[AP] Every day is Apocalypse World day: PAX Prime '12 Games on Demand

I had the pleasure of MC'ing Apocalypse World on every day of PAX Prime. Who wants to hear about it? Consider this a placeholder. I'll do the AP writeup once I'm settled into my routine again.

Here's a teaser of one of my many favorite moments:

During Hx, the Skinner's player looks at the Hocus's player and says matter-of-factly, "your guy's in love with me." The Hocus, taken aback, says, "that goes against everything I believe [uncertain pause] ... so I keep it a secret."

EDIT: If you want a head start, read this description of the Apocalypse World I presented to my players at PAX.

Awesome. I had a blast running AW at PAX Prime too. It seemed like an especially strong crowd for it. My favorite moment was when the Gunlugger killed the NPC Hardholder in the first 10 minutes of the game.

Emergent play, indeed.

Oh, man I'd love to have seen that.

Did we meet at GoD? I sent you a PM.

This is an outline now, but as I post more it will become a table of contents.

Intro
I ran one session of Apocalypse World each day of PAX. The first and second sessions were with the same players, who all came back the next day to see what would happen next. The third session was with new players except one, who played an NPC from the previous two sessions, elevating her to a PC in an awesome way.

• First Session (3 hours)
  
  • Cast of characters
  • Introductions and Hx
  • Following them around
• Second Session (5+ hours)
  
  • Rapid-fire Fronts creation
  • Resolving the cliffhanger
  • Driver's dilemma
  • Playing "kick the Hocus"
  • Longview
  • The Tower
  • Aftermath
  • Fronts mini-workshop for the curious
• Third Session (3 hours)
  
  • Cast of Characters
  • Introductions and Hx
  • Politics
  • Violence
  • What we would have done next if we had more time
• Summary and remarks
  
• Appendices: "What does the maelstrom look like to you?"

I had the chance to play AW for the first time at PAX this year (also my first time at PAX), though you didn't run my game. I was there only on Sunday and got on line at 1:50 to get going at 2, but I was told there was no one to run it then. So my wife and I busied ourselves and came back at 3:50 as directed.

A gentlemen named Orion ended up running the game, if I recall his name correctly. It was apparently his first time doing so, but that didn't mar the experience at all. He seemed to have the jist of things, if not maybe the specifics. We played until the show ended, and cut it off. I'm saddened that I won't be able to continue that game, as I've been thinking about my character a lot the past two days. I would like to have seen him through his adventure. I was really happy with the quality of the character I was able to develop in such a short time frame.

It's funny to read your briefing, as our version of the setting ended up having a very different geography.

You should make a thread for your game, too, and link to it here!

I met Orion at Games on Demand too. Good guy.

First Session: The Cast

The following inhabited our apocalypse:

Absinthe the Battlebabe

• Look: slim ambiguous (maybe androgynous?). Provocative.
• Outlook: super-cynical, opportunistic hedonist. Freelance security escort for shipments of slaves from Longview.
• Notable Crap: 4-harm silenced shotgun
• Hx: distrusts Dust and religion in general. Friends with Briyent, Paul owes him/her one.
• What does the Maelstrom look like to you? (I don't think we ever learned). I asked during her/his vision of death, but I can't remember.

Briyent the Skinner

• Look: also slim and ambiguous. Wears a signature fancy brown scarf.
• Outlook: pretentious aesthete hipster. Annoyed when folks pronounce the silent "t" in his name, which they always do.
• Notable Crap: Artful and Gracious in the form of making beautiful tools. Sells at a stall in Shazza's market.
• Hx: Friends with Absinthe. Knows about Dust's secret love.
• What does the Maelstrom look like to you? A shifting heaving miasma of patterns and color. (The player never said this, but I pictured a moving Jackson Pollock.)

Dust the Hocus

• Look: rough brown robes and austere features.
• Outlook: religious ascetic hermit who worships dust as the stuff of dead gods. Preaches asceticism.
• Notable Crap: Religious cult scattered across the valley holdings. Insightful but often blasted on "spice." +insight +stupor
• Hx: Secretly in love with Briyent despite his beliefs. Paul is a dust cult member and Absinthe is not.
• What does the Maelstrom look like to you? A cacophony of whispered voices in total darkness.

Paul the Driver

• Look: stocky and rough-hewn in utility wear.
• Outlook: restless and stand-offish. Plies a trade route between Toll Bridge and The Tip.
• Notable Crap: Car is a beat-up sedan with no original parts. It smells like oil and sweat inside, and it's easy to maintain and fast, but really loud.
• Hx: Member of the dust cult. Absinthe got him out of some serious shit with cannibals, and they both know he owes Absinthe one.
• What does the Maelstrom look like to you? a gargantuan machine in need of a tune-up. Reveals and learns things as Paul works on it. He never sees the whole thing at once; he works on different parts each time.

You should make a thread for your game, too, and link to it here!

It has been done! Here's my session report with more detail than necessary.

Quote from: strongbif on September 06, 2012, 12:27:07 AM

You should make a thread for your game, too, and link to it here!

It has been done! Here's my session report with more detail than necessary.

Ha! Yes. Deciding what to leave out is the hardest part.

More coming, I promise. I'm trying to figure out how to go back and add links in the old table of contents post to the post it lists there.

I played Absinthe in the game. It was definitely a different character type than I am used to playing. A gender ambiguous sociopath just seemed to fit the Apocalypse world milieu and I chose to align myself with the slavers as a deliberate ploy to introduce conflict among the PCs.

You did a fantastic job MCing for us and you definitely converted me into a huge AW fan.

I am looking forward to your write-up and seeing what parts of the game stood out for you.

Stop, you're making me blush. :)

I am also interested to see what points stood out for you, so chime in whenever (I'll get in gear on the next section soon).

Hey, thanks for running games, Strongbiff! I sold out of Apocalypse World before noon on Saturday, and I expect great support from GoD helped!