Nov 21
If you’ve played in a convention game with me over the last year or so, you might have noticed I’ve been using cut-down and mostly pre-generated playbooks. I made these so that I could run 5-10 minute 1-2 player demos for the Fall 2017 Great Falls Comic Expo in Lewiston, ME. I streamed the process …
Apr 27
A month or so ago I posted on my Google+ page that I was available for podcasts and Angel Garcia immediately made me put my money where my mouth was. Last week Angel and his co-host Edgar interviewed me live on their YouTube channel Hijos Del Rol (Story Always). They ask questions about my start …
Dec 20
There are a lot of moves in The Sprawl. I’m in the process of revising and streamlining them. Currently in my sights is Obligations/Hit The Street. This is tricky because there are a lot of flow on effects, especially for the Hunter and Fixer. Obligations basically has two effects: (1) signposting the potential for Contacts …
Jul 11
My post on the Driver sparked a discussion about directives which I have now incorporated into MC’s Agenda. Here are the (now) four things that drive the MC’s moves: Make the world dirty, high-tech and excessive. The Sprawl is a contemporary city turned up to 11. The dangerous parts of town are more dangerous; the …
Jul 10
I’m working on the playbooks today. There have been a few minor tweaks to some moves, but the biggest changes are the addition of a couple of sections (name options, tailored directives in a new format, and character creation advice) and the reworking of the Gear section. Here’s the Driver: Driver Neurotransmitters lick with their …
Jun 25
One of the most pressing issues in the current revisions I’m working on is in making the Basic Moves work properly. There were three main issues in the 0.2 revision: Maneouvre did what I wanted but in a boring way, I always ended up fudging Fast Talk slightly in play, and Play Hardball just didn’t …
Aug 11
After much testing and fiddling and work-induced delay, a beta version of The Sprawl is now available. Right here. There are still a few gaps, but I’m happy to have the core of the rules done, especially those things that changed in my mind, my playtests, and my documents months ago, but which hadn’t been …
Jun 02
As is often the case in AW hacks, straight stat highlighting often doesn’t work when you fiddle with the stats and the moves. I’ve found that to be the case in The Sprawl. Accordingly, I’ve been talking about changing the advancement system for a while; several months ago I had the idea to use the …
Feb 27
One area of play that I am conscious of streamlining or avoiding in The Sprawl is the planning paralysis phase that often seizes groups, particularly in Modern/Near Future/Sci-Fi settings. Another important Apocalypse World hack currently under development is The Regiment by Paul Riddle and John Harper (check it out, it’s awesome!). In considering how to …
