Obscurity

by Mendel Schmiedekamp

The interplay of form and force is dangerous and subtle. It provides the underpinnings of the world around us, but is unseen, unfelt, until it washes away. No where is it more apparent than the dark and foreboding world of catchy music.

In Obscurity, players take on the roles of catchy songs, precisely the songs that become stuck in one's head, requiring more potent songs, or perhaps a power drill, to remove. But player songs are different from your ordinary commercial jingle or top-ten pop song. They are alive, and they are aware, and they have plans for humanity.

The Debut Album

Name:

A good song has a stupid name. While this isn't always true, it's best to start with one, then people try to get rid of the song all the more, which only feed your power.

Affiliation:

What musical genre do you fall into? Fans of this genre will be especially susceptible to your wiles. On the other hand, this may make other immune. Being a commercial jingle neatly avoids both of those eventualities.

Goal:

One is really all you need. Consider the important things, like bringing back bell-bottoms and promoting Volkswagon Beetles.

Eruption:

Ever notice how some songs just won't stay dead. This is because the Great Composer does not leave her children without some defenses. When all is silent, your song can return from obscurity and become known again. This is referred to as Eruption. Being a fair deity the Great Composer provides each of her children with five Eruptions. Starting songs will have already used one, to start their plans. While not impossible, it is difficult to gain additional Eruptions, and even then only through  great adherence to the ideals of the Great Composer. Of course no one has a clear idea what those are. Well except for chocolate, she seems to like chocolate ...

Spheres:

The ability of a song to influence people is rated along the three spheres of human experience:

Blood - passions and pleasure, violence and lust.

Sweat - exertion, both mental and physical, usually accompanied by purpose.

Tears - sadness and the other passive emotions of the world.

A given song has 7 points to divide amongst these three spheres, indicating the degree this song can incite a reaction in that arena.

Hosts:

Like all parasites a catchy song is nothing without it's hosts. To create a host, specify the following:

Name - people need some way to refer to each other.

Potency - the raw talent and effectiveness of the host. Also indicates their resistance to your influences.

Talent - each host is good at something. How good of course depends on their potency.

Dominant Sphere - which sphere plays the greatest roll in a host's life?

Generate one host, of potency 3 as your initial host.

The Road to the Top

Getting around and making people do things is an essential element of any plan, but with songs the greatest risk is slipping out of people's minds.

Getting Stuck:

To get stuck in someone's mind, you first need to expose them. This usually involves being played or even hummed in their presence. Then you roll equal or above their potency to become stuck. However if you roll a 1, you will slip out of the mind you originally were inside. Hence you must always roll this, even if the person you are going after has potency 1. Also while many people can hear you at a time, only one host can be acquired per playing. If the target is a fan of your affiliation, their potency is considered reduced by one, if they are opposed to it, their potency is considered increased by one.

Doing the Job:

Influencing people is not difficult, after all songs can link into the deep well of which most hosts are unaware. Of course it's got some risks associated with it. Under normal circumstance you will roleplay your hosts normally. But if there is a point where you decide to make the host act differently than usual, you must roll to determine if the song can affect them in this manner. This is done by rolling a d6 equal or less than the associated sphere you are using. Hence if you are trying to stop a mugger from mugging a lone woman, you need to roll equal or below your Tears sphere. However to cause the mugger to save that same woman from being hit by a bus, requires rolling equal or below your Sweat sphere. Further making the mugger fall in love with that woman would require rolling equal or below your Blood sphere.

Note, your sphere is considered one higher if it matches the dominant sphere of the host being used at the time. However, if you roll a 1 on any of these rolls, you slip out of the host, though the change likely was retained.

Taking Care of Business:

When a host takes some sort of action, compare the potency of the host to the difficulty of the action. Add a +1 if the action falls within this host's talent. Then either compare with an opposed potency, or look at the table below:

Difficulty:
1 - trivial action
2 - easy action
3 - average action
4 - difficult action
5 - complex action
6 - very complex action
7 - nearly impossible action

A song can inspire a host to new heights of ability, or depths of failure. Roll above, as if you were influencing the host, subtract your roll from your sphere. Add this value to the potency of the host.

The Green Room in the Sky

Songs can dwell in many places, but few of their hangout are as consistent as the Green Room in the Sky, or just the Green. This is where songs can discuss their plans, and try to get help from other songs. It's also the only place you'll find a song when their Eruption has ended and a new one has yet to begin. It's a good place to parlay and make friends, but it's also a good place to make enemies. Which occurs is up to your song.


© 2003 Mendel Schmiedekamp