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The Horizon 1 Site

HORIZON IS OVER!

The webpage remains up as a permanent archive of game material, mainly for the benefit of nostalgic players - although if you'd like to run a Horizon-inspired game for your friends, that's wonderful too. Horizon will be succeeded by Legacyin Trinity term of 2006.

If you like you can look at the (sketchy, incomplete) GM notes as well.

People Quirks

People Quirks are all about the people in your life.

You should buy People Quirks if you want your character to:

  • be especially popular or unpopular amongst their peers.
  • have enemies, allies, secret masters, kindly patrons, flunkies, spies, bodyguards, or dependents.
  • have spies tailing them, or bounty hunters pursuing them, or assassins stalking them.
  • be deeply in love with someone who loves them back, in an adorable fashion, or to be deeply in love with someone who doesn't love them back, in a kind of creepy fashion.
  • be a member of a fun extracurricular club, like the Democratic Congress of Horizon or (if you actually want to get things done) the Horizon People's Liberation Front. (Note that certain governmental individuals with no sense of humour would call members of these extracurricular clubs "subversive terrorists".)
  • be able to yell "I'm surrounded by IMBECILES!" at appropriate moments.

 Mob Reputation (varies)
You need a rank of at least 1 in a mob to take this quirk. This quirk allows you to specify just how popular you are within your chosen mob.

  • Despised (-3): Nobody likes you. Everyone hates you. Worm flapjacks are your favourite dish. It's only the natural loyalty between mob members which prevents you from being assassinated by your own homeboys. If you step an inch wrong, not even that will help you. If you are of low Rank within your mob, you are at the bottom of the pecking order, will be the scapegoat for anything which goes wrong in your mob, and aren't long for this world if you don't start winning people around to your side. If you have a high Rank in your mob, you are a deeply unpopular leader, lower-ranking members of your mob will occasionally ignore or directly disobey your orders and will be applauded for it by the rest of the gang, and rebellion is not far away at all.
  • Tolerated (-1): You aren't popular, but you're not hated. People tend to forget who you are, and overlook you when they're looking for someone to help them out.
  • One of the Boys (1): You're an accepted and popular member of the mob. People remember your name and invite you to their daughter's weddings; they will at least consider including you in interesting business opportunities.
  • Well-Liked (3): You're a very popular member of the mob. People buy you drinks and will definitely try to involve you in their plans, and will at least consider inviting you to marry their daughter.
  • Everyone's Buddy (6): All the other gangsters in your mob love you, or are at least too afraid of what the others will do to them if they claim otherwise. If your status within your mob is high, you're widely recognised as someone who people stay on the good side of if they don't want to end up at the bottom of the river, and gaining your favour will be important to anyone who wants to do well in the mob. If (for whatever reason) your status within your mob is low, you genuinely have a winning personality and a good sense of humour, and everyone holds you in high regard; you can even crack jokes at the expense of your betters and chances are they'll laugh rather than having you killed for it.

Please note that for purposes of reputation the Watchdogs are regarded as a mob.

Please also note that reputation quirks have no effect on how other player characters in your mob regard you - they interact with you too frequently to be dazzled or prejudiced by your reputation. On the flipside, PCs who befriend a Despised member of their mob are liable to have their own reputations suffer, and woe betide those who are mean to Everyone's Buddy.

Other Reputation (varies)
If you like, you can buy a reputation in any other organisation or group you belong to. Good reputations in other organisations are cheaper, and bad reputations give you less points back, because reputation is simply less important in other organisations - important non-mob organisations tend to have a more formal structure which limits the extent to which your reputation can give you an advantage, and having a high reputation in an unimportant organisation simply doesn't get you as much.

It costs -2 points to be Despised.
It costs -1 point to be Tolerated.
It costs 1 point to be One of the Boys.
It costs 2 points to be Well-Liked.
It costs 3 points to be Everyone's Buddy.

Hidden Loyalties (1)
Publicly, you are a member of one mob (at least Rank 1); in actual fact, you are a member of another. At the start of the games no-one knows this but you and us. You can also use this to be an incognito agent of any organisation in any other organisation.

Awkward Situation (-1)
You are a member of one mob (at least Rank 1) but actually live in another mob's primary district of influence. What's more, everybody knows. The balance of power and need for stability means that you're not in immediate danger, but you will be looked on with suspiscion by many of your neighbours and all of the gang members on policing duties. If open warfare breaks out between the two gangs, you will be first up against the Wall, unless you move fast.

Seneschal (4)
You must have at least Rank 1 in a mob to take this quirk. You speak for one of the most important members of your mob; you effectively have their rank as far as your status within the mob is concerned (they will be Rank 4 if you have Rank 1 or 2, Rank 5 if you have Rank 3 or 4). However, you will be expected to relay your boss's words faithfully and accurately; if you exceed your authority and your boss finds out, then it's the concrete shoes and the river for you.

Under-Chamber Representative (2)
To buy this quirk you must either be a Rank 4 or 5 member of a mob, or have the Seneschal quirk. You speak for and vote for your mob on the Under-Chamber, the hidden parliament of the criminal underworld. You will be expected to vote in a manner which advances your mob's interests; if a Rank 5 member of a mob votes in a manner which is regarded as contrary to the interests of said mob, rebellion is likely, and if a Rank 4 member or a Seneschal makes that blunder their superiors will have their heads; nonetheless, it is an excellent thing to be privy to the Under-Chamber's discussions.

If multiple players within a mob take this quirk, we will decide who the Under-Chamber representative of that mob is thusly:

  • Rank 5 characters and their Seneschals get priority over Rank 4 characters and their Seneschals.
  • Rank 5 characters get priority over the Seneschals of Rank 5 characters.
  • Rank 4 characters get priority over the Seneschals of Rank 4 characters.
  • People who have not played Horizon before get priority over experienced players.

    Whoever comes second can, if they wish, for 1 quirk point be the Representative's guest at the Under-Chamber meetings: they will be able to attend and speak, but will not have a vote. Everyone else must reassign the 2 quirk points they spent on the Underchamber Representative quirk as they see fit.

    Being tailed (-1)
    You're sure that that cab seems to follow you every where you go, and you're sure you didn't leave your door unlocked, and you're pretty sure you didn't leave all of your drawers and cupboards open, having thrown their contents onto the floor. Either way, you think someone's spying on you, you don't know who, why, or for whom, but there is a good chance that your deepest secrets could end up in the hands of your enemies, the newspapers, or even Colonel Zero.

    Contract (-3)
    Someone's out to get you. However, they are patient, they are biding their time, making you sweat, waiting until you are at your most vulnerable - and then they will strike. (Please feel free to elaborate on who wants to kill you and why.) Obviously, you shouldn't take this quirk if you have     Don't Kill Me Daddy. Clarification: Contract and Priority Contract do not stack with Enemy. With the "Enemy" quirk your adversary wishes to see you ruined, but won't necessarily go far as to kill you - the Contract quirks represent enemies who will only be satisfied by your death, and the existance of said enemies are factored into the quirk price.

    Priority Contract (-5)
    You have seriously pissed someone off, so much so that they have hired assassins and you can expect to receive the Twin Silvers towards the start of the game. You know that they are already after you - bolt your door, stay away from windows, don't go out in public alone and always sleep with one eye open. (Please feel free to say who you have annoyed and why.) Don't take this quirk if you have Don't Kill Me Daddy; in fact, don't take this quirk if you're uncomfortable with the possibility that your character may die very early on in the game.

    Servant (-3)
    Somebody else has a hold over you - perhaps you took out a loan you couldn't repay, perhaps you swore an oath you're not willing (or able) to break, perhaps you were caught stealing from them and entered indentured service to keep out of the Doghouse, perhaps you are an apprentice in a craft Guild and they are your master - come up with a reason.

    The upshot of this is that each turn they will issue you a command. A lot of the time this will require turnsheet actions to resolve (though if you can convince someone else to do it that's perfectly fine), and sometimes they will involve risk to yourself. There will be consequences for disobedience.

    Please bear in mind that if you are working for a group or individual who would ordinarily be giving you regular instructions - for example, if you are a Government Insider, or a shaman or a cultist - then taking this quirk will mean you'll be getting two instructions per turn, accounting for half your turnsheet unless you can delegate effectively (and you won't always be able to delegate). Be cautious.

    Ally (2)
    You have an ally, someone you can call on for assistance. They might have certain talents, which you might be able to use to your advantage. On the downside they may also ask you to help them out from time to time. You can describe your own ally if you wish, but the GM team reserves the right to veto anyone overly powerful. ("The Colonel and I go way back...")

    Incompetent Ally (0)
    You have an ally, but they are the type of person who is constantly getting kidnapped by your arch nemesis. There are some minor advantages, in that you can still call on them for help in times of need, but often they will merely make matters worse. They have your best interests at heart, but they just can't seem to avoid getting themselves into trouble.

    Enemy (-2)
    There is someone out there who hates your guts. Moreover, they are someone who has the power to really screw you over. You may describe your own enemy if you wish and the reason why they hate you or you can leave it to the GM team.

    Comedy Enemy (0)
    You have an enemy but they are more Dr. Evil than Blofeld, more like Danger Mouse than Superman. They try their best to be a significant threat to you but their arrogance or their incompetence always seems to hold them back. There are minor disadvantages for those who take this quirk, in that your enemy may prove an irratation occassionally (especially if they gain the aid of player characters). Mostly, however, this is a roleplaying point, hence this quirk has no cost attached.

    Dependents (-3)
    You have a family, which is reliant on your support. They provide a good target to anyone you have offended recently.

    Twue Wuv (Player Choice) (1)
    You have a Twue Wuv of your choice (please tell us how you met them, who they are, what your relationship is like and so forth). You love them and they love you, and you would do anything for each other. This means that if they get in trouble you're going to find it impossible to just stand by and watch it happen. Then again, they're going to find it impossible to do nothing if they know you're in trouble.

    Twue Wuv (GM's Choice) (-1)
    You have a Twue Wuv decided by the GM's. Again, you love them and they love you, and you would do anything for each other etc. etc., but we'll tell you who they are at the time of our choosing...
    (mid session - "..you see that person over there? That's your Twue Wuv."
    "? but? that's MUNGO!"
    evil GM grin "yup!")

    Sick Obsession (-2/-3)
    You are not as much in love as infatuated. Either you have your eye on someone totally inappropriate, such as Colonel Zero's wife, or your obsession has grown to an unhealthy level. Most likely your affection is unrequited, but this will not stop you from creeping into their quarters late at night and stealing their unmentionables. You are the kind of person who ties the object of their affection to the subway tracks until they declare their undying love for you. Quite frankly, you?re sick, bad, and wrong, and your infatuation will get you into trouble sooner or later.

    For -2 points, you may choose your Sick Obsession. For -3 points, the GMs will choose in order to optimise the inconvenience.

    Democratic Congress of Horizon Member (1)
    You are a member of the Democratic Congress of Horizon. The Congress is a gigantic talking-shop, and completely ineffectual; there is no Rank structure, since any time anyone proposes giving some members more authority than others screams of "favouritism!" and "Imperialism!" ring forth; the culture of egalitarianism is so ingrained at the DCH that every member is equally powerless.

    On the other hand, there are some advantages to being a DCH member; you can earn yourself a reputation as a man of the people by standing up and making a loud, meaningless speech at a Congress meeting, and if you want to find like-minded individuals for a bit of direct action it's handy to have the membership card - though you have to be careful, it's common knowledge that the DCH is full of Colonel Zero's spies.

    Horizon Popular Liberation Front Member (varies)
    You are a member of the Horizon Popular Liberation Front. Or the Popular Liberation Front of Horizon, or the Popular Horizon Front for Liberation, or whatever your cell is calling itself this week. Please go into detail about your character's own outlook on the agenda of the HPLF - what sort of revolution does your character want? What system will they replace the current one with? Exactly who are they willing to kill to get there? What lines won't they cross in the service of the revolution?

    You will begin the game in a cell of broadly like-minded individuals (but only broadly like-minded; each individual revolutionary has a slightly different take on the HPLF). If there is another HPLF PC with vaguely similar ideals to yours, you'll be in the same cell. Which is funny, because if you're caught by the Watchdogs you'll end up in a similar situation (until you're hung at dawn, that is).

    Rank is Casual in the HPLF - a more solid power structure would be a weakness, since you wouldn't be able to rely on your superior (or vital subordinates) keeping themselves out of the clutches of the Watchdogs. When you pay for this quirk you get Rank 1 free - each additional rank costs 2 points.

    Rank 1 (costing 1 point): You are a frontline revolutionary. Chances are you are new to the cause and are yet to prove yourself - opportunities to do so will most certainly come your way.

    Rank 2 (3): You are an experienced revolutionary comrade. Everyone in your cell listens to what you have to say.

    Rank 3 (5): The leader of your cell trusts your opinion - you are in a position where you can shape the policies of your cell to a large extent. You can get a Poor income from the Front if you wish and get Trivial purchase made for you - useful if you have to quit your job and go underground to avoid the authorities.

    Rank 4 (7): You are the leader of your cell (if multiple PCs in the same cell have rank 4, you are joint leaders). You will communicate often with the leaders of other cells - for security reasons, cell leaders don't reveal their identities to one another and never meet the flesh unless it is absolutely urgent. Your opinions, along with those of similarly-important members of the Front, will shape the policies of the revolutionary movement, and you are likely to be amongst the important members of any post-revolution government that rises from the ashes (should the revolution succeed).

    Stooge (2/5)
    You have someone who's willing to turn up to sessions in your stead and talk to people for you. They are committed to advancing your agenda, and you have given them the authority needed to negotiate on your behalf. On an out-of-character basis, in sessions you will be playing your stooge as opposed to your primary character, unless you choose to have your primary character make an appearance.

    If you pay 2 points for this quirk, it will be known that you exist and that your stooge speaks for you. If you pay 5 points, your existance is obscure - members of whatever faction(s) you are involved in will know who you are, and others may be able to find out, but most people won't know you exist and won't know that your stooge is speaking for you.

    Spies (3 or more)
    You know someone who knows things. Describe them and tell us which group of people they're spying on. This can be a mob, a political department, or anything else that's similar. For every extra point that you spend on this quirk after the first three, you can choose another group to have a spy in.

    Every turn, you will receive a random piece of information from each group from your spies. In addition, as part of turnsheeting actions you can ask your spies to try to find out something specific, or feed false information to the group they are in, or report the movements of a particular member of the group they are in. However, the more active your spies are, the greater the chance is that they'll be caught. If your spy is caught, this may compromise all the turnsheet actions involving them.

    The general rule of thumb is that each spy can safely take part in only one of your turnsheet actions (anything involving spies is going to be more than a housekeeping action). Each action they participate in after that comes with a 50-50 chance of capture. For example: Suppose Georgie has the Spy quirk, and has a spy in the Steamworkers' Union. He hears that someone's sabotaging the trains, and suspects the Union. He also wants to know whether the Union are planning a general strike, and wants to know when the head of the Union is going to go and dine at Butrelli's Restaurant (where Georgie plans to assassinate him). He consults his spy in three of his turnsheet actions: "Investigate the crash", "confirm rumours of a strike", and "assassinate the head of the Steam Union". The GM team flips a coin twice, once for each turnsheet action involving the spy beyond the first. The first is heads, but the other is tails; the spy has been caught. Steam Union heavies interrogate the spy and discover the assassination plot; the Union leader does not go to the Restaurant, and the assassination fails, and Georgie's investigations of strikes and crashes are severely hampered.

    Reliable Contacts (6)
    You've got your own links to the grapevine, aside from the news sources we'll present in the turnly news bulletins. Each turn you will receive a little briefing giving you additional insights into the news - we will, at the very least, point out to you which stories are red herrings and which have more to them than that.

    Unreliable Contacts (3)
    You've got your own links to the grapevine, but some of them are crazy drunks. We will give you additional insights into the news. Some of these insights will be wrong, but most will be right.

    Mooks (varies)
    Anyone can buy Mooks, if they can justify having them, but they're especially appropriate for Mob members. These are the burly men in big coats and porkpie hats who are at your beck and call. They have no real skills beyond intimidating people, staking out places in a kind of obvious way, following people in a threatening manner, guarding places, keeping an eye on prisoners and beating people up.

    They're also terrible shots.

    Note that whilst Mooks are especially appropriate for mobsters, any character can buy 'em if you can come up with a decent rationale.

    The price of Mooks, unsurprisingly, is based on the quantity, as opposed to quality ("quality Mooks" is something of an oxymoron).

    Deploying Mooks: If you have a large number of Mooks, you probably won't want to use them all on one task. Often, you'll want to use a Handful of Mooks to guard Lord Greatheart's daughter whilst you send a Bunch off to deal with that meddling Blue Avenger. Here is a handy way to work out how many little units you can break your Mook supply down into:

    Some Mooks can be broken down into 2 Handfuls.
    A Bunch of Mooks can be broken down into 4 groups of Some Mooks or 8 Handfuls.
    Lots of Mooks can be broken down into 2 Bunches or 8 groups of Some Mooks or 16 Handfuls.
    A Private Army can be broken down into 4 groups of Lots of Mooks or 8 Bunches or 32 groups of Some Mooks or 64 Handfuls.

    In general it's not worth breaking down groups of Mooks into Handfuls - aside from being a bitch to keep track of, any halfway-decent fighter will be able to take the groups out.

    Mook Modifiers:
    These help you customise your mooks and give them a little personality. You should only take one modifier for your mooks, because mooks never have more than a little personality. Furthermore, your mook quirk's price should never drop below 1. (Yes, this means you don't get the full benefit of "I'm surrounded by IMBECILES!" unless you also have Lots of Mooks, or a Private Army. Think of it this way: by maximising the number of IMBECILES! under your control, you're maximising the potential for hilarity.)

    Big Mooks: Mook quirk costs are increased by 1. Your Mooks are very, very, well-built, not the usual malnourished street scum other mob lords use. NPCs will be much more easily intimidated by them.
    Weedy Mooks: Mook quirk costs are decreased by 1. Your Mooks simply aren't very impressive, even though they are just as good as normal mooks. If you send them to intimidate people they'll just get laughed at (unless they actually get violent).
    Quiet Mooks: Mook quirk costs are increased by 3. Your mooks are Quietly stealthly. So, they're not ninjas, but they do have a better chance than usual of creeping up on people, or not being noticed as they go about their business.
    Obvious Mooks: Mook quirk costs are decreased by 3. Your mooks are very noticable. Perhaps they wear gang colours, all have the same tattoo, or even have a distinctive uniform. People will see them coming from a mile off, and people will generally find out what they've been up to.
    "I'm surrounded by IMBECILES!": Mook quirk costs are reduced by 5. Your mooks are shit. Really shit. Whatever you ask them to do, they will fail miserably at. They can defend themselves and your territory and resources from attack, and that's about it. If they are guarding prisoners, they will escape. If they are looking for someone, they won't find them. If they are trying to beat up, kidnap, or kill someone who isn't a Crap fighter, they'll embarrass themselves (unless they get lucky and catch the person in question at a bad time). They're shit. Of course, people won't necessarily know this, and will still be wary of taking on a large number of them.

    Please note: for additional comedy value, no NPCs will ever cotton on to the fact that your Mooks are IMBECILES! We request that you, as a player, also overlook the fact that someone's Mooks are, in fact, IMBECILES! should you discover this. It just makes the whole thing funnier.

    One last note: You can take multiple Mook quirks, in case you want a Private Army of IMBECILES! and an elite Bunch of Big Mooks (for example).

    Bodyguard (3)
    You have a bodyguard who accompanies you everywhere, as much as is humanly possible, and looks after your well-being. If you don't have a Comfortable income, you should explain how you've managed to gain the services of this big goon. ("He followed me home, GM, can I keep him?")

    In terms of Fighting, Bodyguards are Impressive fighters. Anything more than a Bunch of Mooks will take them down, but they'll usually keep assailants busy for long enough for you to get away. In terms of Stealth, Bodyguards are by default Obvious - people are supposed to notice them and think twice about attacking you.

    Bodyguard modifiers:
    These are fun things you can use to customise your bodyguard. We don't suggest taking more than three: your bodyguards are liable to have more personality than mooks, but not that much more. Each of these things modifies the cost of your Bodyguard quirk, but the quirk never costs less than 1 point.

    Team (+2): You have not one bodyguard, but a team of four, and they work together real well. As a group they are as good as a Fearsome fighter - however, as individuals they are only Tough fighters, so if someone contrives a clever plan to pick them off one by one you'll be in trouble.
    Fearsome (+4): Your bodyguard is a Fearsome fighter. Direct attacks on you are therefore very unlikely to work - of course, someone could just poison your drink. On the flipside, warriors of this level of skill tend to have pasts...
    Watchful (+1): Your bodyguard is eagle-eyed and alert! Only the cleverest tricks will get past him or her.
    Quiet (+1): Your bodyguard is Quiet, stealthwise. If you wish, rather than making him or herself obvious, your bodyguard can melt into the background. You will be apparently unprotected, but will in fact have the full benefit of having your bodyguard with you. This is a risky but potentially rewarding way of drawing out attackers.
    IMBECILE! (-4): Your bodyguard is shit. He may look impressive, but he's a Crap fighter and even the simplest trick will distract him. You may not buy any other modifiers for your bodyguard (although you may have an imbecilic Bodyguard Team).
    Dozy (-2): Your bodyguard is inattentive. He isn't an imbecile, but it will be easier for people to, say, poison your drink without him noticing.
    Sometimes Absent (-1): There's an aspect of your life your bodyguard isn't privy to, a secret that you keep even from him. Come up with a reason why you will, on a regular basis, leave your bodyguard at home and go off somewhere to do something.
    Sometimes Present (-2): You are a tight-fisted git and don't pay for a bodyguard all the time. By default, your bodyguard will only be available during sessions. You will have to pay your bodyguard a Significant bonus if you want him or her to be present for any other event between sessions.
    Unreliable (-3): Your bodyguard isn't quite as willing to lay his or her life in the line for you as he or she could be. This is troubling. Whenever your bodyguard has to get in a fight in order to protect you, the GMs will toss a coin. If it comes up heads, he fights. If it comes up tails, he flees into the moony twilight.