Urban Shadows RPG: Discussion – Page 17 – Powered by the Apocalypse G+ Archives

Just ran my 4th session of Urban Shadows last night, and damn it flew into overdrive.

For the first 3 sessions, my players and myself were kinda figuring out how to play the system, who our characters were, and what the score was in our city. I was actually really stressed out running the game because for the last 26 years, if I went to game with the minimal amount of prep I brought to Shadows, it would have been a flaming disaster.

But last night, everything clicked. I asked the characters more questions, whcih really freed me of some of the burden of imagination. Demons were slaughtered, others summoned. Police were evaded. Secret cabals of wizards were met.

In short, the game was sweet and sexy.

Great work Mark, Andrew, et al.

Ironically, I recorded a podcast on Shadows while still struggling with the game. If you’re interested, it’s here: http://plotpoints.libsyn.com/82-urban-shadows-apocalypse-world-engine

http://plotpoints.libsyn.com/82-urban-shadows-apocalypse-world-engine

When you get a move from another archetype can you take the primary (obligatory) move from that archetype?

e.g. The Immortal marking “ I’ve Seen Better Days: Choose

a move from another archetype.” to take the King’s “King of the Castle: You have

a crew of around fifteen to twenty people and a headquarters from

which you run things. Detail your headquarters with the MC…”

Apologies if this is made clear in the rules; I’ve only browsed them and am brainstorming characters for an upcoming game.

You know what’s hard?

You know what’s hard? Knowing you’re running an Urban Shadows campaign soon and not thinking up a story and sitting on your hands waiting until session one to see where the story goes, that’s what.

Hi!

Hi! I’m preparing to run my first US campaign in a few weeks. I have a question about debts and the persuade an NPC move. The rules say that debts are the only way to make someone do something, but then there’s the persuade move. And using a debt gives you +3 on the move, which makes me think that is move is even stronger than just cashing in a debt.

So what’s the difference?

Sorry if I’m missing something obvious but I have a bunch of nitpicky players who will use my confusion if I don’t set clear boundaries on the rules.

Thanks!

Is there any estimated time of release for the Angel, Dragon and Immortal playbooks?

And are there any other expansions planned aside from Dark Streets?

There’s no info on the Magpie Games page, and non-backers are out of the loop of kickstarter updates.

So, anyone finished and ready to give their impressions of Dark Streets?

I need a Vamp Web/Haven clarification:

The Web says When someone comes to you to ask for a favor, look for advice/info, or threaten your interests, they enter your web and owe you a Debt. […] They leave your web only when they no longer owe you a Debt.

and the Haven says When someone willingly comes to your haven, they enter your web.

Ok, but when they enter your Haven you don’t gain a Debt on them – so do they leave your Web as soon as they leave your Haven?

So my game now has a Veteran’s Workspace and a Wizard’s Sanctum.

So my game now has a Veteran’s Workspace and a Wizard’s Sanctum. I tend to struggle with how to play these things in the first place, but with two, now I need to be more discerning.

Anyone have good advice, examples, or stories revolving around these really open-ended character features that might help me or others like me?

Anyone tried running Victorian Urban Shadows?

I just finished Penny Dreadful, and it seems like US

would be the perfect system for something similar. The faction interests would just have to aim at something bigger than local city politics.

(Monster hearts crossed my mind, too, but the archetype behaviors and character dynamics would be all wrong).

Throw your ad lib moves at me:

The Aware is a first generation immigrant, and we just learned that his babushka was a sort of witch/shaman back in her village. They found some artifacts in a box after she died. One of these was a fist sized black cube, wrapped in cloth.

So a player throws some psychometry at it, looking for the items secrets. My mind wasn’t sure what this thing was, so I show him a vivid but utterly silent impression of an old shaman chanting and holding the cube aloft as it rips a pale mist from a group of five men, absorbing it while they drop dead to the ground.

So I’m assuming there’s a chant or ritual to use this thing, but let’s say they figure that out…. What sort of move should this device have?