Rebel World - feedback wanted

I've been working on an AW hack called Rebel World where the players are part of the human resistance, fighting an alien invasion force. The interesting part is that the group can create their own unique aliens randomly, by choosing from lists or do it freeform.

For now, Rebel World uses the standard playbooks. I am working on expanding each list item, giving the group even more room for building their alien invasion.

Take a look and let me know what you think. I could use some feedback. Here's the intro text:


Rebel World

One hundred years from now, the invasion of Earth is well underway. Her cities are burning and humanity’s fighting chance is dwindling by the minute. The human race has been decimated by interplanetary bombardment and alien ground forces. Humanity’s future is bleak, and hope is hard to come by.

But a few people haven’t given up yet. They fight the invaders with everything they have. From the few cities that still stand to the rubble and dust of those that have fallen, the human rebellion is rising. Their goal is simple but almost impossible to imagine: To overthrow the aliens and destroy their iron grasp on Earth. To destroy every single enemy that stands in the way of a free human race.

This game puts the players in the roles of rebels and insurgents in an interplanetary war. A warlike and dreadful race has declared war on the civilised planets of the galaxy, and the players must escape or fight the invaders any way they can.

The game is about resistance, building an underground army, keeping up with a technological superior invasion force. The players must complete missions to save Earth: Infiltration, blowing up alien installations, getting access to the invaders’ machinery and use it to their advantage.

The player characters are powerful combatants and veterans of the war with the aliens - a war that was lost long ago. Earth is an occupied planet. Humanity is allowed to live, but under the rule of an alien iron fist.

These rules allow your group to create a unique alien invasion. The aliens can be created randomly using tables (roll a d6 for each table) or the group can go free-form and focus on the aspects they prefer. Each table item has a real impact on how the game is played (the descriptions are underway and gives more suggestions for the aliens).

(The next part are the tables.)

Alien Traits
Are the aliens swarm-like?
Are the aliens humanoid?
Are the aliens cyborgs?
Are they physically superior to humans?
Are they mentally superior to humans?
Do they have psychic abilities?


Alien Tech
Biotech
Nano-tech
Mechanical Tech
Plasma Tech
No tech
Forcefield Tech


Alien Weapons
Projectile weapons
Melee weapons
Mind control devices
Mechs
Weaponised Aerial Devices
Weaponised Robots

Alien Activity/behaviour

Do the aliens enslave humans?
Do they actively seek out human resistance fighters?
Are the aliens’ activity mysterious and unknown?
Do the aliens build new buildings or do they use existing buildings?
Do the aliens have one central nexus or several smaller controlled sites?
Do they control people using physical or mental techniques?

Alien Goals
Extract energy
Gathering rare metals or biological specimens
Capture Slaves
Strip-mining
Colonisation
Extermination

Humanity
Do people live in occupied cities?
Do some people live a normal life under alien rule?
Are there unprotected refugee trails?
Does the resistance hold its own or is it constant retreat?
Do human traitors play a role?
Do humans have alien technology?

Each table has 6 options, so you can roll a d6 for each one. There will be expansions on how each choice impacts the game.

Right now, the idea is to use the Apocalypse World rules - the standard ones - but nothing's set in stone. Please share your thoughts and if you're willing to help develop this further, PM me or reply here.

Thanks!

Just to give you an example of how a choice would be expanded upon...

Say that the aliens prefer melee combat. You'd then look up the corresponding section for that aspect of the aliens' traits.

Aliens prefer melee combat
- They either have a tough hide or advanced personal armour
- They do have ranged weapons but only use them when necessary.
- They are likely to be stronger or faster than humans in close quarters
- They are likely to take trophies from their kills and have an honour system reflecting this.

...and so forth. These are only suggestions and ideas for the group to pick and choose from. Each table item will have a corresponding section describing the possible implications.

Sounds fun. I was thinking about a similar game, inspired by Half-Life 2: scrappy humans defending an almost-conquered Earth. Need more info to provide feedback though, all you've presented so far is a monster creation system. Regarding that, I also like the "roll d6 or choose from this table" system of creation. However, I should point out that many of the most fun alien empires to battle - HL2's Combine and Halos' Covenant spring to mind - have a wide variety of alien body types, capabilities, weaponry, and attitudes. Even the Bugs have workers, soldiers, brains, and queens. So I'd suggest a system to create mooks, elite soldiers, controllers, and bosses, rather than simply "the aliens". These can vary from being different species (hell, in Halo the species are even named after their roles, Grunts, Elites, Jackals, and Brutes), varying body types with a Zerg swarm type situation, different armaments for different types of soldier, or otherwise.

Thanks for the reply. I can see how the tables look like monster creation tables, but that is not their (only) purpose. They will also reflect alien culture, interaction, hierarchy and their organisational traits. For example if the aliens use force field tech, it will have a major impact on the entire alien invasion force; each item has far-reaching consequences on how the game will play. I am working on expanding the table entries soon and will show some finished examples.

I've made a preliminary version of the expanded descriptions for the Alien Traits. I plan to add moves to each choice, but for now, I would just like to show you how this works and maybe get some feedback on what could be interesting to include.

Here we go:

Alien Traits
The aliens swarm-like

   - They have a specialised,fast form of communication that reflects many voices
   - They have a hive mind mentality
   - They are likely to sacrifice large numbers of combatants if necessary
   - The individual soldier is obedient to a fault.
   - It is likely that the aliens have a hierarchy with a single alien controlling the rest

Move: Swarm attack (physical attack:roll+Hard)

Are the aliens humanoid?

   - The aliens may pass as humans, which makes infiltration of the human populace possible
   - They can have many different origin species;lizards, marsupials, rodents, etc.
   - Their architecture and constructions may look familiar to human beings
   - The alien tech may be relatively easy to learn to use
   - Their weapons will be diverse, but they will likely use weaponry that is recognisable
   - They may feel a bond between them and humanity

Move: Alien Communication (roll+sharp)

The aliens have tech body implants

   - The aliens depend on tech to enhance most facets of their bodily functions
   - They may have increased strength, agility, speed and brain power due to implants
   - Implants may make the aliens vulnerable to targeted attacks against the implants
   - They may be dependant on repair stations, resulting in a slow invasion
   - They are likely to be able to repair themselves if they have access to the right facilities

The aliens are physically superior to humans

   - They may favour hand-to-hand combat even if they have superior firepower
   - They may have a disdain of physical weakness and disease
   - They are likely to be bigger and taller than human beings
   - They may have a social caste system based on strength
   - They may have an underdeveloped society and may have acquired their tech from others

Are they mentally superior to humans?

   - Their culture will seem very alien to humans
   - They might have technology that humans will believe to be magic
   - They will probably be able to speak or have a computer speak the human language
   - They may feel superior and be condescending to humans
   - They will rely heavily on clever tactics instead of simple, direct attacks.
   - Their tactical and general approach will be hard to predict

Do they have psychic abilities?

   - They are likely to be physically equal or weaker than humans
   - their constructions may seem functional and sterile
   - They will likely use telepathic communication
   - They might not be able to speak at all
   - They will see humans as limited and primal
   - They may have the ability to either read humans or damage them telepathically

Move: Resist Telepathy (Roll+Weird)


These descriptions are far from done, but I hope you get the general idea. I will appreciate any feedback; more moves, new aspects for each choice, supply specific dangers for each choice so the MC can create Fronts from them.

Have you considered reworking these to be Threat Moves? So for instance if the aliens are mentally superior to humans their Threat Moves are:

• Demonstrate a distinct cultural difference
• Use superior technology in an awestriking or terrifying way
• Show a deep understanding of human language or culture
• Act in a condescending manner
• Make a careful study of someone and attack by surprise where they’re weak
• Use obfuscation or misdirection to lure humans into a trap

Great stuff, Munin, that was exactly the angle I needed!

Now that Rebel World is conceptually done, I was thinking that you guys could come up with simple suggestions for moves - MC moves, PC moves, etc. They don't have to be fully formed or perfect; I am sure that a lot of you can come up with great ideas that I've never thought of. If you get a great idea, please - share it! You'll get a thank you in the final PDF :)

Munin: The PM system here is really dodgy - I've been trying to respond, but I have no idea if my message finally got through. Did you get it?

Yeah, I actually got 5 copies of the first one.  :)

I've been writing on the agenda and prep part for Rebel World. My idea for prep is basically the same as for AW: Think about futuristic imagery and mix it with the usual apocalyptic imagery.

Here's the agenda:

MC AGENDA
   This agenda is an extension of the standard Apocalypse World agenda. not a replacement; the usual agenda should be followed closely in addition to this one.

- Describe a futuristic Earth where the human race is close to extinction.
- Let the players feel that they have a fighting chance despite long odds
- Make fighting aliens intense and engaging
- Portray the aliens as deadly enemies of the human race

Comments, criticism and suggestions are very welcome.

PS)
Oops, sorry about that, Munin. I am still having issues with sending PMs and I have no idea why.

I've opened the Google Doc for everyone to see, should anyone be interested. If anyone wants to help in any capacity, they're very welcome.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1EpNUoeLT_Tp6GAnFhjEY68CJLJrPsmO9m5zn7PRx2BY/edit#heading=h.1rjkjt2gp7d7

Here's the MC moves for the Humanity table. It's not 100% done, but it should give you a pretty good idea about how the system is going to work.

First, a repost of the table:

Humanity table
Do people live in occupied cities?
Do some people live a normal life under alien rule?
Are there unprotected refugee trails?
Does the resistance hold its own or is it constant retreat?
Do human traitors play a role?
Do humans have alien technology?

...and then the MC moves:

Humanity table: Alien Threat Moves

If humans live in occupied cities, use these MC moves:
- Portray these humans as scared and desperate
- Describe the city as being on the brink of destruction; buildings have been turned to rubble and roads are blocked by broken cars and other objects
- Let the players meet human resistance cells
- Have the group help resistance cells in surprise attacks in urban environments
- Show desperation by having the humans attack the group for supplies
- Introduce humans who will snitch on the group for food and resources

If humans live under alien rule, use these MC moves:
- Portray people working for the aliens as fearful and intimidated
- Make them difficult to recruit for the resistance
- Show the players how these people live in luxury in contrast to the squalor of the holds
- Offer the group opportunities to go undercover as workers to get into alien facilities
- Make the aliens ruthless if there is the slightest infraction or suspicion of treachery

If there are unprotected refugee trails:
Make the aliens merciless killers of refugees
Let the players see horrific scenes of refugee camps after they’ve been destroyed
Demonstrate alien ruthlessness by having resistance exexcuted publicly as examples to others
Have NPCs with connections to the PCs in threatened refugee camps
Show alien groups looking explicitly for unprotected refugees
Depict the refugees as desperate, starving and destitute

If the human resistance fighters hold their own against the aliens:
Depict holds as fortresses that can hold off enemy attacks
Introduce leaders of the resistance who are strategically successful and inspire hope
Give the PCs extra equipment, weapons and food
Include the PCs in a major battles against the aliens and let their actions matter
Let the resistance celebrate a victory, then introduce a major blowback

If human traitors play an important role, use these moves:
Create an atmosphere of untrust
Let suspicions run amok
Reveal resistance fighters’ plans to the aliens
Let the aliens attack when the group thinks it’s completely safe
Depict killings and executions of both suspected and guilty human traitors

If the aliens use control devices, use these moves:
Move controlled humans into holds with hidden explosives
Let controlled humans suddenly turn on friendlies
Create confusion by letting a controlled human run interference
Introduce a person wearing a control device that is faulty

If the human resistance has access to alien technology, use these moves:
Make the alien technology hard but not impossible to use
Create holds that focus on picking apart alien technology for human use
Let the PCs use alien weapons in a limited fashion
Have alien tech blow up when least expected
Introduce scientists who need certain alien tech in order to build defensive devices

Hey Eske there's a subtable about "control devices" which isn't referenced by a line in the Humanity Table.  The number of subtables is getting a little overwhelming.  Not suggesting to cut any, but how about providing some navigational aides...

eg:
Do aliens have mind control devices? [go to table H6]
Do humans have alien technology? [go to table H7]

or something like that?

You got it, I am working on an index right now and a way to navigate the many tables.

I've been working feverishly on Rebel World, and it has been streamlined and simplified; take a look if you were the least bit interested in the idea before.

I've reduced the number of tables to 5 without giving the players fewer options, and the work on custom moves and alien stats have begun.

Take a look at the new and improved Rebel World:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1EpNUoeLT_Tp6GAnFhjEY68CJLJrPsmO9m5zn7PRx2BY/edit#heading=h.ynz0otjfabla

I'd really like some feedback, so anything you think of will be appreciated.

Rebel World is now in early beta testing. It is completely playable, so if you want to try it out, give it a read:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1n_atXYBQofqItgDwPsb7GySbJ9gknbIkHk5-suTYHuc/edit#heading=h.ynz0otjfabla

A PDF is also available. Contact me if you want a copy.