Obligation Gigs: How do people get 'em?

I will probably settle, on giving him some new obligation when occasion arises, but not giving another +1 juggling yet.
This is offset by fact that he neglected the obligation gig for three first sessions, and didn't get any consequences (I didn't get how this works clearly enough). And death of guy he owed obligation to, happened out of session, and to be honest - he had nothing to do with that.

You could always have some agent of the NPC in question continue hounding him. There are specific consequences for unworked obligation gigs. Not as good as working them, but not as good as catastrophe from them.

The issue is, that both the guy that he owed them, and basically everyone connected with them is going out the window.
On the other hand, he kind of arranged the coup - bringing together one of powerful families in the city, and the chopper which plans to change his character to hardholder from next session. So putting consequences of this obligation gig on him, would feel a bit forced.

Realistically, they have 3 juggling because they've gotten good at doing lots of things at once. If they've managed to settle an obligation gig for good, why should the be less good at that?

Your job is to make apocalypse world seem real and be a fan of the players characters, not deny them things they want or could use.

I don't see it this way at all. He starts out with 2 juggling, which means he can work his starting obligation gig and one other, or two gigs and ignore his obligations if he's willing to suffer the consequences. He then sleeps with 3 characters and gets 3 more gigs. If juggling stayed the same, he'd be swamped by obligation gigs that he couldn't work even if he worked no profit making gigs, that's a big disincentive for getting new gigs, and a disincentive for triggering the sex move. But since juggling goes up by 3 for the new gigs, there's no mechanical trade off. Obligation gigs may cause all sorts of headaches but the moonlighting roll is the same. So, no disincentive.

Now, if you get to keep the plus one juggling every time you sleep with someone, that's a poweful incentive for the sex move, but I'm not sure it's intended. And that's what I'm thinking about. There's already an advancement effect built into the moonlighting move when you improve Cool, after all.

I don't see much connection between juggling going up after sex and how real things seem. I also don't think being a fan of the character means they don't ever lose things, even if it would be spiffy to be able to work 5 gigs and profit from 4 of them on a 7-9. It might be being a fan of the character to enjoy seeing how the operator deals with a world of scarcity, where they have to make hard choices about how they spend their precious time.

Oh for some reason I was thinking they start with 3-juggling. I wouldn't drop them below 2 I guess is my point. Much more interesting to drop a new obligation in their lap. You're offering them an opportunity, very much with a cost.

You could even just come at the next session playing up the "unworked" option for a new obligation you spot in the fiction, and when they're like "hey why is Doghead everywhere I try to go today??" or "What the fuck, why can't birdie stay out of trouble?" you get to say "Oh shit, looks like you have a new obligation gig" and that gig is "Avoiding Doghead" or "Protecting Birdie" or whatever. The key is that you're basing it out of the fiction and waiting for that moment when they show they're invested in it. If they don't bite, maybe let it go and fish for something else.

Quote from: sully the raptor on December 03, 2013, 09:27:08 PM

Realistically, they have 3 juggling because they've gotten good at doing lots of things at once. If they've managed to settle an obligation gig for good, why should the be less good at that?

Your job is to make apocalypse world seem real and be a fan of the players characters, not deny them things they want or could use.

I don't see it this way at all. He starts out with 2 juggling, which means he can work his starting obligation gig and one other, or two gigs and ignore his obligations if he's willing to suffer the consequences. He then sleeps with 3 characters and gets 3 more gigs. If juggling stayed the same, he'd be swamped by obligation gigs that he couldn't work even if he worked no profit making gigs, that's a big disincentive for getting new gigs, and a disincentive for triggering the sex move. But since juggling goes up by 3 for the new gigs, there's no mechanical trade off. Obligation gigs may cause all sorts of headaches but the moonlighting roll is the same. So, no disincentive.

Now, if you get to keep the plus one juggling every time you sleep with someone, that's a poweful incentive for the sex move, but I'm not sure it's intended. And that's what I'm thinking about. There's already an advancement effect built into the moonlighting move when you improve Cool, after all.

I don't see much connection between juggling going up after sex and how real things seem. I also don't think being a fan of the character means they don't ever lose things, even if it would be spiffy to be able to work 5 gigs and profit from 4 of them on a 7-9. It might be being a fan of the character to enjoy seeing how the operator deals with a world of scarcity, where they have to make hard choices about how they spend their precious time.

Hm! Yeah, I didn't much account for the sex move. Yeah, that's a weird one.

- AD

It comes down to how the operator views having sex with someone. I'm playing an operator in our current game, and I've done exactly that: had sex with people with the (as a player) hidden motive that I will get +1 juggling and hopefully come out on top. So far young Transfer has fucked two people:
- Manja, who is the most beautiful girl he's ever seen, and who runs an establishment in one end of town (pretty much an NPC Maestro d')
– The Patriarchy, who is an old man who runs the bustling marketplace and bloodsports arena in the other end of town. Transfer wanted to set up shop at his place selling drugs, maybe stationing one of her crew there at all times doing business, and fucking The Patriarchy seemed to be the fastest way.

Now, both of these people mean a lot to me, to Transfer, and to the game. If I screw up "Keeping Manja happy", Transfer won't be happy – from the outside view it's probably mostly infatuation with a beautiful girl who has, for some reason, noticed me (dream come true!), but it sure feels like true love. I work that gig every other session.
"Keeping The Patriarchy happy", aside from being the best name for an obligation gig ever, is also important. If I don't, my little herion tent near the arena won't stay in business, and The Patriarchy is generally not someone you want as an enemy; I do a lot of business in that marketplace (other gigs are surveillance, delivieres and brokering deals). I just got it, but I definitely plan to work this obligation gig now and then. 4-juggling doesn't seem so much now, just as you said – getting new obligation gigs from sex need +1juggling to keep things even.

What would happen if Manja got herself killed? What if I made Transfer kill her? I haven't talked to my MC, but I actually expect to keep all the juggling increases. Because i have to fight for them, either by being plagued by those obligation gigs or by resolving them. Resolving means either spending an advance, getting the people killed (which might not help with The Patriarchy, but instead just transform it into "avoiding The Patriarchy's men") or really working to get the relationship to a stable place. Advancing Manipulate and turning them into allies might work.

In contrast, consider an Operator who has cheap sex with anyone and then leaves them. Now, the rules still creates those obligation gigs, and the MC must still regard them as golden opportunities for complications when you don't work them. So yeah, you're going to be haunted by all those exes. Depending on who they are, you could get them killed but... In a way, the main this shows is how effective a ruthless approach can be – all it takes is that you don't care at all. For the people you got to sleep with you. Fuckin' thumbs up, mr super-Operator.


I say keep the +1juggling from all obligation gigs. The fact that you have them as obligation gigs means you're working to pay it off, one way or another.