed stun or knockout.

    If a pc is hit with s-harm they must defy danger to attempt anything.

  11. In fact, I suggest keeping it at 2 moves and have a third come from your background.

    Keep sleight for the mastermind

    Make cqc the state agent move

    And keep the discern bonus for PIs

  12. For me, it was a good way to get around DW’s lack of stealth rules, other than just fictional positioning/DD. Do you think this sort of thing is necessary?

    With regards to Close Quarters being powerful, the Thief also has a higher starting base damage, and the Spy has no moves which allow them to deal more.

  13. I tried swapping out some moves, abandoning Like a Ghost and making Cloak and Dagger more like a traditional Backstab. For this move, I went with ignoring armor instead of bonus damage. I’d like to give this ability somewhere, since IMO it reflects the Spy knowing where to strike. 

    So, the result is something that looks a bit simpler to run, but may feel too much like the Thief now. I’d like to avoid that if at all possible.

    https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BwbHes6iNuGrVDBteGxiZlNDcWM/view?usp=sharing

Comments are closed.