[Monsterhearts] Harry Potter and the Gaze Into the Abyss

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Traditional Games > The Game Room > [Monsterhearts] Harry Potter and the Gaze Into the Abyss

someone awful.: Sep 7, 2007

interest

e: probably a wyrm?

someone awful. fucked around with this message at 22:42 on Jun 27, 2015

# ¿ Jun 27, 2015 17:54

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# ¿ Apr 24, 2024 06:44

someone awful.: Sep 7, 2007

Seth Mercer, the Wyrm

If you ask me, Voldemort didn't have it all wrong. No, don't look at me like that -- he was completely off-base with the blood purity nonsense, and murder is never justified, but listen. I read all about him, I know everything there is to know... and in my humble opinion? There is only power, and those too weak to seek it. How is that a controversial statement? The thing that Voldemort didn't understand -- or refused to let himself see -- was that love is just another form of power. Why bother with using the Imperius on everyone you've crossed when you can simply avoid crossing people to begin with? Obtain their loyalty, and wield it, and you will have no finer tool: it can be the finest needle or the sharpest sword; you need only know who to call on and when.

I don't blame him for not seeing the obvious. He was only mortal; only a poor, sad half-blood full to bursting with self-resentment and ambition beyond his reach.

Take my father. He started small, working as a foreign liaison for Gringott's, but even this was a position of respect. Respect leads to allegiances; with his newfound connections across the sea, he was able to set up his own business. You may have heard of it -- Mercer's Miscellany, the import shop on Knockturn Alley? Purveyor of fine wizarding curiosities and handicrafts from every corner of the map?

All right, I'll grant you that it's no cultish army willing to lay their lives down for some lost cause, but that wasn't what he was going for. His father, my grandfather, made him start his work from scratch, create his fortune from the ground up. And he did. He's a tidy little hoard now, with more Galleons than a man could hope to spend, a small museum's worth of supposedly lost artefacts, and allies -- I mean, friends -- to call on for any need he may possibly lack. What more can a being want out of life?

I'm going to be expected to do similar once I've graduated: to forge my own empire, to find my own way. Such, unfortunately, is my birthright. The most important lesson I've learned from watching my father is that empires -- and hoards -- are built on the backs of others, whether they willingly bow or need to be brought to their knees.

But let's put that all aside for now, yes? Sit down, sit down; I've the kettle on -- do you fancy a bit of tea? Can I make you more comfortable somehow? You'll learn there are perks to serving m- I mean, being my friend. Let's have a chat, shall we?

quote:

Seth Mercer, the Wyrm (Slytherin)
(a sinister name, a coiling name, a royal name)
Sharp; greedy eyes
In his blood

Wand: Acacia and Grim hair; 9⅔in; rigid but not inflexible

Hot -1, Cold 2, Volatile -1, Dark 1

Wyrm Moves

Bargaining Ceremony
Drinking tea, sharing a cigarette, playing chess, or sitting back to back are all ceremonies.

When negotiating a bargain during a ceremony, both of you can offer Strings as part of that bargain. This can include Strings you have on others, or new Strings that you generate on yourselves. When you're both satisfied, the exchange occurs.

The Bait
You have a collection of beautiful things � magical oddities and relics. When you show it to someone, they inevitably find something they fancy. They will mark experience when it becomes theirs and is no longer yours. Also, choose one:
~ they see something someone else would like, and when you show that someone the something, carry one forward against them,
~ the time has flown by and it's hours later than you thought.

Jealous Coils
When anyone gets close to someone you covet and you act territorial, roll with dark. On a 10 up, both: they lose a String on your coveted, and you gain a String on your coveted. � On a 7-9, gain a String on your coveted, and your coveted chooses:
~ they give you a Condition,
~ you say something you'll regret.

Sex Move

When you have sex with someone, read them this: "Choose at least one thing from this list, and for each that you choose, describe something I learn about you from our intimacy:
~ Give me a String on you, and take something from my collection.
~ Give me a String on you, and take a String on me as well.
~ Give me a String on you, and I'll promise you anything you'd like.
~ Give me a String on you, and then give me a Condition."

Darkest Self

You've become too heady, too lax, too vague. You need to dominate one of the people-things that you treasure, let it know that it's yours, that it doesn't get to choose who owns it � you do. You escape your Darkest Self when your treasured thing proves that you don't own it entirely, or when you see the difference between objects and people.

Backstory

Judge each other PC as either �treasure� or �merely currency.�

If they're treasure, describe the moment they caught your eye, and give them a String.

If they're merely currency, take a String on them. Read them this: "Describe something off-putting that I said to you."

quote:

Tell me about one of your classes.

The Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher dislikes me, and I don't begrudge her for it. Professor Sherazi is her name, and I find her fascinating -- she was born in Africa, and they have a very different view of magic in her home culture. She so often gets caught up in anecdotes about her peoples' history and traditions that I occasionally forget I'm not in History of Magic, but honestly? I prefer it this way. Our History class is so Euro-centric and dull, mostly covering territory I already know full well. Also she's actually fought quite a few of the creatures she's making us study about, in the wild, and what's not to respect about that? She's an excellent teacher.

But they say the Defense position is cursed, don't they? And true, this is her first year at it...

quote:

Tell me about a secret you've discovered at Hogwarts.

Whoever built this damned building had a sick sense of humor. You've heard of the Room of Requirement, right? Who hasn't? As it turns out, she has a twin most devious. It starts off innocent enough, looking like the door to your destination, even when you open it -- if it's a classroom it'll seem to have your teachers inside, or if it's a bathroom it'll have toilets. But cross the threshhold and WHAM! The door smacks closed behind you, knocking you on your arse if you're not careful -- the illusion vanishes, and you're trapped in a weird sort of closet! And then you have to spend your time puzzling out how to convince the door to open back up, and the trick's different every time. I don't know who's having a laugh with this whole setup, but I've quite a few choice words for the bastards if I ever find out. _{Maybe I can get Father to eat them.}

quote:

Tell me about another student that's significant to you for good or ill.

Ramona Bucket. The most ordinary twerp of a Hufflepuff.

I'm not one to insult people lightly; nearly every person has value, if only as a pawn. But Ramona? Eghhh. She somehow embodies every milquetoast, generic, obnoxious trait a stereotypical Hufflepuff could possibly have. (There's a joke that she's a reincarnation of Helga herself. I shudder to think.) For some reason, she's decided she likes me (as a friend, she was quick to state. Repeatedly.), so for every class I share with her she tries to sit next to me, partner up with me for pairs work, et cetera.She has the most obnoxious laugh and I rarely escape these things unscathed; I can make it out with only a headache if I'm lucky. Her favorite subject is Muggle Studies, which I've long held is a completely worthless and outright insulting waste of a class, and she's a half-blood besides so I don't understand what she gets out of it.

Why won't she realize that I detest her? Is she that thick? I'm quite keen to make connections outside of my house, but... why her?

someone awful. fucked around with this message at 21:44 on Jun 28, 2015

# ¿ Jun 28, 2015 09:45

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Traditional Games > The Game Room > [Monsterhearts] Harry Potter and the Gaze Into the Abyss