Avatar World, Art: The Aristocrat

The newest Sonic Racing game has a killer soundtrack and you should go listen to it. Or stay here and listen to it while you read I guess.

Hey there, Avatar World! So yesterday I spent the whole day with Kenny and Luke at a local hobby store. And, uh, during the car drive I wrote the whole damn Aristocrat. I dunno what it is, but I'm way more productive in-transit than I usually am. Over half of Avatar World's systems, and probably half of the moves, were written in a car or plane going to/in Morocco. Whatever the reason, it's working, cuz it means I've now written...wait for it...
The final playbook.
Sort of.

I need to re-write the Airbender. I got half of it done as well, but not all of it, so I'll wait on sharing that. Today is all about the Aristocrat.

So let's get right to all the stuff I wrote!

Note: Important Aristocrat characters who acted as inspiration were Xin Fu, Princess Yue, Tarrlock, and Amon. From outside Avatar, I had a couple generic characters from other media, but specifically Samurai Champloo's Fuu is an Aristocrat in my mind. For external reference,

Stat Arrays:
* Natural +2, Hot +0, Solid +1, Keen +1, Fluid -1.
* Natural +2, Hot +1, Solid -1, Keen +1, Fluid +0.
* Natural +1, Hot +0, Solid +0, Keen +1, Fluid +1.
* Natural +1, Hot -1, Solid +0, Keen +2, Fluid +1.
* Natural +1, Hot +0, Solid +1, Keen +2, Fluid -1.
Wanted a balance of Natural+2s and Keen+2s since those are the playbook's mains.

Look:
Choose one from each list:
* Courtly clothes, Fancy but practical, humble garb
* With regalia and emblems, with accessories and jewelery, with intricate designs and colors, without adornment.
* Ruler, heir, minor nobility, just regular folk
This was a hard section, as I had to include an "out" for characters who are aristocrats without being noble.

Oaths:
* One of the characters is from your area of influence and you've sworn to take care of them. Who?
* What other ruler have you in turn sworn obedience to? Do you still like that ruler?

Moves:

Silver Tongue: Whenever you roll a 10+ to Speak Honestly, the target must also offer something extra they think you want as well.

Also called "And What Else...?" or "Persuasive", but Silver Tongue is a WAY better name than either of those. Lazy draft one was just a boost to Speak Honorably, but that's booooring.

Henchmen: You have a small force of loyal henchmen. They can be sent out with commands or aid your efforts as you wish. When you Commit Open Violence with their support, after the roll you may impose an appropriate Tag on the target.

Highly considering removing the word "loyal". Anyway, while the benefit may not seem amazing, just having the henchmen is a pretty sweet benefit itself. They aren't really pros at anything, but they can handle simple things. Examples of appropriate Tags include Surrounded, Grappled, and the like.

Succubus: When you use the promise of sexual favors (implicit or explicit) as a bargaining chip when you Speak Honorably, add 1 to the roll.

I like the idea. It's a little blatantly mechanical, and there's probably something a little more fun to do with this, but I don't have it in my sleeves right now. This will be expanded in the sub-playbook The Geisha (the only one planned for this playbook so far).

Currency of Favors: Whenever you Help someone, you can ask a favor of them first. (the favor can be specific or in abstract). If you do, lower your honor with them by 1. If you don't, raise it by 1 instead.

This was this idea I had about it meaning a lot when nobles do things out of their own kindness, but nobles also knowing how to use their assistance as leverage for their own goals. Here's the thing to remember: owing favors can also be said as "promising to do something" - it gets to go on the oaths section, and that means they have to put their Honor at stake for your help. Just remember that they can choose to say no to your Help, at which point the hard choice is on you.

Intrigue: When you Speak Dishonorably but disguise it in polite conversation, roll +Natural instead of +Hot.

Originally called "Subtle Threats". Yes it's a stat substitution, but it certainly isn't unconditional, so I feel more okay about that. 

Mastermind: When you scheme and plan a future plot, roll+Keen. On a 10+, it'll work just fine if everyone sticks to the plan. On a 7-9, you'll need to prepare some things before the plan is ready to enact. The MC will choose at least one, more if he chooses:
    * The plan will hinge on another PC's success.
    * The opportune moment isn't for days/weeks/months.
    * You'll need to get some outside help, maybe someone in particular.
    * Someone will need special training to pull it off.

First move I wrote for the Aristocrat. You'll probably recognize pieces of that list as the Workshop move, though less options. MCs feel free to add a couple maybe if nothing feels right - I left off "needing materials/supplies" because it felt very similar to needing people, and people is more interesting cuz it causes interaction, but it's still a valid thing to need, so feel free to just toss it in if you like.

And that's six moves. I've got a couple more things to handle (Chi keys as the main thing, gear too, improvements but those are standard), but that's mostly it. I have a couple seeds of potential other moves, but if I can't figure out how to make them into actual moves I'll just convert them into chi keys.

Ah yes, I also drew the art for The Aristocrat while at the hobby store! Worked well I think.

Likin' the feel of it a lot. Was at first fearful that a male aristocrat might be too similar to The Scholar in basic appearance (robes/fu manchu/scroll), so I decided to try my hand at a female aristocrat. I was concerned about drawing a woman in a really respectful manner since I don't have much practice drawing women, but I think I pulled it off pretty well. Nose looks a little weirdly rounded to me but that's okay. Also chose a different background motif to go with the fanciness.

So that's it for today. Ought to have some more soon - if I'm feeling really ambitious and I get a lucky burst of focus and inspiration I might try to get all the playbooks in complete condition and do some layout and try to have a usable game to playtest at Go Play NW next Friday/Saturday/Sunday. Very excited.
End Recording,
Ego.