Thinking about an alternative to a Barbarian-like move, but one that doesn’t give XP at the beginning of each session.
The original line of thought:
At the beginning of each session, the GM will ask you something about your homeland, why you left, or what you left behind. If you answer, mark XP.
An alternative:
When you say you have faced a similar social situation in your homeland, tell the GM what it was and how it was solved, and roll +INT. On a 10+, you know how to deal with this now, as you apply an inverted logic. On a 7-9, there’s some complication, but you don’t make things worse… yet.
The idea behind this kind of move is to show how this particular character is an Outsider, a stranger in these lands. All suggestions are welcome in this brainstorming phase. Any new moves or thoughts?
The Quarantine in Apocalypse World had a really fun beginning of session move that could be reworked for this purpose
Aaron Griffin I’m not familiar with that…
Aaron Griffin that was the first I thought of, too. Marcelo Paschoalin, it’s available here.
apocalypse-world.com – apocalypse-world.com/ApocalypseWorldExtendedPlaybooks2ndEd.pdf
Marcelo Paschoalin, the move you suggest doesn’t seem better than Spout Lore to me, so I question when I’d ever use it as a player.
Something I use in Stonetop that might be applicable. A Marshal with the Penitent background has this move:
“When you draw on your bloody past to Spout Lore, you can use STR instead of INT. If you do, the GM will ask you who you wronged back then or who might still hold a grudge. Answer them now.”
It doesn’t map directly to the barbarian, but I bet you could riff on it. E.g.:
“When you draw on the ways of your homeland to Spout Lore, use CON instead of INT. If you do, the GM will ask you a question about your home or why you left. Answer them now.”
Jeremy Strandberg Yes, that seems to be a great way to implement that. Thanks for the idea!