So, I made a thing tonight: https://docs0.google.com/document/d/1dvduuMvVdC_GCIkA3n0BvlOD1J3sHcz32j0JDRFmjtM/edit?authkey=CNuKpegH#

A lot of the fiction / setting is just in my head, not written down, but my friend asked for a game where he controls a team of people, so I threw this thing together. It's about a team of people, each uniquely skilled, working together for probably not-to-legal jobs. Spies, infiltrators, saboteurs, and so on.

It's set in the future. Not, like, distant future, like... 5-10 years, maybe? The world is pretty much like ours, except there's magic. Maybe it's always been there, alternate history style, or maybe it suddenly showed up at some point.

There's a manastorm that co-exists with our world, a swirling primal magical aura surrounding the whole planet. People can reach into it for insight, and there are spirits (called arcanites) living it it, too. There's thousands or millions of these, and they all give some sort of benefit (and, almost always, some kind of price). These range from, like, minor arcanites that'll clean your kitchen to spirits that can manifest as living tanks.

It's kinda rough right now. It's also meant for one player playing all the PCs, although I'm not sure how that'll work in actual play. I reckon each character could go to a different player, too. Anyhow, feel free to check it out (and leave feedback, if you'd like), I figure someone might be interested in it.

Vincent, could I get a grab-bag forum for my hacks/playbooks/rules mods? I don't have anything finished, really, but I've got about 30 or so things in various states of done-ness, and I'd like to keep them all in one place.

I know this isn't 'a hack', per-se, but if you're cool with it, I'd appreciate it.

- Alex D.

Can I add? I'm going to. Nuke this or move it if it's not fitting.

(Disclaimer: I've never finished a game to the point of wide publication. I have finished plenty of hacks and games used just for my playgroup and had a ton of fun!)

First, I want to direct people to a recent thread on Jonathan Walton's blog, since I greatly agree with it: http://thouandone.wordpress.com/2010/07/27/a-few-recent-thoughts-on-design/

But beyond that,
Designers: Try to play your game! Grab some friends or recruit your fans online (via Skype or group chat or something) and play the thing in whatever state it's in. I'm sure you'll learn something near-every time you actually play it that'll help advance your design.

Fans: You, too, if the designer's made enough info publicly available, try to run it. Try to keep notes and feedback about it to get back to the designer about how the rules and advice and so on were actually used (or not used) at the table.

So, just my 2c.

Take all your reasons and take them away
To the middle of nowhere, and on your way home
Throw from your window your record collection
They all run together and never make sense
But that's how we like it, and that's all we want
Something to cry for, and something to hunt

- The National, Looking For Astronauts

Man, I'd love to see something like this:

Pick one of the following, and you can never, ever get any of the others:

Death: Whenever you publicly proclaim the death of some particular person and they hear it (either first-hand or through the spread of information), the MC will make sure they die, and soon. If you want, specify a method of death, but the MC isn't beholden to make it so.

Famine: Whenever you enter a new holding or community, roll+weird. On a 10+, they immediately gain want:famine. On a 7-9, they gain want:hunger. Either way, if you can offer them food, or direct them to food, take +1 ongoing with them.

Pestilence: You're immune to the negative effects of any virus or disease you may contract; it just remains dormant. But you're, like, super-contagious. Whenever you enter a holding or community, pick one of your diseases and roll+weird. On a 10+, there'll be a massive outbreak of it within a few days, like some sort of epidemic. On a 7-9, a few people, maybe a tenth to a quarter of the population, gets it, but it'll only spread at it's normal rate. Oh, and whenever you touch someone and will it, they'll contract one of your diseases.

War: Whenever you lead a gang into battle, treat them as one size larger. Whenever you speak sermons of doom to a group, roll +weird. On a 10+, they'll go into battle against a target of your choice, and they'll treat you as a present leader even if you don't go with them. On a 7-9, choose one: They go into battle against a target of their choice, or they don't go into battle at all.

Okay, so Pestilence is hella complex, and maybe some of these are better than others, but I really like the idea of exclusive moves tied to the iconic Horsemen.

The "s" in s-harm stands for "stunned" or "stunning"; basically, the person can't act until the stunning effect is gone or wears out or whatever. PCs can act under fire to do something.

Fog lifts from the harbor, dawn goes down to day
An agent crests the shadows of a nearby alleyway
Piles of broken bricks, signposts on the path
Every moments points toward the aftermath

Sailors straggle back from their nights out on the town
Hopeless urchins from the city gather around
Spies from imperial China wash in with the tide
Every battle heads toward surrender on both sides

And I am coming home to you
With my own blood in my mouth
And I coming home to you
If it's the last thing that I do

Bells ring in the tower, wolves howl in the hills
Chalk marks show up on a few high windowsills
And a rabbit gives up somewhere and a dozen hawks descend
Every moment leads toward its own sad end

Ships loosed from their moorings capsize and then they're gone
Sailors with no captains watch a while and then move on
And an agent crests the shadows and I head in her direction
All roads lead toward the same blocked intersection

I am coming home to you
With my own blood in my mouth
And I am coming home to you
If it's the last thing that I do


- Sax Rohmer #1, The Mountain Goats
Listening to this song a moment ago made me think of Monsterhearts and this thread, especially the end line of each verse and the chorus.

I am coming home to you
With my own blood in my mouth
And I am coming home to you
If it's the last thing that I do

Every moments points toward the aftermath

Every battle heads toward surrender on both sides

Every moment leads toward its own sad end

All roads lead toward the same blocked intersection

I guess the juxtaposition of being so focused on a single person (returning to them) with the bleak sadness of the verse-ending lines (especially) puts me in mind of this hack. So... that's that, I suppose. :)

PS: And of course, pretty much all of this one...


If the strain proves too much
Give up right away
If the light hurts your eyes
Stay in your room all day

When the room fills with smoke
Lie down on the floor
In the declining years
Of the long war

When the blood's in the water
And the shark's going to come
And we swim in the dark
Until our bodies are numb

Blind desert rats in the moonlight
Too far from shore
In the declining years
Of the long war

Empty room with a light bulb
When the phone starts to ring
Everybody gets nervous
Nobody says anything

The next day someone's initials
Show up on the door
I think I'm going to crack
Can't live like this anymore

Ugly things in the darkness
Worse things in store
In the declining years
Of the long war


- In The Craters On The Moon, The Mountain Goats

Vx has written about it a few times, as has other people:
http://apocalypse-world.com/forums/index.php?topic=220.0
http://apocalypse-world.com/forums/index.php?topic=218.0

I don't really have any other insight into it, though.

Highlight, though, is all about what the other players want to see your character do. Whether or not you do it, well... 's up to you.