White Pickets

everyday fear in the 'burbs

This setting was inspired by the movie Lawn Dogs and by watching soap operas in languages I don't understand. It doesn't have any supernormal qualities. I cannot commit a great deal of time to development and have no opportunity to playtest, but I had a need to get this out where someone else might play with it, so here it is.

The default pools don't resonate well with the setting; instead, the pools are the petty fears that inform the characters' actions. The refreshment conditions were thought up in a few seconds and badly need revisioning.

• Desperation (struggle to improve one's lot): Desperation is the pool that governs whether or not you are going to get ahead in life; it is refreshed by having a moment to reflect on your well-being in the company of others; the defense ability associated with Desperation is Indulgence (D)
  

A character with a large Desperation Pool will have the drive to get ahead; a character with a low Desperation Pool will never amount to much. An exemplar of Desperation is Daniel Plainview (from the movie There Will Be Blood).

• Hatred (struggle to ruin others' lot): Hatred is the pool that lets you compromise others' resources; it is refreshed by being around but not personally involved in victory and defeat; the defense ability associated with Hatred is Defensiveness (H)
  

A character with a large Hatred Pool will dominate other people at their expense; a character with a low Hatred Pool will have to give in to threats or get hurt. An exemplar of Hatred is William Foster (from the movie Falling Down).

• Shame (struggle to control ego and status): Shame is the pool that helps you to control others; it is refreshed by affirming established relationships; the defense ability associated with Shame is Apathy (S)
  

A character with a large Shame Pool will exploit any weakness in others and aggrandize themselves; a character with a low Shame Pool is a lackluster manipulator of the social scene. An exemplar of Shame is Miranda Priestly (from the movie The Devil Wears Prada).

They are not grouped according to theme.

• Business (D): This is how well you are managing your career or vocation
• Finance (D): This is how well you handle money
• Seduction (D): This is how well you convince others to do what you want
• Technology (D): This is how well you make use of all those toys
• Abuse (H): This is how well you get away with treating others badly
• Cutting (H): This is how well you can talk shit about someone straight to their face
• Law (H): This is how well you play the system to screw others
• Lying (H): This is how well you believe your own BS
• Violence (H): This is how bad you can hurt others, physically
• Backstabber (S): This is how well you turn others' trust to your advantage
• Event Planning (S): This is how much everyone wants to spend time with you
• Gossip (S): This is how bad you can make another person look behind their back
• Homecare (S): This is how well you impress others
• Investigation (S): This is how you get the dirt on people

The example Keys from the Solar System that fit well are Cripple, Dark Secret, Despair, Edge, Family, Idol, Greed, LGBT, Minority

• Alcohol/Pills: The character has an addiction. 1xp - Get your fix on; 2xp - Deny you have a problem in the face of evidence; 5xp - Have something horrible happen under the influence; Buyoff - Have an intervention and join AlAnon.
• Ambition: The character will rise to the top. 1xp - Get ahead, somehow; 3xp - Take a big risk for advancement; Buyoff - Get out of the rat race.
• Artist: The character has vision in an environment that doesn't. 1xp - Make a work of art; 2xp - Get into a conflict over your vision; 5xp - Change the way another person sees the world; Buyoff - Let it drop and get a real job.
• the Children: The character has kids they need to worry about. 1xp - Worry about the kids; 3xp - Suffer for your children; Buyoff - Let the kids get into trouble.
• Controlling: If the character doesn't take care of it, no-one will. 1xp - Tell someone else how to act; 2xp - Blame them for their failures and upbraid them; 5xp - Take over a dangerously failing situation and show them how it's done; Buyoff - Give up control.
• Distant: The character can't be bothered. 1xp - Ignore people that should matter to you; 3xp - Let a relationship crumble without a fight; Buyoff - Show that you give a damn.
• Fetish/Obsession: The character's got a real thing for something odd. 1xp - Get your fetish/obsession in a scene; 2xp - Get in trouble over your fetish/obsession; 5xp - Take a huge risk to satisfy your fetish/obsession; Buyoff - Walk away from a chance to satisfy your perversity.
• Jealousy: The character is a green-eyed monster. 1xp - Point out how someone else has it better than you; 3xp - Screw over a target of your jealousy; Buyoff - Be happy for someone else's good fortune.
• Religion: The character has got a bad case of religion. 1xp - Bring up how your religion feels about the situation; 2xp - Get into a fight over your religion; 5xp - Stand fast in your interpretation of things when it is going to cost you big time; Buyoff - Admit your religion might be wrong about something.
• Treadmill: The character is stuck in a rut and tired of it. 1xp - Have reason to complain about the grind; 3xp - Have a lucky break canceled out; Buyoff - Leave the life you know and get a better one.

So this is an area I was not terribly inspired in; many of the example Secrets, properly adapted, make for a fine set. There are a few new ones at the end.
Contacts, Difficulty, Equipment (D), Specialization, Surprise, & Wrestling are available as-is.
Avoidance is only available for Seduction.
Blessing can be used with Finance, Seduction, Cutting, Violence, Backstabber, Event Planning, and Gossip.
Imposition is available for the Children, Fetish/Obsession, and Religion, but it costs 3 Shame.
Mighty Blow is available for Cutting and Backstabber.
Shattering is available for Finance, Technology, & Event Planning.
Skirmish is available for Cutting.
Synergy is available for Business & Finance, Seduction & Abuse, Seduction & Lying, Abuse & Violence, Law & Lying, and any combination of Cutting, Backstabber, & Gossip.
Training is available for Business, Finance, Technology, Law, Violence, and Investigation.

• No Mortgage: prerequisite secret of Equipment (homeowner), this secret reduces the cost of using the prerequisite secret by 1, and otherwise acts as per the example secret Quality Construction for all related effects (D)
• Family Loyalty: this secret is essentially the Background example secret, acting as prerequisite to the Aide example secret (which uses Apathy in place of Resist) and giving a bonus die in circumstances where family loyalty helps
• Higher Education: this secret allows the character to refresh any of their pools through intellectual & academic pursuits as long as they are in the context of interaction
• Poisoner: this secret permits the use of Technology to poison people, including but not limited to various Effects, costs 1D & 1H
• Retaliation: this secret permits the defense ability of Defensiveness to cause Harm on the Defensive action in Extended conflict; it also changes the ability's leverage in normal conflict

Travis Conway is a former U.S. Marine from a lower class background who came into some money and moved his family to the 'burbs to get away from drugs and crime. He is married to Katie Conway, and they have two sons, Jayden and Dakota. Travis sunk almost all his inheritance into the house and vehicles, and is running out of money. His wife and older son are terrified of him, as he does not shy from beating them when he is dissatisfied with their behavior; he married Katie to keep a clean house, cook, and take care of the kids; he expects his boys to be tough and is mostly proud of them. He spends a lot of time out drinking and fighting, up north hunting, or at sporting events (football and hockey, of course). He has an ongoing sexual relationship with Tessa Moore that started soon after he moved into the neighborhood, and otherwise sleeps around from time to time.
Desperation: 2 Hatred: 6 Shame: 2
Indulgence: C Defensiveness: Ma Apathy: M
Abilities: Violence E, Seduction C, Abuse C, Backstabber C
Secrets: Training (Violence), Retaliation, Equipment (military weapons)
Keys: Edge

Tessa Moore is a widower living off a sizable life insurance settlement. She married a much older man with a heart problem while she was relatively young, and since he passed on she has been having a lot of fun seducing the men of the neighborhood away from their wives and turning them on one another, seeing how much she can get away with. Her relationship with Travis is starting to get intense, as she drives him to further extremes.
Desperation: 3 Hatred: 2 Shame: 6
Indulgence: E Defensiveness: C Apathy: M
Abilities: Seduction E, Backstabber C, Gossip C, Technology C, Investigation C
Secrets: Wrestling (Desperation), Poisoner, Specialization (Seduction, sexual), Specialization (Technology, poison)
Keys: Jealousy

Albert Platt is the chief quality assurance executive at a nearby auto company that is probably going to close soon. His wife, Janice, and three kids (Steven, Heather, and Iris), are spoiled but he loves them and will not deny them anything; his brothers and sisters are also well-off and like to compete with one another in achievement. Albert is ready to make a big move to get the stability his family needs.
Desperation: 5 Hatred: 3 Shame: 2
Indulgence: C Defensiveness: E Apathy: M
Abilities: Business E, Finance C, Technology C, Law E
Secrets: Surprise (Desperation), Synergy (Business & Finance), Contacts
Keys: Ambition, Family