Happy Wednesday, Shoppers,

I hope you've all been well and minding your monthly oblations to the god Peloton. I've got another update for you all, something that will likely be a weekly thing moving forward (Starting...now!).

Rebrand!

You might have noticed that the system has a new name: You Are Here. I really do like this name a lot better than Let's Go to The Mall and I hope you do too. You Are Here feels foreboding to me and lacks the kind of sweet, sweet context that brings answers. In fact, every single word of the title represents a dilemma that the game seeks to explore.

• You - Who are you now? Nobody, except perhaps The Denizen, goes unchanged by The Mall upon entering. Perhaps you can now see The Tags, or the threads that tie us together. Maybe you feel power humming through the fabric of a new outfit. Regardless, You are now a different You.
• Are - You are Here now, but how did You get to Be Here? If you're The Encore, how Were You Here before?
• Here - And lastly... Where is Here? How do You leave Here? Are You stuck Here? Is it safe Here?

Lastly, and most superficially, the page looks a little bit better now!

Playbook Updates

The Tethered

I've gotten a good way through The Tethered and feel like I have a better understanding of what makes them tick. I now have a good spread of Playbook Moves and a Special called Emotion Surge. This new Special lets the emotions of others bleed into The Tethered, filling up 5 gauges (one for each stat). When a gauge is filled, The Tethered can "Surge" that stat, boosting it and manifesting a supernatural ability.

Say, for example, I'm playing Dr. Kim, a Tethered. One of the qualities I've chosen that stirs her is Selflessness, so when a fellow Mallgoer risks their life to protect her, the associated stat (Slick) gains a charge. Once this gauge is filled, Dr. Kim can Surge that stat, gaining a +1 to Slick rolls as well as the ability to communicate telepathically for the rest of the scene. She uses this surge to warn The Dairy Queen about her doppelganger, The False Dairy Queen, planning to usurp her thrown and have her arrested by The Mall Sentinels for theft. Thanks to the surge, The Dairy Kingdom aligns with you in the upcoming battle, and The False Dairy Queen is put behind bars.

The Trinketeer

I've also started working on The Trinketeer, particularly their Special: The Thingamajig. The Thingamajig is a conglomeration of sentient objects working symbiotically as an all-in-one device. These devices are recruited and coalesced by The Trinketeer, someone who can naturally speak Merchandese. The Thingamajig has its own playbook, with improvements bought by recruiting kinds of objects (Like sharp objects for more harm). This conglomerate is controlled by The Mall, but with a good relationship with The Trinketeer, it is very happy to listen. As such, The Trinketeer must listen to the objects in The Thingamajig and respect their unique wishes. If you can be a successful maestro, then The Thingamajig will prove an extremely useful ally.

I have the intent of making The Trinketeer themself not very useful on their own. Their power comes in bringing items together to sing in harmony and managing their relationship with their conglomerate. More details to come!

Basic Moves

The basic moves for this system are nearly finished! I'll be making a separate post for them once they are all ready to go, but there are 10 (2 for each stat). They are as follows:

Savvy

• 🔎 Read the Room: Sleuthing, stalking, searching 
• 🧠 Use Your Noggin: Calculating, recalling, thinking hard 

Slick

• 🦜 Talk It Up: Charming, persuading, provoking 
• 🖐 Lend a Hand: Helping others with a task 

Swag

• 😅 Control Yourself: Self-control, staying calm, being precise
• 🌼 Be the Wallflower: Hiding, sneaking, being low-key 

Strong

• 🥊 Throw Hands: Fighting something 
• 🛡 Step In: Protecting someone from harm 

Shop

• 💸 Shop Around: Searching for items unseen 
• 💳 Swipe! : Buying things

The Mall: How To

A starter guide for how to play The Mall (This system's version of a GM) is in the works as well, with instructions on how to put together a You Are Here campaign. This includes guides to putting together Sprees for your Mallgoers, creating Denizens to inhabit The Mall, and keeping track of lore as it unfolds. This is informed by my experiences as a GM in other PBTA, as well as best practices inspired by the community (Such as the X-Card, Lines and Veils, etc.).

Conclusion

Thanks for reading through my rant! All of these new developments are currently being kept safe in my Notion pages, and I'll be moving them over to the book in Scribus soon. As many things are "nearly done," I have confidence that there should be a wave of sample pages coming soon. These will be available for anybody who preorders the book to take a gander at as soon as they are available, and I'm always looking forward to feedback. 

Take care, and as always...

Stay Infinite, Shoppers
 Nate