#leverage ttrpg

[gnar-slabdash]

Here's the Leverage ttrpg book pdf on dropbox

[ttrpgcafe]

I was stopping by my local history museum today for a work trip, and spotted this:

I've been wanting to run a heist game using a real bank vault schematic for ages now, and this was perfect! I asked the woman working the counter how they were able to get literal bank vault blueprints, she said that the local library has a BUNCH of historical records, and that if I wanted more, I should check there.

I bring this up because there's a pretty good chance that you, yes you, reading this post, can go down to YOUR local library for similar schematics and maps for use in your ttrpg sessions! Not every library has a section like this, but MOST of the cities I've lived in have had a "historical" section for the city\town they're located in, and offer a BUNCH of stuff, it just never occurred to me that they might have bank blueprints in particular.

[what---i-dated-a]

Holy fucknuggets y'all

[gnar-slabdash]

RE: the Leverage TTRPG. I was bewildered that Nate's isn't Hitter.... so much of his characterization showcased him wanting to obliterate marks, especially where hurt kids are concerned. But Hitter also makes him seem like less of a cool, calm and collected mastermind stereotype for 2010s TV and gaming, so I can kinda understand why they went with Grifter; either for character economy or to help players less familiar with the show conceptualizw things. I would be curious if there are any characters (beyond Parker) where you disagree and what you think everyone's secondary role should be?

Huh, that's cool, cause I totally see what you mean but actually I completely agree with them that Grifter is Nate's secondary. I think when he goes to plan a job he's actually looking at it from a very similar perspective to what Sophie would -- what does the mark WANT the most, because that's what'll make them vulnerable. At least when he's on his game, I don't think his goal is just to obliterate them, it's to hit where it will hurt them the most, which means he has to figure out what they care about the most and how best to threaten that -- and that's all grifter skills.

As for others I disagree with..... I don't disagree with Hardison and Eliot having Mastermind (though full disclosure I balked at Hardison having it at first, had to do some de-internalizing of Nate bullshit on that one before I came around to it). But I do think if we fix Parker's to Mastermind then it might be more fun to give them all different ones. So if they weren't Mastermind Eliot's would definitely be Grifter and I think Hardison would be Thief.

I don't agree with Sophie as Thief because she's very clear that she doesn't think she should have to do strictly Thief skills (can't crack a safe because the mark should just open it for her). I'm not sure what I would give her, but actually maybe hacker? Like even though she doesn't use tech that's kind of how they talk about her manipulation/"neurolinguistic programming" stuff? Man. Imagine how terrifying she would be if she did bother to learn how computers work.

The list of "secondary roles" from the book again if anyone wants to jump in on this:

Nate – Grifter Parker – Hitter Hardison – Mastermind Sophie – Thief Eliot – Mastermind Tara – Hacker Chaos – Mastermind Sterling for some reason gets TWO secondaries, Hitter and Grifter

[gnar-slabdash]

@beautifulscreaminglady was wondering about any interesting characterization that might come up in the ttrpg text. ngl, I don't read the color text that closely, but there's one thing in the mechanics that I think is interesting for the characters.

So when you build a character you have a stat for each of the five roles. Your highest stat is in your primary role, but your second highest stat (secondary role) is also important. And the secondary role doesn't just mean it's the thing you're next-best at. It's also supposed to inform how you do your primary role. So like, here's the text for Hackers with two different secondary roles:

Hacker/Hitter: He stomps through network defenses like a giant monster through Tokyo. Dude takes no prisoners and leaves a smoking ruin in his wake. Why use a key when you can use a hammer? Many Marks need to replace their hardware when he gets through with them.

Hacker/Grifter: It’s pretty rare that people notice his online activity, but when they do, he’s all up and messin’ with the server logs so he’s seen as a trusted peer network, an innocent wrong number, or some harmless kid—anybody but who he really is.

So I think it's pretty interesting to look at what they thought everybody's secondary roles should be....... some of these I completely agree with but some I look at very hard, tilt my head and squint, and then shrug and say "Well, this came out right after season 2, I guess they just didn't know any better."

Nate -- Grifter

Parker -- Hitter

Hardison -- Mastermind

Sophie -- Thief

Eliot -- Mastermind

Tara -- Hacker

Chaos -- Mastermind

Sterling for some reason gets TWO secondaries, Hitter and Grifter

[just-call-me-zinnia]

I think it's important to mention that the Leverage TTRPG core rule book has an example sheet for Sterling as a rival character who might get in the way of the con and one of his traits is "Sterling Never Loses."

[just-call-me-zinnia]

If you're a writer I really suggest that you find a copy of the Leverage RPG rulebook, either a pdf or buying a physical copy secondhand, even if you're not into TTRPGs because the section for GMs (or the Fixer, as they call it) is basically a guide for how to write a Leverage episode.

[just-call-me-zinnia]

Obsessed with the Leverage TTRPG rulebook's suggestion for coming up with a plot basically being "turn on the news."

Like, yeah, okay, you're right, but I hate it.