Tag: Brian Reynolds

Finished the first draft of my new ghost playbook, the Shadowjack.

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0BwF75bfO6_4LNGFaV3VmOFZZQ2c

So I’m working on a ghost-type class called the Shadowjack. Here’s my first pass at its starting moves.

 UNQUIET

You died. But you didn’t cross over. If you remember how or know why, describe it. You exist in a spectral form that can, with effort, be seen and heard, but cannot harm or be harmed. Your spirit is still bound by the laws of the world—you cannot pass through objects, and gravity affects you more or less the same as if you were alive.

 HIJACK

When you possess a living being, roll+WIS and make a puppet of whatever flesh you covet. If the person or creature is unconscious or incapacitated, roll as normal. If they are willing to accept the joining, roll b3d6. If they are unwilling, roll w3d6.

On a 10+, pick 3. On a 7-9, pick 2:

 It’s easy. Your new host’s mind is not too foreign or doesn’t put up too much of a fight.

 It’s quick. Like a whispered secret.

 It’s impermanent. Through force of will, you can abandon your host whenever you wish.

On a 6-, pick none. The takeover is brutal and to the bone; for better or worse, two are now one.

When you are possessing somebody, their body is incapable of healing on its own or through mundane means. You’ll have to find another way to keep your host alive.

 DISEMBARK

When you cut the puppet strings, roll+WIS. On a 10+, you’re a ghost. Leave behind only a faint itch. On a 7-9, the GM will offer you a choice: leave something behind or take something with you. On a 6-, you’re trapped, with no way out as long as your host still lives.

If your puppet dies while you’re in control, you must take their Last Breath for them—and are bound by the results.

That’s all I’ve got so far, but I was curious what other people thought. I wanted the class to still have opportunities for big failure, to prevent it being too overpowered (hence the chance to get stuck in a body on two different moves).

Some of the other moves I have in mind:

-healing by consuming (player chooses flesh/blood/spirit) of foes

-possess corpses

-the ability to draw or summon spirits

-the ability to pass through walls and doors or become invisible while in spectral form

-invade the minds of others to plant suggestions or give commands (without actually possessing them or while already possessing a host)

-the ability to leap from one body to another without having to disembark

-when you haunt somebody, you gain hold: spend hold to avoid detection, to harm them, or other effects