1. Concepts
1.1. Theme
1.1.1. a world which fears and oppresses them
1.1.2. rejection from your biological family to find a new one
1.1.3. a new fragile community
1.1.4. having to deal with this while being a teenager
1.1.5. pressure, impossible expectations and demands of people who don't trust you
1.1.6. choosing whether to try to make the world better, to escape into an enclave, or to burn it all down
1.1.7. a world bigger than America
1.1.8. mutant - superpowered allegory for growing up
1.2. Game
1.2.1. more than one character/player, building an entire family
1.2.2. flexible, evolving, contradicting arcs for characters
1.2.3. nonmonogamy of characters
1.2.4. every person is a potential character, there's no heroes, there's no villains, there's just stories
1.2.5. encouraging everybody to take part in playing the world and tensions
1.2.6. conflict is short and quick to resolve
1.3. Mechanics
1.3.1. using a combination of cards to represent different aspects of a character.
1.3.1.1. so for example, Cyclops might be Blaster: Barely Under Control + Leader: Reluctant, but at a later point, he can sub out the Leader thread for Mystery: Missing Sibling
1.3.1.2. this is also about making it such that a character, when not active, isn't a sheet of paper, but just a stack of cards that can be picked up by anybody
1.3.1.3. using cards to build enemies and allies just the same (everybody is a first class character)
1.3.1.4. cards for nationality, in order to emphasize the worldwide aspect and get diversity
1.3.1.4.1. name generation too
1.3.1.5. drafts for concepts
1.3.1.5.1. drafts for concepts
1.3.1.6. having cards means that players can get inspiration for new characters from just cards lying around
1.3.1.7. problems: seeding that
1.3.1.8. lots of work generating all the cards
1.3.2. cards which represent threats or other elements of the setting (such as anti-mutant sentiment, or even love/lust in the school)
1.3.2.1. having these be cards means that people can take plots/situations/threats which interest them
1.3.2.2. a standard gm'd game is just that one player is the only one to take any situations
1.3.2.3. but that can slowly evolve over time
1.3.2.4. using these to create modularity: do you want a Xavier's School? Great, take the school cards
1.3.2.5. but cards are a kind of less-popular medium
1.3.2.5.1. supporting app - generator
1.3.2.6. mobile app - bring up characters
1.3.2.7. will want to think about how to let it such that people can play the game just off of pdf, without an inordinate amount of cutting
1.3.3. tension mechanic
1.3.3.1. players (and situations) build up tension through their rolls
1.3.3.1.1. unlike damage, this is not just for failed rolls
1.3.3.2. players at high tension are at risk for a tension break (with big consequences)
1.3.3.2.1. you play another character
1.3.3.3. ways to release tension are to break the rules, vent/rage, or switch characters
1.3.3.3.1. meant to be one of the main encouragements for switching up characters. is it too heavy handed?
1.3.4. uses a modified form of the aw engine
1.3.4.1. lots of people have spilled ink over this. it's got pros and cons
1.3.4.2. i have other models of this game sitting around, some which I really like (based off dream askew, so kinda sorta related to AW), but I feel like the justification for calling it mutanthearts but not being AW is slim on the ground
1.3.4.3. also more people will play it. that's not a bad thing
1.3.4.4. also, i love the speed of resolution, the mix of fiction-producing failure and success, and the way that moves work dovetails really well with cards
1.3.5. some form of player-based reward or bennies that stays between characters
1.3.5.1. archipelago token
1.3.5.2. for specific types of things: like a rebellion-only fanmail
2. Example Cards
2.1. **Character / The Phaser** _(Lone Wolf)_ +Power: when you use your powers to escape, to get ahead of everybody else, to surprise somebody or pull a prank When you break into a place you're not supposed to be using **Take A Risk**, +Advantage When you try to **Learn A Secret** by yourself, +Advantage When you get yourself into big trouble, flip. When you save the day and take all the credit, advance. **Character / The Phaser** _(Not My Problem)_ +Power when you use your powers to escape, to get ahead of everybody else, to surprise somebody or pull a prank **Outta Here:** When you try to escape by yourself or avoid responsibility, +Advantage **A Real Pal**: When you try to convince somebody to take the blame for you, +Advantage If you convince somebody to take the blame for you, or somebody reassures you that it's not your fault, you heal. When you admit that you screwed up, heal and advance. When you get off scot free, advance.
3. keyword verbs: that determine what you can do after a roll, win or lose. Colossus has the Protect, Emma Frost has Seduce potency: alpha, omega, beta: starting dice higher, more problems
4. Mechanics (in-depth)
4.1. Rolling mechanics
4.1.1. why mess with stat+2d6?
4.1.1.1. tabulating up +1's and keeping track of forwards is tedious.
4.1.1.2. i'm not sure there's an easy breakdown of stats that makes sense for mutant teenagers
4.1.1.3. in addition, with moves and powers broken up over cards, getting a full set of stats didn't seem like a good /easy idea
4.1.2. basics:
4.1.2.1. instead of 2d6 + a number, you roll a number of d6 and take the 2 highest
4.1.2.2. by default, any action uses 2d6
4.1.2.3. certain moves and character elements give +tags. each one adds a die, but is unique (can't stack them)
4.1.2.3.1. For example, from the Phaser card which emphasizes being a lone wolf Only One Smart Enough: When you try to **Learn A Secret** by yourself, gain +Advantage
4.1.2.3.2. Moves may also have general triggers for gaining advantage: **Learn A Secret** has: +Advantage: : revealing how you're secretly connected, revealing what you'd do if there were no consequences, spending a long amount of time, blackmail
4.1.2.3.3. every character has +Power abilities, like for example, the Phaser gets the +Power tag when using their powers to escape, to pull pranks, to surprise people.
4.1.2.3.4. the teamwork card may give out +Teamwork
4.1.2.4. certain conditions and elements may give -tags, which subtract a die. if you have only 2 dice and get a -tag, you roll 3 dice and take the 2 lowest
4.1.2.4.1. things equivalent to Conditions in Monsterhearts may give -tags
4.1.2.5. rolling a perfect 12 may give a special effect per move
4.1.3. tension:
4.1.3.1. tension starts at 1 per character (put a die the cards, at 1)
4.1.3.1.1. tension can also be on a situation (like town anti-mutant fears)
4.1.3.2. doing certain actions increase tension
4.1.3.3. or winning a move like lash out may inflict tension
4.1.3.4. when you roll, if you don't roll any numbers which are equal to or higher than your tension, you suffer a tension break
4.1.3.4.1. so frex: if your tension is 4, then you must roll a 4 or 5 or 6, or you break. at 6, you still get your roll, but you are going to break.
4.1.3.5. tension is gained by:
4.1.3.5.1. being hurt, socially or physically or mentally
4.1.3.5.2. moves which cost tension
4.1.3.5.3. fighting for the Edge (see below)
4.1.3.6. tension is released by:
4.1.3.6.1. breaking
4.1.3.6.2. changing characters
4.1.3.6.3. moves
4.1.4. the edge:
4.1.4.1. this part is rough
4.1.4.2. basically, on each roll, there's an Edge
4.1.4.3. anybody can take one tension to grab it
4.1.4.3.1. doing anything?
4.1.4.3.2. it could also be that it's limited to people using their powers
4.1.4.4. but then anybody else can take one tension to grab it back
4.1.4.5. it's very dogs like in narration, of a back and forth
4.1.4.6. and if it gets into a big fight of people taking it bakc and forth, it represents sort of a pyrrhic escalation
4.1.4.7. but anyway, when people are done spending, the person with the edge can spend it to:
4.1.4.7.1. add a die
4.1.4.7.2. subtract a die
4.1.4.7.3. (idea) maybe activate a special thing on the move in the case of a hit?
4.1.4.8. blind bidding? grabbing the edge?