Advice on a Custom Move for The Veil

#1

Hi! I recently started a duet game of The Veil with my partner. I’m GMing, and my partner’s playing an Apparatus.

In our world, scientists have been replaced by A.I.s that identify ‘problems’ in the world and produce technology or knowledge that solves them. The A.I.s churn out a lot of tech with no identifiable purpose. Some initially useless pieces of ephemera have turned out to be essential, so the policy is that nothing gets destroyed. Our Apparatus, Trix, is ‘mystery tech.’

My partner had the idea that Trix has an inbuilt (and very, very illegal) ability to hack other people’s minds. Right now, only she knows about it. I love this idea. It’s like Probe, but with potential for Veil-y weirdness and high stakes. I wrote up a custom move called “Mindhacking.” I’d really appreciate any advice or pointers on it!

Mindhacking: When you attempt to hack someone’s mind in order to experience their brain-state, ‘hear their thoughts,’ or dive into their memories, roll. On a hit, you get what you were looking for. On a 10+, choose 3. On a 7 - 9, choose 2:

  • „Your target does not notice the incursion.
  • You leave no trace on your target’s neurochip.
  • The information has no gaps or distortion.
  • You experience no harm from neural feedback.
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#2

Maybe our resident expert @Frasersimons has thoughts?

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#3

It seems functional! One thought, though: the results don’t help the MC figure out what the fiction looks like for the hack; especially if its like them going into a memory and experiencing something there. The outcomes are all what happens after that, so it might get lost in the shuffle, depending on how long this scene. I imagine sometimes it would be quick surface thoughts and then the move would be a lot more tight. But if it’s more intense, in-depth scene where they’re getting this information the outcomes chosen don’t inform any of that.

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#4

Thanks to both of you for the fast reply! And thanks to @Frasersimons for creating such a wonderful game.

I really like the idea of tightening the scope of the move: “When you hack someone’s mind in order to momentarily experience their brain-state or ‘hear their thoughts’…”

I think it makes sense to have a separate move (that maybe we’ll unlock later) to tell you whether or not you can successfully ‘dive’ into someone’s brain for a longer period. Then, the dive can be handled in-fiction, with the PC’s consciousness making moves and trying to navigate someone else’s personal segment of the Veil.

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