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.”
-----------------------------------
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
------- ---------------
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 - ???
-------------- -------------
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.
-------- ------------ -------