I’m working on a set of playbooks, currently for my Patreon, that I’m calling the Doomed Trinity – each playbook has a countdown clock that’s ticking away to their ultimate, unavoidable doom, but they get to make their mark on Apocalypse World while they can. All three have been inspired by actual play instances in the games I’ve been a part of, so much so I’ve always thought “These could be playbooks”, so, that’s what I’m doing.
The one I’m currently focused on is The Infected, basically some kind of plague carrier. Since it’s a carrier, I’m deciding on ways for it to spread the disease/infection.
Why don’t people just shoot the Infected on sight? Well maybe they chose:
Death Blossom
If your life becomes untenable due to the direct actions of another character, and you choose to die, give an infected move to any player characters involved and fill in a segment on their infection countdown. The MC will determine what happens to any NPCs involved and it won’t be pleasant.
And for the sickophiles:
The Infected Special
If you and another character have sex, erase one segment from your infection countdown and give them an infected move; they also mark experience.
Is this too terrible?
Awesome
Well what are the other two? I love the idea of a clock, a measureable fire under your character, thats a great making-real of the whole ap feel
They would be The Returned, sort of like the Crow, someone back for vengeance, even staying dead isn’t a status quo.
And The Whisper, a fragment of will or psyche left in the Maelstrom after a particularly traumatic death.
So the Father (of plagues), the (back from the dead) Son, and the (unholy) Ghost.
Fitting for the season, I thought, and each potentially gives a gift to the MC.