Narrative Control Forums

Sean Nittner

This episode I've got Rob Donoghue and Judd Karlman on skype talking about the NewHotSexy Apocalypse World.

Hosts: Sean Nittner, Rob Donoghue and Judd Karlman

Length: 46:35

Show Notes

[00:27] Sean sits down with Judd Karlman and Rob Donoghue to talk about Apocalypse World.

[01:03] What about Apocalypse World sparked interest?

[01:28] Short answer: Vincent Baker, the author of Apocalypse World.

[02:55] On Vincent's writing style and how it informs the game.

[04:30] Enumerating your tools so you can use them better.

[05:39] Judd feels Vincent moves share a kinship with Bangs from Sorcerer.

[06:17] These principles work in other games as well.

[08:35] It's OK to ponder what happens next as the MC.

[08:55] Judd and Rob compare Apocalypse World to Dogs in the Vineyard, Vincent Baker's previous game.

[10:36] Using examples in game text.

[11:10] Examples of not only how to do things right, but how things might go wrong.

[12:30] Writing for player versus player.

[13:33] The Apocalypse World character dynamic: "We're not talking about a party"

[15:30] Rather than attacking the character directly, assaulting their interests.

[18:04] The Apocalypse World conflict system. Greater costs means every conflict matters.

[20:05] A core conceit of Apocalypse World: playing your character like a real person.

[21:33] Curing indifference through giving players stuff.

[22:08] Relationships emerging in Judd's game

[23:13] Encouraging the MC to ask probing questions.

[24:39] Two player trends: Focusing on the narrative versus focusing on the moves.

[27:59] Some of the vagaries of the system: highlighting certain moves for experience.

[29:13] "The ability to change what's the focus of the character that session is huge."

[30:15] The process of choosing what stats get highlighted.

[31:22] The legend of Ryan Macklin. Thirty XP!

[33:49] Visible experience makes it easy to identify which players have had the spotlight for a while and which need more love.

[36:43] A D&D example: negotiating a truce with an enemy army. "Well we defeated them. So we want their XP"

[37:16] Apocalypse World avoids XP shenanigans by making every roll count.

[40:36] Some final tips from Rob and Judd for running Apocalypse World.