Special Techniques

**Previous:** Strike Attacks

Special Techniques are for your super psychomagickal mutant powers and add a dynamic mental game to Outside™.  A technique is like a surprise Simon Says challenge.  The player *using* the technique will have to meet certain requirements, which could be *anything*—recite a phrase, dance, cry, find a bug—and then point at the target (for special techniques) or strike them with a weapon (for strike techniques) and speak the mystical Bad Words.  If successful, the target suffers the consequences—they have to do the Bad Stuff for the Bad Words they heard.  Of course, a Sanctuary brand Special Sentinel will protect you from Bad Stuff.  Look, since you’re still not getting it, this is a lot easier to understand by watching the videos.  Don’t read the manual.

Unlike Strike Attacks, it’s up to the user of a Technique to determine if they met the requirements (exception: if you make a Sloppy hit on a Strike Technique, it doesn’t work), but the same advice applies – if you’re not *absolutely sure* you met the requirements, it’s better not to say the Bad Words.  Read the How to Get Banned section to learn why.

### The Bad Words 🤐

When you hear the Bad Words, you know you’ve been hit with a Technique. These are the Bad Words, and you’re not allowed to say them unless you met the requirements for using a Technique. Everyone must know the following Bad Words and what they do:

* **\*KO! or TKO!** - You are KO’d.  Your HP is reduced to 0 and you lose 1 Knock.
* **\*Critical Hit!** - Your HP is reduced to 1, or if you only had 1 HP remaining, your HP is reduced to 0.
* **\*Psych, You Tried!** - If you used a skill that caused Bad Stuff to another player, your Bad Stuff was resisted in some way and did not work to its full effect.  The player is not vulnerable to TKO from this Bad Stuff.

The only thing you need to know about the other Bad Words is that you can't say them unless you have a skill that allows you to, but it is to your advantage to know them well:

* **Tink**
* **Fuzzy Pickles?**
* **Activated my Trap Card**
* **Curse Words**
* **Null and Void**
* **Your Mom**
* **Obey Me**
* **Back Off**
* **Stick To It**
* **Mixed Up**

       \*See the **Study Guide** for a video explanation of the Bad Words and Stuff

Most of these won’t work on you if you’re wearing a Special Sentinel (only the starred\* ones, which we’ll learn in a minute).  And if you’re not wearing a Sentinel, it’s still not necessary to learn these… you’ll just be TKO’d instead :)

**I’m hit!... Um, what do I do?**

You will most likely notice a player attempting to use a Technique against you unless the technique relies specifically on stealth. You probably won’t know what *type* of technique the player is using – players have many surprising and unique powers. Techniques can even allow players to break certain game rules.  Intel can allow you a peek at their character sheet, which can give you a clue about their skills and techniques.

If you do the Bad Stuff correctly, you’re safe, but Technique users rely on the element of surprise, so they often want to KO you without you knowing why. It’s *very* common to be hit with a technique and not know exactly what to do. That’s okay!  Studying techniques and the Bad Stuff that can happen to you isn’t necessary even if you don’t wear a Special Sentinel, but it’s useful if you don’t want to be…

### Overwhelmed

If you don’t have a Special Sentinel and you fail to do the Bad Stuff, you are **Overwhelmed**. This could be because you didn’t know what you were supposed to do, or maybe you had more than one Bad Stuff happen to you and you couldn’t do them all.

**Overwhelmed** – Any time a player says Bad Words to you and you don’t do the correct Bad Stuff, you are considered “Overwhelmed” and that player can TKO you with any attack. (Only that player may TKO you—you can’t TKO a player that was overwhelmed by someone else.)  Being Overwhelmed lasts until you leave the field of combat (retreating to a Base or Rendezvous ends it).  It may be a good idea to wear a Special Shield until you feel comfortable with the Bad Words!

There are only a few Bad Words that everyone needs to know, and there are no shields that can protect you from these:

**Undercasting and Fakecasting**

While it’s normal not to know what to do when hit by a Technique, you should be able to clearly hear the Bad Words.  If the user didn’t clearly state the Bad Words (Undercasting), you may call Sloppy on the special.

**Fakecasting**, or pretending to use a technique when you can’t, is a serious play violation, so don’t do it.

That’s all you need to know to be on the receiving end of these psychomagickal superpowers.  Now, if you’re actually going to *use* Techniques, there’s a lot more to know.

### Using Techniques

The Methods to Madness manual gives a complete look at using Special Techniques, but again, don’t read the manual.  Watch the videos.

Most Techniques are simple and come with three parts:

1. the instructions that allow you to use the Technique,
2. the Bad Stuff or Good Stuff that you can do to someone if you complete the instructions, and
3. the limits on how many times you can use the Technique.  Let’s look at an example:

Noisy but Deadly – You may place a whoopie cushion in the Rendezvous. If a player sits on the whoopie cushion and creates an audible sound, causes KO to that player1.  Words: KO!2  Once per Knock3.

1)     Just follow the instructions!  Some instructions are simple, while others may be pages long. A technique could require you to stab an opponent in the back, recite an incantation, find a flower in the woods, cooperate with a teammate, or write a thank-you note to someone.

Techniques will always come with one of the following requirements:

     **Strike techniques** require the player to physically touch the target or their equipment.  Unlike strike attacks, the target player does not call these shots; the player using the technique decides if the technique was used correctly (except in the case of fouls).

     **Special techniques** require the player to create a perimeter of objects (called “proving” – this proves that you are in their range).  If you are in the boundary, they can use these techniques by first pointing at their proof, then pointing at you, and finally saying the Bad Words.

Techniques must be used immediately after following the final step unless they are marked as Save skills, which can be saved for later.

2)     Meeting the requirements lets you say the Bad Words or Good Words, which could cause the other player to be KO’d, recover HP, be knocked backwards, be placed under your control, or other stuff. Bad Stuff is something that the target player must do once they hear the Bad Words.  If the player doesn’t do the Bad Stuff correctly, then they are Overwhelmed, and the player who Overwhelmed them may TKO them with *any* strike or technique.  You probably already guessed that Good Words do Good Stuff to you and your friends.  If you don’t know the Good Stuff for the Good Words, then you just don’t get the Good Stuff, so be sure to teach your teammates about any Good Stuff you plan to do for them in advance.

3)     Skills will usually be marked as either **Unlimited** (use as many times as you can meet the requirements), **once per Knock** (you cannot use the skill again until you are KO’d and return to battle), **or once per Kerfuffle** (once per match).

**What if my technique doesn’t work?**

If you use a technique but your target calls “you tried” then it is considered used. If it was a once per Knock/Kerfuffle ability, then that means it was used and lost. If a technique is called “sloppy” then it’s treated as though you didn’t actually use the technique, so it was not used and you may try again.

Let’s look at a few more examples of techniques:

Fireball (Strike Tech)– Touch an orange Spellball to your head or chest, then throw it in the direction of your opponent so that it strikes them.  Call “Critical Hit”1.  Causes Critical Hit2.  Once per Knock.

Play Dead (Special Tech) – Whenever this player is KO’d, fall down on your stomach or back dramatically.  Restore +1 HP when the player arrives at base.  Once per Knock.

**Next:** Study Hall