Credit to Nate Saunders, who is creating this hack.
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Adventshire is a game of thrilling steampunk noir adventure, discovery, intrigue, creation, mechanical imagination, and scientific romance. It is a world in which humanity is on the cusp of the Age of Enlightenment, and nothing one can envision seems impossible. The will of the human spirit and strength of imagination knows no limits, and the Impossible Dream, the collective unconscious that connects and inspires every mind in the enlightened world, shows it. Through the Dream this world’s mind-boggling adventure is possible, for if one can imagine it, why can it not be so?
Innovation, curiosity, and gusto are the values men and women can succeed by, and the constant allure of discovery and adventure beckons the bold. Idleness and apathy are things of the past, and everyone has their own grand vision for the future, so if you’re not for progress, you’re for revolution. But what are the prices of creating a utopia, the genius fascist flipside of the intellectual visionary, the things that fall through the cracks when reaching for the stars?
Each character has the agency to construct, protect, subvert, or destroy the status quo, in the efforts of creating a more perfect society. Sometimes, one will have to roll up one’s sleeves to take out the trash - anarchists, secret societies, cultists, sentient mechanical monstrosities, mad scientists and experiments gone horribly awry, civil corruption all the way to the top, ancient monsters from other dimensions - all dangers in the “utopian” society the party and MC will build and resolve through play.
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Apocalypse World (or the Powered By The Apocalypse system) is an RPG setting created by Vincent Baker. Its gameplay is wide-open and versatile, simple to pick up, and wildly conversational.
- Wide-Open World - the world you live in is only an implied setting when you begin. That means that all we know is that it's decidedly Steampunk/Clockpunk. You as players help flesh out enough to give a foundation to the setting, which then builds and grows organically as you play.
- Simple Mechanics - Whenever you need to roll, the mechanic is the same. Roll 2d6 and add a small stat modifier (-1 to +3) to the result. If the result is 10 or greater you succeed without struggle. If the result is 7-9, then you succeed partially or with complications. If the result is 6- something bad happens (you may still succeed, but you won't really like the results). That's it. You now understand the basic of every single roll.
- Conversational Play - but most of the time, you likely won't even be rolling. You live out your character within the world, you taste, you run, you flirt, you invent... and when the need arises out of the fiction for a roll to be made, you do so. In the meantime, the MC (myself) is asking you leading questions and creating the world around you based on your answers and the snowballing effects of your actions.
As you can see, it's a style of play that emphasizes story over mechanics. It's a setting where you immerse yourself and worry less about mechanical moves to make and skill bonuses, and more about how your character would act and deal with such situations.
However, the MC is still responsible for spurring the world and adventures forward in fantastic and intriguing ways. You don't have to create the world or its inhabitants, nor make the adventure happen as often becomes the case in sandbox-style-play. Believe me, I'll fill your lives with drama and intrigue. But I will also ask your character a myriad of questions that he/she would know, and continue to build accordingly.
I'm checking to see if there exists a small handful of people interested in playing such an adventure? Obviously those that are familiar with Apocalypse World (or any of its other hacks like Dungeon World, Monsterhearts, Monster of the Week, etc.) would fit fantastically. But it's such a simple system that anyone should be able to thrive in it quickly, and I'd love to help any/all beginners.
What we would do, should there be enough interest, is create a discussion thread where we'd begin to build a basic foundation for this setting. You'd also pick out Playbooks, which help outline the niche your character occupies in this fantastic world.
Here is where you can find Apocalypse World, the original ruleset. It's inexpensive as a PDF and does a killer job of explaining the nuances of the system with several flavorful examples as well. This isn't required but highly recommended.
And here you can find a basic rundown on Adventshire, the hack we'll be using. This hack is unpublished and currently just a playtest. Which means things may not always be balanced (we can tweak) and the author has every right to remove these documents when he wishes.
Should interest arise, we can talk about playbooks at that point and I'll gladly explain anything and everything that might not make sense to you yet.
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I currently GM two other games on this site, both of which are Dungeon World (a hack of Apocalypse World). So I'm quite familiar with these boards as well as the implementation of story-based games with this particular system. I am able to post several times during the day M-F, and live in the Pacific Time Zone of the United States.
I have been looking to get AW and this might be the motivation to pick it up and take the system for a test drive. Dot for interest.
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Brilliant. I'm glad to see even a little interest! I have no doubt as well that you'll find the AW book well worth the big of coin.
In case anyone is deterred from giving this a shot by not wanting to purchase the book, I'm not requiring it. I'll gladly help you through the rules (which are incredibly simple) and you can decide later down the road if it's worth grabbing. Having it, however, will greatly increase your understanding of how it all works and provide some great examples.
Here is a list of the current playbooks (classes, if you prefer):
- Clockworker - you are the master tinkerer, constructor of and friend to all things mechanical.
- Dandy - you are the socialite queen bee with your own entourage of sharp followers and a witty tongue.
- Pugilist - you have fists of fury and are always a sucker for spectacle.
- Rocketeer - you're the dashing hero, with an experimental device and a blatant disregard for your own well-being.
- Automaton - you are a mechanical being seeking sentience, or perhaps not.
- Ogre - you are impossible to miss, and terrifying to anger. People wouldn't like it when you're angry.
- Alchemist - you are more than just a healer, you are a man of SCIENCE!
- Professor - you use your encyclopedic wit and daring-do to fuel heart-pumping adventure.
- Duelist - you are the master of sword or pistol, and unmatched in single combat.
- Corsair - you are the commander of a stolen vessel and crew of the skies.
- Engineer - you are a mechanic and logician making sure the trains are ever punctual and in peak condition - master of vehicles
- Idol - you are the glamorous celebrity everyone adores and host to a throng of loyal fans
- Urchin - you're a survivor at the bottom of society, and the best one there is.
- Ringmaster - you are the master of your own establishment, in the business of entertainment and spectacle.
- Magician - you are an entertainer of the most fantastic variety, spinning illusions and mastering misdirection
- Fox - you are the shadows, with sticky fingers and an appraising eye
- Surgeon - you hold life in your hands. You can save it... improve it!
- Soloist - you are a virtuoso musician with a smooth tongue and captivated audience
- Investigator - you see everything, master of puzzles and gadgets.
Many of these are a work in progress with the creator still. I'm more than willing to tweak things as well to best embody a concept someone might have.
i am interested. Lately i have been wanting into a thunderscape game (mostly because of the classes, not necessarily the setting) and this seems similar.
Clockworker, Automaton, and Engineer jump out at me.
I would be trying to make something that is good in combat, but tinkers with itself as a means of improvement. something like a gun arm, etc.
I'm interested. Rocketeer, Duelist and Corsair all seem appealing to me.
I like the look of tinkerer and duelist
Cool, we've got some interest. I've built some interest from another site as well giving 6 potential players. How do you guys feel running this on a separate site though as I'm debating consolidating there?
Probably yes. I don't imagine there would be a problem with going to a different site.
Automaton or Fox looks closest to me
hmmmm another site isn't really something i want to do. i have all my games here, another site is an extra step i'd rather not take.
but if you do decide to run it here, i am game.
I completely understand. It is incredibly convenient being able to keep your games here and the site allows you to track them really efficiently. But with the need to combine interested parties from two sites to get this going, I will need to ask one group or the other to be willing to move. And I would prefer we combine at the other site simply because it runs more indie games and would be more likely to be able to fill future spots easily. So for the longevity of the game, I have sent you all links to the other site (Instead of publishing it here, because it is not my intention to advertise other sites on this board).
If any of you are willing to join there I'm really excited to get things moving and thank you for your interest! If not, I understand and look forward to future games with you on this site.
I need to go log in there
Cool, looks like you've registered and set up! Let me know there what type of character you're thinking of playing and we'll keep moving forward!