Small thing I just found. In the digital Playbook Spreadsheet, the Pragmatist says they start with "People are Pawns," but the 1st Flex Move, as well as the one listed in the playbook is "It's Taken Care Of."
"People Are Pawns" was the name of the original "the Pragmatist always has this and no other Playbook can take it" move, but it was changed to "It's Taken Care Of". I just fixed the issue now - thanks for spotting it!
I don't understand the "Hold" mechanic. (I have a physical copy of the book, so if it has been updated in the PDF, please let me know.) The book basically just says it is a resource that can be generated and spent, but doesn't really say HOW to gain or spend it.
Thank you for picking up a physical copy and reaching out! Hold is generated by moves that generate Hold as part of their effects, and Hold is spent to use that move's specific effects. For example, the Basic Move get some answersgenerates Hold when a hit is rolled, and this hold is spent to ask one of that move's questions. You can think of moves that use Hold as having "charges" that can be spent at a later point during a scene. Hold only applies in the context of Hold-using moves, so don't worry about it unless a move says you should.
Slight confusion over The Shadow's Where Are You? power. It says what it does on a hit, and what happens on a miss. But it also starts to say something about 7-9 and cuts off, "On a 7-9, you're." What's the rest of that sentence meant to be?
The sentence should be "On a 7-9, the Lead Writer will tell you what’s threatening your stealth if you’re present." Thanks for catching that; I'll fix it promptly.
I was under the impression that the software I was using was doing so automatically. Thanks for catching that it's not there - they'll be in the book's next version.
Oddity High is a PbtA game for the normal-high-school-things-but-one-of-those-things-is-weird subgenre. Think Saiki K, Mob Psycho, Haruhi Suzumiya, Full Metal Panic!, Sailor Moon, or maybe Ferris Bueler's Day Off.
It also has a *strong* mid 00s anime ttrpg energy to it, so if you're a fan of stuff like BESM you should already be giving it a closer look.
The current version of Oddity High consists of several PDFs totaling around 200 pages. The core book has colorful, well-organized layout---although it's packed in a little tight. The others are currently bare text. The core book's cover is great and does a stellar job communicating the game's subject matter and tone, but it's the only art piece.
In terms of core mechanics, if you're comfortable with PbtA, you're already comfortable with this game. One big change is the addition of Opportunities---situations in which a character auto-succeeds---which can be created by certain Moves. Another is Obligation---a meter that builds as you try to reconcile the two halves of your life and when it fills causes you to have a public breakdown. Finally there's school clubs, which give you stat bonuses if you join them, but fill your Obligation if you skip them.
If you're not familiar with Powered By The Apocalypse games, this isn't a bad choice for your first one. The nuances of the system are explained clearly and in depth. The setting also thrives on drama, which is what PbtA is best at.
In terms of character creation, you build your PC from two playbooks: one normal, and one weird. NPCs also fall into those two categories: normal and weird. This division line that runs down the middle of the game is a really neat trick, and creates a lot of comedy fodder for situations where an NPC from one side crosses over into the other.
For GM support, there's a lot of advice throughout the book on how to GM, how to use safety tools, what is anime, what are ttrpgs, etc. You could pick up this book with no knowledge of anything it contains and still be decently ready to run it by the time you got done reading it.
Probably the strongest feature of Oddity High is how many playbooks it contains. There's a heap of normal playbooks, a heap of weird playbooks, Angles (think subclasses) for each playbook, and everything is distinct and fits the milieu.
Overall, if you want to play something that feels like Saiki K, emphasizes antics, and has some system meat without being super complicated to learn or teach, this is a good pick. Per the game page, it's still in active development, so more features or content may be added in the future---but it's perfectly runnable in its present state. Check it out if you want a high energy slice of life high school drama.
It's referring to a section that is present in a separate PDF handout. It's something that I had uploaded but, for whatever reason, marked as private. I'll look it over, make sure everything is updated and nothing is incomplete, and make it public shortly. Thank you for pointing this out!
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so uh, the new version has no included bookmarks unlike the previous one!
This is why I hate Affinity Publisher. I'll get a version with bookmarks up soon.
One of The Fanservice's EXP gain is to "release someone from your Influence." How do they do that?
You do that via "This Is Who I Am".
Small thing I just found. In the digital Playbook Spreadsheet, the Pragmatist says they start with "People are Pawns," but the 1st Flex Move, as well as the one listed in the playbook is "It's Taken Care Of."
"People Are Pawns" was the name of the original "the Pragmatist always has this and no other Playbook can take it" move, but it was changed to "It's Taken Care Of". I just fixed the issue now - thanks for spotting it!
Yeah, happy to help!
I don't understand the "Hold" mechanic. (I have a physical copy of the book, so if it has been updated in the PDF, please let me know.)
The book basically just says it is a resource that can be generated and spent, but doesn't really say HOW to gain or spend it.
Thank you for picking up a physical copy and reaching out! Hold is generated by moves that generate Hold as part of their effects, and Hold is spent to use that move's specific effects. For example, the Basic Move get some answers generates Hold when a hit is rolled, and this hold is spent to ask one of that move's questions. You can think of moves that use Hold as having "charges" that can be spent at a later point during a scene. Hold only applies in the context of Hold-using moves, so don't worry about it unless a move says you should.
Ok, so some moves grant X charges, and you can burn a Hold to use that charge. Cool, that helps! Thank you!
Slight confusion over The Shadow's Where Are You? power.
It says what it does on a hit, and what happens on a miss. But it also starts to say something about 7-9 and cuts off, "On a 7-9, you're."
What's the rest of that sentence meant to be?
The sentence should be "On a 7-9, the Lead Writer will tell you what’s threatening your stealth if you’re present." Thanks for catching that; I'll fix it promptly.
Could you please do a release with bookmarks in the pdf? They make a document MUCH more useable
I was under the impression that the software I was using was doing so automatically. Thanks for catching that it's not there - they'll be in the book's next version.
Oddity High is a PbtA game for the normal-high-school-things-but-one-of-those-things-is-weird subgenre. Think Saiki K, Mob Psycho, Haruhi Suzumiya, Full Metal Panic!, Sailor Moon, or maybe Ferris Bueler's Day Off.
It also has a *strong* mid 00s anime ttrpg energy to it, so if you're a fan of stuff like BESM you should already be giving it a closer look.
The current version of Oddity High consists of several PDFs totaling around 200 pages. The core book has colorful, well-organized layout---although it's packed in a little tight. The others are currently bare text. The core book's cover is great and does a stellar job communicating the game's subject matter and tone, but it's the only art piece.
In terms of core mechanics, if you're comfortable with PbtA, you're already comfortable with this game. One big change is the addition of Opportunities---situations in which a character auto-succeeds---which can be created by certain Moves. Another is Obligation---a meter that builds as you try to reconcile the two halves of your life and when it fills causes you to have a public breakdown. Finally there's school clubs, which give you stat bonuses if you join them, but fill your Obligation if you skip them.
If you're not familiar with Powered By The Apocalypse games, this isn't a bad choice for your first one. The nuances of the system are explained clearly and in depth. The setting also thrives on drama, which is what PbtA is best at.
In terms of character creation, you build your PC from two playbooks: one normal, and one weird. NPCs also fall into those two categories: normal and weird. This division line that runs down the middle of the game is a really neat trick, and creates a lot of comedy fodder for situations where an NPC from one side crosses over into the other.
For GM support, there's a lot of advice throughout the book on how to GM, how to use safety tools, what is anime, what are ttrpgs, etc. You could pick up this book with no knowledge of anything it contains and still be decently ready to run it by the time you got done reading it.
Probably the strongest feature of Oddity High is how many playbooks it contains. There's a heap of normal playbooks, a heap of weird playbooks, Angles (think subclasses) for each playbook, and everything is distinct and fits the milieu.
Overall, if you want to play something that feels like Saiki K, emphasizes antics, and has some system meat without being super complicated to learn or teach, this is a good pick. Per the game page, it's still in active development, so more features or content may be added in the future---but it's perfectly runnable in its present state. Check it out if you want a high energy slice of life high school drama.
What exactly is Finale Advancement? I don't see it mentioned anywhere in rule book nor playbook section.
It's referring to a section that is present in a separate PDF handout. It's something that I had uploaded but, for whatever reason, marked as private. I'll look it over, make sure everything is updated and nothing is incomplete, and make it public shortly. Thank you for pointing this out!
Not a problem. My group play with your system and like them a lot.