Hello there, I’m running an Urban Shadows one shot for the first time at a FLGS this weekend. I’m wondering if people have any tips or advice (for running the game the first time and doing a one shot). I’ve read the rulebook in its entirety, printed out the play books and the basic rules. I’ve also printed a map of the city we are in. Is there anything else I should prepare? I thought of doing love letters but I don’t know what archetype the players will pick.
(I’ve been running D&D games for a while and I’ve been a player at another PbtA game before.)
The “rumours in the city” thing at the beginning of play is GOLD. If you can center play on that and the choices the players make during character creation, you’re set.
Keep character creation to 30 minutes or, if possible, less than 20. People aren’t invested in a one-shot character, they’re there to explore the game, and forcing them to spend a long time getting there just hurts their impression. Because many people are still not familiar with PbtA, my recommendation would be to make pregens with stats and moves selected in pencil – one more than the player limit you’ve given the FLGS. That way, a player more familiar with PbtA could choose something different, but someone who’s never even heard of Apocalypse World can pick up and go without having to get their head around the game mechanics up front. If you have a plot, or better, a general idea up front, you might even mark one move for each character in pen so that you can have a scene in mind to spotlight them through that move before play starts.
I would also fill in one relationship for each character to an NPC for the same reason – you know something about them before play starts and can therefore have some hooks ready in advance. Character creation at the table becomes filling in other Debts, which is narrative, fun, and most importantly can be done quickly.
Then you can start, taking the general idea you have and scenes/hooks you’ve developed and incorporating the relationships they have to each other through their Debts. Always remember – a one-shot isn’t really about showing how the game plays in a campaign, it’s about showing off the core activities of the game and how those add up to fun. Long game/character creation processes and even world creation are for when they’re already invested. Instead of sticking to the letter of the player control over the world, stay with the spirit by asking a specific player what kind of building the demon is in, or what the elf-lord’s court looks like. They’ll get the idea of how the game plays all right without feeling bored or getting stuck with moves they don’t have stats for because they didn’t understand what they were picking.
I’ve never run a US one-shot, but I’ve run others.
I’d advice to take lesson from Lady Blackbird and its hacks which are following the follow formula – pre-generated characters and an established situation at start.
Leave a lot of blanks to fill by players, but have some starting situation in mind. Why? Well it could happen that you get awesome and very creative players and together you create something super awesome, but there is also a chance your players will be new to PbtA, who might need a nudge in some direction.
Sample situation I’d do is a war between Wizards and Tainted is boiling up, everone needs to take sides because staying in the middle means you are alone.
Then shoot PCs into this situation, maybe like one playbook per faction, so I’d narrow playbook selection to Wolf (whose territory is in the very middle between the warring sides), Veteran who used to be Tainted or Wizard (I’d even give him for a free corruption advance “Back at It” so he can show who he used to be), Tainted of course (whose Patron is in a bad spot and has to win this war, but on the other side it is opportunity for Tainted to play his patron, make him fail and get free or take his place in hellish hierarchy), a Wizard or an Oracle as fourth.
Have bunch of questions for players to fill in gaps and get invested.
Ask Tainted – what is his patron objective in this war?
Ask Wizard/oracle – who this whole situation started?
Ask Wolf – what in his territory make both sides want it?
Ask Veteran – what important item he has just finish crafting that will shake the balance of the war? Who wants it? Who knows about it?
So in general, narrow playbook selection, suggest starting situation, ask establishing questions.
I’d then ask what is everyone’s immediate plan to know who opening scene is with whom.
Is tainted looking to betray his patron? He then secretly meeting his old acquaintance Veteran or Wizard.
etc.
PS. I very like the idea of selected playbooks being filled by you with suggested stats and move before giving them to players.
Have fun 🙂