Fallout - Twin Cities (Apocalypse World) (Inactive)

Game Master DM Mooshybooshy, "the Foolish"

Pallor, Chief has slept in your presence, unknowingly. shudder Up to you where and how that happened.

Pallor, Chief has slept in your presence, unknowingly.

Creepy thought...

Pallor wakes up wherever he fell asleep late this morning. It was rarely the same place twice. One of Paul's messengers was usually dispatched to find him every morning, usually in some nook or corner sleeping in the sitting position, back to the wall, propped up by his gangly arms.

Now awake, he headed to the diner and took a seat. Staring at the menu, still sitting on the table unopened, three words issued forth from the hollow helmet space:

"Pate. Coffee, usual."

For the unusual man, 'usual' meant dry and in a cup with a stir-stick.

When the "food" and "drink" arrived, he occupied himself by consuming both as an ape would, using the wet utensil to convey the coffee powder to his mouth through a small down-facing gap in the front of his helmet.

Partridge serves Pallor and marks the order on a slate. Chief keeps a tab for everyone who comes in, and when the tab piles up enough they sit down and figure out how to settle up. He's going to have to settle up with Pallor soon, but that's always a little awkward so not today.

Which of you is most strange?

Probably me, the Brainer. If not, I’d probably tie with someone like the Hocus

This is one of the ones where more than one person can answer:

"Which of you is the most strange?
For those characters, write Hx+1."

No problem with us both being the most strange.

You're welcome to join the scene if you like. Not all my followers have a religious outlook on their experiences communing with the Blind God, some try to take a more rationalist (or should that be irrationalist?) approach.

Dog wrote>>>
Runner, we've spent time on the road together.
You're damn right I took the Lost Boys from you.
What were you doing that led me to lead a mutiny?
-
At first running the gang was great. Stuff was tight. Gigs were plenty.
But after a while, my personal sh!t started taking precedence.
I abused my position by sending guys out to run down a lead or a rumor about my past.
I had also scored a four-wheeler and was out for days in it on 'personal business'.
They eventually figured out these missions had nothing to do with Gang Business and began the slow mutiny.
How did the final confrontation go down?
Were you a long-time member or fairly new?
Apparently we don't kill each other on sight so what arrangement did we come to?

Doc's Hx - (Editted, Thx to Chief)

Which one of you put a hand in when it mattered, and helped me save a life? Chief let me use his place for a make-shift infirmary after some locals were injured in a bloodbug attack.

Which one of you has been beside me all along, and has seen everything I’ve seen?

Which one of you do I figure is doomed to self-destruction? Dust is destined to implode one of these days. Maybe if I find her some Addictol™...

In the distance, outside the Hold, the sounds of gunfire can be heard - judging from the steady cadence of the firing, something's tripped the motion sensors on the perimeter autogun turrets. There's a chopped few seconds of muffled gunfire noise coming through the exterior walls, followed by an abrupt cease to the firing as suddenly as it started. All the inhabitants perk an ear to the skies, listening, before a three-tone siren sounds over the Stronghold, indicating a stand down. The familiar sound causes everyone in Wolf's to turn their attention back to their food or conversation - it's not uncommon for a rogue Feral to wander into Walker's Hold's perimeter and get swiftly gunned down.

It's midmorning now, though you can't tell by the position of the sun - the ever-present maelstrom overhead makes it more difficult to judge that way. Music can be heard coming from some of the residential areas as the general populace stirs into normal daytime activities.

Doc's Hx

One of them put a hand in when it mattered, and helped you save a life:
Chief let me use his place as a make-shift infirmary when a bunch of locals got bloodbug fever.

One of them has been beside you and has seen everything you’ve seen:
Volcano fixes a lot of medical equipment for me.

One of them, you figure doomed to self-destruction:
Dust is a strange one. She's gonna implode one of these days.

Doc, under the 2E rules that we're using, initial Hx works the other way around: you ask us which PC wants to be the one who whatever rather than picking us. That said, yeah, Chief opened up Wolf's for ya during the bloodbug unpleasantness.

Doc, under the 2E rules that we're using, initial Hx works the other way around: you ask us which PC wants to be the one who whatever rather than picking us. That said, yeah, Chief opened up Wolf's for ya during the bloodbug unpleasantness.

Ahh, I missed that. Thx.

Dust is a strange one. She's gonna implode one of these days.

Come on Doc, it's just a little mind expansion. Well if that's what you think I don't suppose there's much I can do about it.

The Lost Boys make their home in what used to be the Friedman and Target galleries on the lobby level. Part flophouse, part clubhouse, this spot gives the boys a warm place to sober up. It's also close as can be to where their bikes are parked down in the graveyard - the underground parking garage, P1.

As usual, Dog's up early. Most of the boys are sleeping off the good time they had last night as he makes his way out of the club and down into the graveyard. Dog would make the boys sleep down here if it wasn't so f#cking cold. He starts his bike and enjoys feeling the engine purr while he deeply inhales the acrid petrol fumes. Once the dizziness sets in, he slams his boot into the clutch, hits the throttle, and rockets out into the cold morning air. After doing a couple laps around the Walker, Dog is awake and ready to deal with whatever bullsh!t today's gonna bring.

Walking back past the club, he decides to let the boys sleep. No need to get on their cases until we've got a gig, and god d4mn do we need a gig. Dog makes his way up to Wolf's and grabs a stool at the counter. He looks around to see if Scarlet is working. Anybody that back-talks Dog usually catches a boot in their teeth but from Scarlet he doesn't mind it too much.

Chief, is instant the best you got this morning?

As the noise dies down I turn my attention back to the hot coffee. I smile and thank Chief before taking a sip of the bitter liquid. It may not be the most powerful stim going but the flavour more than makes up for it, even instant is a taste of luxury in a place like this. I sit back enjoying the warmth of it as I drink.

I'm eager to hear what Felix and Kali have to say about preparations for this evening.

not sure what i spend my money on. Spent 2 barter for lifestyle, i have 6 left. I didnt see a list of what i could buy. Can i get more brainer gear? Does "lifestyle" cover my daily cat food and coffee costs? Haha

At first running the gang was great. Stuff was tight. Gigs were plenty.

But after a while, my personal sh!t started taking precedence. I abused my position by sending guys out to run down a lead or a rumor about my past. I had also scored a four-wheeler and was out for days in it on 'personal business'. They eventually figured out these missions had nothing to do with Gang Business and began the slow mutiny.
How did the final confrontation go down?
Were you a long-time member or fairly new?
Apparently we don't kill each other on sight so what arrangement did we come to?

I was a long-time Lost Boy. As one of the few who knew how to read, I looked out for some of the others and made sure they got their fair share. More and more of 'em started looking to me when you made yourself scarce. One day, you came back and I said you were out - that was that. Not very exciting. Sure, I had a crowbar and two dozen whack jobs at my back, but I think you just weren't invested in the life anymore. You clearly had other things on your mind.

Now I don't know if you came to regret your decision to walk away, but that's the past, man, and we don't live there no more. If you want the Lost Boys to run errands for you, you gotta pay just like everyone else. Only difference is, you still got our ink. Runner/Navarre, what does that mean?

Dog, on your way in and out of the compound you flash a small dog-tag-sized I.D. card that's built into your wristguard at the scanners located at key locations around Walker Hold's exterior walls. Volcano set up the security around the Stronghold such that the autoturrets didn't fire at you if you I.D'd yourself. Tech's pre-war but built to last.

I scowl as the bike roars past me. D4mn bikers, I mutter. Probably woke half the city by now.

I cross the street and push open the door to Wolf's. A few folks are already up and about today.

I notice Dust chatting with a few people.

That strange fellow in the helmet is here too.

And that d4mn biker.

I sigh and take a seat at the bar, trying to get Chief's attention.

Dog, on your way in and out of the compound you flash a small dog-tag-sized I.D. card that's built into your wristguard at the scanners located at key locations around Walker Hold's exterior walls. Volcano set up the security around the Stronghold such that the autoturrets didn't fire at you if you I.D'd yourself. Tech's pre-war but built to last.

It's a good day when Dog doesn't get reduced to quivering meat bits by robot guns. He's got a grudging respect for Volcano ever since the grouchy bastard put Dog in his place a while back. Dog paid the price with his men for that, but what was he gonna do - waste the only Savvyhead we've got in this sh!theap? People doing their part to keep things working is why Dog keeps coming back to the Walker and not moving on to wherever.

not sure what i spend my money on. Spent 2 barter for lifestyle, i have 6 left. I didnt see a list of what i could buy. Can i get more brainer gear? Does "lifestyle" cover my daily cat food and coffee costs? Haha

There are 'barter moves' -- 1 barter gets you an automatic 10+ on seduce/manipulate, and if there's a thing you want you can roll+barter spent to try and get it. Up to MC to say how hard it is to find brainer gear but usually you want to get with the Savvyhead for that. Lifestyle covers cat food and coffee, yeah.

"Mornin', Dog. Yep, instant. Hot and caffeinated though, which as I seem to recall is usually the important thing." As I pour, Doc catches my eye and it's clear he's got something on his mind. I slide down to that end of the bar and lean close.

"What can I do for you, Doc?" I ask quietly.

ah, so squaring my account with you would be more a matter of RP than actual coin-counting? I like to imagine my bill goes to the mayor and he shudders to think i preferred catfood over whatever else you serve.

Indeed, bartering is usually handled in broad, sweeping strokes in this system, rather than counting out every single Nuka bottlecap.

ah, so squaring my account with you would be more a matter of RP than actual coin-counting? I like to imagine my bill goes to the mayor and he shudders to think i preferred catfood over whatever else you serve.

Yeah, just RP. You spend lifestyle barter, and while I have the business open, I don't spend for lifestyle, but it also doesn't yield me any profit normally. Yeah, I guess when I tried to settle up with you you sent me to Paul's accountant, lol. Anyway, it's pâté, and I don't give them an itemized bill.

ah, yes, "pâté". I couldnt remember how to do the special čhãŕąćţëř§ but now i do

Have we finished enough of Hx now to start highlighting stats?

I'd absolutely say so, yes.

For the new players, you should now have an Hx score for each other PC in the game. Pick one of the PCs with the highest Hx and ask them to highlight one of your stats; when you roll using a highlighted stat, you get an experience point (max 1 XP per stat per scene.) MC Mooshy will also highlight a stat for each of us. You can use this to encourage players to play a certain way -- highlight Hard if you want to see violence, Hot if you want to see sex, Weird if you want psychic action, etc.

Scarlet, you have the highest Hx with me. Which of my stats would you like to highlight?

Runner, you've got the most Hx with me. Pick a stat, any stat.

wow the page blew up. Moosh did you just name the “Hard Holder” Paul Atreides, I always wanted to be a fremen, will the machete do instead of a knife. When we fight do we get to say “May your blade chip and shatter”? I digress. So do we need to figure out HX and post it on out character sheets?

Dog I rode with you through the whole “leaving Runner in the pale moonlight” thing. Then got word from my family of ‘vivalists’ back in the mountains; Pa was sick and dying and was ready to pass on the “family heirlooms:” a Vietnam era 63-Stoner modular machine gun and grenade launcher. I didn’t want dad to know I had fallen in with bikers and I didn’t want the gang to control the wealth I was going to inherit. After being gone a couple of years I came back last season. There’s no coffee like what they serve here at the Wolf's.

Pallor Nevarre definitely most evidently dislikes and distrusts you! ‘Vivalists just don’t get along with brainers, course they don’t get along with many others either.

Two fingers, sleeping in the dark in what used to me a “Janitor Closet” in the grave yard, wakes up to a familiar noise ’What the ahhh, the rumble of two cylinders. Dog must be in the garage, or one of the boys, or some yahoo looking to be dead.’ ‘He rolls in his bison fur lined sleeping bag reaching out his left hand making sure the stoner is still beside him. Not sure why Dog and the boys sleep so far from the bikes, too trusting I guess. Not that this closet is big enough for all of them but isn’t to small for just me, it’s as big as the room I shared with four siblings back in the skelter, and it’s warm enough with this sleeping bag. Still not sure why a janitor would hang his clothes down here where people parked, guess I should be glad he did or it wouldn’t be here.’ Sitting up in the dark, moving with a practiced precision; he reaches out with his right hand pulling the ancient metal, plastic and leather armor over his head, tightening the buckles, then strapping on his leather webbing, tying down the ruger on his left hip and the launcher on his right, lastly drawing the machete from inside the bag and tucking it in his belt. He squirms out of the bag and roles it up finally tying it with the leather thong, and tucking it in his ruck sack. ’Don’t mind working in the dark, if I can’t see them, they can’t see me.’ standing, he picks up the Stoner hooking the sling over his left shoulder he tosses the ruck sack over his right and unbolting the door he steps out into the morning light, letting his eyes adjust to the dim shadows he watches as Dog heads back into the keep.

Navarre follows Dog to the Cafe’ ’Coffee is so nice in the morning, hate to tell the boys that’s why I’m here, instead of their pleasant dispositions.’ Pulling up a stool beside Dog he waves two fingers at Chief, ”Make mine a double Chief” hot and black sounds about right’ Hearing the shots fired, then the ‘stand down’ signal, Navarre shakes his head. Leaning over to Dog he ask ”You hear about anything interesting going on? Need to make a little scratch for barter, Realize you got the lost boys to worry about but throw an old friend a bone, me and stoner here can help out.”

Runner, you've got the most Hx with me. Pick a stat, any stat.

I pick 'Cool' for you.

Chief, you got my highest Hx.

Pick a Stat for me please.

Sometimes the obvious move is the right one. Let's see Runner be Sharp.

My highest Hx is for Navarre. What would you like to see?

In what used to be a lecture room on the first floor, bright and early, Seth Hafner stirs and stretches. He trundles to the nearby washrooms so he doesn't smell QUITE as horrid, though a day covered in oil and standing in fumes means it won't make much of a difference. After that, he checks on his workshop, and then the garage to make sure everything was in its place. Pleased it was so, he starts limping up to Chief's. He needed coffee after the long night of work last night, and his golden children were probably meeting there for breakfast.

Seth makes use of three rooms on the first floor as his home and workspace. The lecture room is his own personal quarters, while the neighboring Star Tribune Foundation Art Lab is where he keeps his workbench and machining tools. The cinema across the hall has been converted to a kind of in-door garage so Volcano can work on vehicles and things in-doors, plus it's close to the graveyard for ease of transporting said vehicles in and out. He uses the nearby coatrooms and lockers outside the afformentioned washrooms for storage. His "Golden Children" are his employees. Pamming acts as the primary storefront, taking requests and orders from the Hold's residents and visitors as well as buying and selling excess parts and tools as a kind of hardware store, since Volcano can be abrasive, Carna helps with fixing vehicles, and Thuy acts as Volcano's personal aide, since he has a hard time getting around sometimes.

Still one Hx left for me:

Which one of you most evidently dislikes and distrusts me?

My highest Hx is for Navarre. What would you like to see?

oh my! I guess if you do something well you should keep doing it! Seems like Weird would be the way to go!

I will calculate Navarre's HX this evening. I believe it will be Scarlet, But let me do the math to be sure.

Still one Hx left for me:

Which one of you most evidently dislikes and distrusts me?

put in my post earlier today, that would be Navarre!

Dog, on your way in and out of the compound you flash a small dog-tag-sized I.D. card that's built into your wristguard at the scanners located at key locations around Walker Hold's exterior walls. Volcano set up the security around the Stronghold such that the autoturrets didn't fire at you if you I.D'd yourself. Tech's pre-war but built to last.

And I'm pretty proud of it!

Runner wakes up early. He has certain responsibilities to the holding ever since he was kicked out of the Lost Boys.
Mr. Trade-These, has Runner by the balls.
He knows Runner has few options and even fewer friends so in order to stay on until the thaw, (and the roads open again for regular travel), Runner does the sh!t no one else wants to do around here.
-
Kids will only keep up with so much and their attention wanes quickly so someone has to watch the warmers and guess who is stuck doing it?
Runner makes his rounds early, stoking and re-lighting the heater barrels and razzing the kids who seem to forget their duties...
-
Man I really fvcked up by gettin' washed out of the Ell-Bees. Another month or so and I can start makin' regular trips out again. Hold yer sh!t together 'til then and things have got to get better.
-
After heater duty, Runner swings by the cargo container where he locks up his Jeep and cycles the engine and gears.
It is not good on the old rig to let it sit too long in cold weather. I wish I could find a way to move it indoors.
Maybe I could convince 'ole Volcano to let me slip Brando into a corner of his garage?
-
He finally makes his way to Wolf's Diner to check in with Chief for any odd jobs he might have.
"Sup, Chief? Any word from Coffeetown? You need me to be ready to head down for a run?"

I nod in greeting as Chief slides down the bar towards me.

"Hey, Chief, that kid I got in the infirmary... he's taken a turn for the worse. Regular stims aren't doin' the trick. Think you can get your hands on anything stronger?" I nervously tap my fingers on the bar.

Pallor wrote:

Still one Hx left for me:

Which one of you most evidently dislikes and distrusts me?

put in my post earlier today, that would be Navarre!

That makes you my highest Hx, which stat would you like to see?

Chief, I'm going to highlight your Sharp. Just cos. Dust, you're up for me.

Scarlet always looks vaguely squirrel-like in the morning, until she gets part of her pay: a rather small portion of the remaining ground coffee. She's normally the one at the door, cheerfully informing the coffee addicts, sorry, customers, that no, the rules haven't changed, you still can't bring automatic weapons in here, and any amount of explosives larger than the amount of food purchased is generally in poor taste. Any customer with a small tab is welcome, but any customer with a large tab is especially welcome.

Leaning over to Dog he asks ”You hear about anything interesting going on? Need to make a little scratch for barter, Realize you got the lost boys to worry about but throw an old friend a bone, me and stoner here can help out.”

"You and me both pal," Dog chuckles. "The boys haven't had much paying work since winter blew in. The heat makes people want to kill each other and that's good for business. The snow makes 'em want to stay indoors, curl up, and die." Looking over his shoulders conspiratorially, Dog says, "Tell you what - I'll bring you in on the next job we get if you'll do the same. We've got the same ink, after all..."

Ok then Scarlet, I'm keen to see the battlebabe in action so it's going to be cool.

Now I don't know if you came to regret your decision to walk away, but that's the past, man, and we don't live there no more. If you want the Lost Boys to run errands for you, you gotta pay just like everyone else.
Only difference is, you still got our ink. Runner/Navarre, what does that mean?

-

Mooshy, does it make sense for me to roll Everybody Eats while interacting with a PC to ask about a third party, even though the player doesn't (yet) have the answers? i.e. can I ask Doc about Been, and you give the answers mechanically even though Doc's giving the answers narratively? Or better yet, can I ask a couple of PCs and let you figure out who winds up having the answers?

I glance away for a second before turning back. "Well, Doc... who's the kid? What's wrong with him?" I really am a good guy, I swear, but sometimes you want to know who you're sticking it out for. "If I get you some stims, y'know, is he really gonna make it?"

Absolutely.

Even though the game is dropping into your lives at a specific day, January 15, your characters had lives before the game started. Specifically, your backstory. If you're asking about something the PC would know, but the character doesn't, I fill in those gaps gladly.

Has everyone had a stat chosen by another player? If so, it's my turn to assign another highlighted stat to each of you.

Navarre can tell you what they look like and about the time he got one during a big beer run we were on together to Mad-sun.

Inker jabbed him good and he bled like a stuck pig.

Love this. I'm imagining the lot of you trying to hold Navarre steady over a bumpy post-apocalyptic ride as the Inker tries to tattoo his flesh like Steve-O. Scene in question if you haven't seen it.

I had pictured a not-so-reputable establishment in downtown Madison but that on the move tatoo would have been hilarious!

I don't believe I've had a stat picked yet.

Naverre has to pick my stat next time they pop on

I don't believe I've had a stat picked yet.

Who do you have highest Hx with? Navarre as "biggest problem", right?