Lari Assmuth – Powered by the Apocalypse G+ Archives

At long last, a new version of the playtest kit for my Cold War espionage game “The Service”!

It’s a (mainly) mission-based game that is made to emulate the kind of gritty, bureaucratic, dirt-under-your-fingernails espionage that you would encounter in Le Carré, Len Deighton or The Sandbaggers.

I had an earlier version up here a while ago. A lot of this will be familiar if you already saw that one, but I’ve overhauled bits and pieces throughout.

Big shout-out to Acronico Meia Noite who came up with most of the Crises and provided me with much needed help and encouragement. Huge thanks also to Marshall Miller for giving a lot of extremely well-though out feedback to the previous version.

If you notice mistakes, faults, typos or stuff that makes your blood boil, I’m super grateful for any feedback! This is still a work in progress, so anything that makes it better is much appreciated.

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1ySGypMo2OkBG0tmZkeV5Fj8d83SfnoE1

So this is “Will You Do the Fandango?”

It’s a bit raw, and maybe a bit too out there to be relevant to a lot of PbtA-fans, but I got awarded a prize for it in the itch.io “Gaming Like it’s 1923” game jam that Randy Lubin hosted and I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t quite proud of that.

It’s a microgame based on Rex Ingram’s film “Scaramouche” (1923), a film that entered the public domain this year. The characters play as a touring troupe of swashbuckling Commedia dell’Arte performers in pre-revolutionary France.

I think there’s some typos in there, probably quite a few sentences that could be better, and an old reference to gaining drama points from acting on your Keys that I hadn’t changed to reflect the way the Keys work on the Playbooks.

Anyway, if you want to check it out, here’s the file. Let me know if I messed up the sharing options (again…).

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1YGJh3-uh-vxWfLxePjESzI-20uQH5W8G/view?usp=drive_web

(Continued) And this is Terran Defence Force, a GMless homage to XCOM.

(Continued) And this is Terran Defence Force, a GMless homage to XCOM. I believe it’s pretty board-gamey, and I don’t know if there’s much room for actual role playing in it, but I wanted to experiment with a game that delays character creation so that you are basically a blank slate in the beginning.

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1MDICP0cD9IqMbmp2VXqf7HfPcyFxoI4o

Happy Holidays, all!

I’ve been inspired to work on some mini-games that are meant to be easy to carry around, pick up and play. Like, if you’re sitting at a bar or café or in between other games. These are made to be printed out on A4:s (sorry, US! I’ll try to make some US legal-size versions soon) and folded to a trifold pamphlet.

They’re not currently playtested at all and probably full of faults, but if you want to have a look, here you are.

This is Avast! A game about hollywood pirates.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/185plnl2uOHy5cvBPWv1DXZBuvQ5QknT1/view?usp=sharing

I’m working on a PbtA game about Cold War espionage, called The Service.

I’m working on a PbtA game about Cold War espionage, called The Service. It’s very much a love letter to Le Carré, Len Deighton and the ITV show The Sandbaggers. I’m aiming for a low powered, drab, bureaucratic take on the genre.

As for games, I’ve been influenced mostly by Apocalypse World, Dungeon World and Blades in the Dark, with some Monsterhearts, The Regiment and The Sprawl as well as others sprinkled in for good measure.

If any of y’all are interested, here’s the current, unpolished version. Any feedback more than welcome!

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1MEWifN23zNacjUJ9AUhxqiARIhkVpdTK/view?usp=sharing

Thanks everyone who chimed in with advice for people playing Skinners.

Thanks everyone who chimed in with advice for people playing Skinners. I’d like to hear about what you would suggest for folks that want to play BATTLEBABE. What are some good goals for a Battlebabe? What should a Battlebabe try to do in game?

The little bit of research and personal playing I got to do as a BB led me to understand that they are great for causing and getting out of trouble. BB’s can take a drastic stand on something and their +3 cool will get their butts out of any trouble that comes their way. When I played a BB I was in charge of security and when a riot started I walked into the middle of it, said “This stops now or you have to go through me” and using my cool to Go Aggro, I put the whole gang on their heels.

I also ran a game where the BB was in control of the only water supply in the area. She had the only green lawn in the desert and the Hardholder needed her to let the holding have the water. The Hardholder was a bastard and the BB was not going to back down from him. The HH threw just about everything he had at the BB and by the end, most of the holding was destroyed and the BB was still there.

BB’s are great “heroes of the apocalypse”. You can take on just about any threat, as long as you are clever. You may not beat it, but you can survive it. Be willing to take an extreme stand on something. Good or bad. That’s where I believe you’ll find the most fun.