Author: Dev Purkayastha

I’m running a con-game this weekend, and I was wondering: is it worth spending time up-front to get people on the same thematic page? Is there any good way of doing this?

I had one idea (but it might be too much): start with a blank page, and write “VOID” in the middle. Then ask these questions and jot down the answers?

– What is a “fantasy” world – from a novel, movie or RPG – that you like but is not quite your favorite?

– What is something interesting you’ve read recently – fiction or non-fiction, but not “fantasy”?

Maybe more questions like this? But, I’m going to be coming to the table with my own ideas, and it may be better at a con game to simply come out with a strong creative hand. Thoughts?

So HR Manual Of The Wild Planes is an idea I have for a Planarch Codex add-on: a compilation of weird careers and moves for Planarch Codex. You pick 2 or 3 random careers/moves – each of which will be strange and stranded out of context – and that reflects your checkered history before you came a plane-hopping dungeon-sneaking freebooter.

Up for some brainstorming? Here’s an initial example:

Rubybound Minedelver

When you take a Bond with a cave or rock structure, you take +1 forward to stand in defense of it.

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If it would help, here’s a suggested process for coming up with one:

Start by imagining a job that belongs to someone  you know. Think about what you know that job is like, or what you imagine it might be like.

Then, modify it in three steps:

1. Make it Weird and Uncanny, so it would only fit on some alien Plane.

2. Make it more Impressive and Astounding, even if it only sounds this way on a freebooter’s resume.

3. Make insanely Worse and Dangerous, so that even freebooting sounds like a better career option.

Then, imagine one move (in Dungeon World style) that describes one aspect of what you learned to do in this job. It doesn’t have to encapsulate everything about this job; just one interesting thing. If you can, modify it slightly so that it could fit into other contexts, but it’s fine if the move is just particular and conditional.

(To make a move: you can copy the form of existing Dungeon World moves and alter them to fit, or you can come up with different options for what happens on a strong hit / partial hit / miss.)

Finally, please share below: the class name, and that one move (and nothing else!). You can leave terms undefined and untranslated; the context is meant to be missing, left for the players to define for themselves.

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Alternate method 1: take the most gonzo build/class from whatever other RPG, and go through the process above.

Barbarian Healcharger

When you charge into battle with your heartblade in hand, roll hack-and-slash against a nearby allie, but instead of doing damage to the target, it recovers hit points. The target is knocked back, regardless.

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Alternate method 2: just come up with some weird words and just go planarch.

Snake Librarian

When you consult your bookwyrm familiar on a question of biological or biochemical lore, feed it 2 drops of the creature’s blood and ask it a question. It will give you a half-truth if it has a helpful answer, or a bold lie otherwise.