So I finally got a game going - which is starting to roll. Four players, all less experienced than my 10ish games. One has unfortunately missed two of three sessions.

While I finally think I get fronts, I realize that I need help with threaths.

The PCs:

Vision - The Hocus of a sex-less salvation by holy fire (atom bombs, they cleanse the lost with regular witchburning flame). In game two they embrace sex and sexuality (and parties!) (We are all confused when she's a she.)

Trench - The Faceless, A lumberjack? ...with hopes of having someone to protect, but her morbid antiques alienates her from the rather decent folks of Clearwater

Marlon - The Driver - a rather old hermaphrodite who've forever searched for Utopia, but the first session Hx-reset gives us the secret that s/he's really lost the belief in Utopia

Storm - The Skinner - makes totem-poles, is the glue of Clearwater but maybe also it's curse? Manipulates others for hir own needs. Ambigious gender, blantanty sexual.

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Clearwater is in a Valley. Cheyenne is a youngish leader chosen by popular demand. The populace is hard working, clean and lives in families, with children. The Cult is off course argumentative, shuns cleanliness and is totally sexless, i.e. until their new direction emerges.


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THE FRONTS (please comment/help)


Front 1: HUNGER - "Hungry Eyes spell danger"

Dark future: Clearwater is devoured by those of larger hunger than themselves or by hunger generated by unfortunate events.

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Threath 1: Deep Dark Forest - Landscape, prison

Impulse: To Contain, Deny Egress

"The people fear the forest, and never venture them at night. Dark, strong and dangerous creatures live there in the Darkness. Trench has  felt one's presence."

Custom moves:

- when you patrol the outskirts of the forests at night roll+sharp. On a hit you avoid the ambush and on a 10+ you learn something, on a miss you'd better pray you just get ambushed!

- when you're lost in the forest and try to keep it's voices out, roll+weird. On a miss, the MC will give you a new move. On a hit you'll be able to contain yourself, and on a 10+ you'll remember parts of a conversation (if you want you can read "person")

possible moves:

When you bring others into the forest, gain XP - when you miss an oppourtunity to do so take 1-harm
When you can't see the forest, act under fire to keep calm when doing anything important, gain XP when you shed blood near the forest


THREATH 2:

HUNGER - condition
Impulse: To expose people to danger

When Manitou's raiders Marlon burns down the granary (in the night)


Threath 3: Salacious Sybarites - Brutes - consume recources

"Mostly partying Cultists" - Bundy, Shipman, Costanza, Denke, Bathory, Milat, Toppane, Edina & Gain(dead)

Countdown - every time they party the need for rationing increases (cumulatively):

03:00 - everyone take -1 forward
18:00 - everyne take -1 ongoing
21:00 - everyone acts under fire
after that people will start dying


Threath 4: The Masked Cannibals

Grotesques - Crave Satiety (by eating children), oh ... and they wears masks!
 
They follow the edicts of their long-lost leader, waiting for her/his return, allying themselves to whatever warlord provides...

[to be continued]

So my first run was at a small indie-con. There it's freakin' easy getting brilliant players who'll never shoot something down, but to much goingon meant that we only got 3 players. Now one of the players had bought the book and actually requested a playtest on the Con, and the other two participated in the impromptu game the night before (part I). Because of a bad knee, we had to play in the common area, which did impede the session somewhat.


Set-up/characters:

I did my usual: "I like to play in the northern part of the continent we today call 'America', as one of my agendas is making the world seem real and I think it's easier to fulfill it with the oppourtinuties of the 'Salad Bowl' - and all of the movies we've seen.... you know (they all do ;)) It's not like we couldn't play anywere, but also I'm a lazy disorganized busy fuck, so I'm not intending to alter the naming lists for a one-shot". I also mentioned that I liken post-apoc with deserts, but that I'm not burning for it in this regard. Then I showed the map of the ruins.

I was bummed to lose out on an Angel or a  Violent-person (Faceless?), but we got something cool here:

Mastiff the Hard-holder, leather fetish wear and looked like a Man-O-War-albumcover with Rob Halford as a special star. Brimful's family ended up as those who manufactured guns. A fucking important guy to keep happy, as the "how's the war going?"-loveletter would show us with two staring (snake)eyes! Luckily Michi didn't get the knife in him.

Smith the Brainer, Old, like well over 40. Formal wear, looks like a kind old man, who's dedicated to Hatchet City, despite catching the Damoscles-allusion. Does his job skillfully and thoroughly, but his fascination with people is of a sick sorts. Plans to murder his assistant, has enslaved the prisoner and is in love with Pull, the pretty young newest addition to Mastiffs bodyguard.
 The player really cheered when he read the playbook! The night before he played a brilliant gunlugger who kept adding to setting, but didn't really do anything - as it didn't fit him. Now he just loved the book and it's optioins!

Grace the Skinner - beautuiful face, lush body, fancy dresses (all gifts) and a parrot. Her 'art' is making animals behave not like animals. The parrot can even talk a few sentences. Everybody loves her in Hatchet City.

Both Smith and Grace have come to Hatchet through Ambergrease, and both rejected his offers.

Hx! As always a blast, and the bricklaying of brilliant play:

I say that the boss should go first, so Mastiff tells us he's a nice guy and all, and am willing to listen, but that war is war so he could be more open. Hx+0. Grace makes that +1 and the Brainer says he remembers when he fell asleep at the table in council. While it probably was just for a little while, you found me looking intently at you saying: "Iiiinteerestiiiiiing." Hx+3

The Brainer says that he's difficult to get, Hx-1 but Grace responds that he's in love with her, and the Brainer adds on it by saying he's been following her around, so that would make sense. Mastiff claims the Brainer is a nice addition to the Hold and all, but that he once stole from him. The Brainer says: "Sure, could it be a human? Like a luitenant or something?"  It seems Dustwich was "set free" by Smith. :6

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Hx could be my favourite rpg-mechanic!!

Thanks all! The last bit is what I'm worried about to, and off course retrofitting is a powerful storytelling tool which really is just magic for/to attain "what I want now".

The stuff about characters doing and having stuff regardless of moves is important. But there's setting-building and wish-listbuilding. The driver can have take a move to have a tank, but the gunlugger could easily make an apocalyptic-imagery-friendly backstory of travelling in a tank. Would that be allowed?

I'm thinking about, and realizing, that there's no "line" as the line is regulated by the playgroup and the current game-aesthetics. It's an interesting and important question to ponder, though. Thanks again for all help.

Aaah, Countown Clocks are conceptual rather than mechanical. In the Burning Wheel game I'm in the Undead Army Advances-track is moved (to us players rather arbitrary;)), the clock is just so the threath isn't just a "status quo-situation". :)

Thanks for all help, I wonder if it's a language-barrier (shouldn't really be there), or if I just lack RPG Theory.

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On my "advanced" fronts:

I think the the thing is that I wouldn't have bothered much usually, knowing they'd get going, but the group want outside threaths and aren't to happy to make up setting themselves. They're rather ... traditional. I think and feel I have to "bring it" more than I have to "fascilitate it" and organize cooperation.

I think I see the Wilderness as a front of Decay/Despair, as in the Apocalyptic Wilderness is mainly toying with the pockets of "civilization".

The Uncle's compound I listed between Ambiton and Envy, as Uncle and his folks have both ambition and is envious of the rather nice living of the Crossroads waterhole.

The Poisonous Skulls front I listed as envy, but they could be hunger as wel, though I saved that for Cannibibal City.

Front: The Apocalyptic Wilderness

Drive: to isolate and humiliate the pockets of isolation
agenda/dark future: One day the "civilized" Apocalypse World will be consumed, until then - everytime we gaze "outside" we're reminded of our precariously positioned lives. The howls becken...

Threath: The Roads

Custom move

when you travel the roads in a vehicle, roll +SHARP and choose:
10+: choose as many as you like, 7-9: Choose 1 ... on a miss the GM will choose two or three and probably make a move

* you don't have an accident
* you don't pick up a hitcher passenger
* you aren't fired upon
* you aren't attacked by devildingoes/critters
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Threath:  The Screaming Hills

when you search The Screaming Roads for something, roll +WEIRD

on a 10+: you get it if 

There's not much to tell, Hx was't as fluent as it always is. The set-up is that, though everyone know eachother - they seem to really don't. (I've also heard something reminiscing about non-fixed-setting: "What's the appeal.")

I realize know that I'm not used to having to ask questions (like crazy), more like moderate so we get information in digestable pieces and a little from everyone. Thank you Noclue, for making me see that I should dig further.

I really wanted some input on the Big Bads in the area, but I really didn't got much.

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The Angel - spends most of his time in the hammock. A really cool character, but will need some outside encouragement to act, it would seem.

The Battlebabe is really invested in the bar and stuff, but she was ready to kill the Brainer and I mishandled the move Go aggro, as the Brainers would have had to "suck it up" to try and attack himself. Maybe this had something to do with the flow.

The driver really digs into the asthetics and plays and ambigiously sex role who has already made hir move - and failed miserably on the roll +Cool. He was the first to offer up supporting cast (Lemieux the drunk mechanic and Whitey, the muscular transvestite) as well.

The Brainer does what Brainers do - and revel in the build/power/freaky shit, but offered up "Dumppolis" (renamed CanBowl City/Ruins in my notes) and was maybe concerned with other things?

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Burroughs has been at Crossroads for a while, working for Uncle - and it would seem to make Tavi (the Battlebabe's older brother) find referances to some treasure (or shit, maybe an überweapon?). While there, he has been ogling Kite (in a disturbing matter, like there's not a disturbing way to ogle a teenager) and once Phoenix got startled by the mindfucker staring intently at him when he had fell asleep at the wheel.

The circumstances about the setting was so I didn't want to aggrievate the tension more - and the Driver got enough screentime as it was, to have further questions added. Phoenix was saved by Kite behind Crossroads were Rotschild and Peppering*  wanted something (barter? something delivered? information? stealing children?) - I'm thinking this is something to be answered if a mindfcker get's to business).

*) a pet-name for amphetamine in our country

Phoenix once helped Doc save a life.

Really? Whose? Someone we know? This Phoenix is one helpful Driver.[/quote]

I'm interested in finding out myself, but there were suggestions about it being someone who the Driver ran over, so I (perhaps wrongly) didn't press the issue then. Thinking of introducing a threat which it was. :P

Doc thinks Burroughs is doomed to self-distruction.

Why?


The Brainer said so, the Doc and I answered "evidently" - and trying aggrieve everyone present would suggest that there's time for it.

1st Session of our new campaign:

So I read the vignette, then the blurbs on the Playbooks, answer a couple of questions and gulp a little apocalyptica, like when I toss the Playbooks up for grabs: In Apocalypse World “finder’s keeper’s” a rule to live by, (until the gunlugger’s obvious direct move makes t to die by…)


We get:

A Brainer – quite early the player started fiddling with the booklet, terrifying glee upon his visage…

A Driver – I’ve thought the driver looked bland, but somehow it’s been taken all three times I’ve played. I’m really getting to see why it’s a great playbook.

An Angel – the player caught it quite early, but by no means grabbed it. Just sat silently reading it. “I want to play an Angel named ‘Doc’, an lo-and-behold, I could.” I’ve gotten questions on whether the names are mandatory, and I change my answer up, but I really love the “To create your [playbook] choose name, etc…”

… and the last player asks for advice and get The Battlebabe. (I’ve heard referances to “Barb Wire”).

I’m getting a bit anxious, as I’m not too keen on a travelling show, as it’s my really first campaign (and I’ve not really been a conscious fan of post-apocalypse) and I think it’s easier to reincorporate and build investment in a home-based campaign. So I ask questions almost like I’m desperate:

“So, you work for a warlord or something – adding a bit of class? You’re just the right acco- the unpronounceable* word a hardholder need.)”

*)to me :$

Me, confident: "I’m sure you’ve got a base, right?”

The Angel: “Oh, you mean? Nah, I’m a battle-medic. Named ‘Doc’.”

”You’ve got a place you keep coming back to? A favourite place in between missions?”

I don’t think Apocalypse World encourages leading questions, but I know what I'm not up to. The Battlebabe help me out: “I think I own a bar or something.”

Me, grabbing the life-line: “You can’t. That’s actually it’s own playbook, maybe we’ll introduce it later. You could work there, like a violent bouncer or something?”

The B’babe: “Sure.”

Me, saying what honesty demands, as I’ve overstated the “You get what’s in your playbook, what’s in your playbook is what you get”: “Or rather, you could want to work there as a bouncer, now you just take the occasiounal bounce…erhm?...”

B’babe: “My brother runs it, I just hang.”

Me, saved: “So, this bar in the middle of the desert, were you (*looking at the driver*) usually park, and an Angel (*looking at the angel*) has hung up … and a … seedier fellow? (*looking at you-all-know-who*)… so what’s this place, this poison-selling oasis, called:

B’babe: “Crossroads.”

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The Cast:

The Driver – Pheonix– ambigious sex, leather wear – as real and cool like the real fake skai of his back seat - collects cars which is parked at in the Garage behind Tavi’s Crossroads. Slim bodied, with a fine-boned face and cool eyes cool like a lonely desert night.

The Battlebabe – Kite Honeytree– the 16 year-old sweetfaced girls; evocations like “cheerleader” and “jailbait” are tossed around and approved by the player. Arresting eyes. Shotgun and spiked chain accompanying the baggy military pants, the scissored T-shirt and leather jacket.

The Brainer – Burroughs– I describe him as someone the kids, if there were any here, would make rhymes about. A bogeyman with caring eyes, Hot-2. Has kept watching Kite for a while.

The Angel – Doc – man, utility wear, rugged face w/clear eyes and a rangy body. Got the moves 6th Sense and Battlefield grace! A combat-medic, who off course hates combat and only does it for the jingle. Carries an Angel’s kit and a saw off, in addition the wearing armour. Stays in the hammock all day.


Tavi – the proprietor of Crossroads – Kite’s older brother (27 years), quite the business acumen, so keeps a couple of adding-business-peeps around. Taken care of Kite since their parents died a long time ago.

Last – he’s been here longer than Tavi and his sister. Always sits here, tells a couple of not-so-exiting-stories and makes everything last. Somehow he adds business and is kept around.

Lemieux the mechanic – runs a garage behind Crossroads. This is were Pheonix parks his vehicles. Lemieux creates best when drinking, just like Pheonix drives best…

Uncle – the local hardholder – claims patronage of Crossroads, Tavi knows the score and they work pretty independently, if it wasn’t for that unsavoury chap that’s been ogling Kite.

Uncle’s daughter – came in in the last scene.

Lemieux’ Masterpiece – the jukebox that plays four songs, at random each day. Achy-breaky heart, Jolene and a tune with someone loosing his house, wife, cars, but keeping his dog. Knowing the devildingoes of the desert, that’s one guy down on his luck! … oh, and Kite’s favourite: “Like a Virgin”.

Whitey – a broadshouldered dark-skinned “denis roadman in drag” (a movie-referance?), get’s angry if not referred to as “she”. Drinking buddy of Phoenix. Has not yet made an actual appearance.

Rotschild – once threatened Pheonix, got beat up with his two goonies
Peppering – Rotschild’s bodyguard?
??


Uncle military/enforcers:

Rum – bouncy tits, bouncy ass, M16 and a smile
Mad Dog – cartoony Mohawk – pecks like mountains but lack Dolph Lundgren’s mimicry.
Mice – a mousy gal? with a sub-machine rifle
Putrid – new, lives up to his name
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Locations:


Tavi’s Crossroads – a simple roadside cafè-design, with buildings sheds cropped up around it. We’ve got a map.

Uncle’s compound – recently built, barbed wire and a sementy wall. Upon a sandy hill. I’ve described the sands of the deserts like grains of mountains merging to become mountains and outlasting mankind once again. Explains how cars drive the desert…

Dumppolis – a ruined city, with a bowl (football/baseball stadium?) and creatures living/hiding. Cannibals?

The Screaming hills - ???


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Hx – people barely know eachother, except Burroughs who knows everyone. (Pheonix once got startled by him when sleeping – and Doc quite evidently (and rightly) distrusts him. Kite really doesn’t trust Phoenix, even though she helped him out of a scrap in a deal-gone-wrong. She suspects a bad deal indeed, like … ehm, trafficking. Phoenix once helped Doc save a life. Doc thinks Burroughs is doomed to self-distruction. That’s probably only half-true, but at least Doc’s got one positive Hx after being on the road with Phoenix until they got here.

No-one has any cool start-of-game-moves; I guess some loveletters are needed. ?

----------------          --------------------
     
First scene is Kite listening to Last telling two of Uncle’s gunluggers about how this tiny sweetfaced girl beat up two men. The story isn’t great, but he tells it with conviction. They spot a dust-cload – and after a while Phoenix walks in the swinging saloon door. Phoenix ends up reading Last and understand that Last stays here for comfort, something bad has happened – that’s why he tells the boring stories.

Then Doc gets hit on by Rum, while lying in his hammock. Doc always keeps his distance.

Then Pheonix get’s hit on by Rum, with her two pals Mad Dog and Mice. Doc’s there – and Burroughs. When Rum gets the shivers when looking at Burroughs, he Direct-brain-whispers to her. Phoenix interferes and misses (get’s Rum’s knee in his groin and bleeds from his ear. -1forward and 1harm(ap). He aces his harm-roll, so I make him og unconscious (feeling the need to deescalate the situation a little)… as  Kite flies over the bar and goes agro on Burroughs, who backs away until Kite presses him against the wall. His caring eyes catches hers and the old man reassuringly pats her forearm while we zoom in on the calf-skin gloves with the small metallic barbs on the fingertips. In-brain-puppet-strings and Kite wants to let it be and walk behind the bar. She fights this and really just want to Seize Burrough’s life by force at the tip of her spikes. So much for de-escalation.

She roll a bit prematurely, while apologizing to the player of Burroughs who’s quite up for it. I defuse it by talking how I would handle it as a player and we agree that Kite tries to kill Burroughs and gives him a scar on his jaw, while fighting the terrible pain that Burroughs somehow inflicts on her with his brainfuckery. 1harm each, and they both learn something of eachother.

Kite offers up that Uncle has reminded Tavi of his interest in the Brainer, and a scene were Rum is posted to “watch him” is made. Rum knows the score, so goes to the bar and leaves Burroughs well alone.

Rum later get’s a ride with Phoenix who’s tounge get’s Rum were the cramped coupe can’t. Phoenix freaks out in the cramped sweaty, back-seat and drives Rum to Crossroads instead of Uncle’s holding. He does however stay* the car in the street until She’s safely out of  reach/view of Burroughs who’s pale, lanky and angular silhouette mirrors the crazy-large eye which we would have refereed to as the moon (only like 8 times bigger).

Burroughs has a scene were he demands results from Tavi, who’ve we’ve learned is “doing accounting upstairs”. Tavi says he knows were it’s buried, and holds up a warning sign in yellow and red of a skull with bones in it. I have a couple of ideas…

Doc is congratulated by Uncle, with the chin-tweak accustomary to small warlords, for saving Uncle’s daughter. He get’s some stuff (1-barter) and extra congrats from Rum, who was with the girl when the Devil-dingoes attacked.

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