14. Playbook overview play advice

Before we move on to the playbooks themselves, let’s look one more time at the overview of the different characters that precedes the playbooks (16-21). Last time, I focused on the way that characters are setting, but this time I’m interested in the italicized text that comes after each description, what I’m calling play advice.

This play advice is new to the 2nd edition and a fantastic addition. Let’s look at the play advice for the Skinner as our starting point:

*Skinners are pure hot. They’re entirely social and they have great, directly manipulative moves, play a skinner if you want to be unignorable. Warning: skinners have the tools but unlike hardholders, choppers, and hocuses, they don’t have a steady influx of motivation. You’ll have most fun if you can roll your own.*

All the advice blurbs follow this basic format. There’s a one or two sentence summary, a “play a __ if” construction, and a “Warning.” So altogether, after reading the section you know who the characters are, why you might want to play them, and what you should be aware of when you do play them—that’s who, why, and how: everything you need to know.

What I have labeled as the “how” here is actually more about being aware of the narrative pressure points for each playbook. Apocalypse World is driven entirely by the players and what they choose to have their characters do, so it is more important than ever that the setting and the playbooks have built in sources of drama where the world will lean in on the characters and the characters are forced to push back or yield. In many playbooks, the source of narrative pressure is apparent. The Chopper, for example, is warned that “externalizing your power means drama. Expect drama.” The Hardholder is told, “don’t be a hardholder unless you want the burdens.” The hocus: “things are going to come looking for you. Being a cult leader means having to deal with your fucking cult.” The Maestro D’: “If you want to be sexier than an hardholder, with fewer obligations and less shit to deal with, play a maestro d’. Warning: fewer obligations and less shit, not none and none.” In all these cases, selecting a playbook means accepting (and ideally being excited about) the dramatic narrative structure that comes with it. In fact, ideally you are choosing that character because of the dramatic narrative structure that comes with it.

In cases like the Skinner, the playbook might suggest possible narrative directions, but the external pressures are not nearly as apparent. That’s when the text suggests an angle to pursue. The Skinner is told, you have all the skills, now find your own goal and use those talents to make it happen. The Savvyhead is advised, “your workspace depends on resources, and lots of them, so make friends with everyone you can.” The Gunlugger is warned that “[i]interesting relationships can keep you in the scene” when there’s no fighting. The driver: “your loose ties can accidentally keep you out of the action. Commit to the other characters to stay in play.” The Brainer: “you’ll be happiest is somebody wants to have sex with you even though you’re a brainer. Angle for that if you can.” The Angel is advised: “Make interesting relationships so you’ll stay relevant” when nobody needs healing. In a game in which the MC is forbidden from creating anything resembling a plot, the thrust of the story falls on the shoulders of the players. You have the freedom to make the story whatever you want; the flip side of that is that you have the obligation to actively create the story through your actions. Don’t whinge if your character isn’t doing anything important; in AW, that’s your job.

The final element of the play advice is the note of comparison. We saw it above with the Maestro D’: she’s who you want to be if you like the hardholder but want to be a sexier figure without all the responsibilities. The Battlebabe is warned, “you might find that you are better at making trouble than getting out of it. If you want to play the baddest ass, play a gunlugger instead.” Thinking about playing the Chopper? “If you want weight to throw around, play a chopper—but if you want to be really in charge, play a hardholder instead.” The text invites you to consider what attracts you to the dramatic content of this character, and points you to the other playbooks that offer similar possibilities to help you fine tune what you are looking for. The whole section is supremely helpful and a fantastic way to excite you about the playbooks you are about to dive into.

Like every other part of the text that we have looked at so far, there is a ton of valuable information delivered with both style and concision.