Powered by the Apocalypse: Discussion – Page 234 – Powered by the Apocalypse G+ Archives

So I’m moving my #Technoir game to Apocalypse World. Some of the PCs seem fairly easy to transition.

Mack didn’t translate across well so we’ve start hacking up a playbook especially. He’s a pilot and engineer with a drone called “Bessy”. At first I though the Driver would fit, but it actually just doesn’t cut it. So I’m building a playbook that’s cross between the Beast Master and the Juggernaut:.

Here’s my first cut.

My first draft of:

The Drone Master

Name

Mack, Gumball, Trooper, Ace

Stats

Cool=0, Hard+1, Hot-1, Sharp+2, Weird+1

Cool-1, Hard+1, Hot=0, Sharp+2, Weird+1

Cool+2, Hard-1, Hot-1, Sharp+2, Weird=0

Cool+1, Hard=0, Hot+1, Sharp+2, Weird-1

Moves

You get all the basic moves. You get Command Prompt and then choose a second Drone Master move.

Look

Gear

In addition to your drone(s), you have:

• 1 drone repair kit (3 uses)

•

Improvement

Whenever you roll a highlighted stat, and whenever you reset your Hx with someone, mark an experience circle. When you mark the 5th, improve and erase.

Each time you improve, choose you can’t choose it again.

[ ] get +1cool (max +2)

[ ] get +1hard (max +2)

[ ] get +1wired (max +2)

[ ] get a new drone master move

[ ] get another drone design (in addition to original

[ ] get a tech shop (acts as a workspace for your drone)

[ ] get a move from another playbook

——-

[ ] get +1 to any stat (maximum stat+3)

[ ] retire your character (to safety)

[ ] create a second character to play

[ ] change your character to a new type

[ ] choose 3 basic moves and advance them

[ ] advance the other 4 basic moves

Drone Master Moves

Command prompt: When you command your drone to do something or get something for you (a person, a vehicle, a weapon, etc…) roll +sharp. On a 10+ the drone does exactly what you want or comes back with what you wanted, no problems. On a 7-9, choose 2:

• The drone doesn’t do exactly what you wanted it to do, but its close (MC’s call)

• The drone is distracted by one of its impulses

• The drone has to fight someone or through something, its harmed

On a miss, one or more of its impulses completely distract it from completing the task.

I See It All: Improve your sharp from +2 to +3.

All Tuned Up: When you get the chance to spend some time tinkering and tuning before an op, roll +sharp: On a 10+ hold 3, on 7-9 hold 1. You can spend your hold one for one to take +1 on a roll during that op. On a miss, something’s gonna break down, the MC decides what and when.

Bug: When you try to find something out using your drone, roll+sharp. On 10+, ask the MC 3 and on 7-9 ask 1:

• where is a particular person, vehicle or place?

• what’s the best way to get from here to there?

• what’s something new it spotted?

• what is a particular person or group doing?

On a miss, it’s got lost, caught, or smashed up.

Spare parts: Add 2 drones with 2 strengths each in a design you already have.

Dustbin lid: When you allow a drone to take a blow meant for you, negate the damage and your drones become highly distracted by one or more impulses. If they are already distracted then you can’t use this move. After you spend some time alone with your drones, their impulsive behaviour will settle back to normal levels.

DRONE MASTER SPECIAL

When you have sex with another character, you each can ask the other a question that they must answer truthfully. This can be spoken in character or just between players.

DRONE

Your drones are semi-automonous robots you communicate with through am encrypted channel or something. By default they have a cam, a mic and 1 armour. They never count as a vehicle for the no shit driver move.

Choose drone design:

• Infestation. Frame: insect-sized (infinite, max 2-harm weapon) Impulse: hide

• Surveillance. Frame: bird-sized (flight, max 3-harm weapon) Impulse: wait

• Infilitration. Frame: human-sized (mimic) Impulse: vanity

• Armament. Frame: bear-sized (obvious, +1 armour) Impulse: threaten

Choose look:

jury-rigged, delicate, biomechanical, military, hi-tech, chunky

Choose a weakness:

breakdowns, fragile, fucking heavy, guzzler, deafening, slow

Choose strengths; either one drone with 3 strengths or three drones with 1 strength each.

• weapon mount. Impulse: butcher

• heavily armour (2-armour). Impulse: reckless

• stealth. Impulse: mischief

• superior cunning (+insight). Impulse: endanger

• wire tap (+augury). Impulse: consume

• fast. Impulse: escape

• sensor (choose magnification, thermal imaging, sonar, or decoder) Impulse: analysis

This is the most interesting and innovative hack of Apocalypse World to date, IMO.

This is the most interesting and innovative hack of Apocalypse World to date, IMO. If you’re an AW hacker, you really need to read and play this.

Originally shared by Paul Riddle

The beta version of Undying is released!

http://enigmamachinations.wordpress.com/2013/02/18/undying-beta-release/

Played in a one shot of AW this weekend where time did not exist.

Played in a one shot of AW this weekend where time did not exist. I played James Dean as a driver and was in love with Ben Franklin who was a skinner and was bro’s with Annie Oakly as a gun lugger. Of course Joan of Arch, a battle babe, was Franklin’s lover. The game ended with a three some with Oakly, Arch, and Dean. Much fun. I’d love to play a campaign with like this.

Reading Poltergeist, the French edition of Murderous Ghosts.

Not bad. I’ll take it with me to try with my g/f during our 30hr flight to New Zealand 🙂

Tonight our group of characters attempted to exorcise a Faceless’es mask off, and when he refused we killed him.

Tonight our group of characters attempted to exorcise a Faceless’es mask off, and when he refused we killed him. When we lit the pyre to burn his body afterward, the MC declared that the entity in the mask was dead but then offered the player a choice: he could allow his character to die with the mask or he could be swept into the psychic maelstrom and become an entity that lives within it. He chose the second option.

I just saw this last night.

I just saw this last night. The staging is very AW. Witches in rubber waders and gasmasks, AK-47s, bowie knives. Macbeth with axe and machete. Etc. The “arrival in England” transition with pseudo-religious procession is particularly good. Worth a watch if you are in London.

http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/showbiz/news/a443722/james-mcavoy-to-play-macbeth-in-londons-west-end.html

AW Hack about vigilantes (I’m thinking The Shield+Hotline Miami+Dark Knight Returns)

MOVES:

When you openly use violence, roll +Bold.

You may:

– Force the threat at large to change its behavior.

– Harm the person you’re attacking.

But it might also:

– Make The System on to you.

– Get you hurt.

– Get an innocent hurt.

When you make someone disappear, roll +Careful.

You may:

– Remove them without a trace

But it might also:

– Go sideways

On a miss:

– Make The System on to you.

When you interfere with an investigation, roll+Authority

You may:

– Get The System off their back.

But it might also:

– Make the System on to you.

– Ruin a cop’s career.

– Cause collateral damage.

When you Order people to fight for you, roll +Bold

You may:

– Get them to fight for you.

– Get them to absorb the consequences.

But they might also:

– Absorb the consequences.

– Act on their impulses.

– Be corrupted by you.

– Get a Beef with you.

– Refuse.

PLAYBOOKS:

The Nut: Bold+1, Authority-1, Careful-1 – They could have a symbolic Weapon, that has positive psychological effects.

The Sergeant: Bold-1, Authority+2, Careful-1 – They can stand behind the system when they use violence, and roll+Authority to openly commit violence.

– They can order their subordinates, and roll+Authority to Order people to fight for them.

The lurking killer: Bold-1, Authority-1, Careful+1

– They could have a position of Authority (Authority+1)

The professionial: Bold-1, Authority-1, Careful+1

– They can order around a hand-picked squad of professionals, they roll+Careful to order them to fight for them.

– They can skillfully interfere with a crime scene, and roll+Careful to do it.

BELIEF:

Instead of Hx (Or more accurately, Strings). You have Belief in the other player characters.

If you’ve helped a player character in the session, you roll your Belief with them and get XP for rolling high.

You can betray the people who believe in you to get a bonus to sensical goals.

You can use your Belief in somebody as a bonus to Bold.

THE SYSTEM:

If your countdown clock on the System catching up to you catches up,

then the system sends a Major Threat to shut you down. (Detective Cavanagh from The Shield is one of the best examples)

I’m running an AW game over the hangouts. We played the second session this week.

So, between the first and second session, I thought about fronts and threats or whatever, and before the second session started I sat down and filled out a couple of front sheets, but I was having a hard time conceptualizing how all the things that were on the sheets fit together.

To sort out my ideas, I also made a basic R-map that had most of the NPCs that I was interested in on it, and the different ways that what they want from the PCs intersected.

In play, I never looked at Front sheet, but the R-map was super, super helpful.

Am I missing something critical about Fronts if I don’t really bother?