The Mighty Atom

The Regiment Alpha Playtest Kit

2012-03-05T10:55:00.002-08:00

Here's the alpha playtest kit for THE REGIMENT, an Apocalypse World hack about soldiers at war.

Playbooks for the Soldier, Officer, Sergeant, Medic, Commando, and Sniper.
Moves and Weapons tri-fold.
GM toolkit tri-fold.
Regiment/Unit tri-fold.

Should you try this out? You're a good candidate if you 1) Have played Apocalypse World and know it well, 2) Are a fan of war movies, 3) Can playtest a game from bare-bones components. If you're not all three of those, then I don't know. Maybe it's not the thing for you yet.

http://www.onesevendesign.com/regiment/the_regiment_alpha_1_0.pdf

There's a Regiment forum over on the Apocalypse World boards. Please discuss the game over there.

Thanks!

DEATH SCHOOL (Lady Blackbird Hack)

2012-02-06T14:19:00.000-08:00

Check out this new, free, Lady Blackbird hack by Jason Morningstar: DEATH SCHOOL. It's 80s action-movie magic with some sweet new rules (redshirts!). While you're there, check out his other LB hack, Bloody Forks of the Ohio, and his other free games.

Still Here!

2012-01-02T15:41:00.000-08:00

My blog still exists, honest!

See that previous post from August about Stars Without Number? Well, we are still playing the hell out of it. I need to tell you all about it. But my AP post keeps getting more complicated and more delayed, so I thought I better poke my head in and make sure the lights were still on.

I posted a list of Gaming Highlights from 2011 over on Story Games. So many!

Oh, also, Will Hindmarch is kickstarting an awesome thing called Always/Never/Now. Go check it out!

Good? Good.

Stars Without Number: Record Sheets

2011-08-09T16:17:00.000-07:00

I have recently discovered Stars Without Number, quite possibly the best sandbox-gaming RPG ever made. SWN won the "best free game" category in the Indie RPG Awards this year, which prompted me to give it a look. I'm VERY glad I did.

The GM tools presented in this game for managing a sandbox are second to none. Every last element is considered and provided for, from creating a sector of space to explore -- its planets, factions, and NPCs -- to modular adventure creation, one-roll quick generators for every conceivable thing (from religions to corporations to alien species), and a simple but interesting faction-level conflict system to keep the world(s) spinning with conflicts. The amount of work put into this game is staggering. Major kudos to Kevin Crawford, the author.

Those who love Apocalypse World will recognize this style of game immediately, and feel right at home. (The skill system just so happens to be 2d6+bonus, which makes it a cinch to tweak to AW-style miss/partial/hit results). I really can't recommend the game enough. Oh, did I also mention that it's FREE?

Since I plan to run the game soon, I had to make new record sheets for it (naturally). You can grab the PDF, which includes class sheets for the Expert, Warrior, and Psychic, a starship record sheet, planet sheet, and faction files.

Enjoy! If you have experience running or playing SWN, I'd love to hear about it.

The Regiment: SUPER SOLDIER

2011-07-22T22:35:00.000-07:00

Here's a bit of fun in honor of Captain America.

The Super Soldier playbook! This isn't an official Regiment playbook, but after seeing Captain America tonight (loved it) I couldn't help myself. Also, anyone who was thinking about doing Godlike using The Regiment could maybe get an idea or two out of this. Enjoy.

Apocalypse World: Guide to Hard Moves

2011-05-18T19:26:00.000-07:00

I keep seeing some people struggle with this, so here's a handy guide to hard moves in Apocalypse World.

When you make a regular MC move, all three:
1. It follows logically from the fiction.
2. It gives the player an opportunity to react.
3. It sets you up for a future harder move.

This means, say what happens but stop before the effect, then ask "What do you do?"

- He swings the chainsaw right at your head. What do you do?
- You sneak into the garage but there's Plover right there, about to notice you any second now. What do you do?
- She stares at you coldly. 'Leave me alone,' she says. What do you do?

When you make a hard MC move, both:
1. It follows logically from the fiction.
2. It's irrevocable.

This means, say what happens, including the effect, then ask "What do you do?"

- The chainsaw bites into your face, spraying chunks of bloody flesh all over the room. 3-harm and make the harm move!
- Plover sees you and starts yelling like mad. Intruder!
- 'Don't come back here again.' She slams the door in your face and you hear the locks click home.

See how that works? The regular move sets up the hard move. The hard move follows through on the threat established by the regular move.

I've seen people struggle with hard moves in the moment. Like, when the dice miss, the MC stares at it like, "Crap! Now I have to invent something! Better make it dangerous and cool! Uh... some ninja... drop out of the ceiling... with poison knives! Grah!"

Don't do that. Instead, when it's time for a hard move, look back at the setup move(s) you made. What was threatened? What was about to happen, before the PC took action? Follow through on that. Bring the effects on screen. Bring the consequences to fruition.

And speaking of consequences, a hard move doesn't automatically equate to severe consequences. The severity of the threat is a separate issue, depending wholly on the fiction as established. The hard move means the consequences, large or small, take full effect now.

It's not about being mean, or punishing a missed roll, or inventing new trouble. It's about giving the fiction its full expression. Setup, follow-through. Action, consequences.

The Regiment: Elements

2011-05-05T18:11:00.001-07:00

Paul and I are still working hard on THE REGIMENT. We had planned on a Q1 release originally, but have since decided to take more time with it and do another round of playtesting instead. Here's another teaser PDF for you in the mean time.

FAQ answer: It's an Apocalypse World add-on, not a stand alone game. You might think of it as a specific kind of apocalypse (one in which WWII never ended, and has consumed the globe) with new playbooks and moves to suit. Sort of like an AW playset, in a way.

(UPDATE: There was a typo and one of the moves needed tweaking, so I uploaded a new version of the PDF.)

OPERATION: BLACKBIRD

2011-05-03T21:39:00.000-07:00

How about some ultra-mod spy action in a Lady Blackbird hack? Here it is, courtesy of Andy Blanchard:

OPERATION: BLACKBIRD... the mission name conceived by the nations of the world to combat the evil machinations of the villainous international organization known as B.E.D.L.A.M.

The world's top secret agents have been gathered together to stop B.E.D.L.A.M.'s latest plot to extort the world for its own nefarious ends. They intend to use their newest secret weapon, which they have dubbed the Ultra-Lazer Cannon, to destroy a world landmark every week until their vile demands are met!

WILL THE WORLD'S BEST SECRET AGENTS BE ABLE TO PUT ASIDE THEIR NATURAL DISTRUST AND DISLIKE OF ONE ANOTHER TO STOP THEM?

WILL THEY DESTROY THE ULTRA-LAZER CANNON?

OR WILL THE EVIL CUNNING OF B.E.D.L.A.M. BE MORE THAN THEY CAN HANDLE?

Check it out here!

Jedi Blackbird

2011-04-30T14:15:00.000-07:00

Like Lady Blackbird? Love Star Wars? Then you'll want to take John Aegard's JEDI BLACKBIRD for a spin. From the introduction:

It is a time of troubles for the Jedi Knights. The peace and prosperity of the Republic have made the Order complacent. The Dark Side is everywhere.

NOW, word has arrived from the distant Outer Rim that the renegade padawan ORDO VALLUS has established a holdfast on the junk world of KONDU. The Jedi Council has hastily dispatched three Jedi aboard the starship BLACKBIRD. Their mission: to bring Vallus back to the Jedi Temple on Coruscant, where he will stand trial.

HOWEVER, as the expedition emerges from hyperspace, it is confronted by the fleet of vile Hutt corsair Bokka the Bold. Bokka broadcasts on all frequencies -- the Jedi are not welcome here!

Awesome.

Also, we just passed the 2nd anniversary of Lady Blackbird. Crazy! Time flies.

Danger Patrol & Lady Blackbird Podcast

2011-04-12T14:34:00.000-07:00

I think every game designer, while toiling in their dark oubliette, is buoyed by the pleasant memories of those players who truly get it -- the players who mind-meld with the designer's vision for a game and use it to create something amazing.

The excellent gentlemen over at the Yellow Menace podcast are such players. Their episode about Danger Patrol and Lady Blackbird has not just made my day, it has made my year. I am beaming. Beaming! over here.

Thank you, YM crew!

The Western Zombies Game

2011-02-24T15:37:00.000-08:00

Daniel Solis recently blogged about "rolling to hit" in RPGs, and how to approach the issue in various ways. This reminded me of a game I threw together for a game-day back in 2002, so I went and dug through some old boxes and found my notes.

IT DON’T END WHEN YOU BURY ME
The Western Zombie Game

Shooting
Each d6 is a bullet. You have 6d6 in your trusty Colt Peacemaker pistol.
When you shoot at a zombie, roll Xd6, up to the number of bullets remaining in your gun.
The numbers rolled tell you where you hit. 1,2: legs, 3: arms, 4,5: torso, 6: head.
A head-shot instantly destroys a zombie.
A leg-shot slows a zombie (moves 1 instead of 2). Two leg hits immobilize a zombie (it moves zero and can’t lunge, but can still bite and claw).
Any number of arm hits weaken a zombie. It attacks at lower strength (-1d6).
~~A torso-shot has no effect on a zombie.~~ EDIT: A torso-shot blows through a zombie. Roll the die again as a hit on any target behind the zombie, up to 2 squares away.

Reloading
When you reload, pick up a number of dice equal to the number of bullets you want to reload. The GM also picks up one die. Count down, 3! 2! 1! then you both roll your dice.
GM: Acting like a lumbering zombie, pick up another die. Moan. Roll the die. Does it match any of the dice you’ve rolled? If it does, shout URGH! Reloading stops right now and the zombies nearest the player take a turn! If the dice don’t match, pick up another die, moan, and repeat until reloading stops.
Player: After you roll your dice, you have to quickly pick them up again -- one at a time -- and place them back on the table with their top faces in numerical order, starting with 1 and counting up. If you do this, shout LOADED! Reloading stops right now. If you beat the GM (you shouted LOADED before she shouted URGH) then you get to shoot before the zombie(s) go.

The Map
Use a square grid map. Draw in some buildings like a western frontier town. Indicate where some weapons are scattered around, too.

A zombie can move 2 and attack.
Zombie Claws & Teeth: Range 1. Damage 2d6.
Zombie Lunge: Range 2. Damage 1d6, knocks target prone.

A PC can move 2 and do something (shoot, close a door, pick up a gun, reload) -or- move 3.
Sawed-Off: Range 3. Holds 2 shells, which are d10s. Any 6+ hit destroys a zombie.
Pistol: Range 4. Holds 6 bullets, which are d6s.
Shotgun: Range 5. Holds 5 shells, which are d8s. Any 6+ hit destroys a zombie.
Rifle: Range 6. Holds 12 bullets, which are d6s.
Dynamite: Range 4. Damage 10d6, distribute hits to target square and every target adjacent.

That's all there is. I guess we figured out the missing bits, because I remember playing this and having all manner of fun. Maybe there's enough there for you to give it a try, if you have a mind to.

Anyway, to Daniel's point, there's a game that's all about shooting zombies and it manages to be tense and fun, even though you can't ever miss.

Lady Blackbird Companion

2011-02-24T12:25:00.001-08:00

Tim Adamson has made a very cool "appendix" for Lady Blackbird: The Lady Blackbird Companion. It's a compilation of material from the various LB hacks as well as all new stuff. Here's his description of it from Story Games:

What is this?
A setting and rules companion to Lady Blackbird.

Who is this for?
Anyone who enjoys Lady Blackbird or other Tales from the Wild Blue Yonder.
Anyone interested in fantasy steampunk adventure role-play.

Why do you use this?
Extending or augmenting the adventures of Lady Blackbird and associates.
Having other exciting adventures in the Blue.
Writing new chapters of Tales from the Wild Blue Yonder.

Where and when do you use this?
At the table, when you play.

How do you use this?
Find bits of setting detail to add into your game.
As a GM: find ideas for obstacles, questions, and NPCs.
As a player: find ideas for your character, places to go, and things to do.
Ignore what you don't like and---probably---what contradicts what you do like.

Lots of great stuff in there. Highly recommended!

Leverage RPG Sheets

2011-02-14T15:50:00.000-08:00

I decided to make some custom character sheets for the new Leverage RPG.

One sheet per Role, with the Role talents printed on the sheet to facilitate character creation. I had to re-write the talents in a more compact form so they'd fit on the sheets. Hopefully the Leverage-heads out there will tell me if I screwed anything up too badly. There's an extra sheet to record jobs/experience that also has the open talents on it.

Old School Hack Released!

2011-01-22T15:57:00.000-08:00

The beta PDF of Old School Hack is out now! This is a continuation/modification of the Red Box Hack, which is a lightweight and fun tribute to fantasy hack-and-slash. RBH was lots of fun to play, and it looks like OSH will be even better. Plus, it's presented in a really pleasing graphic format that's easy to read and reference. Definitely worth checking out.

I need to get a game of this going ASAP.

The Regiment: SOLDIER

2010-12-15T14:23:00.001-08:00

The Regiment is an Apocalypse World hack about soldiers at war by Paul Riddle and me. Here's a little teaser: the Soldier tri-fold playbook PDF.

More to come! We're planning on a Q1 PDF release (for sale) next year.

[AW] Seize by Force is a Peripheral Move

2010-11-23T20:29:00.000-08:00

It took me 80+ sessions of Apocalypse World for it to sink in, but there it is. Seize by force is a peripheral move, not a basic one.

It's one of the least-used moves in the game (or it should be). The fictional actions it represents are unusual to the point of almost never happening. Virtually every situation where seize may come up is better covered by a combination of act under fire and go aggro (plus some of the optional battle moves, occasionally).

In the rare case where a character really is just charging forward to their goal with no concern for their own safety, the move works great. Maybe it should be called walk through the fire or something.

Seize also muddies the waters really badly for some players. Any time a character goes after a goal, it's interpreted as "seizing" a thing, and the move is rolled -- even when the outcomes and effects of the move make no sense for the fictional situation. The last AW game I played in was plagued by repeated discussions about whether an action was seize by force or go aggro. It was go aggro, every time (with some acting under fire sprinkled in), but the fact that the seize move was there in front of everyone turned a simple action into a rules debate. It was tiresome.

Bits in the text about "seizing the moment" or "seizing a life" confused things all the more. I know what Vincent was going for there, but in practice it's confusing as hell.

So, goodbye, seize by force! You're getting cut from the basic moves sheet. Enjoy your new company with the peripheral moves. I'll see you around some time.

Lady Blackbird Wins GoldenGeek Award

2010-11-17T13:09:00.001-08:00

Lady Blackbird has been selected as the Best Free RPG of 2010 by RPG Geek.

I'm honored to have won! Thanks to the selection committee, and to everyone who nominated LB.

The Eye of Chaos

2010-11-03T17:39:00.000-07:00

This is one of the games I'm running right now, an Apocalypse World hack for playing dark fantasy in the style of Warhammer.

The PDF has a character sheet, new basic and peripheral moves, spellcasting, and three rough character types cobbled together from AW types, Johnstone's work, and some ideas of my own. If you're familiar with AW, there's enough here to get you going if you want to try it out.

I'm pretty proud of the violence move.

Apocalypse World: Crossing the Line

2010-10-26T15:04:00.000-07:00

I'm seeing a trend in some of the custom moves people are making for Apocalypse World. Basically, some moves are "crossing the line" regarding what the players' role is and what the MC's role is. I think it's a bit of a problem, so I'm writing this post to lay out my thinking.

The Line
In Apocalypse World, the players are in charge of their characters. What they say, what they do; what they feel, think, and believe; what they did in their past. The MC is in charge of the world: the environment, the NPCs, the weather, the psychic maelstrom.

Sometimes, the players say things that get very close to the line. Usually this happens when the MC asks a leading question.

MC: "Nero, what do the slave traders use for barter?"
Player: "Oh man, those fuckers? They use human ears."

That's a case of the player authoring part of the world outside their character, however -- and this is critical -- they do it from within their character's experience and frame of reference. When Nero answers that question, he's telling something he knows about the world.

Compare that exchange with this one, which is crossing the line:

MC: "Okay, Nero, so you get the box of barter away from the slave traders and haul into the back of the truck."
Player: "Cool. I open it up."
MC: "Okay. What do you see when you open it?"
Player: "Um... uh, a bunch of severed fingers?"

See the difference? In the first case, the MC is addressing the character and asking about some knowledge he has. In the second case, the MC is fully turning over authorship of the world in-the-moment to the player, which is not part of the player role in AW.

Moves That Cross the Line
So, given that, we can look at a custom move and see if it's crossing the line. Is the move asking the player to fulfill the authorship role of the MC? In my opinion, if the answer is 'yes', it's not a good move. Let's look at some examples.

Here's a custom move from the book that approaches the line:

When you go into Dremmer’s territory, roll+sharp. On a 10+, you can spot and avoid ambush. On a 7–9, you spot the ambush in time to prepare or flee. On a miss, you blunder into it.

At face value, it might look like the player is authoring the world in-the-moment, determining if there's an ambush or not. But this move is rooted in what the character does and the effect it has. By making this move, the player isn't deciding what Dremmer and his people do, that's the purview of the MC. The move is determining how well the PC deals with what Dremmer already has in motion (i.e. lying in ambush for trespassers).

For contrast, here's a custom move that crosses the line:

When you try to deal with the rat-men, roll+hot. On a 10+, they'll listen to what you have to say. On a 7-9, they'll listen, but choose 1:
- they're drug-crazed and seeing visions
- they're arming up for war on the tunnelers

- they're starving for blood and demand some right now

See how that move asks the player to author the game world in-the-moment? There's no opportunity for another player to have any say. The player says what they do, then rolls the dice, then says what the NPCs do, then says what he does about it. Not only is this crossing the line into the MC's arena of authorship, it's also a huge bore for everyone else.

In various custom move threads around the web, I'm seeing moves that cross the line like that. They ask the player to initiate the action and then also author the outcome. That structure makes for a boring move and also a confused player who's asked to do things that fall under the MC's role.

Here's a simple fix that improves that move:

When you try to deal with the rat-men, roll+hot. On a 10+, they'll listen to what you have to say. On a 7-9, they'll listen, but the MC chooses 1:

- they're drug-crazed and seeing visions

- they're arming up for war

- they're starving for blood and demand some right now

That's pretty obvious, right? Instead of the player choosing what the NPCs do, the MC does (I also dropped 'on the tunnelers' from the war choice, so the MC can decide in-the-moment who the rat-men are going to fight).

Here's another way to do it, with the player still choosing, without crossing the line:

When you try to deal with the rat-men, roll+hot. On a 10+, they'll listen to what you have to say. On a 7-9, they'll listen if you prove yourself. Choose 1:

- you consume their vile drug and have visions with them

- you give them some intel on their enemies

- you let them taste your blood (1-harm ap)

Similar choices, but all written as actions the character takes.

Hopefully that all makes sense. "Crossing the line" isn't the end of the world in a custom move, but it's something to be on the lookout for. Keeping moves on the player-role side of the line will help make them sharper and stronger in play.

No Evil Shall Escape My Sight

2010-10-20T17:26:00.000-07:00

Might have to do this as a Smallville RPG series about the Lanterns as street-level space cops. Like The Shield meets the Star Wars cantina.

Apocalypse World: Planet Athena

2010-09-06T14:42:00.000-07:00

Roughly 3,200 terraforming colonists, technicians, scientists, corporate representatives, and military personnel arrived on LV-917 (aka planet Athena) over 30 years ago. Since then, they have received no re-supply, no support, no signals of any kind from Earth. They are abandoned and alone, left to make whatever lives they can at the far edge of space.

What condition is the colony in now? What has become of the original mission; the various roles and responsibilities? How much of the original population has survived, and what is the second generation like? Are the HNLs (hostile native life-forms) real? Play to find out.

This was my AW pitch at PAX for the game with Ryan Macklin, Will Hindmarch, and Chris Hanrahan. They worked magic with it.

War...

2010-08-30T16:44:00.000-07:00

Teasing a thing Paul and I are working on...

When you bond with a fellow soldier, tell them to increase their bond score with you by +1. If this raises the bond to +4, they reset to +1 and mark experience.

When you see a fellow soldier suffer harm past 9:00, roll+bond. On a 10+, you rush to help them right now, no matter what. On a 7-9, you’re badly shaken. If you do anything but rush to their aid, you’re acting under fire. On a miss, you’re in control. If you rush to help them anyway, mark xp.

When you assist another soldier, roll+bond. On a hit, you help them. They take +1 forward. On a 7-9, you also expose yourself to danger, fire, retribution, or cost.

Like I don't have enough stuff simmering around here.

In the Wild Blue Yonder

2010-08-24T16:20:00.000-07:00

The Phonetic Alphabet of the Sky Sailors

Anchor
Bell
Chalk
Dagger
Eel
Flame
Ghost
Hammer
Iris
Junk
Kindle
Lamp
Mirror
Never
Ocean
Park
Quiet
Rope
Song
Titan
Union
Veil
Witch
Exile
Yaw
Zenith

Some Slang (from actual play)

Keelside: The bottom of a ship. Also, generally, "below." Slang: Feeling poorly due to excess of drink or difficult circumstances. "After that night at the Silver Eel, I was keelside for a week!"

Shacklin': Vulgarity. "There's a shacklin' hole in the side of the ship!"

Juvven: Vulgarity. "Shut your juvven mouth!" Possibly related to Jove, an ancient diety, whose name is also used as an exclamation.

Grudding: Vulgarity. "The whole grudding fleet will be hunting us."

Lady Blackbird in Spanish

2010-08-02T17:07:00.000-07:00

Check it out! Lady Blackbird in Spanish.

Thanks to Francisco Castillo, Hugo González, José Antonio Rodríguez, and Alexandre Pereira.

Apocalypse World: The List

2010-07-20T16:53:00.000-07:00

Twelve people are responsible for the end of the world.

They're still alive out there. We have their names and pictures on The List.

We're going to kill every last one of those bastards.

You in?