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Messages - ZombieAcePilot

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Apocalypse World / Re: The Rich Tag
« on: January 16, 2017, 08:41:16 AM »
Quote from: Daniel Wood on January 16, 2017, 05:52:46 AM

Combined with your other post about motorcycle tags, I feel like it's worth pointing out that the main function of these sorts of tags and choices is to help spur you towards concrete ideas about the gang (or the motorcycle or the weapon or whatever) -- and once you have those specific ideas and choices, the tags are just there to remind everyone what those specific choices were.

So if you already have an idea about exactly what your gang is like, you don't really need to worry if '+rich' really means one thing or another -- if you take +rich and describe your gang, then that's what +rich means, exactly. There's no secret hidden meaning of +rich that is somehow going to undermine your vision for your gang, or provide opportunities or mechanical effects other than those that follow from your description of the actual gang and how they actually operate in the fiction. You're the one who decides if the tag makes sense, and you're the one who's going to explain to the MC what that tag means for your specific gang.

I can't say I agree with the philosophy behind this at all. If +rich has no meaning other than to help me describe the gang, well then I could simply describe it without the tag and take something with narrative & mechanical weight. In my mind there should be a compelling reason to pick something. A or B is only a good question if you want both A & B. If being rich means the gang is more complacent, that is something I can value against better armor or weapons. If it's just window dressing that does nothing, then I have no reason to value it as an option.

Further, it's hard to decide what to chose when you don't know what you are picking. Thus my search for clarity, because I was assuming that the tag actually conferred some kind of benefit (even if only in fictional positioning). Maybe this is a conversation best had with my MC, to discover what they want to do with the tag.

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Apocalypse World / Re: The Rich Tag
« on: January 16, 2017, 02:24:38 AM »
I feel like I'm of two minds about this. On the one hand, I like the idea that it changes the dynamic of the gang. You aren't having to use Pack Alpha to get them to do things outside of making jingle, because the gang has enough to not be worrying constantly. But on the other hand, I wonder what this means for the chopper. If you didn't take rich, are you always better off than your gang members? Kind of like a you eat first and they get the scraps kind of deal? It seems weird that the chopper as the gang's leader wouldn't be benefiting from them being rich.

That said, I could see being rich effecting move like Fucking Thieves. If the gang always has some jingle, it seems solid that you could use your move to get them to cough it up.

The reason I bring this up is that I'm considering having my chopper's gang be +loyal and +rich. The backstory being that my chopper recruited out of a local handhold and taught them the trade, as it were. Unlike other road gang's they specialize in going places no one else can or wants to, where the scavenge is good and the passers through are crippled by the terrain. People can leave as they want, ala "If you want out, there is the door." Partially this is because people don't want to walk away from a good thing, partially because they have to deal with the hardholder, and partially because keeping people around who want out is bad for their own health.

So yeah, kind of an odd gang. Not so much 'true outlaws' as 'local boys on dirt bikes who want a piece of the pie for themselves.'

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Apocalypse World / Re: Chopper Bikes
« on: January 15, 2017, 06:20:58 AM »
What do you guys think about replacing the adjectives with ones that better fit vision (and we know what they do)? I'm looking at doing a design based around a Christini AWD 450 Military Edition. It's an all shell drive dirt bike covered in camp and molle webbing for attaching gear. It's setup would be something like:

Strengths:
Rugged (It's a dirt bike with a foot of travel on the suspension. It can handle flying through the air, bumpy terrain, etc)
AWD (All Wheel Drive. Not a common feature on a motorcycle. Helps maintain traction and keeps the front tire from sliding out. A base performance boost in any kind of adverse condition where keeping control is key)

Looks:
Tactical/Military (The bike is set up with camo and molle webbing)

Weakness:
Limited Range/Small Tank (it may get 45 mpg, but it only has a 2.3 gallon tank. So without a refuel you are looking at ~100 mile range, round trip. That's only 50 miles there and back)

Battle Option: Handling +1 (It's meant for bad terrain and can take a spill and keep running, but it isn't a road bike built for top speed)

What do you all think?

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Apocalypse World / The Rich Tag
« on: January 15, 2017, 06:06:20 AM »
One option for the Chopper's gang is to gain the +Rich tag. What does this do to the chopper's need to pay upkeep costs or ability to earn jingle? As leader of a rich gang, I can't really see the chopper being in the same position (earnings or expenses) as other less fortunate gang's. That said, I don't think they are like the Maestro'd in that I don't think they can sit around and just have the jingle roll in, so I'm leaning towards more productive gigs.

What are everyone's thoughts?

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Apocalypse World / Re: 2nd session woes - an observation
« on: January 13, 2017, 05:44:21 AM »
A few things:

1) First sessions ride the excitement of character creation and introduction.
2) Once that excitement wears off people need motivation, not all the playbooks come with that as standard equipment. Therefore it might take longer for them to figure out what it is they are after.
3) Because you now have a bunch of threats, you may be presenting too many of them too timidly. Later on things will ramp up until they have to do something right the fuck now, but initially that isn't there. Having a long list of things to get done someday is not as motivating as one thing you need to do before it turns ugly.
4) Players are starting to worry about jingle. They know if they don't do a job, no one will be able to pay up come session 3. Thus you have most of your players going in different directions which are mostly uninteresting.

Not sure if any of these will be true for your group, but some food for thought none the less.

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Apocalypse World / Chopper Bikes
« on: January 13, 2017, 05:23:45 AM »
So I'm looking at playing a chopper and I have no clue what some of these terms mean or refer to. I'm hoping you can all shed some light on them for me.

Strengths (choose 1 or 2): fast, rugged, aggressive, tight, huge, responsive.
What does being aggressive or tight do as a strength?

Looks (choose 1 or 2): sleek, vintage, massively chopped, roaring, fat-ass, muscular, fashy, luxe.
Is roaring even a look? I could see that being a weakness (they can hear you coming from 3 miles away).

Weakness (choose 1): slow, sloppy, guzzler, skinny, bucking, lazy, unreliable.
What does it mean to be sloppy, skinny, bucking, or lazy?

How do any of these things matter, other than in descriptive terms? Choosing to have a fast bike doesn't actually help its speed at all (taking the +1 speed battle bonus does that). I can see some of the weaknesses coming up, such as guzzler or unreliable (because running out of gas and not starting when you need to go are two bad things). What about the rest of it? I'm most interested in knowing what all the weaknesses are and what (if anything) the strengths actually do.

Thank in advance!

P.S. If you are interested in joining the group (I am not the MC), this is the link to our Roll20 LFG listing: https://app.roll20.net/lfg/listing/66328/apocalypse-world-2e
We play @5PM PST on Mondays, weekly.

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