Show Posts

This section allows you to view all posts made by this member. Note that you can only see posts made in areas you currently have access to.


Messages - Tim Ralphs

Pages: 1 ... 3 4 [5] 6
61
Apocalypse World / Re: AW kickoff, or "Who's the _____?"
« on: June 16, 2011, 03:32:21 AM »
I don't know the con prep thread in question, but were they using all the playbooks? It seems like those sorts of questions make the most sense if it's a scenario where you know you have a hardholder, nobody else is going to be in the role of "in charge", and you need someone to play it. Like Hatchet City.

The other problem you might have is that splitting out the playbooks into categories sort of suggests that you want the players to pick one book from each category. One violent bastard. One person in charge. And so on. But that isn't necessarily the case at all!

Hey, I'm curious as to your ideas, as to what you think the playbook groups are. What were you planning?

62
Apocalypse World / Re: Most and least popular playbooks?
« on: June 15, 2011, 05:29:25 AM »
As an MC I'm always secretly relieved when nobody chooses The Driver. And I've only once seen someone choose The Driver.

I should probably get over that at some point.

63
blood & guts / Re: Concentric Game Design
« on: June 09, 2011, 09:39:56 AM »
Two things! Firstly, the Apocalypse World book has always felt weird to me, because it finishes out painting wild, speculative pictures of a vast space of possible play. This is actually a nice description of why that happens.

And secondly, it's interesting to compare Apocalypse World to other games, (In A Wicked Age is an obvious choice) and look both at the existence of concentric levels but more importantly at the direction of collapse and the impact that has on gameplay.

64
Apocalypse World / Re: Threat of violence - manip or aggro?
« on: June 07, 2011, 08:30:30 AM »
Are you committed to breaking him in half when he spits in your face? If you are, then it's going aggro. Otherwise, it's manipulating.

It sounds like going aggro from over here!

65
It sounds like you've already got a direction here, so I'll chime in with some more general advice. All the time my savvyheads, my hocusses, they throw shit at me. My current hocus is all about building webs of connections in the maelstrom, and last session she decided that what she really wanted to do, long term, was build a web all the way around the maelstrom and ensnare it.

Awesome.

And in all these cases, where the players say something outrageous and out of left field that makes your jaw drop, a really good first thing to do as MC is to ask "How? What would you do in order to make that happen?"

Because then you can make the savvyhead do the work, right? You can make him come up with the idea that he'll need a weather scrubber. You can make him come up with the idea that he'll need a containment device for the horrible black silt that he's filtering out of the rain. You can make him come up with the idea that he'll need the witches brain in a vacuum jar in order to open the maelstrom up.

When the players announce great big grandiose projects, I always get them to break it down into little steps. It's easier to see how you, as MC, fuck with the little steps, make them hard and complicated, how they interact with your threats and fronts.

66
Apocalypse World / Re: Real life battlebabe!
« on: May 25, 2011, 10:17:02 AM »
What basic move does diving in between two enemies so that they shoot one another best correspond to?

67
Apocalypse World / Re: Spoonful of sugar
« on: April 14, 2011, 09:03:32 AM »
http://www.lumpley.com/comment.php?entry=568
You're not the only one to raise an eyebrow. Scroll down to comments 24 and 25.

68
Apocalypse World / Re: AP: Silo 29
« on: March 19, 2011, 01:32:11 PM »
Well, MC love letters are always interesting reading...

69
Apocalypse World / Re: New Playbook: The Shell
« on: March 16, 2011, 12:34:39 PM »
Long time no reply. My apologies. Thanks to all of you. It's probably going to end up with the name "The Scarred", and as it's going in Luxe Eternal I may hold back a bit with revealing all the tweaks I'm making here. Some of the moves just need clarifying.

That said, here's some feedback feedback: I appreciate the point about trimming moves and getting rid of Shell moves from advancement, but I'm already looking at the most uninspiring set of advances since The Angel, it's not an area that I have the luxury of trimming out.

I hadn't spotted that Twitchy as all Hell is duplicating what the other moves do. Damn. (Though really, Everybody Bleeds not making sense? You've been beaten up so now you're rougher, scrappier and whatever the odds, however many people there are piling on you, you make sure somebody comes away limping and sore.) See What I've Seen will probably go, and Glimpsed The Beyond is itching for a complete re-write. I must admit, I don't really like Touched by Death. It might be irrelevant, it might net you a massive bonus. That's not something I should be looking to emulate.

And lastly, Everybody Talks makes for some interesting design decisions, because everybody has the basic move Manipulate. And the concrete assurance that pain hurts and that being let go doesn't is pretty good leverage. As such, in order to make the move relevant, it needs to be broader, more powerful or more interesting. Mcdaldno's answer explores a solution. Good stuff.

70
Apocalypse World / Re: New Playbook: The Radio
« on: March 16, 2011, 11:32:31 AM »
This is a really awesome concept. I'm a bit disappointed at how few of the moves allow for interaction with PCs though. Overall, I have to agree that the book keeping involved might make things drag a little. (Though I've never had a problem with the Skinner move Hypnotic, which I guess is about the same degree of action.)

I'm also surprised to see that you don't have an option for getting a cult. Radios seem like just the sort. (Maybe their Special move should just automatically make someone a Receiver?)

T-shirt and jeans!

71
Apocalypse World / Re: New Playbook: The Shell
« on: March 10, 2011, 08:13:35 AM »
Eruditus, I'm interested in hearing your tweaks. I can't trim it to six moves though: you start with four, you can gain another three from debilities and pick up two from advancement. Any less than nine and the character is being set up to suck.

And hey, Joe Mcdaldno might be sorting out layout and art. Which is a massive weight off my mind.

Full replies and tweaks coming.

72
Apocalypse World / Re: New Playbook: The Shell
« on: March 08, 2011, 04:24:25 PM »
Thanks people! Full reply when I have more time, but I'm working on the tweaks and things, and this has been helpful.

73
Apocalypse World / Re: AP: Silo 29
« on: March 08, 2011, 05:06:41 AM »
Oooh, lovely world!

74
Apocalypse World / Re: Fanzine Idea: Luxe Eternal
« on: March 08, 2011, 05:05:00 AM »
This is an awesome idea. I won't make promises to contribute because I know how sporadic my free time is, but I'll try and get the playbook I'm working on finished off, (someone else will probably have to help with the imagery. I never progressed beyond MS paint.) and you're welcome to use that plus whatever other stuff I dream up along the way.

But I'm in Britain. I don't expect a paper copy, not really. I'd be more than happy to fork out a dollar or two for a .pdf.

75
Apocalypse World / New Playbook: The Shell
« on: March 07, 2011, 08:24:52 AM »
So, I'm after the Quarantine booklet, and I figured an interesting way to go about trying to get it would be to write a playbook of my own. It's a bit of a work in progress, I've put the things I'm still thinking about in marked parenthesis, but I'm open to any comments.

The Shell
(*Not convinced on the playbook name. Thoughts?*)

Apocalype World hurt you. It cut you up, shaved bits off, and did a damn untidy job of welding the scraps back together. It doesn't matter how it happened; whether the sky rained fire or a convoy ran over you or you just didn't fit right in your mother's womb. No, what matters is that you aren't dead yet. Because that which does not kill us, right?

To create your shell, choose name, look, stats, mark debility, moves, gear and Hx.

Names: Mock Tyrtle, Hazy, Squint, Grey, Hermit, Auntie, Nails, Zombie, Lucky, Fallout, Stumps, Mannequin, Patches, Hook, Lobster, Pieces. (*Needs more names. Any ideas?*)

Look:
Scrounge wear, environmental wear proper to the local environment, tattered uniform.

Male, Female, Ambiguous, Transgressing.
Inspired face, pale face, crazed face, leering face, weathered face, scarred face.
Bloodshot eyes, hollow eyes, sleepy eyes, piercing eyes, missing eye(s).
Rangy body, twisted body, bony body, heavy body, withered body.

Stats
Choose one set:
Cool+0, Hard+1, Hot+0, Sharp+2, Weird+0
Cool+0, Hard+0, Hot+0, Sharp+2, Weird+1
Cool+1, Hard+0, Hot-1, Sharp+2, Weird+1
Cool+0, Hard+1, Hot+1, Sharp+2, Weird-1

Mark a debility
Shattered (-1cool), Crippled(-1hard), Disfigured(-1hot), Broken(-1sharp).

You automatically have:
It only makes me stronger
Whenever you mark debility choose a move from your own playbook. That debility you marked just now? It's already factored in below. Merry Christmas.

Now choose 3 from:

Saw that coming
When you read a situation, on a hit you may ask an additional question. When you're acting on one of the answers to your questions, you have +1 armour.

Paranoia
When you read a person, on a hit gain an additional hold. In addition to the questions listed, you may spend your hold 1 for 1:
+1 to interfere with that person,
+1 to act under fire where the fire is coming from that person.

I've had worse
If you or a person you're directly trying to patch up has just suffered harm and there's a risk they might die, roll + cool. 7-9 they are stabilised. 10+ stabilised and they heal 1 section. For NPCs this means that if they weren't dead outright, they'll live.

Everybody bleeds
When you inflict harm, if it would be reduced to 0 or less you still inflict 1 harm.

Everybody talks
When you have time and physical intimacy with someone, mutual or one sided, roll + number of debilities you have.  If the intimacy is one sided, they choose whether to have you inflict 1 harm AP on them. On a hit, ask them a question or give them a topic to talk about: On a 10+ they'll give you good detail and you get +1 forward if you act on the info. On 7-9 the info is mostly good, but parts may be patchy or inconsistent. If they're a PC, they can choose for you to take +1 Hx or -1Hx with them.

(*Could do with a miss result? This move feels clunky.*)

Everybody sleeps
When you come for someone while they're sleeping, roll +sharp. On a 7-9 choose 1 to be true, on a 10+, choose 2. On a miss, you don't get any, and you take -1 forward.

You know their exact position and what to look out for.
They don't have time to raise an alarm before you're on them.
They don't have time to reach for a weapon before you're on them.

Twitchy as all hell
When you act under fire, if you're outside of battle, roll +sharp rather than +cool.

See what I've seen
When you inflict harm, if it's with your bare hands, you may instead choose to inflict 1 psi harm.

Glimpsed the beyond
Whenever you go to 12 on the harm clock, you get +1weird (Max +3).

(*There's a lot of moves here. Maybe one should go? Could more be off a roll of +debilities*)

Shell Special
When you and another player character have sex they mark experience. Then they choose: either you mark experience, or they move one of your highlighted stats.

Gear
You get:
1 questionable weapon
1 worthwhile scrounge
Fashion suitable to your look

Questionable weapon:
Sawed off (3 harm close reload messy)
Crossbow (2 harm reload)
Crowbar (2 harm hand messy)
Prosthetic limb (2 harm hand)

Worthwhile scrounge:
Stun gun (S harm hand reload)
Hidden knives (2 harm hand infinite)
Scrounged mismatched pieces worth 1-armour, detail suitable to your look
Some mongrel animal (alive). Your choice and yours to detail

Hx
Everyone lists their characters by name, look and outlook. Take your turn.

List the other character’s names

Go around for Hx, on your turn choose whether your past makes you closed or open.
If closed, tell everyone Hx-1
If open, tell everyone Hx+1

On others’ turns
Choose one or both:
One of them is a blood relative of yours. Whatever number that character tells you, ignore it; choose a Hx from -3 to +3 and write that number next to their name instead.
One of them you blame for something. Whatever number that character tells you, ignore it; write Hx+2 next to their name instead.
Everyone else, write whatever number they tell you next to their character’s name.

At the end, find the character with the highest Hx on your sheet. Ask that player which of your stats is most interesting and highlight it. The MC will have you highlight a second stat too.

Shell Improvement
Whenever you roll a highlighted stat, whenever you reset your Hx with someone, mark and experience circle. When you mark the 5th, improve and erase.

Get +1 Sharp (Max Sharp+3)
Get +1 Cool (Max Cool+2)
Get +1 Hard (Max Hard+2)
Get +1 Hot (Max Hot+2)
Get +1 Weird (Max Weird+2)
Get a new Shell Move
Get a new Shall Move
Get 2 gigs (detail) and moonlighting
Get a move from another playbook
Get a move from another playbook
(*These don't feel particularly inspired. Thoughts?*)

Pages: 1 ... 3 4 [5] 6