Because I like creative challenges, eh?
let’s see what can be done in a day of prep, given some specific constraints…
THE FRONT
(inspired by:
>~> http://apocalypse-world.com/forums/index.php?topic=7479.0
>~> http://apocalypse-world.com/forums/index.php?topic=394.0
from the forums)
EXPRESSES: Escalation of Zealousy and Environmental Impact, during an Anniversary Reaction
FUNDAMENTAL SCARCITY: Decay
DARK FUTURE / AGENDA:
Things are nominal when bad, and currently only getting worse… this is NOT a quiet year, this is one rampaging year of desperate jackals.
NOTE:
Everything in this Front is expressed as a top-down overview on a zoomed out scale, the backdrop into which new players might pick-up where others left off… as if a previous game ended prematurely… working only from the contents of the example 1st session worksheet in the book. In addition, I limited to Landscape and Affliction specifically to explore the possibilities of focusing on Threats I’ve seen less often used.
A tick on a countdown could represent a major change in the social-political terrain, or the passing of a four to six week period.
Even though the countdown events are expressed in a linear progression, these events may, or may not, actually happen… and could be forced into regression, or advanced prematurely –; consider them placeholders for the escalation of likely events left unimpeded, with details malleable in the course of the fiction. Adjustments and deviations of events in the fiction, or as the threats begin to interact at the edges of their influence, could apply completely different events or call for a whole new countdown to be established for a given Threat.
The important part is that things escalate progressively — with respect to the emerging fiction — as a background tapestry of motion.
Why do these things happen? Are they connected? Do they happen at all? Will Wilbur ever get rid of that dumb parachute?
Remember: Play to Find out… anything not yet determined can be filled in later, and Fronts can change.
If you believe in yourself and have dedication and pride – and never quit, you’ll be a winner. The price of victory is high but so are the rewards. ~ Paul Bryant
#1
Threat: Landscape
Name: The Burnflats
Type: Furnace — Impulse: to recycle things into badness, and consume the weak
Description: Once this was a sprawling collection of mostly industrial-side low-density housing developments, schools, playgrounds, churches, strip-malls, theaters, motels, and restaurants; Now it is an overgrown wreak of nature and old-world architecture gone wild –; known as the perpetual combat zone, It is a meat grinder for ambitious scavengers, and a proving ground for foolhardy jackals.
Faces:
~~ Uncle ~~ This Motorized Hardholder, is an Indomitable Towering Presence… (resource: +1connections +1status +1acclaim +1security +1access (all The Burnflats resources) | surplus: +1barter, growth want: reprisals)
~~ Uncle’s Raiders ~~ (resource: +1health +1vehicles -1water (famine) -1food (hunger) | very large, 3Harm, 2armor, mobile, rich +1barter, vulnerable: reprisals impulse: to party hard, to defend the holdings, to scavenge and raid.)
~~ Marie ~~ (resource: +connections +information +beast:horse -security -grain | 1harm, 0armor surplus: insight want: anxiety, desperation impulse: to barter for secrets)
Resources: +2time • +2strategic position (Dustwich’s Diner, Westside Warehouse Moving Co.) • +1staples • +3liberty • +1fuel • +1weaponry • +1machinery • +2vehicles (bikes, trucks, vans, and cars) • +1rare goods • +1animals (wild, livestock, beasts)
The person who is really in revolt is the optimist, who generally lives and dies in a desperate and suicidal effort to persuade other people how good they are. ~ G.K. Chesterton
Countdown:
0:00 The tallest apartment complex on the skyline collapses, due to this building also holding a sizable water reservoir and indoor farmstead, as well as it normally being clearly visible for a few miles, news of this event travels quickly.
want: +1famine
resource: -1access(living space) • -1access(water) • -1access(fresh foods)
3:00 Uncle makes a cautious play to secure a hold on other sources of water in the Burnflats for his raiders.
want: +1hunger • +1idle
resource: -1health • -1medical supplies • -1information
6:00 Sudden electrical storms spark wildfires in a drying landscape… panic spreads among beasts and bandits.
want: +1anxiety • +1desperation • +1disease • +1famine • +1hunger • +1judgment
resource: -1access(water) • -1water • -1shelter • -1access(living space) • -1living space • -1medical supplies • -1health • -1labor • -1meat • -1salt • -1grain • -1fresh/preserved/staple foods • -1raw materials • -1know-how
9:00 Uncle carefully gathers surveys and threat assessments through Marie… and surreptitiously bolsters a failing resource network.
want: +1idle • +1savagery -1disease • -1famine • -1hunger
resource: +1water • +1skilled labor • +1information • +1medical supplies • +1fresh/preserved/staple foods • +1raw materials • +1know-how
10:00 Uncle makes an open move to claim Westside Warehouse Moving Co. directly.
want: +1idle • +1savagery • +1war
resource: -1medical supplies • -1health • -1time • -1staples • -1liberty • -1fuel • -1weaponry • -1machinery • -1vehicles (bikes, trucks, vans, and cars) • -1rare goods • -1animals (wild, livestock, beasts)
11:00 Mobs of refugees grow increasingly violent, and overrun Westside Warehouse Moving Co. — Is it Tum Tum or Roark who supplies these raids with gear from Citadel’s storehouses?
want: +1savagery • +1war
resource: -1medical supplies • -1health • -1time • -1staples • -1liberty • -1fuel • -1weaponry • -1machinery • -1vehicles (bikes, trucks, vans, and cars) • -1rare goods • -1animals (wild, livestock, beasts)
12:00 Joe’s Girl, along with with Joe The Sewerlord, and a mob of desperately hungry refugees, to seize Dustwich’s Diner by force.
want: • +1war
resource: -1medical supplies • -1health • -1time • -1staples • -1liberty • -1fuel • -1weaponry • -1machinery • -1vehicles (bikes, trucks, vans, and cars) • -1rare goods • -1animals (wild, livestock, beasts)
“During the game, there’ll be times when I’m allowed to directly go after the characters; this is called a hard move, and I can only do it when you miss a roll or when you give me a wide-open opportunity — however;”
The Burnflats are Never Boring:
When you spend some time traveling in the Burnflats,**
– it takes d6days to get anywhere,
– something, likely hostile, inevitably spots you,
So, be alert and roll+sharp…
On a 12+ you choose three. On a 10+ you choose two. On a 7-9, You and MC should each choose one.
On a miss — well, things get bad quick here… MC may choose two…
– you find Resources that fits one of your wants or needs, for a few days, worth +d6 jingle.
– you find Resources that fits the wants or needs of someone you know, for a few days, worth +d6 jingle.
– you find local Resources worth +2d6jingle / +1barter
– you avoid serious trouble
– you do it quickly (half time)
– nearly costs an arm and a leg, or merely a head injury… 1 harm per day.
– it costs more time getting around than it should’ve, +d6days.
– it costs a bit of gear, choose something between -6jingle and -1barter… it’s used up and/or broken
** Taking Point or Getting Hit With The Stick, For the Team — Pathfinder (swap the +2 forward for hold 1) is a preparation advantage here… alternatively the reckless Hard daredevil could always Seize by Force some fair passage to a named destination, for themselves and a few companions — either way; bad stuff you don’t hit first, hits you first, but the rest of the team gets to use you as an early warning system to avoid that first contact, as you all press on through to the other side.
A hero is someone who has given his or her life to something bigger than oneself. ~ Joseph Campbell
QUESTIONS
I wonder…
• Who do they raid?
• What’s with Marie & Joe’s Girl?
Start by doing what’s necessary; then do what’s possible; and suddenly you are doing the impossible. Francis of Assisi
#2
Threat: Landscape
Name: Foster & Co.
Type: Fortress — Impulse: to deny scavengers, and dominate access to Cistern Citadel.
Description: A typical fortified settlement attached to an abandoned factory complex; home of xenophobic isolationists, loyal wilderness raiders, and fanatical jackals.
Faces:
Foster — This Savvy-headed Operating Hardholder, is Not To Be Fucked With… (resource: +1weaponry +1security +2loyalty | surplus: +3barter, party want: idle, desperation impulse: to offer to negotiate, to demand concession or obedience.)
~~ Carna ~~ (resource: skilled labor, +3shelter(bolthole) -1 liberty, -2drug (Foster’s approval) | 1harm, 0armor surplus: stupor want: anxiety impulse: to serve Foster, to assist Pamming, to crawl in a bolthole and hide)
~~ Thuy ~~ (resource: know-how, -1 liberty, | 1harm, 0armor surplus: stupor want: anxiety impulse: to chart the Burnflats, to fly drones for sport, to trade anything for specialized goods(electronics))
~~ Pamming ~~ (resource: workshop, acclaim, books, +1access (all Foster & Co. resources) -1 time, -1 liberty, -1 leisure, -1 status want: judgment, obligation impulse: to invent solutions like a mad genius, to aggressively pursue lost tech, to dominate the manufactory)
Resources: labor, shelter • +2 security • loyalty • weaponry • +2 strategic position • +3 walls, +2 living space, +2 connections
Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle. As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it. ~ Steve Jobs
Countdown:
0:00 Reveal something to someone. Make a show of discipline.
3:00 Foster & Co. negotiates trade with partners willing to submit to annexation.
6:00 Shift, move, rearrange, or provide another way.
Claim territory: move into it, blockade it, assault it.
9:00 Negotiates trade with partners willing to erect a secure Water Shrine Outpost.
10:00 Foster & Co. establishes a secure Water Shrine Outpost at all Annexed Territories.
11:00 During a move to secure a train depot by force, Joe’s Girl goes missing.
12:00 Foster makes a sudden, direct, and very hard surprise attack on Westside Warehouse Moving Co.
Foster & Co. Market
When you look for something in Foster & Co. Market, you’ll probably find it, or someone who knows exactly where it is… but, either way it won’t likely be affordable.
Nearly everything someone could barter for is available in Foster & Co. Market, but the shrewd merchants almost always offer a hard bargain, an ugly choice… or worse.
QUESTIONS
I wonder…
• Foster: does she have a plan, or what?
• Will any PCs join the Cistern Citadel cult?
The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched – they must be felt with the heart. ~ Helen Keller
#3
Threat: Landscape
Name: Cistern Citadel
Type: Prison — Impulse: to contain a population of converted worshipers, to deny egress and victimize heretics
Description: A major work of architectural art, fortified and defended by a cult of xenophobes… a beautiful fountain of running water, maintained as an awesome symbol of grace and governance, in an aesthetically grotesque and barbarous world.
Faces:
~~ The Cistern Citadel Cultists ~~ (resource: +1connections, +1information, +1labor, +1skilled labor, +1access(all Cistern Citadel resources) | very large irregular corps of cultists, 3-harm, 0-armor, swarm, eye on the door, weird vulnerable: grounded, obligation, reprisals impulse: to tell stories, to control the water supply, to convert worshipers.)
Bran ~~
Tum Tum ~~
Joe’s Girl ~~
Resources: +3 acclaim • +3 access (water) • +3 loyalty (fanaticism) • +3 drugs (water) • +3 strategic position (inside Foster & Co. holdings, access to cistern)
We know what we are, but know not what we may be. ~ William Shakespeare
Countdown:
0:00 Tell stories (truth, lies, allegories, homilies)
3:00 Reveal something to someone. Tell more stories (truth, lies, allegories, homilies)
6:00 Offer support assistance services of caravans and skilled clergy to cooperative neighbors.
9:00 Increases security on water caravans.
10:00 Establishes a secure Water Shrine Outpost at all Annexed Territories.
11:00 Attempts to restrict access to Foster & Co to only Citadel members.
12:00 Aggressively closes borders of all Annexed Territories, and exterminates trespassers.
When you drink the water with the cool kids
— +1 forward with the Cistern Citadel cultists
Perfection is not attainable, but if we chase perfection we can catch excellence. ~ Vince Lombardi
QUESTIONS
I wonder…
• What does the water do?
• Will Roark do what Bran asks?
Ghastly grim and ancient raven wandering from the nightly shore – Tell me what thy lordly name is on the Night’s Plutonian shore! ~ Edgar Allan Poe: The Raven
*#4^
Threat: Affliction
Name: Season of Sacrifices
Type: Sacrifice — Impulse: to leave people bereft
Description: The season is slowly turning foul for the farms, the Burnflats are being slowly dismantled and picked clean. Scarcity effects the necessary resources of maintaining homesteads, even in areas usually under granted reprieve in times of need from The Cistern Citadel Cultists…
Faces:
~~ Wild Animals ~~ surplus: growth, violence want: idle, desertion impulse: to express anxiety, desperation, and hunger
~~ Bran’s Family ~~ (resources: connections, loyalty, blood kin -raw materials, -specialized goods, -security, -strategic position, -storage space, -time | small 1harm, 1armor, raiding ragamuffin ratpack surplus:party want: anxiety impulse: grab anything not nailed down and run away faster)
~~ Keefer ~~ (resource: vehicle(steam-powered train-car on tank treads), work-space, infirmary, status, books, information, know-how, access(all Season of Sacrifices resources) -2 time, -2 liberty, -2 leisure, want: breakdown, judgment, grounded, obligation impulse: to heal the wretched masses, to negotiate for services, to demand concession)
Resources: dust • debris • detritus • drought
I believe in living today. Not in yesterday, nor in tomorrow. ~ Loretta Young
End Session MC Move:
Between sessions, before prep of love letters and next session circumstances… to avoid the looming disaster roll:countdown
>countdown: countdown holds steady @countdown: make a countdown tickback The consequences of a collapse would not be pretty. Whichever country precipitated it — would trigger economic chaos and incur its neighbours’ wrath. ~ Barry Eichengreen Countdown: 0:00 Nominal hardships abound, and yet ominous rumors spreading from unverified sources of a coming great scarcity. 3:00 Refugees become bold; seeking help, and comforts from any handout. The overall availability of water, foods, and shelter decreases. 6:00 Citadel proclaims the affliction to be a just punishment. The overall availability of medical supplies, water, foods, shelter decreases. 9:00 Overburdened weary guards and hospices are beginning to seriously neglect duties, responsibilities, and obligations. The overall availability of living space, liberty, leisure, medical supplies, water, foods, shelter, fuel, shelter decreases…. yet, a surplus of dust, debris, detritus, and drought is imminently available. 10:00 Wants of reprieve from anxiety, desertion, desperation, disease, famine, hunger, idle, judgment, obligation, savagery, and war spills out of the Burnflats, elevating the wants of those normally unaffected in luxury of stockpiles held by the safety of fortified walls. Mobs and desperate families trade blows closer to guarded claims normally thought of as peaceful, non-combative, zones. The overall availability of water, foods, shelter, medical supplies, health, living space, liberty, leisure, strategic positions, raw materials, know-how, machinery, connections, fuel, weaponry, and shelter all decreases… on the upside, meats seem to be enjoying a higher supply than demand calls for. 11:00 Many leaders and supply hoarders fly into fits of rage and desperation over dwindling resources. Tensions achieve a savage level, and markets fully shut down external trade. The overall availability of everything decreases, even the surplus of ambient meats are being left to decay… and no place is safe from an escalation of wants, and serious deficit of surplus. 12:00 As the wants of ravenous savages and violent militias rise beyond the breaking-point for the population of most holdings surplus to withstand, final solution countermeasures are initiated inside and out of many safe-holds… War, War never changes. It is during our darkest moments that we must focus to see the light. ~ Aristotle Onassis QUESTIONS I wonder… • What is Tum Tum’s connection to Bran’s Family:- And; Why doesn’t Bran know about it? • What does Keefer expect to gain from seeking the stories about a lost University Enclave?
