Apocalypse World – session zero.
So we finally got to play AW last night. Our group consists of –
Paul as Boo, an Angel.
Rick as Marlon, a Driver.
John as Sundown, a Brainer.
Bard as Emmy, a Maestro’ d.
Dave as Keeler, a Gunlugger.
After playbooks were chosen, moves picked, and looks decided on, we did the Hx thing, going round the table. I frantically wrote notes on index cards, to detail the relationships, but also recorded the session on an MP3 player, so I can listen again if I need to.
The group are based at “The Pig Pen”, which is the Maestro’s establishment. The main attraction is the fights, supplemented by booze and sex. We’ve got bare knuckle brawls and mud wrestling babes in two rings in the bar. The bar is in an old roadhouse at back of a rundown gas station (pre-fall this was a common amenity along the roads).
Nearby, about 12 miles away, is the town of New Jerusalem. It’s run by a preacher called Moon, and presided over by the local Sheriff. The folks there don’t tolerate booze, sex or fighting in town limits, so regular old battered, battery powered buses run out to the pig pen, so the townies can get their jollies. Naturally some folk are not best pleased about that.
We also have a biker gang run by Jackson, who unknown to most, is the preachers half brother.
I set a few scenes where the players could role play their characters, but was dissapointed by the lack of any real buy in. I had the driver and brainer approaching the town, in the big old muscle car, engine throbbing in the sunset, along the arrow straight road. Cue players – go! Nothing! OK, so what do you guys talk about? “Nothing – we can speak volumes with a single glance”. OK, cool, let’s note that one for the future.
We had the others in the bar, watching the fights and wrestling. OK you’re all there drinking – go! Nothing! Maybe I should have thrown an NPC in their face, all drunk and nasty?
All the group seemed to totally ignore all the relationships formed during Hx, and expressed strong dislike for any “inter party conflict”. Hmm, so I’ll have to provide all the impetus and antagonism they need. I think we’re missing out on a big part of the game there, but will make a story of “us vs them” to accommodate. After all, it’s their story. I’m sure conflict will arrive soon enough, and I’m really looking forward to find out how the story develops…
Did I have too high expectations from the group maybe? Any advice on how to encourage role play appreciated. Any other advice you guys can provide also appreciated. I’ll be doing threat maps etc. later this evening (+1 GMT here, UK time).
You can try to leverage fronts, create triangles, etc., but if they don’t pick up what you’re putting down, the game will be less fun.
Did you ask them a lot of questions and give them a chance to feel things out? Ask them how things usually go? Where do they get their food, their bullets, their clothes. What are they wearing anyway. All that? You mention asking them what they talk about. And maybe you asked more. But IME That sort of low level follow-them-around for a while, find out what their lives are like tends to generate a lot of ownership and situation.
This sounds a little more like ‘bang – first scene’ but I can’t tell for sure.
Trevis Martin Thanks for your reply. I asked them about everything I could, including the world around them, their home, other people etc. I don’t have much experience running pbta games, but I have run lots of other games over the years. It requires a different kind of discipline, I’ve found. Letting go of the reins, and handing them to the players. They seemed to want to have a communal “foe”, rather than creating triangles among themselves/npc’s etc. I’ll run with what they’ve given me, since I think trying to force another course will be frustrating all round. They’re all used to a certain play style too, so it’s a learning curve all round.
There is also the trick of leading the questions by embedding assumptions. “So this guy is kind of a jerk, right? What’s the last thing he did to piss you off? Did you do anything about it?”
By all means go with what they seem to point at. Don’t force. IF they want a big bad, give them a big bad. I would definitely emphasize scarcity though. There’s never enough of anything. Ever.
You’re on the right track as far as letting go of the reins and not forcing another course. The game will fight you the whole time, so good job.
Look at the lists of things to do during the first session. You want to keep building on the world, asking questions, yes. But also you want to give them a chance to try out basic moves. That means put them in scenes that provoke them to use moves (scenes that are actionable). Not just ‘You’re driving together. Talk about something.’ Instead, have something happen. The car starts sputtering and then dies, maybe? Or maybe they come upon a roadside car wreck with someone injured (or an ambush). All you’re looking for a situation that is actionable. Don’t forget to ask ‘What do you do?’ after everything you say. However they react, whatever they do, great! Launch off that.
Look at that list again. See where it says ‘Look for where they’re not in control and push there’? Civilization has fallen, right? It’s a fantasy apocalypse, yes, but realistically we’re all dead. The only reason our AW games are halfway believable is because we suspend disbelief about how hard it would be to survive. Meaning food, water, gas, medicine… they will tell you about all the ingenious ways they have it all covered, but it’s not going to take much looking for you to find a place to push. Go ahead and push hard on their water supply, food supply, or the health of the town. Put a couple of them in a scene and have something going wrong with a basic necessity that they thought they had covered.
Have you already established that your players want to play in a game where they’re all up in each others’ grill? I was pretty keen on trying PbtA games until it became clear to me that my players really weren’t interested in that style of play that seemed baked into the PbtA approach… (if they do, then great).
Christopher Wargo Great ideas and advice. Thanks. I’ll definitely be trying some of those next session.
Viktor Haag I think I’ve realised my expectations weren’t in line with theirs. I’ve adjusted my view accordingly. I can wait to use hard moves to push my agenda, maybe creating a bit of conflict. I’ll have to be careful with that approach though, lest they kick back or don’t want to play at all. As long as everyone has fun though right? Cheers.
I don’t disagree with you; having a good feeling for what your players like in a game and what they don’t like is key. I’m not necessarily of the school that says you have to always have clear and explicit communication at that meta-level, but making sure that your understanding is validated from time to time is also probably a good thing. 8/
My games rarely have PvP in them. A little, yes, but almost always the PCs have ended up siding with each other against my threats.
Dale, don’t give up on PC-NPC-PC triangles.
There’s always an NPC trying to take over the Maestro D’s establishment. Make them the big sister of one of the other PC’s. Or maybe their mom. Or daughter!
Joe Beason Hehe. I really like that idea.
Christopher Wargo That’s cool. That’s the route I’ll use. I’m sure conflict will arise naturally over time.
Here’s some questions you can ask to get your players to help make stuff happen:
Boo, what warlord in the area wants you to work for them? Did you accept or refuse?
Marlon, what did Moon ask you to get for New Jerusalem recently?
Sundown, what did you do to Emmy’s best customer last week that pissed them off?
Keeler, who recently hired you? Do you work for them often? What did they want you to do?
And then have the NPCs act based off that. So the customer wants Emmy to help get revenge on Sundown – does she agree or risk displeasing her best customer? That warlord could ask Boo to assist in take over New Jerusalem, putting Marlon’s job at risk, or start making moves to force Boo to work for them depending on how they answered. And the person who gave Keller the job wants them to kill someone – make it someone whose death would be bad for another PC.
Nachiket Patkar Great ideas and advice. Thank you. I’ll be using some, or all of these, next session.