Other Apocalypse World system

[cran]

Does anyone here RP using the Apocalypse World playbooks are similarly inspired game templates? I'm a big fan of AW though I haven't had much chance to RP with anyone using that system. The book PDFs are available for free online and I like both how accessible the rules and gameplay are and how many different interesting kinds of characters there are to choose from even though it's not like a high fantasy game with multiple species/fantasy races to account for. If anyone's run/played a campaign using AW I'd be interested to hear about your experiences with it.

 

[WlfSamurai]

Yep. It’s my favorite. I’ve played the game many times in person and here. I also use it and it’s principles in other games that I run. To me, it and Burning Wheel were the start to the next evolution of tabletop RPG. They have very opinionated ways of playing tabletop RPGs. Many, many games have come since with similar goals and design philosophies.

In my opinion, no longer is it enough to have a system with attributes and skills that tries to codify every action a character can take. Instead, the rules should be designed around the type of play and tone the writer is going for. They should have meaningful choices built into the rolls. They should be opinionated and drive play. They should build on each other during play and give the players something interesting to say that they normally wouldn’t.

This and more is the promise of Apocalypse World and the games derived from it. It, unfortunately, now colors my opinion on other dice games and makes their mechanics seem mundane, at best. So, beware of that. Also, finding players is difficult here.

 

[cran]

Yep. It’s my favorite. I’ve played the game many times in person and here. I also use it and it’s principles in other games that I run. To me, it and Burning Wheel were the start to the next evolution of tabletop RPG. They have very opinionated ways of playing tabletop RPGs. Many, many games have come since with similar goals and design philosophies.

In my opinion, no longer is it enough to have a system with attributes and skills that tries to codify every action a character can take. Instead, the rules should be designed around the type of play and tone the writer is going for. They should have meaningful choices built into the rolls. They should be opinionated and drive play. They should build on each other during play and give the players something interesting to say that they normally wouldn’t.

This and more is the promise of Apocalypse World and the games derived from it. It, unfortunately, now colors my opinion on other dice games and makes their mechanics seem mundane, at best. So, beware if that. Also, finding players is difficult here.

Yes I've noticed that it can be hard to find people who also play AW which is strange to me because it's so much more newbie/casual player friendly than a lot of other play systems I've seen and tried out. It definitely hinges more on a desire to build characters and interpersonal character relations than many other dice-based games which doesn't appeal to everyone I think but in my case is exactly what I'm into. Even when I'm not feeling like playing a setting that's as apocalypse-y, I try to bring in that emphasis on character dynamics. Campaigns are always the most fun when you're really working with and learning about fellow players' characters. Or at least that's what I think.

 

[WlfSamurai]

Yes I've noticed that it can be hard to find people who also play AW which is strange to me because it's so much more newbie/casual player friendly than a lot of other play systems I've seen and tried out. It definitely hinges more on a desire to build characters and interpersonal character relations than many other dice-based games which doesn't appeal to everyone I think but in my case is exactly what I'm into. Even when I'm not feeling like playing a setting that's as apocalypse-y, I try to bring in that emphasis on character dynamics. Campaigns are always the most fun when you're really working with and learning about fellow players' characters. Or at least that's what I think.

You're totally right. And it is a certain style of play. Very story/character-based. It fits really well into PBP.

My friends and I have played enough AW that we usually change the “setting” away from traditional apocalypse. One game that is still going on was a game about a colony ship in space that was cut off and is dying. It’s about the population and crew tearing itself apart over the limited resources.