Does anyone still use the Operator playbook?

7 thoughts on “Does anyone still use the Operator playbook?”

1. The operator was specifically cut out of 2nd Ed because what made it special (gigs) actually showed up other places. The other moves that were cool were given to other playbooks, mostly the driver

2. I know all that. But I figured there must be some old-school Operator fans who might have done it anyway! Maybe not…

3. David Rothfeder what do you mean “showed up other places”? I genuinely want to know why the Operator was cut out, cause I have no idea, at all.

4. As David said, the Operator was cannibalized to make other playbooks cooler. Notable by giving them all gigs, which kinda killed what made that specific playbook special. The Driver got the Reputation and Eye on the Door moves.

5. So in first edition, about a third of the playbooks had gigs as an advancement. The rest tended to have gangs, strongholds, or followers, but notably weaker versions and without other moves like fucking thieves and the hocus preaching move (can’t remember the name right now) to make them better. But gigs were often times better with lower juggling since it meant you were less likely to neglect something important. The operator also had no moves to capitalize on their gigs either. So they often played where in 2 or 3 sessions, the angel would have the cool shit of being an angel and the cool shit of being an operator, but the operator still only had the operators shit.

6. Query: which, if any, 2E playbooks are most like the original operator; maybe not the one you played but the idealised big-O Operator?

7. All the playbooks now have access to gigs, but they’re more-or-less up to negotiation with the MC now, instead of being mechanically enforced like the Operator’s gigs were.

   David Rothfeder, those are some great observations. Thanks!

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