The first session

Ok, this time I´m asking for some examples of how you MCs or players have started a 1st session in any AW game. I understand the chapter on the book, but at the time of playing, I unconciously go back to my old GMing style: "Where are you this morning, Brain?" when the player doubts and doesn´t know what to say (which happened many times), I then start to suggest: "Is it ok if you´re in the infirmary, helping Doc this morning?". And when that happens, and the player says it´s ok, I start putting threats in front of them, not waiting to see what they do.
Maybe the players aren´t as much proactive as I´d like. When I was a player, I was all like "ok, and there´s a party tonight run by Moriarty´s gang, so I´m trying to be invited there" and that stuff, but the MC did pretty much the same I did (he started putting threats in front of us, not so much waiting to see us acting).
I think I should be pushing harder the players for ideas, asking all time "what do you do, where you´re, etc.", and waiting until the players take the initiative to start making moves on my own.

Anyway, to make it less abstract, I´d like to see some examples of the first minutes of a 1st session, when the characters, Hx, and the overall setting and holding have been depicted. The first questions during the actual play, when does trouble arise, that sort of stuff.

Thanks in advance!

I'll edit this to be more general in nature. My best advice, keep it intimate. Keep it to the nearest people to the characters.

I've seen first sessions go poorly when the characters are off in different places all dealing with the neighboring warlord, a trip somewhere or other for gas, stuff like that. The things they deal with should be right there, people they will see again and maybe often. Create those triangles which will become friends, enemies, lovers, victims.

Tried to boil it down, hope that's helpful.

I  <3  1st sessions. So much. This is what I've been doing lately.

-Ask the players one at a time where they live. If thats too much, get more specific. Where do you sleep? Whats hanging on the walls, whats the first thing you see when you wake up in the morning. Find out who else lives there.  You can always pull a,
"Does Tum-Tum live with you?"
 "No."
"Whats you're problem with Tum-Tum?"
I LOVE that shit.

-Start making maps! Put out paper and colored pencils / crayons. Map out where they live, start another map showing where they live in relationship to each other. This goes hand in hand with naming all the NPCs, map all the places. Even if it's just a dot and a name.

-Next I like to put them together in groups of twos, go through their histories and use that to help come up with situations.  Try every combination, esp the ones that don't make much sense. You can always put them in the situation and have them come up with the rational.

-By now there should be enough NPCs and situations going on to have a bigger scene, up till now I've pretty much kept out of the way of the player's creativity, a little BFA, a little announce future badness, now is a good time to start Putting them on the Spot. 

-Look to end with a bang.

-I like to keep 1st sessions about 3 hours long. Including char-gen.

 

I really like Ross's ideas. Awesome mate! I second the advice to make lots of maps, of everything, even if they are not particularly indicative. Draw them on and with anything that comes to hand (except the rules book!) Ask a question and request the players to answer with pen and paper.

Also, make sure to ask lots of provacative questions, address the characters and once answered, push onto another character....
'Oh so that's how it is in Eeltown huh? How does that change the way you go about your business Dog-boy?'

Ask more questions. The book tells you to ask questions and give the players room to answer. GMing impulses and traditional authority setups will leave people looking to you to fill in setting details, and your impulse will be to do that. Fight that impulse! Look for more opportunities to have the players fill in those gaps rather than doing it yourself. Do this as much as possible. Keep in mind that these players are looking for the same thing you are: hooks that make them care about the situation at hand. (obviously change the details to suit what apocalyptica you’ve come up with, the main idea being: present them with choices, and see who picks what, and what does that say about them?)

I collated all the suggested questions from a similar thread I posted once, and put them on a laminated sheet to have in front of me during play. Here they all are:

How did you get your (whatever item)?

Where do you live? Draw it on the map, here. What's on your walls? Where did you get your furniture from? What do you see from your bedroom window?

Who do you work for? What do you do to get barter?

What's the maelstrom like for you? How long has it been since you last used it? What do you think it is?

Which (of the other PCs) would you save, if you could only save one? Why?

Have you two (players) ever gotten in a fight? (I personally love to start shit with my questions. Love, love, love it.)

Who would you turn to in a real emergency?

Who makes life the hardest for your character? And why / how?

Where do you see yourself in five years?

I don't know if you've ever stolen anything from these guys, but if you had to pick, who's the easiest to steal from?

Spit out a detail of your own, but then ask for more from the player.
What do they use for barter around here? Most folks use mechanical bits, because it's built on an old junk yard. Do you roll with that, or do you have something else valuable?

To encourage filling in the world more: Pick a place on the map, and just ask about their experiences there.
Who's been to the Hole here, and what's it like?

Have you bought slaves from Abondo? Everyone says he steals them from the camps on the coast. Do you think that's true?

What the fuck is THIS thing, over here? (pointing to something on the map).

Why is Rock Town abandoned?

Another good tactic is to ask for details about their stuff:
So [Brainer], tell me about the weird animals that live up in your tower with you. Rats or pigeons? (Apparently it's bats. He's got bats in his belfry!)

[Chopper], you make probies do that crazy hazing death-defying run? Who died last trying to make it into your gang?

[Skinner], who's your best customer? Why do you like her?

[Hardholder], what's the deal with the tents / hovels / walkways / walls / market?

[Savvyhead] What's one thing you've created that you wish more than anything you hadn't, and who did you make it for?

Ask Questions that drive toward PC conflict.
It can be very satisfying to wedge the PC's apart like this.

What did you guys argue about last week?

Flesh out named NPC’s – Drive toward creating NPC-PC-NPC Triangles
Try to make them simple and memorable, like characters in pulp fiction. Start with a simple guy or gal who's motivated by one emotion. Give the NPC a straightforward, clear, powerful emotional response to the PC. A kiss, a punch, a long hug, bursting into tears, a huge sigh of relief, fight or flight. Make a note of what they want from the PCs.
Oh, and gypsies. I have winnebago driving gypsies in all my games. They can be wherever the characters are, and they're already familiar.

What's the last job you did that you wish you'd have turned down?

You know that old guy you were sent here to rescue?  Well, he's got a young daughter and she's really hot. How do you go about courting her?

Which one of them do you regret saving?

Shazza... you used to know Shazza, didn't you? How do you know her, and when did things turn sour?

Why don't you like Tolliver? (then make another NPC dislike the same thing)

What went wrong the last time Willis hired you?

You can also start real simple and then chain questions together, in order to manoeuvre a player into an interesting situation.
Where / Who do you get your water from?

Where / Who do you get your food from, and where do you eat it? Anybody ever take it from you? Do you know what's in it? Do you WANT to know what's in it?

Where do you live? Really? How do you stand the smell? Why do so many people think your neighbours are crazy? Why don't you move into a larger place, there's bound to be one around here somewhere?

Are you single or attached? Anybody on the side? Why is that? So last time X-Factor was hitting on you, what did you do? Did anybody see? So why's Toyota always giving you that look, or is it something else?

Where did you get your clothes? Did you find / make them yourself? Are they new or worn out? How many people have tried to kill you for those shoes of yours? Pretty Boy said Wilson has the exact same jacket as you, what do you think of that?

What do you do for fun, usually? Do a lot of people do that or you on your own? What happened the last time somebody tried to stop you, and who was it? You think that'll happen again? What happened when you were doing whatever it is you do for fun that you don't tell anybody about?

Turn Annoucing Future Badness into a Question…
Often Apocalypse World prompts the MC to ask questions of the characters. Address the characters, but ask something like

 Keeler, what would you think if you knew Dremmer was fucking your Sister in order to get closer to your stash?

Well, now you've done what you described in a way totally within the principles. you've just asked a question....   

Hope that helps!

These are some really great questions.
One thing to consider. When you ask a provocative question you are inserting a premise into the fiction. Personally I like to dial it back a bit, just in the beginning and really let the PCs make the world, As a player it is most satisfying when their ideas get to be the foundation.

The other side to this is that sometimes people don't like making decisions from outside their characters' perspective. So this:

"Princey comes up, steaming mad, and slaps you in the face. What's his deal?"

Makes some people unhappy, while:

"Princey comes up, steaming mad, and slaps you in the face. He runs a dog fighting ring in town, and he's got two girls on the go at once. What do you think is the most likely reason he's mad at you?"

Is fine.

One way asks them to invent things that their character doesn't control. The other just asks them to make an assumption, based on what they know about their character.

One question I use a lot after a player comes up with something is "who else is involved, and why?" directed to the other players. Often followed by "what's the one sticking point or source of tension?" if the link is positive. If you can tie the characters together, good or bad, then stories will unfold.

For example, we have just had our first session for our new AW game, and after the Maestro'D described his establishment (a bar, restaurant, whorehouse and cage fighting joint called the Meat Locker) I asked who else was involved. The Gunlugger went for the obvious option of working security for room and board but no other link, so wanting to avoid a status quo I asked what the tension is, and the Maestro's player put forward thatch wants the Gunlugger in the cage to fight. Now we have a generally allied relationship with a small bit of tension. This was built on in session two when the Maestro offered to transfer the contract to the slave girl the 'Lugger is in love with him in return for a month of cage fighting.

Build links between characters, player or non, and always injectna bit of tension into any relationship, and with any luck the players will start filling the gaps in for you.

Hope this was of some use.

Regards,

Shane

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!