A playbook I wrote as a celebration of the Italian edition of AW. I'd love opinions on it, and if you are willing to playtest it, I'd love it. It's inspired by an Italian comic book character, BTW. ^_^
THE FREE KNIGHT
Before the Golden Age became legend, it had its own legends. Some of them were about wandering warriors who upheld justice, righted wrongs and such things. You do the same, but even if someone calls you a Free Knight, you do not do it for free: you expect them to get paid to dive into other people's shit and take them out of it.
Chivalry is not dead, but it has one feet in her grave. You are the other leg.
CREATING A FREE KNIGHT
Choose a name, look, stats, moves, gear, mount and Hx.
NAMES
Brendon, Klingsor, Anja, Boris, Christopher, Margot, Perceval, Jennifer, Greta, Giovanni, Beatrix.
La Mort, Senzatesta ("headless"), Banda Nera ("black band"), Galoppo ("gallop"), 31 Febbraio ("31st February"), Nero ("black"), Verde ("green"), Periglio ("peril").
LOOKS
Man, woman, ambiguous or trasgressive
Tattered traveling clothes, mismatched traveling clothes, mixed traveling clothes or exotic traveling clothes.
Pale face, intimidating face, scarred face, mourning face, angry face, or vengeful face.
Empty eyes, mad eyes, darting eyes, deep eyes, watchful eyes, or greedy eyes.
Wiry body, massive body, slim body, crippled body, hot body or pole-up-the-ass body.
STATS
Choose one row:
• Cool+0, Hard+1, Hot+1, Sharp+2, Weird-2
• Cool+1, Hard+2, Hot-1, Sharp+2, Weird-2
• Cool+1, Hard-1, Hot=0 , Sharp+2, Weird+1
• Cool-1, Hard=0, Hot+2, Sharp+2, Weird-1
BASIC MOVES
You get all the basic moves (p72–74).
FREE KNIGHT MOVES
You gain this one:
The customer is (nearly) always right: At the beginning of the session, choose the case you are working on.
First choose one of these:
Find a missing person
Hand a murderer to justice
Escort someone from one place to another
Recover something important for someone
Decide with the MC who hired you, how and how much barter she promised you (0 to 3). When the case is solved (the missing girl is in her lover's arms or at your feet with her throat cut, for example), mark experience. Also, when you reclaim your pay, roll +barter promised for some extra lulz. On a miss, the customer pays, no problem. On a 7-9, the MC chooses one of there and on a 10+ he chooses 2:
The customer lied about his finances: he can pay you at most 1 less barter than agreed
The customer lied about the case he gave you
The customer is in love with you
The customer wants to see you dead and he probably didn't expect you to come back
Also, choose 2:
“Hey, it's you!”: When you are walking down the street without knowing what to do, you can roll +sharp. On a 10+, you meet a guy you know who can give you a vital clue. On a 7-9, “Thanks God I met you! I'm deep in shit, man!” (that shit may have something interesting in it, however). On a miss, he or she is part of the problem!
I fell for it another time: When you are in love with someone, choose how bad you'are into it: he takes hold 1 if it's just a passing thin, hold 3 if you're head-deep into it. He can spend hold 1 to 1 to:
Have you take a bullet in his place
Make you arrive when he is in trouble, with no explanation needed
Put you between himself and a threat
Steal something important from you
Persuade you to do something for him (counts as another PC manipulating you with 10+)
Every time the person you're in love with spends hold, you mark experience. You can be in love with one person at a time. When the other one has no hold left, you can fall in love with someone else, you cheater.
Learned a lot: Choose a move from another playbook which is not in play.
Strategical approach: When you take something by force, roll +sharp instead of +hard.
The smartest one in the realm: +1Sharp (max Sharp+3).
MOUNT
Your mount is that thing that carries you around. Choose one of these:
Bike (see p.246 for stats)
Horse (still p.246, but ignore meaningless tags and add +living)
GEAR
You get:
1 main weapon
1 backup weapon
oddments worth 2-barter
fashion suitable to your look, including at your option a piece
worth 1-armor (you detail)
Main weapons (choose 1):
shotgun (3-harm close messy)
submachine gun (2-harm close area loud)
hunting rifle (2-harm far loud)
magnum (3-harm close reload loud)
Backup Weapons (choose 1):
9mm (2-harm close loud)
sleeve pistol (2-harm close reload loud)
machete (3-harm hand-to-hand messy)
big knife (2-harm hand-to-hand)
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:
one of them is an old companion to you. Tell that player Hx+2.
Tell everyone Hx-1: you keep yourself to yourself.
On the other's turn, choose 1, 2 or all 3:
you are in love with one of them. Ignore any number that player tells you and write +3 instead;
you crossed one of them during a case. Any number that player tells you, add +1: you keep an eye on them;
choose the one you think is the cutest. Any number that player tells you, add +1.
At the end, find the character with the highest Hx on your sheet. Ask that player which of your stats is most interesting, and highlight it. Te MC will have you highlight a second stat too.
FREE KNIGHT SPECIAL
If you and another character have sex, you fall in love with them as for I fell for it again, even if you do not have that move and even if you are already in love with one (this is the only exception). Good luck, bastard.
IMPROVEMENT
Whenever you roll a highlighted stat, and whenever you reset your Hx with someone, mark an experience circle. When you mark the 5th, improve and erase.
Each time you improve, choose one of the options. Check it off; you can’t choose it again.
get +1cool (max cool+2)
get +1 hard (max hard+2)
get +1hot (max hot+2)
get a new free knight move
get a new free knight move
get a band (detail) and pack alpha
get two gigs (detail) and moonlighting
get a car (detail) and a no shit driver
get a move from another playbook
get a move from another playbook