Hello!

I am posting here mostly to see if any interest in this game still exists. I'm running a campaign for some friends, with great success so far (despite some odds spots here and there). We're thinking about modifying or extending the game.

I'd love to hear if anyone is still reading, playing, or curious to chat about the game! Let's do so.

This is intended as a play aid for setting up a game of Apocalypse World. It might be especially well-suited for a group of beginners, or anyone looking for a little help to set up the game in the first session.

When you set up your game, pick about 5-6 of your favourite NPC names, and write them in the middle of the table.

Each player makes their character normally, adding the following to the very end of the procedure, after Hx...

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For each playbook:

Choose 1, 2, or 3 of the statements below.

For every blank, pick an NPC name from the list. Or, ask the other PCs which of them it might be.

You can pick the names arbitrarily, on a whim, or carefully and intentionally.

A very few blanks are for something else, instead; the parentheses after the blank indicate what might go there.

By the end, you should have at least a handful of obvious and interesting scenes to frame. You can start to play immediately!


Example NPC list


Lala
Ambergrease
Roark
Tip
Russian
Dustwich


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NPC Prompts, by Playbook


Angel

* ________ needs my care and attention on a regular basis.
* ________ carries an affliction, infection, or parasite I fear could spread to the locals.
* I wish ________ would agree to work under me as my assistant or apprentice.
* ________ has access to medical supplies, implements, or knowledge I could use.
* ________ is in deep [financial/emotional] debt to me for saving their life.


Battlebabe

* Serious money is on the table for me to kill _________.
* _________ sees me as a rival, and is looking to prove (or find out) who's the top dog between us.
* _________ is terrified or awed by me.
* _________ is my lover.
* At night, the maelstrom speaks to me in _________'s voice, [soothing/cajoling/frightening/daring] me.

Brainer

* I messed up _________'s brain so bad they barely know what's up and what's down.
* _________ is terrified of me, and wants me gone, the sooner the better.
* _________ desperately wants my services, to [fix ________, someone they care about / get revenge on ________, someone they're not allowed to kill].
* _________ needs my "therapy" on a regular basis.
* _________ worships me for what I can do.

Chopper

* _________ was once a member of my gang, not long ago. (On what terms did they leave? Did you kick them out, or what?)
* _________ has the know-how, equipment, or facilities to maintain and repair road hogs.
* _________ is the most capable member of my gang, hands down.
* _________ desperately wishes to join the gang.
* I had to teach _________ a lesson recently, after they got in my way.

Driver

* _________ has the skills, facilities, or tools to maintain my vehicle.
* _________ has seen places beyond what I have traveled, and knows their peril.
* _________ is having trouble transporting or trading goods reliably.
* I am often needed to help _________ get where they want to go.
* _________ has a vehicle which is more __________ [adjective] than mine.

Gunlugger

* I fear that ________ cannot fend for her/himself. I would protect them with my life.
* My trigger-finger itches to bring ________ down. (And why have you not been able to yet?)
* _________ needs me for protection, for they fear _________ [another name from the list, a new name, a PC, a faction, a group, or an affliction].
* _________ provides me with [ammunition/medical care/both].
* The maelstrom has shown me visions: I know now that _________ cannot be brought down by my bullets.

Hardholder

* ________ is the former hardholder. (How did you take over from them, and how do people feel about that?)
* ________ is my second-in-command. (What makes them indispensable to you? What worries you about them?)
* ________ is a thorn in my side, constantly angling for my position. (How are they dangerous?)
* I wish I had __________ by my side, as my partner, confidante, advisor, or right hand.
* _________ is the most important or indispensable person in my holding, because only they can control/understand/maintain the _________ [valuable resource, device, or location].

Hocus

* _________ is on the verge of accepting the Faith, if only I could push them over the edge.
* _________ is a Believer, but comes to me in secret, and doesn't wish it known.
* I rely on _________, for no one knows what's happening with my followers better than them.
* _________ was once a member of the cult, before they got kicked out.
* _________ wants the cult gone, for we embody everything they stand against.
* I desperately need to turn _________ into a believer.

Maestro'd

* _________ wants my establishment gone.
* I owe _________ for helping me build, set up, or secure it.
* _________ wants in on it.
* _________ is my best/worst regular.
* I want to own or possess _________; they would be the beating heart of my establishment.

Savvyhead

* _________ is hoarding some technology, knowledge, or skilled labour I'd love to get my hands on.
* _________ helps supply me with water, food, and tech or energy, which keeps my workspace running.
* _________ is always in need of my expertise.
* It's because of _________ that my workspace is secure (perhaps from tech-hungry scumbags, or other threats).
* The maelstrom has told me that _________ is the harbinger of destruction, decay, and barbarism, threatening to erase all knowledge, sophistication, and hope from this world.

Skinner

* I can't let _________ keep doing what they're doing (or about to do).
* _________ is obsessed with me, to a frightening degree. Who knows what they might do, or what they want from me?
* I've got ________ wrapped around my little finger.
* _________ has something I want, very badly. (What is it?)
* I have foreseen that _________ and I will one day bear a child; the maelstrom's whispers bring the child's name to me on the wind everywhere I turn.

The Quarantine is one of my favourite playbooks. The way the start-of-session move fills out the history of the Apocalypse, and feels like rediscovering the Quarantine's lost memories, is just beautiful in play.

When I first saw the details of the playbook, though, I was disappointed, because the Quarantine is some kind of highly trained soldier in stasis. I was hoping for a "fish out water" character who doesn't belong, kind of like the Mortal in Monsterhearts. I was never sure what to do about that, until I saw that some of the Solace's moves could actually work pretty well to create that type of interaction with others. I've borrowed a couple to create this:

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My idea for a more "Mortal-like" Quarantine. Instead of being a soldier suddenly released into the world, you're an outsider, a seeker of truth, and a carrier of the values of the Old World.

Most of the playbook is as-is. However:



Your Name

You wake up with a name tag or badge. Do you remember your own name, or is this your only clue?

For your name, choose one of the following:

A regular, boring name from the Old World, a name that carries hope for the future,  the name of a former classmate, the name of a former coworker, the name of an old flame.



Your Background

You've just appeared from stasis; this is entirely new to you. You remember only glimpses - and barely, at that - of your past life. What is this place?

For "when you were released from stasis", choose [] a few days ago, [] a few hours ago, [] just moments ago.


Your Gear

You get:

* A token of the world you left behind (you detail)
* Three antique or high-tech items. Any valuable item might be worth as much as 3-barter, to the right people.
* Fashion suitable to your look (you detail).
* Other than your items, no oddments or jingle: you have to make your own way, right from the first session.

Choose 3 antique or high-tech items:

* A field reporter's bulletproof vest (1-armor).
* A filmmaker's high quality digital video camera (valuable hi-tech)
* An archaeologist's electronic handheld recorder containing encyclopedic knowledge (valuable hi-tech)
* A writer-librarian's small collection of books (antique valuable) you detail
* A doctor's suitcase of antibiotics, medicines, and experimental drugs (valuable)
* A private investigator's small-caliber personal pistol, with laser sight and fingerprint scanner (valuable hi-tech 2-harm close)
* To create your own, think of a profession which no longer exists and an iconic item


Your Moves

You get 3 Quarantine moves.

Favorite of the maelstrom: when you help someone who’s making a roll, take +1 to your Hx with them. When someone chooses to read a person with you as the subject, or any other move which allows them to ask questions in order to learn about your inner workings or lost memories, they can choose to gain +1 Hx with you, or to lower yours with them by 1, instead. 

Self-possessed: when you highlight stats, the MC doesn’t get to highlight one. Instead, you choose one to highlight for yourself.

Alive in the world: when you take your bearings in a landscape or a settlement, ask 1:
• Where could I hide here?
• If I had to make a stand here, where would be best?
• What does this place or these people have to offer me?
• How could I gain access to this place’s  or these people’s secrets?
• How could I gain the undivided attention of all present?
• How could I best become accepted as a part of this place or these people?
• What or who is the source of the most pain here?
Whenever acting on the answer requires a roll, take +1. If you make efforts to dig further into a settlement or group of people, roll+sharp. On a 10+, ask 2 more. On a 7–9, ask 1 more. On a miss, ask 1 more, but you draw unwanted attention, here and now.

A higher standard: at the end of the session, when you would normally choose a character who knows you better, instead, consider each of the other players’ characters and decide whether or not they were good people. All that were, tell them to add +1 to their Hx with you on their sheet. You can tell none of them, any of them, or all of them, as you see fit. If this brings them to Hx+4, they mark experience and reset to Hx+1, as always.
 
Eager to know: when you go to someone for advice, they must tell you honestly what they think the best course is. If you pursue that course, take +1 to any rolls you make in the pursuit. If you pursue that course but don’t accomplish your ends, you mark experience.

Inspiring: when another player’s character rolls+Hx to help you, they mark experience.

NPC Harm

These guidelines may help the MC interpret harm suffered by NPCs; they are carefully aligned with the standard AW rules, but made to feel more like a “move” within the Apocalypse World ethos. It’s intended for the MC, not the players, to use.

When an NPC suffers harm, read through this list, from the top down. Start with the first option that seems to fit the situation and the source of the harm. If it’s not too serious (or 1-harm), choose one. If it’s potentially deadly (or 2-harm), choose two. If it’s gruesome (or 3-harm), choose three.

Make each subsequent choice worse than the previous (i.e. further down the list).

When a move says the harm is better or worse, choose one more or one fewer, accordingly.

• They cede something to you, submit, or flee.
• The are knocked back or knocked down.
• They are a bloody mess.
• They suffer a lasting wound.
• They are incapacitated by pain or injury.
• They will die without immediate medical attention.
• They are killed on the spot.

Example 1: Keeler hits Parcher in the face (not too serious; normally 1-harm). The MC decides that Parcher is “knocked down”. ("Parcher takes your fist in the face, and tumbles backwards over the bannister.")

Example 2: Keeler opens up on Tum Tum with a submachine gun (potentially deadly, or 2-harm) and chooses to inflict terrible harm. The MC must make three choices, so she says Tum Tum is “a bloody mess”, “incapacitated by pain”, and “will die without immediate medical attention”.

I started running a short-term (a handful of sessions) campaign of AW last week, and wasn't sure how creative, active, or involved my players would be, since they're hardened D&D heads and I haven't really played with them a whole lot.

To do a little prep and to make sure we had something to go on right off the bat, regardless of how passive or active the players might be, I put together this "campaign starter".

Feel free to read, comment, or use for your own games!

It could also work for a one-shot, if you make a strong effort to move through all the steps quickly, with little elaboration.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/8r6auj3hyxhfmr3/AW%20Crow%27s%20Flats%20Campaign%20Starter.pdf?dl=0

I'm fooling around with a variety of alternate rules, which you'll find some notes and shorthand for at the end of the document. Feel free to ignore those.

(I'll answer questions about them, if anyone's curious, of course.)

https://vimeo.com/132968940

A delightful mashup.

A quick question about best practices when it comes to the help/interfere move:

On a miss, the player is instructed to be "prepared for the worst" - generally, an MC move.

Sometimes, in play, the help/interfere move has clear fictional context, like when Dusk is trying to manipulate someone, and I decide to try to help by drawing my blade and locking eyes with onlookers. In such a case, it's really easy to see fictional consequences to a miss.

However, in some interactions, the help/interfere move has less clear fictional context. For example, when two PCs are making moves against each other - let's say they're both reading each other, or they're in a fight and both seizing by force. If either or both decide they'd like to help or interfere:

1. How strict are you about requiring fictional context for the move? Do you demand it to be described or justified fictionally, or is it the player's option to call on the move as an attempt to gain a mechanical advantage?

Sometimes, making four rolls and being really strict about "to do it, do it" feels rather like jumping through hoops in a situation like this - what we really want to know is whether the person manages to get a read on the other, or the outcome of the fight, after all, not to be sidetracked into a whole conversation about how your character interferes and what else might be going on with them.

However, if we just roll the dice and make the moves (to get to the main roll we're interested in), then we get this:

2. If anyone misses their help/interfere roll, how does the MC make a move in response? We've got all this other stuff hanging over our heads - the other three rolls going on, getting back to the fictional action we're invested in, and so forth.

It becomes very tempting to just skip it, and to say that the missed help/interfere "did nothing", moving on to the next roll, and playing out the scene. Is that the desired dynamic here, or should we be playing it differently?

3. What's your preferred way to handle the timing of help/interfere: before the roll you're trying to affect, simultaneous with it, or afterwards (where we only roll if it's close enough that successful help/intereference could make a difference)?

I suppose it might be really helpful to have some "default miss clauses" for such moves, since, unlike "playing in turns" (as we do in most of the game), handling MC moves and misses on a bunch of simultaneous rolls is significantly trickier.

I'd love to hear your tips and tricks on handling this kind of situation - I bet there are some fun and clever ways to make this feel smooth and easy at the table.

I have a question for anyone who has now had a chance to play both 1st and 2nd Edition AW.

A notable difference - at least to me - is the change in the "miss" clause for some important moves, like Seize by Force. In the 1st edition, it was a basic move, so a miss could be any kind of MC move, including sometimes very punishing ones. The 2nd edition miss clause is an exchange of harm, and, often, something that looks like "success" for the character (e.g. choosing to "take definite hold of it"). Given many PCs who have big guns and lots of armor, an exchange of harm can range from an inconvenience to something safely ignored to a full destruction of the enemy.

How has this affected your play? What are interesting "side effects" on your group, or how the game develops? Has it led to different player behaviour? Different MC behaviour? More assertive low-Hard characters? Anything else?

Feel free to discuss other moves, as well - Seize by Force is just, perhaps, the most obvious example of such a change.