Author: T. Franzke

Last Wednesday we ended our A Portcalypse campaign. It ended with the Chopper and his second in command the Gunlugger (Ex-Angel) returning to their home hardhold, killing the hardholder and taking stuff – leading to a bloody uprising between the people living there and leaving the newly christened hardhold of Haven in blood and fire. The cannibal-leading Hocus and the Savyhead returned in the aftermath of that and decided to give up on it, took their stuff and went away as well. 

This game was a game about how creating something in the Postapocalypse is doomed to fail. Violence rules and the strong can just take from the hopeful. It is a world where everyone should be out for themselves and caring for others will just get you down. 

This was satisfying in the sense of that the fiction had something to say but also really sad because of what it said, if that makes sense. 

I still want to talk about some of the things we found in the 2e rules during playtesting but its kind of difficult for me. 

A few things though: We never really used the subterfuge moves. I always felt like the fiction created from the possible outcomes wouldn’t have worked. I hope that examples and explanations in the book will help there. 

The lifestyle and barter rules weren’t really working as I would have wanted them to. Yes everyone did spend barter in the session but the rules for working stuff off-screen or so didn’t work out well. Especially because they are not clear on the character sheets. We were working from the Fallen Empires rules but even then it didn’t create the thing that I personally wanted from them. That the characters are seen working and doing mundane shit to stay alive and maybe get into trouble based from that. Also the conversation in that is weird because you go: “I don’t want to pay my lifestyle – Does anyone want to pay for me? No? Then I would want to work X to pay after all” when what you would want to say is: “Hey, I would like to have worked in the meantime. I build some stuff for Harkror – can we do that off-screen and I pay through that?” or something like that. The procedure of the 

conversation to have was just off somehow. 

Battle Moves were fine otherwise I think. There was just one moment that I remember that really didn’t work out well. 

The Chopper basically wanted to have one half of his gang to Stand Overwatch while the other goes with him to beat some people up. 

So while he is going and using his gang as a weapon to go aggro on them I thought that his character also couldn’t stand overwatch. He tells his gang to do this and they act based on their impulses etc. 

He fails his Go Aggro and a Sniper is revealed on a rooftop and shots down one of his gang. He says that this sucks because if his people would have stood overwatch he could make them shoot back. But even if they stand overwatch they were out of range so it wouldn’t have worked. That was weird. 

So its clear that when you stand overwatch with a Shotgun and the person you are protecting gets shot from far away that you can’t really shoot back – but the move doesn’t specify that. That is weird as well. 

A group of 5 Brainer kids

From 3ish to 7ish years old. 

Best thing I added to A Portcalypse World.

AW2 style threat map as a hex map in DW

So the threat map in AW2 is quite cool and I thought about how you can use it in Dungeon World. Making it an actual hex map would be very in flavor for DW, right?

So what do you do? You put down every point of interest the characters mention on the map, especially their safe havens, bases of operations, homelands etc. You also put every threat that get’s mentioned as it’s own hex. 

Every threat get’s an arrow of progress. That is where their interest, their destruction, their corruption or influence will spread. 

So with this map you see every threat and where it will go if unchecked. Depending on how close they are to “safe spots” the more threatening they become. You can also make progress lines indicating growth in power or goals. (when the Wizard’s college reaches this hex, they will summon the angelic heretic)

This will create threats that actually act on the world and will change it in a very obvious and lasting way. It also creates natural countdowns without you having to write them down specifically. You can make different arrows depending on how fast the threat can advance. When the characters act in a hex that is “affected” by a threat it could push them out or slow their advancement (depending on the fiction) but failure could enhance their position and advance their progress faster then expected. 

The funny thing is that this might also work in a dungeon. In that the map is not so much a map of the dungeon but more abstract but putting each monster faction on the map and pointing their arrows at each other and advancing them quickly might create a quite living and dynamic dungeon environment. 

Any thoughts on this? It’s a very loose concept in my head right now but I am very interested in trying this out.

(posting here, instead of the DW Tavern, first because most people here know the AW2 material I think)

So you want to turn off the Saveyhead’s brain?

The Savy in our game has an implant on her head that we know acts as some sort of second brain or harddrive and sometimes messes with her head. She asked the Angel for help and they have made a plan. I offered them that they could either build an expensive machine that will help to work the communication between them but it would take time and 8 barter OR 

The Angel can shut down the Savy’s brain and manipulate her brain-energy-space to interact directly with the implant and repair the connection there. 

They decided on the second option. I feel like this should be a hell of a custom move because it is super risky – even though I am of course a fan of the Angel and he said he could do it. 

I think there might be two moves here actually. 

#1 How does the Savy react/deal with that. It is that player’s character and I won’t let the Angel roll on a move that might mess up her character. 

“When Torres turns of your brain, roll+what?” Hard to endure it? Weird because weird? I am not sure here. 

Also I feel like both players should have some impact on what the Angel finds out. It’s a group project after all. Also I don’t know much more about the implant. I could just decide on something and tell them but that doesn’t seem fun. 

Maybe something like: 

When you fix Lux’s implant, roll+Sharp. 

On a 10+ read Lux all three options and ask which one it is not. Choose one from the other 2. 

On a 7-9 the same but choose from this list of extra complications in the same manner. 

And then offer a list of three cool implants and what they do? 

Anyone got any other cool ideas of how to make this a cool thing at the table? 

Originally shared by T. Franzke

My favorite moment from the last session of A Portcalypse World 

Giullia the Maestro’D and Hooch the Chopper are facing each other in the dark of night. Giullia woke up from opening her Brain (trying to find out who has murderous intentions torwards Naya) with a dying Naya, an empty syringe in her own hand a paniced Mox (Mox belongs to the Angel’s Infirmary). Giullia to blamed Mox for what happened in front of her whole crew and then they rushed Naya to the Angel to save her. 

Hooch is still in debt of the Angel and therefore he and his Despoilers went out to get Mox back. 

So Giullia (with two of her people) and Hooch face each other. They talk about what the fuck just happened and at that moment it starts to snow heavily. Instant Blizzard. 

Both are threatening each other. Giullia says she could just rip open Hooch’s throat with her scissors if he doesn’t give Mox back but the Despoilers will just shoot them if they don’t let them pass.

Both players Go Aggro on each other. 

So we have this nearly Samurai movie type moment where both are ready to strike. Just waiting. Like Gunslingers at high noon. Snow is falling around them like cherry blossoms. Then Giullia strikes and Hooch’s blood mixes with the snow. Hooch falls to his knees.

That is the Despoiler’s moment to fire. Gunshots break the silence and peace of the blizzard. 

There is a flash of light as the guards up on the wall point their searchlight on the scene. Giullia is still standing but badly shot, her entourage lying dead behind her. 

The Despoilers scream and rush the Maestro’D. 

I start hacking second edition before it was cool…

Please tell me what you think.

Originally shared by T. Franzke

Hey look, some rules for Apocalypse World Second Edition.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B8Fi3-pCFSAOZ2VZX2o3TzExMGM/view?usp=sharing