FRI-01: Apocalypse World (John Harper)

[John Powell]

John Harper ran a great Apocalypse World. A literally burning desert outside of the blasted Terminal City, with three remaining outposts specializing in food, fuel and clean water production, respectively. We were a crew of a medium sized Rig that carried people and supplies between the outposts. Our Rig was owned and operated by the Hocus, Sorrow, and his Cult of Susan acolytes.

Don Frazier played our cult leader, Sorrow.
Nathan Wilson was his stalwart Lt, the self-abusing and homicidal Battle Babe, Snow.
Kiera O'Brien was the creepy-cool Brainer, Sundown.
I played the only crew member not part of Cult of Susan, a desert-seared, cynical Savvyhead named Ethan Ozair. Late in the session he was sent on an errand by Sorrow to kill Susan, the worlds purported messiah, and the focus of the cult. Alas we'll never know what happened...

The five of us met before dinner, discovered a mutual interest for AW, and Harper volunteered to run it for us that night. Awesome!

[John Harper]

That was really fun. You all brought the heat.

I felt like I short-changed your savvyhead a bit, John. The cult stuff was so interesting to me, I really dove into that, which side-lined Ethan a little. Still, he was a very cool character and it was great to see the contrast between him and the other dreamy/culty/frakkin'-crazy people on the Rig.

Highlights:
- Ethan not blinking an eye at the secret bomb stashed aboard the Rig. Yeah, it's a bomb, so what? I got tools don't I?
- Nathan's crazy-ass battlebabe, Snow, and her (his?) propensity to get mutilated and buried in piles of burning ash. The fight on the moving vehicles was badass, too.
- Sundown's scene alone with Roarke in the torture chamber. So good. VIOLATION GLOVE.
- Don spinning really good material out of the ether -- creating loads of hooks around the cult, family ties, and setting details (the heavier-than-air combustible gas!)

Thanks, everybody.

[John Powell]

Yeah I felt that Ethan's big scene was just around the corner, but I really don't feel cheated in anyway. I enjoyed playing the only 'grownup' in a gang of hucksters and (albeit bad-ass) flower children.

I really look forward to the next GP event, as I don't have a group of regular players that bring this flavor of awesome. Thanks again!