This thread is to gather the experiences of most of us, to see which playbooks are picked the most/least by rookies (to the game), which ones by veterans (of this game only, again), or see another useful pattern. In particular, I recognise some playbooks nobody tends to pick, and would like to see if that tendence is common, to think about some new ways to "sell" those playbooks and make them interesting.

My experience:
Battlebabes & Brainers are the ones mostly picked.
Other playbooks that rely on their own are favoured: gunlugger, skinner, driver, etc.
Playbooks like the angel or operator aren´t picked by newcomers, they´re often seen as boring or uninteresting (in my experience, obviously).
Playbooks that rely on other people (this depends on the player´s profile, I think) in general aren´t picked a lot.
In general, players pick a playbook that at least has a special orientation or good tools to apply in combat situations.

Your experiences? Do you see any tendence among the groups you MC to? Do you think the profile of a RPer, the games he´s played or run, his overall experience with the hobby have sth to do with the playbooks he chooses (maybe even his life experiences or his knowledge of the postapoc. genre)?
Is there any playbook you think people don´t often come to appreciate? Which, and why do you think that? How would you make it more crowd-pleaser (just talking about the way you offer it to people, not about tweaking the playbook)?
In my case, I´d like to adequately show the awesomeness of the operator, and I often don´t know how. Since my players don´t speak english in general, I have to explain playbooks to them, so selling a playbook is my responsibility. They often don´t see the advantages of a mainly social character that tends to have a lot of money (I´d say he´s the richest character).
Other curious cases. It takes time for a player to see why having an Angel would be useful or awesome, compared to a brainer. Only after they´ve played AW they recognise healing means an awful lot of power over people, as much as a skill greatly demanded.
Maybe players that come from traditional RPGs think that a character whose power relies on people is less powerful than one whose power comes from his own. Not always: I have a case of a player coming from a 3.5/vampire experience, picking a chopper without hesitating much.
Also, in an environment as violent as AW, some players think that a skinner might be too bland.
Battlebabes enjoy so much popularity due to their versatility, and also to how easily their concept is understood (sexy assasin!). They are cool, dangerous if not in a real fight, and also are quite manipulative and hot. Winwinwin.

Introducing... Donjuan
Some old bastards talk about something called love. They talk about the breathtaking moments, fainting by love, the flowers and hand-grabbing. That for sure died with the world itself, they say, but I think some people still make you feel that way, they get rid of our broken lives and feelings to just use us and leave us empty again. No happy endings.

STATS: choose one line:
Cool+2, hard-1, hot+2, sharp-1, weird=0
Cool+1, hard=0, hot+2, sharp=0, weird=0
Cool=0, hard-1, hot+2, sharp+1, weird+1
Cool+1, hard+1, hot+2, sharp-1, weird=0

MOVES: you get all the basic moves, HUNGRY DICK/CLIT, plus choose 3 Donjuan moves.

HUNGRY DICK/CLIT: at the beginning of the session, you´re in WANT, so roll+HARD. If you´ve sex with your WANT, mark experience. On a 10+, you pick whom do you want this time. On a 7-9, the MC picks him. On a miss, the MC picks him, and if, by the end of the session, you haven´t had sex with him, cross out permanently one advancement option not picked yet from your character sheet.

FAMOUS: whenever you first meet somebody hot & important (your call), roll+HOT: on a hit, you get to say what they´ve heard about you. On a 10+, you also get to say wether they´re interested in you or not.
On a miss, the MC says what they´ve heard, seen or suffered because of you, and they´re for sure interested in you, or either you WANT them (as in hungry dick/clit).

HERO PANTS: when you fight for your current or next affair (either to protect him or to get to it, whatever), you roll HOT instead of hard to seize by force and go aggro.

LOVER MIND: you roll+HOT instead of SHARP to read a situation, if somebody you´re interested in is involved somehow.

KILLING STARE: when you look and talk to somebody in that way, roll+HOT. On a hit, the MC (or the player, if PC) picks an option from the list:
-He´s nervous. He´s got to leave, and will be sloppy, commit mistakes if he doesn´t or can´t. -1ongoing for PCs, until they leave.
-He´s attracted to you. He won´t act against you this time. PCs are acting under fire to act against you.
-He rejects you, but is hesitant now. You get +1forward to spend on a next move against him.
On a 10+, you also get +1 forward against him.
On a miss, he reacts anyhow he wants, usually in a dangerous way (anger, obsession, etc.). Besides, you probably WANT him now, if not yet, plus you can´t use this move on him again this session.

IRRESISTIBLE: you get +1hot (max+3).

DON´T TAKE NO AS AN ANSWER: when you try something you really want and fail at it (not just fail a move), you get +1 forward. You also mark experience when you finally achieve it.
If it´s got something to do with sex or similar, you instead get +1ongoing, on anything you do to get it back.

SPECIAL MOVE: if you and another character have sex, and it is the first time you´ve sex with him, choose 1:
-mark experience
-Get a gift from him, worth 1-barter.
You also hold 2. You may spend it, 1 for 1, to get +1 to a roll either him or you make, your choice.

If you and another character have sex, but it isn´t your first time with him, you instead get -1forward.

It lacks details, but I think it is nice, and I always like hot-based playbooks. What do you think?

Yesterday I ran an one-shot for 2 friends, both of them rookie on the hobby, one having played only once before.

Started normally, creating the characters, and then I asked them how was their apocalypse, how did the world look like now, where did they live, how did they get their food, what sort of dangers were outside the holding, what kind of stuff did the holding trade with the other ones...
They came up with a jungle, overgrown natura world, populated with all kinds of dangerous animals. The PCs live on an university campus, many buildings sorrounding an inner garden where they grow some food, albeit most of it comes from hunting and fruit gathering. The holding inhabitants don´t do that, though, the savage do it, they´re the ones most prepared to endure the dangers of the wilderness.

Then, I asked how the PCs fitted within the holding, how did they work, how did they know each other, etc. The HX rules were excellent for that.
Venus, a skinner, works by tattooing people, but is also the mistress of both Amy, the current hardholder (NPC), and Sun, the aspiring hardholder, currently running the bar, and the drug dealer for most.
Sin, a brainer, works as a sort of witch, getting information or giving advice for people willing to pay for it, but she´s also Venus´ lover.

I was SO lucky that both players are now to rpg, and have no ugly habits like shielding their characters and describing happy lifes. In particular, Guada telling me about her skinner´s lovers eased me the job so much, it was an automatic source of conflict ready to be exploited. My traditional players never did such a thing.
I asked some questions about the attitude of the characters: has venus decided between Amy and Sun? To whom does she feel loyal? what does Sin think about venus being with 3 guys at the same time? But not a lot of questions, the rest would be better to uncover/discover while playing.
All the above didn´t take so much time. I´m getting increasingly confident with this game, and so I asked only the necessary questions and listed the minimum ammount of characters to just start playing.

The most important, the starting point. I asked Guada how did a day start for her, what did she do. She told me she woke up after a night along with Sun (one of their lovers), and then we started playing normally (they started plotting to weaken Amy´s rule). Jesi (the other players, both are women)had Sin starting her day working, meeting a new customer, who´s paying her to figure something about... Venus.
Then some triangles started to arise, Sin working against Venus, but at the same time being manipulated by her to help her with her stuff, Venus using sex without remorse to hipnotize people or receive gifts from them, etc.

The session ran pretty much smoothly, both PCs interacting and rolling moves on the other one, not a lot of NPCs in the stage, but sadly not many actual fights and bullets. The only thing I think that lacked was a sort of external pressure, a threat growing and urging the characters to act. The only conflict was the whole Amy vs. Sun thing, with a couple of other NPCs involved.

Anyway, the advice you gave me was really cool and useful, it helped me a lot to be confident about running the game, Thanks a lot!

The Viper´s tongue
In these troubled times, being the alpha boy´s quite a job: too many responsibilities, plus you´ll be the one blamed if sth goes wrong. No protection from bullets and crazy people, sadly.
But you don´t take the glory path. You´ll rather act behind the curtains, have others mess their hands while you stand as clean as a princess. Good for you.
NAME
Viper, birdie, snake, flea, worm, rata
Tiny, goodboy, grammy, pal, little p., candy, sugar
LOOK
Man, woman, ambiguous or transgressing
scrounge wear, formal wear, luxe wear, fetish wear
sweet face, thin face, grotesque/striking face, pale face, worn face
calculating eyes, indifferent eyes, sharp eyes, cold eyes, big, creepy eyes
crippled body, fat body, small, dwarven body, rangy body, hunched body, childish body, gorgeous body
STATS
Cool+1, hard0, hot+1, sharp+2, weird-1
Cool+1, hard-1, hot0, sharp+2, weird0
Cool+2, hard-2, hot0, sharp+2, weird0
cool+1, hard-1, hot-1, sharp+2, weird+1
VIPER´S TONGUE´S MOVES
Choose 3
Behind the curtains: (you must have an affiliation group to apply to: gang, cult, family, friends, crew, etc.)
At the beginning of the session, or when some downplay time has elapsed, roll+SHARP. On a 10+, hold 3. On a 7-9, hold 2 with their tweaks.
Spend your hold during the session or prior to it to:
-Know a secret about someone inside the group. (tweak: someone knows you´re watching people)
-Have someone do something for you, and no one will discover you told him (tweak: someone will discover that indeed).
-Influence the group as a whole to take a new direction or do something (tweak: you´ll be blamed if something goes wrong)
-Gain a new, stronger position within the group. (tweak: you make sb fall, and he´ll have his vengeance)
-Get 1-barter (tweak: in exchange for an obligation).
An obligation means the group demands something from you, a service, whatever it is.
On a miss, you get an obligation, and you may choose something from the list (except gaining a stronger position) with a tweak.
From the back: When you do it from behind or unexpectedly, roll+SHARP instead of HARD to go aggro.
Savvy boy: roll+SHARP instead of HOT when you manipulate someone. If he´s a PC, roll +Hx.
Good sammaritan: when you help somebody without asking for retribution, you get hold 1 over him. While you have hold, they can´t act against you; if PCs, it´s acting under fire to go against you.
They may spend 1 of your hold over them if they:
-Give you something you want
-Do something for you (and keep the secret)
-Act as your eyes and ears
-Become a supporter/ally
If you help a PC, you also get +1Hx with her.
Dirty secrets: when you reach the psychic maelstrom looking for info, roll+WEIRD. Say a name, and on a hit, ask a question from the list:
-What does he contain under the surface?
-Is he involved in a forbidden relationship?
-What sin or mistake haunts her mind?
-Has she got something that doesn´t belong to her?
On a 7-9, you gotta have an input first to get the data. The MC wil ask you one question, and if you answer it you get the secret. The MC will tell you also who knows your secret now.
On a miss, you receive a secret from someone else (MC´s call), plus answer one question from the list. Someone knows your answer, but you don´t know who she is.
If you get a PC´s secret, you get +1Hx with them on your sheet.
I´m nothing!: When trouble arises and you have something to do about it, or are in the middle of it, roll+SHARP. On a 10+, hold 2. On a 7-9, hold 1. Spend your hold:
-Not to be blamed or deemed responsible for the trouble, offense, etc. If already known responsible, they show mercy instead.
-to make them fail their vigilance upon you for a moment, or make them underestimate you.
-Keep your reputation untouched and clean.

GEAR
You get:
1 weapon easy to conceal:
-A dagger (2-harm hand)
-Sleeve pistol (2-harm close reload loud)
-Syringe (1-harm intimate)

Plus choose 1:
-drugs (applied, valuable, psi-harm, must be ingested)
-poison (3-harm, applied with the syringe or in food/drink)
-sedatives (s-harm, aplied with the syringe or in food/drink)
-Oddments worth 1-barter

HX
Everyone introduces their characters by name, look and outlook.
Take your turn.
List the other characters´ names.
Go around again for Hx. On your turn, choose 1 or both:
-Choose somebody you pretend to really like. Tell that player Hx-2.
-Choose somebody to whom you´ve revealed your true nature. Tell that player Hx+1
Tell everyone else Hx-1. You keep your stuff secret.

On the others´ turns, choose 1, 2, or all 3:
-Choose somebody you know a secret about. Whatever number that player tells you, ignore it, and write Hx+3 with him instead.
-Choose somebody who helped you honestly once. Whatever number that player tells you, give it -1 and write it down in your sheet.
-Choose somebody you´ve fooled once. Whatever number that player tells you, add +1 to it and write it down in your sheet.

IMPROVEMENT:
-Get +1Cool (+2 max)
-Get +1hard (+2 max)
-Get +1hot (+2 max)
-Get +1weird (+2 max)
-Get another Viper´s tongue move
-Get another Viper´s tongue move
-Get a gang plus pack alpha
-Get a holding plus wealth
-Get a move from another playbook
-Get a move from another playbook

VIPER´S TONGUE SPECIAL
When you and another character have sex, roll+HARD.
On a 10+, you don´t reveal yourself, but he reveals something to you (as in dirty secrets).
On a 7-9, either no one knows anything new, or both reveal a secret to the other (your call).
On a miss, you reveal him a secret.

THE SECRETS
You may learn secrets from your own moves, from reading somebody, following him in secret, whatever makes sense. It´s up to you and the MC whether any piece of information about sb is actually a secret: generally, it should be something harmful if revealed.
-You may obviously use a secret as leverage over an NPC. You may trade a secret for 1-barter.
-When you suddenly reveal a secret in public, you cause psi-harm to sb involved or affected (if PC, roll +2). If he´s an NPC, choose only the "her sanity shatters" effect if it really makes sense.
When a secret goes public, it obviously stops being a secret.


I think it´s finished. How could I edit it to make it look like a playbook?
Would you change anything from it? Maybe dropping a move or two to make it simpler? What do you think about secret revelations causing psi-harm?

A middle ground solution I´d go for if you´re still not satisfied would be sth like this:
-Bo, Roark and Mari are really good fighting as a team. When they do, and they´re the only opposition the PCs have, they inflict +1 harm as if they were a small gang, but they don´t get the harm reduction benefit.
That should work as an intermediate point between a few combatants and a small gang.

In a game, when I was a player, the MC made a mistake and had two choppers with guns hit me for double damage (6). I was like "OMG did a piano fall on my head!", but I didn´t say anything because I wasn´t sure if he had done the right thing or not. I should´ve complained, anyway, because three more moves and I was marking a debility...

Oh! It's, "if someone might conceivably eat it, they do [eat it], and suffer 4-harm."

Jajaja, I totally misunderstood it...
Thanks!

"Just give me a motive: name somebody who might conceivably eat, drink, or otherwise ingest something you´ve touched. If it´s an NPC, roll+hard; a PC, roll+Hx. On a 10+, they do, and suffer 4-harm (ap) sometime during the next 24 hours. On a 7-9, it´s 2-harm (ap). On a miss, some several people of the MC´s choice, maybe including your guy maybe not, get it, and all suffer 3-harm (ap)."

Ok, I just don´t get the move, I mean, I understand how it works, but I can´t just explain that in the fiction... Why something you´ve touched? Why do and suffer harm? Does it represent the Maestro D´ inciting a traditional bar fight? Is it something more esoteric or weird?

Something to spare: 10+ gives you a 1-barter item you've been saving against a rainy day - lucky for your children, and they better be grateful;  on a 7-9, a 1-barter item you can use to buy off their need, but it has sentimental value to you; on a miss, you can get a 2-barter item, but it comes with strings attached to someone you dislike, and the MC will tell you what.

I´m not entirely sure about the "but it has sentimental value to you" clause. I mean, it is a great thing for just a move to say about your character, this should be a thing the players themselves decide. And also, how to spark consequences from giving away a sentimentally valuable object. To me, the 7-9 result lacks complication, doesn´t feel like a half success...

These are some fixes I´m thinking about:
-On a 7-9, 1-barter item you can use, but it´s somehow important to one of your children (I think it´s better when you make it about somebody else, not just an inner struggle).
-On a 7-9, 1-barter item you can use, but you borrowed it from a friend choosed by the MC. Better figure how to give it back to him later.
-On a 7-9, 1-barter item you can use, but you had to tighten up your belt and sacrifice stuff valuable to you. You have -1forward (maybe it should be worse, I don´t know).