I love Apocalypse World but sometimes I don’t have time to print out playbooks or don’t want to fuss with shuffling through multiple move sheets. What follows is an attempt to scratch my itch for a World of Dungeons treatment of AW. Also sneaks in some Monsterhearts ideas. I haven’t tested it yet, but will probably play it soon.
Edit: Here’s a Google Doc for (hopefully) easier reading:
I just finished running an Apocalypse World mini-campaign inspired by the Fyre Festival fiasco. The gimmick is expired by this point, but it was fun and some of these threats might be salvageable for other island-based AW scenarios.
The Gist:
It was supposed to be luxurious. Glamorous. Sexy. A week of partying with supermodels on the beaches Isla de Pira. Live shows by brokeNCYDE, Kid Rock, and the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Catering by chefs like Guy Fieri.
But the models, bands, and chefs never showed up. Instead of a week of getting lit, it was a week of picking at sandfleas, sleeping in FEMA tents, and eating creamed corn from a can.
The organizers left early, saying the San Clemente government would evacuate the island. No one ever came. Three months later, you’re still here. There are no boats. There are no planes. The nearest island is 100 miles away. The food and water has long run out, leaving all of you to fend for yourselves.
Things are getting a little weird. People talk of visions of wars and apocalypse, the outside world consumed by flame. A psychic maelstrom howls across the island.
What do you do?
Threats:
All NPCs came to Isla de Pira as part of Pyre Party. There are no native inhabitants.
Weapons Caches: Left behind by guerillas from San Clemente who once used the island as a staging ground. I decided that before the game started, the Devils had found one cache, and the Hardholder had control over the other. The Devils were a smaller force, but found a cache with more powerful artillery, which helped create a balance of power on the island. There was one other cache in the jungle, but the PCs never found it.
Burn Flats: Pre-Columbian San Clemente natives used to bring dead bodies out here by boat to burn them. Used as a landing strip by Pyre Party organizers.
Tent City: Where most of the Pyre Party attendees live now.
The Jungle: NPCs never come back from here. There’s another weapons cache out there, plus the slaver cult.
Cybelle: A 16 year old brainer with bug eyes, a big bald head, and a violation glove. He lives in the jungle and has several mind-controlled slaves working to build a boat to get off the island.
Hell Hawk: A Chopper who leads an all-girl golf-cart gang called the Devils. Has red liberty spikes and paints herself red.
The Devils: An all-girl golf cart gang dedicated to keeping women on the island safe. They paint their skin red with some sort of clay they found on the island. Discovered the better of the two weapons caches.
Jaws: Hell Hawk’s right-hand woman. Has really big teeth. Wears chain-mail bikini, paints herself red, and carries a bazooka.
Psychedelic Crabs: Tend to wash up ashore a ways down the beach from the Tent City camp. Eating one opens your mind to the Psychic Maelstrom.
Nuclear Submarine Wreckage Further down the beach. Didn’t come into play. Would be more useful in a post-apocalyptic game that involves mutations.
Erowid: Dreadlocked trustafarian. Works for the Hard Holder. The only person who knows how to make Red Drank. He tried to teach other people, but identifying the right plants and getting the exact right proportions is extremely difficult and Erowid really isn’t a very good or patient teacher.
Red Drank: Some sort of mildly psychedelic downer. Keeps the party-crazed populace sedated, as long as it keeps flowing.
JD: Organizes bare knuckle boxing matches. Has gold teeth and a big beard. Wears whitey tighties, cow bow boots, a cloak, and lots of big rings. His sister Skarlet is is body guard.
Skarlet: A member of the Devils, but is more loyal to her brother than to Hell Hawk. Hides a scarred face beneath a hockey mask (she won’t take it off unless coerced). Has multi-colored liberty spikes, paints herself red like all Devils. Wears a long leather duster. Carries a fully automatic shotgun.
Here’s the Startup groupsheet for my AW hack Today’s World.
Here’s the Startup groupsheet for my AW hack Today’s World.
(If you missed it, Today’s World is, you guessed it, set in modern times. In addition to playbooks for individuals, there are group playbooks I’m calling groupsheets or groupbooks for right now. This is the second one, following the Documentary Filmmakers one included in the core playtest doc I posted a couple weeks back).
Here’s my first attempt at an Apocalypse World hack: Today’s World, a game for exploring our dystopian present:
Here’s my first attempt at an Apocalypse World hack: Today’s World, a game for exploring our dystopian present:
Drug dealers smuggle contraband into prisons with drones. You can pay back alley body-modders to install microchips in your hands with cryptographic currency. Powerful corporations track your every move, while vast government surveillance systems scan your emails. Militaries wage cyberwarfare across the globe. Cult leaders have the ear of world leaders. A washed up game show host is now the President of the United States.
This isn’t some dystopian cyberpunk future. It’s Today’s World.
Today’s World is a rule-lite role playing game about the strangeness of modern life. It’s suitable for telling many stories in contemporary settings, from exploring complex social issues to wallowing in the absurdity of the human condition. Inspirations range from literary sources like William Gibson’s “Blue Ant” trilogy to pulpy entertainment like the Gotham TV series to more gonzo sources like Nathan Barley and Crank. Don’t worry if you’ve never heard of any of these things: the fact that you’re alive and breathing means you’re already living in Today’s World.
