After a couple sessions, this is what our map looks like. Let me know if you can't read my scratch.



This is from just one character and her holdings and followers and such. I followed the instructions on the sheet, but took the liberty to add as many details as I want. I use the map to note down fronts I am loosely planning as I announce future badness (without the rules yet).

I've read through the playbooks and rules a few times, and am planning on running a game this weekend. It will probably be for a single player which will be interesting...

Anyways, I'm still studying, but here's what's stood out so far:
- It took me a while to really get to the core of what each playbook is and I'm not sure I still really get each one for sure. I think I do after studying every facet of their books, but not sure. I think Apocalypse World walked a line between mystery and clarity on each playbook that was just on the edge of enough familiarity, whereas so far I'm a little bit too much in the mystery column.
- Wicker-wise. I don't like the term. Love the playbook. This might go back to too much mystery. I'm sure it makes sense to some folks. To me it conjures wicker man and maybe wicker patterns, but doesn't really sell me on what the character is or make me want to play it at first glance. And sounds silly.
- Love the Fates. Said that elsewhere. Can't say it enough. I really like how they work into moves and how they fold neatly into the fiction. I love the Fate move of Outlaw Heir. Not sure how often it will come up in play, but it just reads cool. (I may play one just to take that move and try it.)
- I find the way battle has been reworked really interesting. My reading is, depending on the fiction of course, everyone takes their harm when they enter battle. Even if you miss. And then you still get to choose 1 on a miss. My assumption has been that Apocalypse World was set up to make violence a bad choice. I.e. NPCs can pretty much always inflict harm in a conflict in base AW, but PCs can entirely miss. However in Dark Age violence looks like a much more viable choice. That makes it different.
- I really like the experience change on paper. Forces players to do different things. I will like to see how it works.
- Dragon-Herald: I think it's a cool playbook, but I should mention this is another playbook where I was left confused as to what it is exactly. And probably still am. At first I was thinking Skyrim and then it took me awhile to grasp that maybe it was more like Daenerys.
- I am interested to see how the politics and followers work out in game. That said, I think it would be interesting to have a sub-system for war or when your followers fight. I do like the holdings, bounties and wants and the seasons changing. That looks great.
- I like the brief setting, and it seems just enough.
- I like the way magic items are handled for the Troll-Killer. The way they may or may not be useful or magical. I think there's overall quite a lot of room to make the magic real or not. Like Vikings. I think that's a good tone to have.

That's all for now, but I'll post more as I think of them and report back on how the playtest goes.

Hey all,

I haven't posted much here before, but I am a rabid fan of both Vincent's work and Apocalypse World in particular. His thinking on game design and his games have transformed the way I play. The various hacks have been awesome. So, I'd like to give back.

I've been developing a hack that I intend to publish called Midsummer. It sits squarely in the urban fantasy genre, and in it, you play fairy tale characters caught in the modern world. Think along the lines of Fables, Once Upon a Time, Sandman, American Gods (hell, Gaiman in general), Grimm, and the works of Charles de Lint. You take a character that everyone knows, such as the Beast or Tinker Bell, and make them your own. You explore what it means to be a fairytale in the modern world, and find out what magic still exists.

The game will include:
- a full game
- 10 storybooks (playbooks): Child, Domestic Animal, Fairy, Hero, Magician, Prince, Princess, Villain, Wee One, and Wild Animal
- 5+ realm books (playbooks for locations): other realms including Cloudlands, Fairy Court, Neverland, Oz, the Wild, and Wonderland
- adversaries (fronts and threats): building opponents for the players
- magic items (items): rules for designing and a catalog to get you started that ranges from Excalibur to magic beans to wishing rings

What I'm looking for is play testers. I've completed the internal play test and would  like to move to external play testing. So, if you are interested, send me a message or reply here.

Here's the art for the Princess and the Wild Animal:



That's all for now.