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Chauncymancer
2014-01-21, 01:55 PM
So my Apocalypse World game is moving toward heavy PvP. The brainer killed a Chopper Lt. and accidentally'd a splinter group in the Hocuse's cult, then stole the Savvyhead's motorcycle. So they burned down a d blew up his house. I talked to all the players, and none of us have a problem with PvP.
But I've never MC'd Apocalypse World before, and I've never run hard PvP in any system. I'm concerned with how PvP works, in terms of Apocalypse World and any GM/MC issues.
Any advice?

CarpeGuitarrem
2014-01-21, 02:32 PM
The biggest wrinkle is conceptualizing actual person-on-person conflict, because the rest of the game is player-facing (i.e., NPCs don't roll, because they're not main characters). As the MC, you need to look at the situation. If both players are in a conflict scenario, drill into what they're doing and why. If the Savvyhead is shooting the Brainer, who's trying to duck for cover, you have the Savvyhead Go Aggro...and you have the Brainer making a move to Interfere with the Go Aggro.

Instead of opposed rolls (like many systems do), it's just "the initiator makes a move, and the other player interferes". Which means that to stay safe from someone, you have to maintain your Hx with them at a fairly high level. Good luck. :smallwink: (Apocaplypse World is rife with subtle little mechanisms like that.)

Otherwise, let fly and play to find out what happens! You should also consider dropping a blanket threat to everyone in the middle of it. Why? Because it's interesting to ask "How willing are you to let this threat move forward in order to keep fighting? Can you at least truce with the other side so that you can hold off Dremmer's onslaught?" and similar questions.

Sounds like a fun game! Good luck! (And if the PvP winds up being well-received, have a look at Monsterhearts; it's the paranormal drama spinoff of Apocalypse World, and it's almost exclusively PvP at times. Great stuff, good drama.)