We're going to be starting a brand new game this weekend, and a friend of mine has humorously voiced the idea to play a Brainer... that is actually a mutt dog.

Aside from the weirdness that could come out of the Sex Move (ahem), I'm not entirely certain that this is a bad idea. The inspiration is obviously A Boy and His Dog, but instead of playing the Boy (as all the search results I found here focus upon), he wants to play a masterless Dog. Or maybe even the psychic dog companion of another character. Not sure.

Anyway, what are your thoughts on this? Given some consideration, do you see this as a possibly interesting character concept?

Ooooh and a Bioshock-inspired playbook, The Big Daddy: a guy in a big scary space suit, heavy on the hard/weird. Goes out into the Void, sees the Things That Man Should Not See, and protects kids. Uh. Yeah, something like that.

Here's a link to my post about the setting.

I'm looking over the book again now, and most everything seems to fit pretty nicely into this setting. The Chopper, maybe not so much, but the Savvyhead oh yes, and the Hardholder could make a nice "tribe elder" kind of character, vying for power with a Hocus.

What other playbook ideas do you think would work, or would need to be made?

I love this too. When I first saw Magic: The Gathering all those years ago, I remember thinking it was a roleplaying game, and being disappointed to find out that it wasn't. Since then I've always wished the CCG and the RPG could collide and have a baby that was both of the two together.

I recommend checking out Fantasy Flight's new take on the Warhammer RPG. It's a nice mix of the two, and a good source for mechanical card-based inspiration. Pricey, though, but damn slick.

Now I want to see if I can incorporate any of it into this game...

Yea! Another concurrent Portland campaign!  That makes five that I'm aware of.  Sounds like fun! (five players seems like it would be tough though...  how long are your sessions?)

We play for about 4 hours. Five players has been really awesome. It really flows kind of like an episode of Battlestar Galactica, jumping from one or two characters to the next on different sides of town. It has flowed a lot like a TV show, and I'm all about that.

Setup: Pox is a Gunlugger who took the "Battle-Hardened" gunlugger move, rolling Hard insterad of Cool when under fire. Pox will now never roll Cool unless either A) the MC decides to use the optional battle moves and Pox opts to provide covering fire (the only other stock Cool move in the book that I can find) or B) the MC has developed some custom Threat moves which force him to roll Cool.

Problem: Another player at the table marked Pox's Cool for advancement.

Question: How does this get resolved most easily?

Oh yeah, other juicy bits:

• Vega's compound is an old luxe hotel called simply the Tower. He lets the more well-off members of his town live there, both so he can hob-nob with them and so he can watch them. He's currently fucking an effeminate dealer named Harridan, a weasly guy who I might actually turn into another threat somehow.
• In Vega's main office is a cage. In this cage is a man named Randy. Randy is never let out of the cage. I'm not sure where to go with this. It started as a very amusing joke, but i might take it further.
• Next session will likely start with a mission. Vega sent Boxer and some of the gang out on a scouting mission into mercer's zone. Also sent clover along with them, as well as Snake Eyes and her crew. Snake Eyes worked for Mercer, but changed sides unexpectedly, so I think Vega wants to have Boxer keep an eye on them.

Hey folks, first time posting here. Woot.

I'm running my very first AW game, and after our recent first session, I've jotted down a whole mess of notes and I could use some help designing some good fronts with the Threats I've assembled. I think I've got some good threats to start with, but I'm having difficulty assembling them into proper fronts.

Here's the Skinny:
* Vega BBQ: Hardholder, he's the current honcho at New Memphis, and known for taking his enemies and burning them alive in a combination fighting pit/bbq/performance ring in NM. His gang consists of 60 well-armed hungry hyenas.
* Boxer Doom: Gunlugger, he's one of Vega's ranking thugs. Pissed off Vega by killing someone that Vega wanted to kill himself, but he doesn't know that Vega got pissed about it.
* Clover: Operator, she's the odd-jobber at NM, and collects secrets and arranges for the acquisition of tech. She's close to Boxer who once pulled her ass outta some deep shit.
* Fat Elvis: Brainer, he is the current incarnation of Fat Elvis. He's the "cultural liason" of NM, and responsible for indoctrinating new captives into the ways of life around here.
* Come this weekend, we'll have a fifth player. No clue what she'll end up bringing to the table. Could be introduced as a new arrival...

Important things Established in Session 1:
* Started with a surplus: the gang just got back from a successful raid, acquiring weapons, food, and women. Raid was on a nearby rival holding run by Mercer, who will definitely be pissed.
* Boxer finds his hunting rifle and favorite jacket were stolen while he was gone. He's pissed.
* There's a nearby tech pit called "the old memphis crumble" which is currently off limits to scavenging, due to people going there getting sick from something.

The Threats:
* Barker (warlord/alpha): Barker ran the hold from which everyone previously came. Vega was a LT who burned the place to the ground and led an exodus out of there. Barker was never found. Barker is now planning revenge in hiding. Barker has infiltrated NM by way of a ganger named Bowdy. Twice hired a thug named Bowdy to steal Boxer's rifle and plant it in Skitterdone's room, while also planting Skitterdone's banadana in Boxer's place. Boxer has taken the bait, but there has yet to be any follow-through. Barker wants to sow dissent, then rise up and take over this new holding.
* The Crumble (landscape/breeding pit): The Crumble is a potential source for gear and supplies for fortification and tech-building, but anyone who goes there gets sick. Truth is the sickness is an infection of nanobot thingies that cause violent illness, but are otherwise survivable with time. The real threat, however, is when paired with...
* Skeev (Grotesque:Mindfucker-Disease Vector): Skeev is the fat disgusting weird-ass technomantic what-the-fuck-ever guy who ligves on the compound roof. he works for Vega nominally, and helps with repairs and fortifications. However, he's also a sick fucker. He only starts as a Mindfucker, but should he somehow ever learn about the nature of the sickness (read: he gets to examine one of the infected), then he learns about its true nature and siezes a new opportunity, adding Disease Vector to his moves. he then will gather more supplies, hack the nanites, use them to build a following, and try to forcefully lead everyone en masse to the Crumble to face their new future (read: die horrible deaths at the hands of technological torture).
* Mercer (Warlord/HiveQueen): Mercer's the current head of a rival hold which Vega's gang recently hit. mercer will strike back, but right now she's recovering from the strike. I'm not sure if she shouldn't instead represent a pack of Brutes instead...
* Tick (unknown): He's a 10-year-old kid from the recent raid, kidnapped with two others and brought in as part of the haul. Clover tried to win over the kids, failed miserably, and made him all tough and "fuck off bitch" at her. Maybe not a threat, but worth considering.
* Marta (unknown): She's a late 30s woman, also one of the kidnapped folks brought to NM. She represents the captives. Fat Elvis charmed and bedded her, and had to promise her that she and her people would be safe. She might be another threat vector...


Other Notes:
* Vega has two Lts. named Skitterdone and Gnarly, both chicks. They're romancing each other, but keeping it secret for a reason I haven't figured out yet. I'm not sure if this would represent a threat of its own, or possibly be connected to Barker's plan to sow dissent.
* Clover is actually friends and contacts with Twice (Bowdy's stooge, who stole the gun), and had sex with him during the first session. In fact, that juicy encounter was interrupted by another fellow she was supposed to be having sex with instead. Drama!
* There's a npc named Bag, who is sometimes affectionately called Gramma. She's an old lady who watches over the kids.


That's the juicy stuff. So, anyone got ideas for establishment of solid fronts? I'm still rusty on that part.



- Nathanael Phillip Cole