Missing Memories (Part 2)

Last week: Missing Memories (Part 1) 

Last week I detailed three possible approaches for our amnesia-themed campaign. What did we go with? Well, we didn’t really use any of those ideas. Or, in a sense, we used all of them.

After consideration, my desire was to reduce those hacks down to the simplest, most universal rule possible. So in a sense, the output encompasses what each of those mechanics were trying to do:

• Flashing Before Your Eyes: The mechanic can still be used at “instant-speed” to save your bacon, but it’s not tied exclusively to such moments.
• Piecing It Together: Memories are tied to leveling up; leveling up comes from exploring. The basic gameplay loop is supported.
• Incepting Your Past: The recovered memories still function as a sort of background/class system, when desired.

We also added some context for roleplaying fantastic amnesia, with serious inspiration from the rules for the Fugue system.

Below are the rules in their current form in our campaign guidebook.

Amnesia and Flashbacks

Roleplaying Fantastic Amnesia

You have complete amnesia -- what people sometimes call "Hollywood amnesia." This is distinct from real-world medical conditions that involve memory loss, and the two should not be confused. Our use of amnesia is nothing more than a convenient narrative conceit to frame the game.

Assume the following is true. If you want your character to deviate from these assumptions, discuss your ideas with the DM.

You can speak, read, and write English. You intuitively know "common sense" things that most adult humans would know. You can do basic math. You know what everyday tools and objects are for. You have a basic understanding of how the world works.

You do not have any specialized skills or trained information. You have forgotten this information, and getting it back via flashbacks is part of the game.

You lack any specific cultural information. For example, you understand the concepts of theater, politics, and sports, but you can't remember any specific plays; you couldn’t say who you voted for, or if you even come from a democracy; and you couldn’t explain the specific rules of any particular game.

Flashbacks

A flashback is a recovered memory, something that you remember at a key moment. It’s a moment from your previous life, and may tie into other flashbacks and memories you’ve had before.

Flashbacks happen in dangerous or high-stakes situations. Imagine you are about to fall off a cliff, or staring at a bomb ticking toward detonation, or attempting to rescue someone from a raging river. You focus and ask yourself, “was there something about the person I was before I lost my memories that would help me here?”

How It Works

A flashback can happen at any time; if you are in a situation that involves initiative, it doesn't need to be your turn. Declare that your character is experiencing a flashback. If you have an idea of what the flashback might be, briefly describe what is happening, and the DM will ask you questions or suggest additional detail. If you’re not sure what the flashback might be, the DM will ask you a question or give you a prompt, and you will exchange details until the flashback comes into focus.

The DM will bring a “yes, and” attitude to flashbacks, but reserves a final veto on all details of the flashback, particularly if the events in the flashback would contradict information the players don’t yet know, or would constrain or conflict with the actions and intents of other PCs or NPCs.

A flashback will usually be between one player and the DM. The player may ask for suggestions or ideas from others, but other players should otherwise stay in “audience mode” and listen until the flashback ends.

Resolving the Situation

Depending on the situation that triggered the flashback, the DM will adjudicate how the flashback helps the character in their present situation. Typically, it will provide one of the following:

• Automatic success on a save that would have otherwise required a roll.
• Advantage on a save that otherwise would have been made neutrally or with disadvantage.
• A chance to roll a save in a situation where a save otherwise wouldn’t have been allowed.
• A second chance at a save after a failed save.
• A new approach or option for addressing the present situation.
• A reprieve from some injury, harm, or negative status that would have otherwise been applied.

Tracking Abilities

The flashback does not just help you in your present situation. The recovered memory is part of your character’s skillset going forward.

The PC and the DM should agree on a short phrase that describes the relevant ability. Add this phrase to your character sheet. This phrase could be verb-object (like “repair machinery”) or a job or background description (like “cook”).

Generally the DM will err in favor of the PCs when deciding if an ability could apply to a situation. But they also will not hesitate to tell you no if something feels like a stretch. If you are unsure if an ability will apply, ask the DM before you attempt it, and they will tell you before you commit.

Abilities can be a bit “fuzzy.” You can add a bit more detail later on, as long as it stays true to what happened in the flashback.

Serendipity by Design

If it seems awfully convenient that just as you find a useful item or encounter a dangerous situation, you recover a memory that helps you out, remember that the incident or object is what has triggered the flashback. Also bear in mind that our game is set in a fantastic world where serendipity may well be an actual force in the universe, as much as gravity, magnetism, or magic are. 

The More You Know

Exploring the world and taking risks primes your mind to accommodate more memories and associated abilities. You can recover a number of memories equal to your level. You can never recover more than one memory per session.