Apocalypse World is a storytelling game by Lumpley Games that tells the story of a world in the aftermath of some unknown event- something that destroyed the golden age and left man in a place of blood, sex, and violence. *This is what we’ve got, yes. What are you going to make of it?*
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What triggers the “open your brain” move?
One of the basic moves in Apocalyse World is "open your brain to the world's psychic maelstrom". The trigger for this move is:
When you open your brain to the world's psychic maelstrom...
What ...
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Do the rules allow unlimited experience through Hx gains?
Looking over the basic playbook for Apocalypse World, some of the rules seem like they would allow two (or more) cooperating players to quickly and trivially gain as much experience as they want. For ...
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1answer
281 views
A player character is threatening another character with violence. Which move should be triggered?
One of the PCs in my Apocalypse World game is holding another character at gunpoint, demanding their service and property by violence.
Which move should this trigger? Go Aggro seems like a natural ...
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Trying Again and “group perception” problem in AW
In Apocalypse World, is it possible to try the same action more than one time? Let's say Bob is trying to sneak on an enemy's base, and fail to Do Something Under Fire - after I make as hard and ...
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1answer
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Can anyone give me examples of Breeding Pits?
I'm new to this game and so far I have managed to understand most of the concepts quite clearly - but a problem I'm having is trying to come up with a good idea of what a Breeding Pit (as in the the ...
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What if my Apocalypse World doesn't have cars?
Vehicles show up in a lot of places in Apocalypse World. The Driver. The Chopper and their gang. The Hardholder's garage. Several playbooks' advances. The road war moves. Heck, optionally, everyone ...
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Negative effects of the Help move in social interactions?
I recently ran my first game of Apocalypse World.
Generally, I had a fun time coming up with cool ways to make my MC moves and manage the negative effect of player moves.
However, during a very low-...
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PbtA System Making Custom moves and Classes for Mech Pilots [closed]
I need some help with the mechanics of piloting mechs. I'm thinking about running a post-post-apocalyptic campaign (kind of like Numenera) and would like to have being a mech pilot as a playbook ...
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1answer
277 views
What constitutes “seeing a Faceless unmasked”?
The Faceless playbook of Apocalypse World (both 1e and 2e limited playbooks) states the following:
The Unexpected: when someone sees you unmasked for the first time, they take s-harm, in addition ...
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1answer
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What's the difference between Apocalypse World 1e and 2e?
The second edition of Apocalypse World was recently released, and I'm unclear what's significantly different about it from the first edition. I've even been told it's substantively identical, by ...
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2answers
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What happens if a character has more than one gang?
Some improvement picks in Apocalypse World allow the same character to control more than a single gang. For example, Maestro'd can pick the security options of armed staff (providing 2-harm gang small ...
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Is character improvement mandatory in Apocalypse World?
In Apocalypse World, with every five experience marked by the character, they mark an improvement. There's a limited amount of improvements available, and some of the latter ones change the character ...
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363 views
Is there a stacking limit for roll bonuses in Apocalypse World?
All Apocalypse World rolls are 2d6 + "bonus", with 6 or less counting as a "miss", 7 to 9 counting as "soft hit" and 10 or above counting as "hard hit". Most rolls decide the bonus part by a stat, ...
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2answers
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How to GM “An arresting skinner” in a balanced, fair and fun way
In Apocalypse World, the social and beauty oriented class Skinner has a move called "An arresting skinner" which does pretty much what it promises:
An arresting skinner: when you remove clothing, ...
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1answer
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What problems should I expect when running Apocalypse World as an “open party” game?
Many of my friends who play or would like to play RPGs have too tight schedules for a single long campaign, but want more continuity than what a single one-shot game would allow. I've been thinking of ...
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2answers
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How to modify Apocalypse World for a one-shot game?
Apocalypse World has lots of elements that kick in between sessions or have long-term impact only, and so aren't very fun in a one-shot game. What rules, character roles and mechanics should I modify ...
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Is there a generic rulebook for Powered by the Apocalypse?
Does a generic rulebook exist for the system behind Apocalypse World (Powered by the Apocalypse)?
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359 views
How to explain the Hx generation during character creation
When creating Apocalypse World characters with new players, I regularly see that picking options does not need much explanation, and where it does, I can go around the table and answer questions ...
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How much Gear outside the role should I allow in Apocalypse World?
One of the main dilemmas I've had in Apocalypse World is whether I allow the players the freedom to equip themselves with gear not offered by their role as they progress. I have two conflicting points ...
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How far can someone be manipulated?
I'm trying to figure exactly how manipulation works.
When you try to seduce or manipulate someone, tell them what you want and roll+hot. For NPCs: on a hit, they ask you to promise something first,...
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1answer
190 views
Can you Deep Brain Scan an NPC?
The Brainer has a move called Deep Brain Scan
From the Basic Character Hand Book page 6:
Deep brain scan: when you have time and physical intimacy with
someone — mutual intimacy like holding ...
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1answer
688 views
What is the general pace of advancement in Monster of the Week?
I've picked up Monster of the Week (Revised edition), an Apocalypse World spin-off, and I'm excited about running it, but I'm concerned about how fast characters advance. It only takes 5 experience ...
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Making PCs suffer insanity without seizing character control
My party in Apocalypse World takes a lot of advantage of the "Psychic Maelstrom". My version of the Maelstrom is an endless fountain of knowledge, but also of insanity; many of my more deranged NPCs ...
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What is “Following through someone else's move”?
Apocalypse World playbook's optional battle moves include a move called "follow through on someone else's move". Sadly, while there are plenty of examples for the usual moves, the optional battle ...
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3answers
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Apocalypse World without Fronts: Are we missing out?
I've been playing Apocalypse World in a few different groups, both as a GM and a normal player. While I love the game, I found defining Fronts a pain and therefore decided to only introduce them in ...
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How to handle a fair contest between PCs in Apocalypse World?
Assuming that (for whatever reason) two PCs decided to settle their disputes by means of a fair contest it seems like it would be difficult to determine which character had the 'initiative' to take ...
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How should I handle gang casualties in Apocalypse World?
In Apocalypse World, many characters have gangs or other followers.
In my current game, one of the player characters is a Hocus who, in an act of desperation, ordered his followers to attack a group ...
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Should the fronts and countdowns be visible to players?
The Apocalypse World world creation process has the GM create several fronts. Each front is a series of linked threats, such as a parasitic disease, a nomadic group that spreads it and a mob that ...
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Can Apocalypse World be played as a two-player game?
Apocalypse World seems to be designed for a small group of PCs, all interacting fiercely. This is a part of both the hard-and-fast mechanics, like Hx, and the MC techniques, like the emphasis on PC-...
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728 views
Keeping +forward and its reason present
When I MC Apocalypse World, I often have the problem that +forward gets lost in the events. While bonuses do dice rolls are generally not the most interesting thing in this game, they are often tied ...
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4answers
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What are the major innovations in Dungeon World compared to D&D 3.5/Pf/4e?
In various comments on this site, DW was mentioned as
[Dungeon world/Apocalypse World] is really more required reading for any designer today working on innovation in mechanics
Having read the ...
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2answers
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Are Savage Worlds & Apocalypse World the same thing?
My group was looking for a new system recently, and someone proposed Savage Worlds. Since we were thinking of a sci-fi setting, I proposed Apocalypse World since I was under the impression that was ...
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Does an Apocalypse World Campaign Really Work with Just 2 Players and an MC?
While the AW rules state that the game can be run with "3 or more players, including you [the MC]" I am curious if anyone has run an AW campaign with just two players and an MC.
I ran a game with two ...
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1answer
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Are Hit Points in Dungeon World just a nod to D&D?
I'm making a hack of Dungeon World/Apocalypse World- its fantasy based, but very dark fantasy. I was tending towards using the Harm Clock, or something as in your face deadly, but wondered if the Hit ...
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2answers
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Character advancement across Playbooks
My character was a Hardholder, and once his position was threatened, managed to survive a coup, then took to the badlands, leaving his holding behind. He became a Gunlugger, wandering the wastes as a ...
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Collection of custom Apocalypse World moves, with feedback?
For the Hardholder in my Apocalypse World game, I thought of a custom move and would now like to share it and in particular get feedback on it.
Also, I'd like to see if somebody else has thought of ...
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1answer
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Stats for character in Apocalypse World
I can't find anywhere how you generate the stats for the characters in Apocalypse World. Is it even part of the rules or can you just write whatever you want. If so, why would I put -2 in something ...
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GMs and MCs, When do you say, 'No,' to your players?
The player that introduced me to DW/AW seems to feel that it's not in the spirit of the rules to tell the players 'no'. I feel that is too extreme, so I want to know, MCs/DMs, do you say 'no' to your ...
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1answer
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Can a gang die? If so, how?
I was reading through the Harms & Healing chapter and I started to wonder exactly how it works for gangs. The rules as written are crystal clear, but how do we handle the unmentioned specifics?
...
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How does tremulus handle the Unknown?
In tremulus, a "storytelling game of lovecraftian horror", there exists the concept of framework, a slightly formalized way of describing key points of a scenario. One of the elements of the framework ...
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What's the purpose of Sex?
So, I'm hacking Apocalypse World, and have perused other hacks, and see that there's no analog in other hacks to the specials for the classes, i.e. the effects of sex, or they're just there. So what'...
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1answer
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Is Apocalypse World suitable for long-term campaign?
I've tried many indie RPGs. They are very nice games, but I'm looking for something to develop a long-term campaign.
Is Apocalypse World suitable for it? Or is it good just for an adventure?
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Hx with a PC deliberately taking harm from another PC in Apocalypse World
The Harm section of the book says the following about a player character (PC) taking harm from another character:
When you inflict harm on another player’s character, the other
character gets +...
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1answer
434 views
How often should players be advancing?
My players are advancing at a rate of about once every one to two sessions. Is this normal, or am I being too nice with more often than not highlighting their major stat?
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How do I handle difficulty in Apocalypse World?
How do I design a peripheral move that essentially says "This regular move is more difficult under this situation"? My normal instincts say to apply a -2 modifier to the roll or something, but that ...
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2answers
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Is there a list of all player moves in Apocalypse World?
I find myself reading multiple playbooks to see if there are any particular moves from other playbooks that fit my own character. This strikes me as crushingly inefficient.
Is there a list of all ...
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What should I look out for during my first game of Apocalypse World?
I am coming close to playing my first ever game of Apocalypse world. This will mark my first post-apocalypse based RP, and will see me trying to transition from a combat heavy D&D 4e background ...
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What's a good way to design and layout an Apocalypse World playbook?
Pretty much ^ that. I'm writing an AW playbook, and I would not like to start from scratch with regards to the layout and suchlike. Does anyone have any tips/tricks/recommendations?
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Explain How History Works in Apocalypse World
History, or Hx, remains a little perplexing to me. Can you explain how it works, both mechanically and fictionally, in a way that makes sense? I am especially hung up on integrating History changes ...
