Barf Forth Apocalyptica
barf forth apocalyptica => Apocalypse World => Topic started by: mcdaldno on August 13, 2010, 06:56:43 PM
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Alright. A little bit of context, and then the custom move. Don't worry about explaining every minute detail - trust that we'll piece it together.
Post your shit.
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Early on in the first session, the characters discover a murder victim. The brainer immediately asks, "Can I read dead people?"
When You Scan The Dead...
You first need to breathe life back into them. Roll +weird.
On a 10+, you breathe life back into them momentarily, and hold 3.
On a 7-9, choose:
- you breathe life back into them permanently, and hold 3.[/l][l]you breathe some of your life into them temporarily (I get to make a move), and hold 3.
Hold gets spent just like in Deep Brain Scans.
On a 6 or less, your scan fails, but how the resuscitation works or doesn't is up to me.
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In our Apocalypse, there are year-round cold snaps followed, inevitably, by grayscaled snowstorms.
When you Open Your Brain during a snowstorm, roll +sharp.
On a 10+, your sight is clear.
On a 7-9, choose 1:
- you're Snowed In, take -1 until the storm clears.
- you're Desperately Cold: you must Act Under Fire to avoid lighting everything around you on fire.
- It's Got Its Claws Into You.
On a miss, the MC chooses one.
And the obvious follow-up move, which is rolled once per session.
When It's Got Its Claws Into You, roll +hard.
On a 10+, it's not the boss of you. Choose 1:
- you purge it from your brain.
- you can Ask It A Question, as though you had Opened Your Brain with a 10+.
- you can Make It Tell You about someone else it has touched, as though you had performed a Deep Brain Scan on them with a 10+.
On a 7-9, choose 1:
- It Gets Its Claws In Deeper.
- you temporarily lose the ability to speak intelligibly.
- you temporarily lose the ability to understand human speech.
- you wake up several hours later. The MC will tell you where and how.
On a miss, it gets its claws in deeper, and the MC chooses another.
I have a few more but I'll wait until my players encounter them, so they don't feel the need to avoid this thread out of misplaced spoiler-fear.
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The Oily Chain is a rough-as-fuck bar where deals are made and people with the right skills are found. It's basically the Mos Eisley cantina.
When you visit The Oily Chain, roll+sharp. On a 10+, you get both. On a 7-9, choose 1:
- You find what you're looking for
- You don't get caught up in any trouble
On a miss, tough luck.
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Thought I'd point out, Vx has put up a "hot custom moves" thread (http://apocalypse-world.com/forums/index.php?topic=310.msg2496) of his own. I don't know the procedure in this case, but I thought I'd cross-pollinate.
Noah
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Oops, never mind.
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I kind of like this thread anyway. I'm going to post a couple of custom moves here once my players run into them.
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Procedure is: it's all good! The more the merrier.
A custom move from this last session of our game:
If you read a person using EOS, after the roll, you can inflict 1-harm on them to make it as though you'd rolled a 10+.
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This is one I really hope gets some use in our game:
When you shoot up, roll+cool.
On a 10+, take +1 forward on your next roll+weird. You pushed off and took it, no sweat.
On a 7-9, take +1 forward on your next roll+weird, but anything else you do, until you rest for a couple hours, is Acting Under Fire.
On a miss, man, you can't handle your shit. You pass out and wake up who the fuck knows where. Damn, aren't you missing something, too?
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This move definitely added to the chaos and sense of weirdness for my game just finished. The ruined city is a landscape:maze, populated with psychic ratdog packs and weird tribes that nobody quite understands.
When you go into the ruined city looking for something, oll +Weird. On 10+ choose 3, on 7-9 choose 1.
- You find what you wanted
- You get out okay
- You don't suffer harm (this could be accident or ratdog/tribe attack)
- You don't get infected (the infection, by the way, is a thing that gets into the brain and affects how people connect to the psychic maelstrom. It's what made the ratdog packs psychic and the tribes weird).
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Mike, what happens if you don't suffer harm, you don't get infected, and you don't get out okay?
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Here's some of mine from our last game:
Monk is the hardholder who guards the east from the crazed bike gangs. He's a nice guy.
When you enter into Monk's presence, roll+cool. On a 10+, nevermind. On a 7-9, you get to mark an improvement if you agree with him and support him. On a miss, you're acting under fire to oppose him or even dislike him.
When you read Monk, roll+weird. You just can't figure him out with normal senses.
When Monk reaches into your soul and silences you, roll+weird. On a 10+, you can feel the presence of his mind but that's all. On a 7-9, pick one. On a miss, pick two.
* You flee
* You take 2 harm (ap)
* Do what you want, but you're acting under fire and if you fail that, Monk can manipulate you psychically
And succumbing to this last move results in the stuff that happened to Hyena in the other thread.
Alyssa is another hardholder, on the other side of the conflict. She collects pretty things.
When you read Alyssa, or use a psychic power on her, roll+cool. On a 10+, you're a smooth operator. On a 7-9, she knows what you did, but go ahead and do it anyway. On a miss, she gets to ask you one question, and you have to answer truthfully.
And finally, Jimenez looks like Danny Trejo with a bigger mustache. He is the most bad-ass dude, but his only special move is this:
If Jimenez is in a fight with another NPC, and no PCs are involved, Jimenez always wins.
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When Monk reaches into your soul and silences you, roll+weird.
Just one quick question - shouldn't it be something that PC does, not NPC?
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Am I right that there's a food and water or supplies move somewhere? Something like:
At the beginning of a session or whenever supplies might be running out, roll +sharp:
On a 10+, you have enough food and water to make it another day. On a 7-9, you have enough food or water (you pick) to make it until tomorrow, but then you're fucked. Better do something about that.
If not I might use this in a campaign some day to make sure the day-to-day shit gets some notice.
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Let's take question-and-answer stuff to another thread, so as to keep this one as clean as possible.
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I put this move together for a Hatchet City con game, but it never got used. But I was really excited by it, and thought I'd share:
The ruins are the ruins of a huge city, which used to be a forest of skyscrapers. All the buildings have been cut off somewhere about 5 stories up, the tops poking up raggedly, lots of them leaning away from the only skyscraper left: A tower of glass and steel way off in the distance.
Mechanically, the ruins were a Landscape: Prison.
If you try to make your way through the ruins towards the tower, roll +cool. On a 10+, hold 2. On a 7-9, choose 1:
You see something new
You remember
You don't bring trouble back with you
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When mcdaldno tells you what to do in a thread, roll +cool. On a 10+ you can continue posting whatever you want. On a 7-9 if you wish to post anything against mcdaldno's request, you're acting under fire.
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Foster's End is an old strip-mine which has been filled with vile, toxic, foetid, stinking shit for as long as anyone can remember. Recently, Mercer's people have been doing something odd there, and the maelstrom's been reacting badly to it.
When you get near Foster's End since Mercer's people moved in, the psychic maelstrom forces your mind open. 10+ tells you something about what Mercer's people are up to. 7-9 drives you nuts with that constant chatter that you can't quite understand: take -1 ongoing until you're clear of the area. On a miss, the maelstrom lets you know what it's like at the bottom...
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When Monk reaches into your soul and silences you, roll+weird.
Just one quick question - shouldn't it be something that PC does, not NPC?
Technically it is, since the PC is resisting. Much like you are acting under fire when an NPC is shooting at you. Of course, I could reword it, and maybe it will make more sense:
When Monk reaches into your soul and silences you, you die.
If you try to resist, roll+weird.
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For the Faceless, add to the list: I'm Right Here
I'm thinking about the way the Faceless rises out of the shadows when everyone's looking around for him and of course cannot find him or her.
Tweak mechanics to taste. My untested inclination is that on 10 or better, the player distributes 3 Harm among targets as he or she chooses. 7-9 might be 1 Harm to one target, maybe.
Best, Ron
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Oh, I just came up with one I thought was really neat!
When you enter the Slave Pits roll+hot:
On a 10+ you are immediately noticed, isolated and ambushed.
On a 7-9 you are approached and persuaded to sell your body into "indentured servitude"
On a miss you avoid attention entirely (hotties: tell us how!).
I like it because it's like the Harm move: you don't want to hit this one! Can we discuss this it a bit? Do you think it's unfair to penalize people with good scores? I think this is all win, because even if you "fail", you get spotlight time and an interested thing happens to you!
(cross-posted on story-games.com)
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Ron:
The Unholy One is Among Us: when you suddenly appear amongst your enemies, roll+weird. On a 10+, choose 1 or 2. On a 7-9, choose 1:
* deal 1-harm to every enemy present
* deal your full harm, by weapon, to any one enemy
* deal s-harm to any one enemy
On a miss, you leave yourself wide open and vulnerable.
Works best if you are using stealth moves to set it up, making it pretty easy to just appear amongst your enemies.
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This is a joke one, admittedly, that came from us discussing where to eat prior to a game of AW. Add it to the Vegan playbook.
When you go out to eat with your friends, ROLL + VEGAN
On a 10+, all three
On a 7-9, two
On a miss, you go hungry in the McDonalds Parking Lot
- The meal is good
- It's NOT a salad
- Your friends don't resent you dragging them to a vegetarian restaurant
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A couple from my current game. (Cheapside is a slum, and Seers are little weird blind albino pygmies that live underground and have an unusual connection to the psychic maelstrom.)
If you enter Cheapside, roll +sharp
On a 10+ walk free.
On a 7-9 choose 2:
-You don't lose anything.
-You don't hurt someone weaker than you.
-You don't turn back unsatisfied.
When you touch a Seer, roll +weird
On a 10+ your brain has opened to the psychic maelstrom and you gain insight from it.
On a 7-9 your mind opens to the psychic maelstrom unprotected.
On a Miss you come to somewhere else later with no recollection of what has happened.
When you pilot a finicky and difficult helicopter, roll +weird.
On a 10+ get all of the below.
On a 7-9 choose 2 of the below.
-It'll take you where you want to go
-It arrives in full working order
-It goes fast, smooth, and responsive
-All passengers and cargo stay secured
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Couple moves from my current game (With their threat to put them in context)
Threat 4
Is called: what is that thing
Kind: grotesque: disease vector
Impulse: craves contact
Resources: truth
Description: occasionally some poor soul or animal overcome with mold sickness develops a weird capability of walking around half dead and trying to infect people. These near-dead moldy wet carcasses are horrific and terrible. They moan and drip and cry and perhaps still feel and think, but I’m not waiting around to find out!
Custom move: the first time you see one of these things roll+cool. On a 10+, you keep your wits about you: you can act normally. On a 7-9, what the hell is that thing: take -1 forward to any act which approaches or looks at it closely. On a miss, you freak out: doing anything but running away is acting under fire
Custom move: if you open your brain in the presence of one of these things roll+weird. On a 10+ you communicate with the creature to some degree. On a 7-9 you understand something new about the creature or about the mold. On a miss the creature exerts influence over you. Doing anything but slowly approaching it in fascination is acting under fire.
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Our Holding is the flooded ruins of the Big City, where the ocean has rolled in to cover the first 4-5 floors, depending on where the tide is...
When the fog rolls in, roll+weird. On a 10+, choose 3 of the following. On a 7-9, choose 1 of the following, and I choose 1.
* You have nightmares, flashbacks, or both. Take -1cool ongoing until the fog rolls out.
* The psychic maelstrom is that much closer. Hold 3, and spend 1 to take +1 weird forward. If the fog rolls out, you lose them.
* The fog is thick enough to separate you from everyone around you.
* You hear voices in the fog, and you can ask one question (mentally) and get an answer to it.
* Something you own goes missing in the fog.
* Something of value or interest appears from the fog.
When you find yourself alone in the fog (outdoors or on the water, no other people that you can see, roll+weird. On a 10+, you know exactly where you are and all is well. On a 7-9, you are either lost for a time, or something or someone finds you by accident - your choice. On a miss, you are lost or confused long enough for something in the fog finds you.
When you find yourself in the water, roll+sharp. If you are in unfamiliar waters, take -1 to the roll; if you cannot take a moment to survey the water, take another -1 to the roll. On 10+, you get wet. On 7-9, choose one of the following:
* You are noticed by a shark or sharks.
* You are noticed by something else.
* You find a particularly nasty bit of effluvium. Take -1ongoing until you can get clean.
* You run into something sharp. Take 1-harm, and you are now bleeding.
<We're actually playing this one by e-mail. It's been fun so far, but I'm really looking forward to a F2F session at the table. Props go to our MC Charlton for coming up with these...>
-Jim C.
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I had a chance to use this custom move this week. Due to a player dropping out of the game and another joining we had a Driver that needed to be disposed of. Thus the move:
Killing Errol
Well, now you've gone and done it. That little shit finally pushed you too far, and now he's lying dead at your feet.
Roll +cool or +sharp. On a 10+ choose 4. On a 7-9 choose 2. On a miss, you're really in for it...
*you don't get hurt in the struggle
*only one person saw you do it
*any witnesses agree he was really asking for it
*he wasn't in the middle of an important job for Marco
*you don't damage the bus (vital for hauling the town's water)
*somebody is grateful to you for whacking the jerk (+1 Hx with appropriate PC)
*you pry something you want from his cold dead hands
*mark experience
As a start-of-session move that was up for grabs by any player who wanted it, it commandeered the story for the entire session as everyone got involved.
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A couple from my current game:
So the sea is on fire. What's burning? Who the fuck knows, but it's always been like that, as long as you can remember. When you try to cross open water, roll+cool.
On a 10+, no problem.
On a 7-9, it's either turn back or take 1-harm (ap) for being fucking on fire
On a miss, take the 1-harm (ap) whether you turn back or not
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The holding's got a drug problem. When going aggro against a mold addict, on a 7-9 they'll always choose to suck it up. Being wasted kinda wipes out the grey areas, y'know?
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Something's gone wrong with those people in the Ruins. When Camo touches you and looks into your eyes, roll+weird.
On a 10+, it's cool. What a creep.
On a 7-9, you black out or something, just for a sec. WTF?
On a miss, you wake up bloody, you don't know whose
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We came up with this in a con game I ran for the Hocus' drowning cult.
When you try to see if a sinner is worthy of Ascencion (by drowning!) roll +weird.
On a 10+, The person is found worthy and ascends to Heaven (they die)
On a 7-9, The sinner is not worthy but wishes to prove themselves (they join the cult)
On a miss, The sinner is not worthy. (And probably isn't too happy that you just tried to drown him)
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Here's on for our druggy Angel "X"... yes, his name is "X"... what do people think?
Hey X, you’re a generally mellow guy, but sometimes you need to blunt the harsh edges around you; here’s something just for you:
When you use chillstabs recreationally, roll+hard:
On a 10+: choose one
On a 7-9: choose two
- take +1cool forward
- take -1sharp ongoing until you shake it off
- damn, all out… no more chills until you resupply… that might be tough on patients
- soooo sleepy… pass out for a while, blissed out and happy
On a miss: I’ll pick one or two… and ask you to fill in a segment on your addiction countdown
Love and kisses, Your MC
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Saül is one of our Brainer's old "school" friend (what's this "school" is a staked question for the Brainer's player).
One of his eyes has been replaced with a strange Brainer's item half the way between Maugrey from Harry Potter and Darcia from Wolf's Rain.
Today, Saül works diligently with General Lion's milice and uses his weird eye to play inquisitor and victimize outsiders.
When you look deep in Saül's eye, roll +weird. On a 10+, you're free to act as you want. On a 7-9, choose 1. On a miss, choose 3.
- Answer 3 questions (like deep brain scan)
- Loose control of upper body part
- Loose control of lower body part
- Loose your reactivity (other moves are done with a -1)
If you want to act in spite of Saül's control, do it under fire.
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Just opened up in our most recent Decimation City session (posted in my AP thread!):
When you send a message through the pneumatic tube system, roll +sharp.
-On a 10+, it gets to the right place, right away.
-On a 7-9, it gets to the right place, but not right away.
-On a miss, it eventually gets to the right place, after stopping somewhere else first.
Note that none of the old phones seem to work any more, even when you charge them up. The Tube System, which reaches every part of the city, still does, for some reason.
Thus far, none of the PCs have had any desire to experiment with either Bane or Speedforce yet, so I haven't posted those moves. We'll see whether peer pressure and/or necessity embolden them.
-JC
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When you teach your apprentice a philosophical principle, roll + Sharp:
You get three rolls with each student and at the end, they will have 3 philosophical concepts that will guide them in their pursuit of this trade. You might be teaching them something technical but what you are instilling is philosophical. You might be teaching an apprentice driver how to do a hand-break turn but what you are teaching is how to drive the car rather than steer it. You might be teaching an angel how to remove a bullet but what you are doing is showing how to care for every patient no matter who they are. Got it?
12+ Shit, not only do they comprehend but they synthesize it and build something even better out of your lesson.
10+ They comprehend and you have instilled a philosophical foundation upon which they will pursue this trade.
7-9, either they are going to fuck up this up unless you do something a bit crazy to drive the notion you are teaching home...if you don't, this principle will go into their head fucked and side-ways.
Miss, Your apprentice doesn't grok your crazy fucking mouth-music and the principle you are instilling goes through their filter and comes out a mess.
When you read SPEC OPS MANUAL 053: Psychic Warfare, roll + Sharp:
"It reads like stereo instructions but the stereo is your mind and the music it plays is the act of killing people."
On a 10+, you can take 1 of the following 3:
+1 forward with any Weird based roll used to hurt or infiltrate someone/something.
Take an XP in order to buy up your Weird stat or buy a Weird-based move (custom or from another playbook)
The next time you are in deep shit, you can roll Weird for the Seize by Force move.
On 7-9, you can take any one of the above but the MC can ask you to Roll Under Fire when you are doing something perfectly normal. The book is training you to see people's minds as nothing but pieces in a wargame.
On a miss, this fucking book doesn't make any kind of fucking sense. Fuck this. And you also get the consequences of the 7-9 but with no good stuff to go with it.
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My group got lost in these weird tar pits north of Sharpstown, looking for the source of this black smoke that was rising up in a column. I made up a move for that on the spot.
When you try to navigate the spooky tar pits, roll +sharp. On a 10+ choose two. On a 7-9 choose one.
-- You don't get lost.
-- Nothing finds you before you get there.
-- It's a quick trip.
They were getting hungry and the Faceless tried to stomp one of those weird snakes for something to eat.... and got bitten.
When you try to treat someone bitten by the weird snakes of the tar pits, roll +sharp. If you're an angel you can add +stock spent.
On a 10+, pick two. On a 7-9, pick one.
-- They stay conscious
-- They take less harm (2 harm ap instead of 3 harm ap)
-- They don't hallucinate for 24 hours straight[/li][/list]
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My MC sprung a little bit of fuckery with my Hardholder's daughter Penny last game. People started receiving handwritten letters from her asking for things.
My favorite part is "I'm writing you since we don't pray, we write letters." Which turned out to say more about my hardholder than any other piece of the first session.
Now, he stage magician Midnight is stuck looking for a rabbit since "if he does the rabbit trick next week then it's her birthday."
This inspired me to snatch up the Norman move from the Faceless playbook and suggest that the MC appy it to Penny, with the exception that it's "When Penny asks you to do something roll..."
In short there's a decent amount of terror regarding disappointing the pampered hardholder's daughter, either due to fear of her father or some sort of maelstrom effect from the little princess.
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When it looks like you've finally managed to kill Tank, roll +wierd. On 10+, he's dead all right; it's the last you'll be seeing of him, at least in this form. On 7-9, you've got a few moments to prepare before he comes back at you with his giant metal fists.
When you're chasing Brace Win, roll +sharp. On a 10+, you can catch him without much effort. On a 7-9, choose one. On a miss, MC will choose one for you.
* The little SOB gets away.
* The little SOB leads you right into a trap.
* You catch the little SOB in a situation where going after him will not be simple at all.
* You catch the little SOB, but you're isolated and the chase took much longer than you thought it would.
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My MC decided to run a campaign revolving around afflictions, he wanted us to be less wary of other people and more aware of our environment. So we have a Viral Bayou. The Quarantine we made was given a custom move at creation. He was used a vaccination breeding ground while in stasis.
When you give a patient some of your blood Roll +Weird
10+ :You can cure the recipient of whatever toxin/sickness you've already acclimated to.
7-9 :You can help them fight it off but they're not our of the dark yet. They might need some more medical help.
6-less: Your'e a walking virus and your fucked up blood has made them worse. If they are a NPC their fate is up the MC. If its a player character they move their countdown to 9 O' clock.
We call it Transfusion Roulette
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I just spent a while looking for this thread. It would be a good one to have stickied.