Hey everyone, had my first session of UW last week (with 3 of 5 players who were new to the hobby!) and it went splendidly. I envisioned the first part of the campaign a bit more “do the job” based, so I drafted up a few moves for it. I thought I’d share them here in case people would find them helpful. I’d welcome any feedback on them too!
== CONTRACT NEGOTIATION ==
When you negotiate a shady contract, roll +Influence.
On a 10+, pick one:
• You know identifying details of the employer. If the employer is familiar to you, you learn of the motivations behind the job.
• You know intimate details of the target.
• Pick 3 from the list below.
On a 7-9, pick one:
• You gain a Data Point about the employer.
• You gain a Data Point about the target.
• You secure a guarantee of payment (partially in advance, something to hold on to, or something for your troubles, GM’s choice).
• The meeting does not attract unwanted attention.
On a 6-, times are desperate and you’re flying on fumes. In addition to any consequences from the fiction, if you turn down this job, the GM makes a move.
== FIND A JOB ==
When you spend some time on terra firma (or terra ferrum), looking for enterprising opportunities, tell us how you’re interacting with the locals and roll +Influence.
On a 10+, you get the lay of the land and make good with the locals. While planetside, hold 1 and spend it 1-1 to:
• Give the authorities the slip
• Find someone with particular skills or sympathies (pick one)
• Find a golden opportunity and take +1 on Contract Negotiation
On a 7-9, you get to know some interesting people, and they get to know you. The GM will tell you some interesting rumors. In return, what truth about yourself gets spread in local gossip?
Regardless of the result, you find a job. On a 6-, you find some trouble too.
Nice! Conceptually similar to how they do it in the cyber-craft hack of PbtA (I’m completely spacing on the name). At least the negotiation part. I think the Find a Job one is really, really smooth.
I don’t know if you could practically learn so much about a shady employer. If they don’t want to be known, they stay unknown.
The PbtA game THE SPRAWL is “cyberpunk” and has stages about getting a job, Legwork to research the job (not necessarily the employer), and at the end there is some question that you will be Getting Paid as promised, so all that is role-played.
Yes, I’m definitely taking cues from The Sprawl here. For this campaign, I’m trying to embrace the approach of aggressively giving away “GM secrets” when the right rolls hit the table. I’ve found that in The Sprawl actual plays, a lot of the plot is hidden behind the screen until much later in the campaign (or forever, really), so I’m giving them more options to peek behind the curtain.
Sometimes I’m so full of “cyberpunk” it hurts. Big corporations and mayors and the wealthy eager to improve their city. Shame about the people.