What playbook combinations do you find most interesting?

Hello everyone,

I've been playing Apocalypse World for a while, and one of my favorite things is seeing what players pick when they choose the "pick a new playbook for your character" advancement.

So, what are some of the most interesting combinations you've seen? Which combinations would you like to play as or see? Here are some of mine.

Angel --> Faceless
I haven't seen this yet, but the next time I'm a PC in an Apocalypse World game, I want to be an Angel (with Healing Touch) that turns into a Faceless, and my mask would be one of those terrifying plague doctor bird-masks. There's something about an unsettling healer that appeals to me.

Savvyhead --> Maestro D'
Turning your workspace into some kind of establishment that people visit could open up so many possibilities.

Skinner --> Hocus
Maybe as a Skinner, you get too many admirers, and you somehow find yourself with a cult. The hardest part of being a Hocus is dealing with your cult, after all, so switching over to a Hocus could show the downfalls of being a captivating Skinner.

Maestro'd -> Hocus or Touchstone
I had a Maestro'D character in a campaign that never resolved, he was the leader of a rock'n'roll circus and author of the librettos, he had a personal desire to teach "lessons" about the morals and ethics of the old world in his shows (even though his understanding of our morals and ethics was quite distorted, that's a side-point).  My ultimate intention was to give him some "epiphany" moments and have him end up being a quasi-religious figure.  But with rock'n'roll. :-)

I am in the middle of seeing an Angel to Faceless transformation, largely because of Healing Touch.  Seems like a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde scenario unfolding that should be very entertaining.

Quarantine -> Macaluso
Yes, you read that right.  Because the Quarantine hasn't had a lifetime to adapt to the psychic maelstrom, maybe when he or she really does grok it the effects are drastic.  Whether the psyche gets fragmented through trauma or maybe as some kind of transcendence, I think this one has scads of potential.  The Macaluso is such an alien viewpoint that I'd be interested to see how it develops in play.

Faceless -> Hoarder
I just love the idea of a hulking, terrifying, death-dealing bad-ass who is inexorably drawn to objects of beauty, but whose very involvement with them is likely to lead to their ruin.

Savvyhead -> Hocus
There's real potential here for someone who wants to start a techno-religion.  Or maybe who doesn't want to start one, but can't escape attracting followers to their "cause."  Since the Savvyhead is probably the character best equipped to bring hope to the world, the transition to Hocus (and maybe eventually to Touchstone when things go to hell in a handbasket) seems like an interesting one.

Solace -> Gunlugger
Because fuck the wolves.

Maestro'd -> Hocus or Touchstone

I really like how Touchstone works as a good combo for so many playbooks, fiction-wise. When the character finds something to believe in and takes it to the level of a Touchstone, it really makes things interesting since they care so much about something.

I am in the middle of seeing an Angel to Faceless transformation, largely because of Healing Touch.  Seems like a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde scenario unfolding that should be very entertaining.

I'd love to see how that turns out!

Quarantine -> Macaluso

I always wonder how certain character types can turn into a Macaluso, but I never thought of Quarantine. But the way you explain it, it really makes sense. Maybe the Quarantine would still try resisting the maelstrom when in Macaluso form, so one of the personas would be fighting it while the others would be accepting it. There's a lot you can do with that idea.

Solace -> Gunlugger

I love the image of a Solace doing their best to spread peace through the world, but in the face of all the violence in Apocalypse World, just throws up their hands and gives up, becoming the most violent person out there.

Hoarder>Hocus.
This was a direction I had hoped to take a character but the game sort of died out before i got the chance. Basically, i was thinking a group of NPCs would discover the hoard and vaguely be able to hear its voice the way the Hoarder could. So they take control of it (the hoard was in a big U-Haul trailer). The Hoarder becomes a prophet, being able to hear the Hoard most clearly, though no longer directly in its employ. Now the Cult has power over the character instead: Boom, Hocus!

Savvy Head>Hoarder or vice versa
Both are characters that have a ton of junk lying around: Question is, what do they do with it?

Savvy Head>Hard Holder
When you build your workspace into a fortress, you're bound to attract a crowd of hopeless citizens of the apocalypse

I've always been rather enamored of the idea of a Brainer becoming an Angel or Battlebabe. As a Brainer, you live sort of on the margins of the community; sure they like what you can do for them, but they're also scared shitless of what you can do to them. If, through play, you manage to win thr community's acceptence, then, bam, Angel. But if the community outright rejects you, then fuck helping people; Battlebabe time.

I played with someone who did the Brainer>Battlebabe switch. He ended up falling in love and simultaneously retiring to safety with the Angel>Touchstone. They were a combo not to be messed with.

I had fun myself in that game playing a rockstar Skinner>Solace, trying to heal the world with Rock n' Roll and killing wolves with music. Turns out the reason his Weird was -2 was that the maelstrom was full of discordant sound to him.

Holy shit that sounds like an awesome campaign, derendel.

It was. I still have a log and other details here: https://space-world.obsidianportal.com/

The combinations I say in my campaign, both cool :

Angel -> Hocus
The Angel wasn't a conventional medic, but some kind of weirdo drug witch. Healing people makes you a lot of friends... and dying people makes your weirder. She soon started a life cult.

Hardholder -> Battlebabe
He was so tired of fixing his holdings problems, so he fucked off, but as a former chief he could not stay outside of the light. One of the interesting part was the abandoned holding, with NPCs and other PCs starting to struggle with the leading power. At some point the former holder eventually fighted his former gang.

After seeing The Postman (1998?) with Costner tonight, realized I'd see [playbook] turn into The Hocus. Maybe The Skinner, or The Gunlugger, or maybe The Magnificent Driver - they all could be the harbringers of hope, even if built on a lie?


I don't think one should plan for this, though: Play to find out.

In a campaign I MC'ed, the player of our Hocus talked about maybe going the Hardholder-route, but as play progressed she became disenfranchised with her Cult and even once left them (but came back, though). We played with the MH rule of "pick advance or don't gain XP" and the player deliberately  didn't gain XP because it was a difficult situation, but in the firefight, when she tumbled behind a car while her friends The Battlebabe and The Driver wasted a lot of bad folks (mostly cult-members) I asked her what she tought about the people around her as she rose as The Angel. "These scattered sheep?" she said with a fatigued sneer. "I have nothing but disdain for them."

After seeing The Postman (1998?) with Costner tonight, realized I'd see [playbook] turn into The Hocus. Maybe The Skinner, or The Gunlugger, or maybe The Magnificent Driver - they all could be the harbringers of hope, even if built on a lie?


I don't think one should plan for this, though: Play to find out.

In a campaign I MC'ed, the player of our Hocus talked about maybe going the Hardholder-route, but as play progressed she became disenfranchised with her Cult and even once left them (but came back, though). We played with the MH rule of "pick advance or don't gain XP" and the player deliberately  didn't gain XP because it was a difficult situation, but in the firefight, when she tumbled behind a car while her friends The Battlebabe and The Driver wasted a lot of bad folks (mostly cult-members) I asked her what she tought about the people around her as she rose as The Angel. "These scattered sheep?" she said with a fatigued sneer. "I have nothing but disdain for them."

It's really satisfying to see a player work with the fiction to change their playbooks rather than bend the fiction to work for them! I have a player who is currently an Operator who is more and more seeing that the maelstrom can give him power, when previously he thought it was all ridiculous superstition. I'm really impressed with how he's using that to turn into a Brainer.

I played a Maestro'D who became a Hocus.  Her Hot and Weird were both at +3 by that point, so I imagined that for her, they were effectively the same thing, so all manipulation was the same thing, whether it was social, sexual or pychic.  The Maelstrom was her establishment, here followers were her crew, she had become one with her fire.  Then it all fell apart and she had to escape to safety.  I loved that character.

I had an Angel who became a Hardholder, basically taking over after she had had enough.  She was the third Hardholder of the game. 

I've seen Hardholder to Battlebabe, which was the "fuck it already" arc others have mentioned.  Battlebabe to Touchstone, when someone who tried desperately to remain detached decided to take on a cause.  Skinner to Hardholder, when the puppetmaster decided to just be the master.  Chopper to Battlebabe, when the leader of  gang of children decided to grow up and become independent.

Quarantine > Savvyhead
One needs advice, one gives advice. One has unique supertech, the other works with tech. The Savvyhead can teach the Wuarantine all about the new world and the Quarantine can teach the Savvyhead the importance of friends and teamwork (with XP for assists). Its also worth noting that with a high Cool but not that high a Hard, the Quarantine is more of a tech officer or commando than a front line infantryman.