Sometimes you're just not feeling it - that happens to me occasionally with almost any game and more often with games that run for several sessions.

If you've got a couple Fronts in motion from earlier sessions, prep shouldn't necessarily take too long.  Maybe fifteen minutes, in my opinion.  But some people feel they need to prep more for almost any game.  Like, putting in the time is part of what gives them confidence to really "bring it" and I can definitely appreciate that feeling.  Less so with Apocalypse World than most other games, but still.

Maybe your last session reached a sort of new point of equilibrium and you feel like there are not a lot of things in motion to inspire you and the other players.  And then you feel might need more prep.

I don't know your general methods or comfort zones.  Maybe it's really important to you to spend an hour prepping to MC a game.  I'd suggest an experiment that may not feel ideal but may be preferable to letting the game have another two weeks of downtime.

Don't prep.  Not even five minutes.  Just review the agenda and the principles one minute before you play.  Hold the session and open by asking what people are interested in.  I'll bet at least one person will have some things that get the ball rolling.  If you and others find inspiration and you feel at that point that you can "bring it" and follow the game's agenda then continue.

If not then do some socializing, talk about the game, play a card/board game or whatever else you might like to do together and hope to come back fresh next time.

I have approached a lot of games like this and it works for me more often than not.  Apocalypse World's principle of asking provocative questions and then building on the answers gives you the breathing space to not prep, in my opinion and most of the post 2nd session prep is about building confidence and a safety net of a few pieces of grist.

Remember that first session where you have no idea what the world was like and hadn't done any prep?  Maybe it wasn't the best, but I 'll bet you and the rest of the group had fun.  Don't prep, don't build a safety net and approach the next session with that same sense of wonder and curiosity you had for the first session.

AW's lists of Moves and the questions you ask can be your "prep."

And let us know how it went.  :)

I know exactly what you mean, yeah?

Yea! Another concurrent Portland campaign!  That makes five that I'm aware of.  Sounds like fun! (five players seems like it would be tough though...  how long are your sessions?)

Awesome bloody fingerprints.

Inspired as I was after the first session, I got stuck for a bit on Fronts for a bit.

1) I found the Front sheets were not great for me for writing all I wanted to in the spaces provided.  I used them, but then ended up transferring them to notebook paper.

2) I think it's okay to have a home Front that has a bunch of threats (more than four) if you're not quite sure where they should go, and to have some fronts only have two Threats (the book says three or four).  Once I was okay with that, I got unstuck.

3) Looking forward to hearing about the custom moves you end up coming up with.  It'll be like seeing more Mu design...  Might be helpful to think about it in those terms even.  You're making your new Dictionary of Duchess Country...  :)

Thank you for posting this.  I really enjoyed reading it, (and all your AP posts).

I gather that the game is continuing onward?  I am fascinated about the idea of a AW game where the maelstrom is fixed and the the campaign continues rather than that being a sort of natural ending point.  Of course there are plenty of obstacles and the game is about the characters not the maelstrom, but I find myself very curious about what comes next.

An an inspiring example of the game designer following the rules of his game.

No. Status. Quos.

Like, you read that and go, "Yeah, yeah, nothing is sacred and play to find out what happens, blah, blah, blah.  I'm down.  I roll like that."

But you fixed the MAELSTROM...  Damn.  Nice.

I used them even when it hadn't been all that long since we last played.  Once I gave them to only one of the three players because I wasn't quite sure where they might go next and wanted their input in a formal game mechanic way.  I think of them as a weird sort of hybrid kicker/bang technology.

The way I've used them and the way I've generally seen them used is to have the player roll their best stat (usually +2), so the net effect is something like this.  "Hey here's a few interesting twists your character might take going forward, some weird things they're going to have to deal with in the fiction.  Roll the dice.  There's about a 42% chance that you'll have a lot of control over the situation and get to pick exactly from among my suggestions what you want to see.  There's about a 50% chance that either you'll pick some stuff and I'll pick some stuff or maybe it'll be all on you again and you'll have a reasonable amount of input but not as much control as if you'd gotten a 10+.  There's an 8% chance that I'll pick what's going to happen next."  The hope is that the entire list will all be things that will make Apocalypse World seem real and that will make the character's life not boring.

One way you know your list was good is when the list is one thing that makes their life somewhat more complicated, a second thing that is pretty dang awful from the standpoint of the character, and a third thing that is veritably, um apocalyptic.  And they roll a 7-9 and specifically choose the third thing, the one that had the implied "and I promise you won't like it" voice behind it.  Perhaps because it was the most interesting.

Use this thread if you want to share MC love letters from your campaign.  Maybe other MCs will find them helpful

Brendan and switched off MC roles last night for our In The Wake campaign.  The more awesome last three letters are his and were great for doing a sort of mini-reboot as his brainer Jackson left the game and I brought in my maestro D', Rice.

Dear Butch, please roll +cool (hard since battle-hardened). On a 10+, choose 1 OR 2.  On a 7-9 choose 2.  On a miss I'll choose two for you.
• You've spent too much time out in The Wake and have caught the Murk.  Symptoms: apathy despair, nightmares.  You know vomiting is next if not treated.
• One of the rougher algae farmers, Ricarra, has decided you're not so tough and feels safe fucking with your dad Max as a result.
• you feel an inexplicable desire to explore the Under.  You're starting to dream about it.


Dear Linux, please roll +sharp.  On a 10+ choose 2. On a 7-9, choose 1.  On a miss I'll choose 2 for you.
• I will provide you with information about the sphere.  You may add one salient fact about its nature.
• You've noticed your assistant Blanche seems uncharacteristically despondent.
• Between Torn's messed up hand and Blanche's attitude it's going to take you longer to unlock the nature of the sphere unless circumstances change somehow.


Dear Jackson Brace, please roll+sharp. On a 10+, choose 2. On a 7–9, choose 1.  On a miss I"ll choose 2 for you.
• one of your leakers, Corbett from Sagrada, has some intel for you.
• you notice and recognize the person who's been following you: Torn.
• something is seriously wrong with your deep ear plugs!


Dear Rice,
Welcome to Babbel, old buddy.  People here have just been dying to see your face!  Roll +Hot.  On a 10+ pick 1.  On a 7-9 pick 2.  On a
miss… you know how this goes, right?
• You've been here less than 24 hours and damned if Boo's not already got somebody on your boat.
• After everything you did for her, Dylan's been making eyes at Corbett, that little bitch.  If you don't handle this, she's going to jump ship soon.
• Krin's been "drinking."  What are you going to do?


Dear Butch,
Yeah some stuff happened in the Under.  We'll get to that eventually.  What's important right now is what you brought back with you and what you left behind.

Roll +Sharp.  On a 10+, pick one thing from either of the following lists. On 7-9, pick one from each list.  On a miss pick one from either list,
and I'll do the same.

Something you brought back
• Jackson Brace's revolver
• Jackson Brace's Veil
• Jackson Brace's hand

Something you left down there
• About a pint of B-positive (take 1-Harm)
• Preen, the only medic worth two shits in Babbel or Sagrada
• Your left eye


Dear Linux,
Hey, Butch came back from the Under in one piece!  He must have taken your advice.  Mark experience.
Looks like one of your kids is working on Rice's barge these days.  First tell met the kid's name and gender.  Then roll +Hot.  On a 10+ answer two of the  following questions.  On a 7-9, answer one and pick one for me to answer. On a miss, pick two for me to answer and answer the third yourself.

• What does he or she do?
• How does he or she feel about you?
• Who's the father and what happened to him?

***
Love and kisses, your MC

That's hot, Tony.  I'm starting up a Maestro in one of my games.  I'm going to show this thread to my MC.