Hacks for Interstitial

HEY JUST FYI SOME OF THE INFORMATION THAT COULD BE ON THIS PAGE ISN'T YET SO KEEP YOUR SALT GRAINS HANDY THANKS

This game needed more time in the oven. I have zero skill in game design. Let's see how this trainwreck goes.

Clarifying existing text

Some of this is "this is what we think the designers intended" and some of this is "we have no goddamn clue what the designers intended so we're picking this".

Overview: Terms to know

There is no "small gang" mechanic. (The Dark's "The Dark Makes Me Stronger" should be rebalanced or replaced, but you would already need to do that because its only purpose is to grant access to a mechanic the designers forgot to give a function.)

Links: Making a Link

Links can and should be made whenever any interesting development happens between two characters. If you're not sure, just roll the Link.

There is no "one Link per character" limitation. You may make additional Links with the same character any time your relationship develops.

When rolling for a Link:

• On a 7-9, the player chooses -- either the Link Move goes off but the Link lands in a different category, or the Link Move doesn't go off but the Link lands in the intended category.
• On a miss, the GM decides what category the Link lands in, and then chooses -- either an NPC gains a Link, or they make a GM move.

Links: Locking a Link

When you make a normal roll for a Link with a character you already have a Link with, you also, separately roll to lock the existing Link. You may only lock one Link at a time this way.

Basic Moves: Cast Magic

Regarding "No unintended consequences": On a 7+, your magic has a reasonable semblance of the intended effect, but might go overboard or inflict collateral damage if you don't pick this option. Only on a miss does the spell outright not do what you wanted.

Basic Moves: Push Through Stress

You are Pushing Through Stress when you are trying to do something which circumstances are making harder than usual. A psychic attack is disrupting your concentration, you're distracted by having an emotional breakdown, etc.

The Mystic: From the Aether

The item produced is something the Mystic could have plausibly had on hand already. Lockpicking tools yes, the Big Bad's house key no.

Advanced Moves

You must take an Advanced Move on your fourth level up, by itself. After that, for each three normal advancements you take, you may take another Advanced Move on a future level up, by itself. (These don't have to be the eighth, twelveth, etc.)

Rebalancing

Some things are have the wrong amount of power.

Links: Rolling with Links

This caps at +2 instead of +4, except when spending a Link to roll with Advantage. If your base stat is negative, your number of links is added to that stat (before the +2 cap).

Basic Moves: Cast Magic

Describe the intent behind your Magic before rolling. On a miss, it goes completely awry, making things worse.

Advanced Moves: Prophecize

At any time after a prophecy has been spoken, the GM may declare that a player may take Prophecize again. (This is mostly useful in loooooong campaigns.)

Additions

I have ideas.

Basic Moves: Backstory Links

When you discuss someone from your backstory, you have a spent Locked Link with them. Your Link Move doesn't go off, nor does any other effect of making a Link; you already had that Link, it's just being revealed now. Each character may do this four times in total, a maximum of two times in each category.

Combat: Harm Clock

(NOTE: These options substantially reduce the consequences of taking Harm. They should come with a corresponding increase in its frequency.)

When your Harm Clock is completed and you aren't Wounded, in addition to the book's options, you may choose additional options:

Take a Minor Setback: Choose two of the following:

• Spend five experience immediately. (Remember that you can trade two Links for one experience at any time.)
• You are KO'd.
• You are Incapacitated.
• You are Wounded.

KO'd
A KO'd character is fully unconscious and can't take most actions. If a character receives enough healing to empty their Harm Clock, they are no longer KO'd. If a character is still KO'd when battle ends, they are no longer KO'd and they recover from 1 Harm.

Incapacitated
An Incapacitated character is unable to participate in combat, though they can still do non-combat things. A character recovers from being Incapacitated at the end of the session.

Wounded
A Wounded character is already suffering the pains of battle. They have -1 on all rolls, and if their Harm Clock completes again, they suffer permanent consequences. A character recovers from being Wounded at the end of an arc.

Determination: Empty your Harm Clock immediately. You are Wounded. As soon as either battle ends or your Harm Clock is completed again, the consequences of defeat kick in for real.

NPC stats

All NPCs have a Harm Clock, some stats, and (instead of a full playbook) a set of moves. The length of the Harm Clock and the nature of the moves depends on the role of the NPC and is essentially up to the GM, but here are some templates for common use cases.

When an NPC's Harm Clock is completed, what happens is up to the GM. Usually they just get KO'd, but they might make a tactical retreat, be permanently disabled, outright die, or any number of other things depending on the tone of the setting, the nature of the fight, and whatever else.

The Citizen

The Citizen is your average resident of the world, not suited for nor interested in adventure. They have a Harm Clock of 2. They have all the Basic Moves except for Cast Magic, which they have only in settings where it's plausible for average residents to know magic. Light 0, Dark -1, Mastery -1, Heart 0.

GMless hack

It almost feels like the developers wanted this game to be GMless but chickened out at the last moment. So we're making a hack to fill the gap.

• Any time the text refers to "the GM", another player steps in. If there's a relevant character with a player, then that player steps in. Otherwise, the first player to speak up steps in.
• No OOC secrets. If you want something to be true, you need to tell the other players, even if it's meant to be a secret from the other characters.
• At any time, any player may declare something about the world. If that declaration contradicts existing facts, they must spend a Link for a retcon.
• The primary difference between PCs and NPCs is that PCs have a playbook and a player. NPCs may also have a player, if the group agrees they meaningfully "belong" to someone in particular.