Irregular Storygames/Indies group(s) - interested?

[Auburney]

Hi all,

wow, what a busy week, meant to post this ages ago but here it goes now:

So I’m planning to run Apocalypse World, for 3 or 4 players. I’m basically aiming for about a session per month, or one every 3 weeks, something like that.

Thing is, we already started an AW game some time ago (only got one session in), but there were 6 players in it, and that’s definitely too much for that system… So there are a couple of ways I can see this working:

• Two players from the original cast choose to step down volontarily, leaving a workable number of players remaining, and we could continue with the same game, just two characters lighter…

Simon has already said to me that, if number of characters is a problem, he wouldn’t mind to step down, apocalyptic settings not really being his thing and such… There would still have to be one more volontary decline to make this option workable, though.

• We split the party, and I’m running two AW games alternatingly, for 3-4 people each. In this case, one group could get to play in the existing (i.e. already started) setting, and one would start again, from scratch, probably resulting in a wildly different Apocalypse from the first group.
  Or both groups start anew, that’s also workable, according to everyone’s preferences…

This way, we could also add a few new players, GJ and (I believe) Tam have also already expressed interest but weren’t there for the original session.

• Third option: some of you could play AW run by me, and others could join Alrik’s planned game of Dungeon World. (an AW hack designed to emulate old-school dungeon crawls in a heroic fantasy setting). Because that’s also happening, although it may not be starting still within this year (Alrik’s timetable will decide)

In all of these cases/options, I’m aiming at a game that will go on for about 3-5 (or maybe 3-7) sessions before wrapping up (either with a grand finale, or with a season-ending cliffhanger )

So we won’t be tied up for more than half a year (if even that), before a new constellation of players can try out a new game. Still, we’re looking for players who are willing and able to make a bit of a commitment - you should have time to play at least once a month, and we’ll frown on stuff like being absent every other session…
(that kind of stuff really hurts storygames more than your traditional dungeoncrawl game, I’m afraid)

…

finally, in the future, we’re planning to play such elusive indie gems as Primetime Adventures, Polaris, Fiasco, Dogs in the Vinyard and others.

We will likely announce any such plans in this thread, and see whether there is enough interest for it to come together.

Which brings me to the essential question for this post:

Who is interested in joining us for this?

What games interest you the most?

Any other thoughts/feedback/criticism?

[Thopthes]

I’d be interested in all of them of course.

I just got two questions:
Would we start a new AW game or would we continue the one that we’ve started a while back?
And…it might be a silly question but…why wouldn’t it work for more than 3-4 players? I think our first session was quite a lot of fun although we had 6 players.

[H]

Thing is, we already started an AW game some time ago (only got one session in), but there were 6 players in it, and that’s definitely too much for that system…

Why?

I have to say that I enjoyed that first game very much, and quite a bit of of the fun came from the configuration of players and characters.

[Auburney]

I’m fully agreed on our first session being great fun! I would love to continue with all of the characters, but I feel overwhelmed by it. I feel that AW requires a certain level of attention to every player character, that is hard to give if there are that many players.

The game involves the GM more or less constantly asking the players questions, for example, both to find out more about their characters, but also to shape the world and the(ir) story/ies… Then the GM works off of (often improvises based on) the players’ answers. Thus the game creates a cooperation between all participants, with the GM as a focal point of that. I can only keep track of so many characters, their individual goals, attitudes, nuances, viewpoints, relationships with NPCs, doings, consequences etc. at the same time.
After our first session it became clear to me that it would amount to betraying the players’ trust in me delivering (or enabling, if you will) a satisfying game experience for all of them, if I try to do it for too many at once.
I generally prefer to run for smaller groups anyways, and AW is right up that alley on top of that. Better to have a more intense, and more rewarding game, at the cost of number of participants… imho…
(as an added bonus, smaller groups make it easier to agree on dates for playing, and mean more spotlight for each character)

So yeah, I’d love to continue the game we started, with (most of) the same characters. That’s why I asked for another volunteer to step down, harsh as that may sound. Put another way, I’m asking “who of you wants to play in this game urgently enough to invest additional time (in addition to the Thursdays group and perhaps your regular weekend group if you have one) and some level of commitment in order to be there for it?”

Because, for example, Kaylossus seems rather busy these last few weeks, and Darth has at one point expressed reservations about being able to commit to anything longer running… If either of them says they really want to play, I’d like that. However, if someone (like Simon did) would graciously decline anyways, I could get down to four players, which would be nice.

And as mentioned, there are going to be other games coming up, in which to join perhaps. After all, GJ and Tam also want to play ApocWorld. Maybe there’s someone in the “first session” group who’s all like “oh meh, desert wasteland isn’t so much my thing anyways… but what about frozen apocalypse? Or flooded cityscape zombie outbreak? Or…”

I really don’t mean to force anyone out, or kill the once-started game! But maybe we can reconfigure to the benefit of all?

[Auburney]

Or we can start a new game (or two), with new characters and constellations, and play that/those for a while… and maybe at soome point I’ll develop the confidence to continue the already-begun game with 5+ players…?

Either way, I’ll just mark down Tom and -H- as interested in continuing the existing game, for now.

Any others?

• I’d like to continue the existing game of AW:

• Thopthes
• -H-
• Alrik
• Darthbinks

• Please include me in a new game of AW if one starts:

• Alrik
• GJ
• Tam

• I’d be interested in Dungeon World (=AW in oldschool fantasy setting):

• -H-
• Auburney
• Thopthes
• GJ
• Tam

…these list will be updated if and when it’s called for…

[H]

Well, you already know I’m curious about Dungeon World…

[Auburney]

oh yeah, right! Updated now.

[Alrik]

Both of them!!!

[Thopthes]

Well, you already know I’m curious about Dungeon World…

Same here

[Auburney]

Updated! Thx

[GJsoft]

Same here. Really interested in both.

[Tam]

I can’t fully commit to one more weekly game and I really like our Thursday group (and the fact that we’re proceeding with our Pendragon adventure ) so I’ll just leave AW for later (and make your life easier in this case ).

And, speaking of irregular story games, I’d still love to try some other games like Dogs in the Vineyard, Polaris or Primetime Adventures so don’t leave me out when you plan a group for one of them guys

[Auburney]

GJ: updated!

Tam: okay, but you know… they wouldn’t be weekly games, more like monthly! (nobody has that much time! )
Plus, we’d try to keep it flexible (if not all of the participants can make it, we postpone - hence the “irregular” in the title ), which should be easier in a group of just 3 or 4.

And the Thursday group would of course stay untouched by this. I wanna continue Pendragon just as well, after all

If it’s still too much of a commitment for you, right now, I’ll understand of course - we’ll keep you a spot open in one of the other games, then!

[Tam]

Hey, I thought your ambition was to make someone quit, not someone else join!

But yeah, if there’s a spot open in an irregular and not-weekly AW or DW adventure I’d actually like to give it a try

[Thopthes]

For the record: I’d also be intersted in a new AW game (especially the flooded cityscape zombie outbreak scenario ). I’d just prefer it if we’d confinue with the game that we’ve started.

[Auburney]

Hey, I thought your ambition was to make someone quit, not someone else join!

Heh, yeah^^ but that’s only for the original game, which you were no part of… For a new game, you’re more than welcome!

I’d also be intersted in a new AW game (especially the flooded cityscape zombie outbreak scenario )

duely noted Have you perchance ever read the Freak Angels webcomic? The setting is flooded London (albeit regrettably with no zombies), and some of the characters are pretty much spot-on AW archetypes
(a Driver (with a boat, naturally), an Angel, a Brainer, 2 Savvyheads, a Skinner/Hocus… a kinda-sorta Battlebabe…)

[Darthbinks]

Hi^^

sorry for the late reply

Basically I would be interested in both
(I want try out new games + SATAN was fun),
but my main problem is time
so casual gaming would be nice, but I sadly cannot promise to join a weekly party

[Auburney]

Hi, nice to hear from you - and no worries, it would be more like monthly (or so) games, actually.

I agree that Satan was a very fun character to see in play! Do you think you could commit to joining that game on a roughly monthly basis?

Or would it be better to put that game on ice for now and maybe come back to it in a couple months’ time…? Like during the summer perhaps, or something…?

Edited to add: Oh, and if its gonna be a new game (also ~monthly), would you rather prefer Apoc World or Dungeon World?

[Auburney]

Okay, so here’s the plan as it currently stands:

The already existing game of AW will be continued with Alrik, Darthbinks, -H-, and Thopthes as players.

A new AW game will be started with - so far - GJsoft and Tam as players.
We will start this one off with communal setting creation (some brainstorming, agreeing on some basics), make characters (which is real fast and pretty simple), and then delve right in…

There is one opening left for this new group, so if anyone else would like to check out Apocalypse World… speak up now or be silent forever!

The degree to which these games will overlap with our Thursday sessions will remain to be seen. I’m basically aiming at running each of them about once a month or so, and am open to agreeing on separate dates for our sessions.
But I’m also not adverse to have the sessions happen on a Thursday, but only when the group constellation is right for it.

(…so that means “you may need to have some extra time at hand”, for we may occassionally play on weekends, or on weekdays other than Thursday… although I’ll of course do my best to remain flexible, and one of my principles is “if not all players can make it, no session that day” - and yeah, this principle has been broken before, but not very often… )

[Neil]

I’m interested in at least a one shot! before commiting to anything else.