Dice Monsterhearts: Ruse Cruise

[Teh Frixz]

Monsterhearts

The year is 1994. Across the USA there has been a massive 'support your school' competition and congratulations, you've won. You and your entire class of Baybreak Public Highschool have won a week long cruise through the Bahamas. While not all students can make it and there is considerable parental chaperoning going on, it's still an oppertuinity to kick back and enjoy the economic paradise of the mid 90's.

Or is it?

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You are one of the beasts of the night. The old stories written about you still inspire terror to this day but that's not you is it? You aren't your darkside. You are a teenaged student on a summer cruise with all your friends, enemies, and families.


Never mind the odd looks the Captain gives, don't mind the Teacher Chaperones asking about the smell in there while spilling their martini's. Everyone and everything is normal. What could go wrong?


This is one of the rare games being hosted by your lovely lady of Ceremony, Teh Frixz. From here on in, I'll be your guide, mastermind, God, Devil, and everything in between. There is an ending to this ride, sorry Mr.Bones, but what that ending is depends on your luck, skill, and the ability to hide what you truly are.


Everyone is welcome to apply, just be warned that this isn't going to be a cake walk and I'm dropping mature themes faster than people dropping out of a Large freeform roleplay.


We will be using the MonsterHearts ruleset and all skins are in the game for now. I'll be the final word on if you can be that half angel half devil demigod vampire or if you are stuck being a lowly ghost. Deal with it. But the biggest rule is I want you to care, no shoddy half posts here. Every word you type will have a consequence and I'm going to have time limits on what's going on. Nefarious things will be afloat so keep your watched threads tab up and running. Seriously though. Have fun and remember

Omnem dimittite spem, o vos intrantes






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Spoiler

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Spoiler

Monsterhearts lets you and your friends create stories about sexy monsters, teenage angst, personal horror, and secret love triangles. When you play, you explore the terror and confusion that comes both with growing up and feeling like a monster.


Based on the Apocalypse World engine, this is a game with emergent story, messy relationships, a structured MC role, and a focus on hard choices. Monsterhearts draws on source material like Twilight, True Blood, Ginger Snaps, Jennifer’s Body, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Misfits, The Vampire Diaries, An American Werewolf in London, Cursed, and Sabrina the Teenage Witch.


If you like supernatural romances, or stories of monstrosity and personal horror, or if you just like watching sexy people ruin their lives, then you’ll love this game







@Mrs Hesperus @Dusky @anyone I missed I can only have so many tags I'm sorry @Mayumi @The Pooka

 

[Teh Frixz]

THE MOVES


Use these liberally to gain advantage in writing scenes.


Turn Someone On

Spoiler

When you turn someone on, roll with hot. On a 10 up, take a String against them. • On a 7-9, they choose one: give themselves to you, promise something they think you want, give you a String against them. When you use this move, you have the opportunity to step outside of your character role, and speak like an author would. Describe your character’s pouty lips, how the sweat rolls off their strong brow, and how they look silhouetted against the pale moon. Unlike other basic moves, this one can be triggered without a specific action being taken. If the player describes how arousing the scene is, without their PC actually doing anything other than standing around and looking sexy, the move can still be triggered. This move implies something about sexuality, and particularly teenage sexuality. We don’t get to decide what turns us on. When you make a move to turn someone on (with a character action or with scene description), the other player doesn’t get to exclaim, “Wait, my character is straight! There’s no way that’d turn them on.” That’s a decision that we as players can’t make for our characters. The dice are going to be the ultimate referees of what is and isn’t sexy for these characters. Their own sexuality will confuse them and surprise them; it’ll show up in unexpected places and unlikely situations. Regardless of the results of the roll, however, each player still gets to decide how their character reacts. Being turned on by someone doesn’t imply or demand a particular reaction.


Manipulate an NPC





When you manipulate an NPC, roll with hot. On a 10 up, they’ll do what you want if you give them a bribe, a threat, or a motive. • On a 7-9, the MC will tell you what it’ll take to get the NPC to do what you want. Do it and they will. This move only applies to non-player characters (NPCs), meaning characters that the MC controls. It requires you to actually want something from the NPC, rather than just wanting to cow them or manipulate their emotions (see when you shut someone down for that). If you want to manipulate PCs, you can do so by spending Strings that you have on them.


Shut Someone Down









When you shut someone down, roll with cold. On a 10 up, choose one: give them a Condition; they lose a String against you; if they held no Strings on you, gain a String on them. • On a 7-9, choose one: you each give a Condition to one another; you each lose a String on one another. The 10 up result for this move gives you the opportunity to expose a character’s weakness, reduce the power they hold over you, or gain power over them. In the 7-9 results, you end up going down with them. Your harsh words hurt and defame them, but also expose your true character in an ugly way.


Vanessa’s been cornered by a couple school bullies. They’re harassing her and the group’s leader is demanding she hand over her backpack. Vanessa stands tall, looks him straight in the eye, and says, “Why, did your mommy forget to pack you a lunch of your own?” Vanessa’s player rolls to shut someone down, and gets a result of 11. Her retort succeeds in giving her the upper-hand and putting the bully in his place. His friends laugh at him, and he looks foolish. She chooses “give them a Condition” from the list, and labels the bully humiliated. 22 S SPlaying the Game Chapter Two If she’d rolled a 7-9, both of these characters would have ended up vulnerable in some way. The bully’s friends might still laugh at him, but they’d also be whispering that he should teach this girl a lesson. Vanessa’s player might have chosen the “you each give a Condition to one another” option from the list – labelling the bully humiliated but gaining the Condition dead meat in exchange.


Hold Steady





When you hold steady, in a scary or tense situation, roll with cold. On a 10 up, you keep your cool, and choose one: ask the MC a question about the situation; remove a Condition; carry 1 forward during this scene. • On a 7-9, choose: you keep your cool; pick an option from the 10 up list but also gain the Condition terrified. Rather than being triggered by specific character actions, this move tends to be triggered by outside forces that the character must react to. Sometimes, the character will walk knowingly into a dangerous situation (by intervening in a gang fight, or charging into a burning building to save their lover), and the MC can call on them to hold steady. When someone chooses to “ask the MC a question about the situation,” the MC should answer truthfully and fully. The question asked could involve assessing risks (“What’s the biggest threat in the room?”), or uncovering true motivations (“Why did Deirdre come here tonight?”), or developing a better picture of the situation (“Are there any other people in the house right now?”).


Lash Out Physically






When you lash out physically, roll with volatile. On a 10 up, you deal them harm and choose one: the harm is great (add 1); you gain 1 String on them; they need to hold steady before they can retaliate (during this scene). • On a 7-9, you harm them but choose 1: they gain 1 String on you; they can deal 1 harm to you for free, if they want to; you become your Darkest Self. This move only applies when you attempt to actually physically hurt someone. If you push someone up against a locker and threaten them, consider the possibility that you’re actually shutting them down rather than lashing out physically. Violence can reveal a lot about a person’s true character, which is why both the 10 up and 7-9 results will sometimes involve an exchange of Strings.


Run Away





When you run away, roll with volatile. On a 10 up, you get away, and end up in a safe place. On a 7-9, you get away, but choose one: you cause a big scene; you run directly into something worse; the scariest person there gets a String on you. In response to a scary or tense situation, characters will tend to do one of two things: hold steady or run away. If the MC determines that a character would have to hold steady in order to keep their cool within a scene, it’s perfectly valid for a PC to instead decide to bolt for the exit. Running away isn’t always straightforward. Let’s say that your character is trying to escape from someone. They want to keep you within the scene, even if force is required to do so. In such a situation, it’s up to MC discretion whether or not you can roll to run away. Instead, the MC might judge that the other party can attempt to lash out physically before you have a chance to run away, thus holding you captive.


Gaze Into The Abyss






When you gaze into the abyss, roll with dark. On a successful roll, it answers your questions and shows you visions. On a 10 up, choose two: the visions are lucid and detailed; the visions show you what you must do, and you carry 1 forward to doing it; the visions cure you, removing a Condition. • On a 7-9, choose one: the visions are confusing and alarming; the visions are lucid and detailed but they leave you with the Condition drained. When someone says that they’re gazing into the abyss, the most important question to ask is, “Cool, but what does that mean? What do you actually do?” The answer might be different with each character, and each application of the move, but an understanding of what’s actually going on in the scene is vital. Gazing into the abyss could involve entering a trance, or getting high and slipping into a dark consciousness. It could involve blacking out, or communing with demonic voices out in the woods. The details are always going to be character-specific. The MC should always be listening for a PC to do something brooding and introspective, so that they can spring forth with the question, “So, does that mean you’re gazing into the abyss?”


 
STRINGS


You can spend a String on another PC to:


} Add 1 to your roll against them (choose after rolling).


} Subtract 1 from their roll against you (choose after rolling).


} Offer them an experience point to do what you want.


} Force them to hold steady in order to carry out a certain action.


} Add an extra harm to whatever harm you’re dealing them.


} Place a Condition on them


You can spend a String on an NPC to:


} Add 1 to your roll against them (choose after rolling).


} Add 3 to your manipulate an NPC roll against them (choose after rolling).


} Cause them to falter, hesitate, or freeze up momentarily.


} Add an extra harm to whatever harm you’re dealing them.


} Place a Condition on them.


Whenever you spend a String, there needs to be something in the fiction to explain the mechanical effect. Remember: to do it, do it. If you’re subtracting 1 from their next move against you, what’s causing that effect? Do you utter some snide remark that throws them off balance? Or if you’re offering experience for them to do your bidding, what thing in the fiction accounts for that experience point? Do you promise to tell them a juicy secret in return for their obedience?