Fronts for games "Powered By The Apocalypse"

Several of the games based on the Apocalypse World rules use the concept of Fronts. These are individuals, groups, or organizations that have a plan to fulfill their goals/motivations. PCs can interrupt or thwart these plans at any given step. Often the plans change as the game evolves.

For those of you playing the PBTA games that use this, how are you tracking the state of Fronts?
Is there an extension that I'm not aware of that does this already?
Is there something out there that I could use as a base to perhaps develop into something that would fulfill this?

I started a Spirit of 77 game last night and, overall, it went well. I resorted to pen & paper to track the states of the Fronts because I didn't see an easy way of doing this in FG.
Ideas?

I would look to DOE: Organizations. I doubt it specifically has "Fronts" but probably can be used for what you want.

If you are doing PbtA version of Spirit then you are probably using MoreCore. It has a basic Organisations and Locations but I dont think they are useful for Fronts.
How are you tracking them on Paper and how do you think that FG could/should do it?

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Originally Posted by damned

If you are doing PbtA version of Spirit then you are probably using MoreCore. It has a basic Organisations and Locations but I dont think they are useful for Fronts.
How are you tracking them on Paper and how do you think that FG could/should do it?

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We are using MoreCore and it's working great. The Organizations would work pretty well for holding the info about each front.

On paper, I just had check boxes for each step of the Front. So77 always has 6 steps, P-N-L-D1-D2-O, but I know other games that use this can have different numbers of steps for each.

If FG had some sort of counter/timer system where you could give each counter a name and how many ticks/levels it has, it could be used for just about any system that uses that kind of mechanic. As far as UI goes, I could see anything from check boxes similar to 5e's ammo tracking to a numerical counter that can be increased. Having the counter link back to the Organization record would be desirable as well.

Could you post a screenshot/photo/image of what you currently use or would like to use?

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Originally Posted by damned

Could you post a screenshot/photo/image of what you currently use or would like to use?

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I'll see if I can mock something up.

Here's kind of what I've been thinking. The pic shows just a story entry with the Front (not copyrighted 'cept by me) on the left. The right shows what I'm envisioning the counter as. The circles would be clickable similar to ammo in 5e. Counter Max dictates how many circles there are. Under that is just a formatted text box to be able to throw a link or other text to have handy. Ideally, I'd like to be able to shrink the window down as small as shown so only the name and counter states show.

I'm planning to post my character sheet and rolls when I get things polished up a bit more and figure out where things make the most sense. I'm also working on a theme but that's not moving along as quickly.

Attachment 24470

Hi wndrngdru - that looks great - and the Brigade look like a very likely looking crew!
I dont think that I am going to build anything that detailed into MoreCore at this time.
The Dungeon World ruleset will have something similar and I will relook at it then.

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Originally Posted by damned

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The Dungeon World ruleset will have something similar....

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*gasp* :eek: I didn't know there was one in the works. More info somewhere?

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Originally Posted by wndrngdru

*gasp* :eek: I didn't know there was one in the works. More info somewhere?

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No more info. Its a little way off yet.

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Originally Posted by damned

No more info. Its a little way off yet.

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Tease. :p

I've been learning recently about PbtA games and would enjoy playing in one to try the rules system, if someone on this thread feels motivated to run a one shot.

Thanks in advance.

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Originally Posted by Hector Trelane

I've been learning recently about PbtA games and would enjoy playing in one to try the rules system, if someone on this thread feels motivated to run a one shot.

Thanks in advance.

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What kind of setting are you looking for? I've run fantasy (Dungeon World), and alternate '70s (Spirit of '77), but I also have Apocalypse World if you prefer something a little more Mad Max. We'd just need to gather 2-3 others.

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Originally Posted by wndrngdru

What kind of setting are you looking for? I've run fantasy (Dungeon World), and alternate '70s (Spirit of '77), but I also have Apocalypse World if you prefer something a little more Mad Max. We'd just need to gather 2-3 others.

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I'd love to try Apocalypse World itself -- Mad Max is great (which is the best movie? Thread drift...). Blades in the Dark also looks wicked cool. And City of Mist is gorgeous (but I'm not sure how much it uses vs alters PbtA?).

That said, beggars can't be choosers. I'm mostly hoping to try out PbtA rules since they seem to be great for sandbox play... this is a Holy Grail, a white whale of sorts, for RPG design...

I bet we can rustle up some players for this

P.S. I have a bunch of post-apocalyptic photos on a Google drive somewhere thanks to a Fate game that fizzled--Mask of Winter, Raz_Kabooz, and a couple others created a Fate campaign a couple years back (fun experiment) but didn't get deeply into play. Still, there are some very trippy-cool images from cosplay people into the post-apocalyptic scene.

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Originally Posted by Hector Trelane

I'd love to try Apocalypse World itself -- Mad Max is great (which is the best movie? Thread drift...). Blades in the Dark also looks wicked cool. And City of Mist is gorgeous (but I'm not sure how much it uses vs alters PbtA?).

That said, beggars can't be choosers. I'm mostly hoping to try out PbtA rules since they seem to be great for sandbox play... this is a Holy Grail, a white whale of sorts, for RPG design...

I bet we can rustle up some players for this

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The Road Warrior is, of course, the best film. ;)

While it technically has the PBtA label, I consider Blades in the Dark a different system. It uses (generally small) dice pools with situational and outcome descriptors as its main mechanic. I've never played it personally, but have seen/heard it played, and it is wicked cool. I've not looked at much more than the synopsis for City of Mist so I can't really comment on that one.

I am most familiar with Dungeon World and it would take the least amount of work on my part to get a one-shot up and running. That said, I would definitely be willing to do Apocalypse World instead (or in addition to if we want). Something to be aware of, AW is a lot heavier with the adult themes as a default--it's even got game mechanic effects for when characters hook up--though it's easy to just not use things people aren't comfortable with.

I guess now what there is to do is pick a system and a time that works for us.

Good to know that Blades in the Dark is so different.

If you're willing to do Apocalypse World, all this Mad Max puts me in that frame of mind. For time, I'm Eastern Time Zone--could a Fri or Sat evening work?

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Originally Posted by wndrngdru

The Road Warrior is, of course, the best film. ;)

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True but the low-budget tension in the original, and the setting (the main character) in Fury Road make it a tough call sometimes....

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Originally Posted by Hector Trelane

For time, I'm Eastern Time Zone--could a Fri or Sat evening work?

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Indeed it could; either or both. I'm Central and most Fri & Sat evenings are workable.

If it works for everyone, we could do a "2-shot" where Friday would be an actual Session 1 as designed in the rules. It's character creation, relationship establishment, a-day-in-the-life to begin to establish the environment, etc. Then I would build some threats based on that info for session 2 the next night.

If people aren't interested in that, I have something that I use for creating Dungeon World 1-shots that I could probably massage to work for AW. The group chooses from some options to create where they are and what they're doing. Based on that I take a few minutes to make some notes and away we go by the seat of our pants.

Option A would provide a more accurate, rounded experience of the game at the expense of time. Option B would highlight more of the play mechanics while sacrificing character depth for the benefit of less time investment.

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True but the low-budget tension in the original, and the setting (the main character) in Fury Road make it a tough call sometimes....

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I'll drop what I'm doing and watch any of them when they're on (even Thunderdome).

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Originally Posted by wndrngdru

If people aren't interested in that, I have something that I use for creating Dungeon World 1-shots that I could probably massage to work for AW. The group chooses from some options to create where they are and what they're doing. Based on that I take a few minutes to make some notes and away we go by the seat of our pants.

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This is what I usually do when running Dungeon World one shots.

Option A would be fun to try for the full experience of consecutive Saturdays could be found.

To get everyone in the mood, here are some sweet post-apocalyptic images, which are easy to find on the Internet (wasteland cosplay must be a thing?):

https://www.fantasygrounds.com/forum...chmentid=27369

https://www.fantasygrounds.com/forum...chmentid=27370

https://www.fantasygrounds.com/forum...chmentid=27371

https://www.fantasygrounds.com/forum...chmentid=27372

https://www.fantasygrounds.com/forum...chmentid=27373

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Originally Posted by Hector Trelane

wasteland cosplay must be a thing?

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Have you never visited New Mexico? It's not cosplay, it's just life!

One shot game tomorrow night, for those (like me) interested in trying out this rule set. See calendar notice here: https://www.fantasygrounds.com/calendar/?id=3522

P.S. I know I'm late to the party, but reading up on the basic Apocalypse World playbook here reveals that this is indeed good stuff: https://apocalypse-world.com/Apocaly...fbook2ndEd.pdf

Fun session, very cool tabletop and lots of rules nicely baked into the module. MoreCore works very well for this.

Thanks, wndrngdru, for running the learning game!

https://www.fantasygrounds.com/forum...chmentid=27646

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Originally Posted by Hector Trelane

Fun session, very cool tabletop and lots of rules nicely baked into the module. MoreCore works very well for this.

Thanks, wndrngdru, for running the learning game!

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Thanks for the fun session. I had a blast! And you're right, MoreCore works extremely well for this. Thanks to damned, et al., for all their hard work.

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Originally Posted by wndrngdru

Thanks for the fun session. I had a blast! And you're right, MoreCore works extremely well for this. Thanks to damned, et al., for all their hard work.

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How about planning installment two of this adventure... or teeing up a one-shot for the next FG Daze or FG Con?

Is this Apocalypse World theme and character sheet template posted anywhere on the forums? I'm not seeing it except on the screenshot you shared. It looks very nice.

Thanks

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Originally Posted by garrion_sw

Is this Apocalypse World theme and character sheet template posted anywhere on the forums? I'm not seeing it except on the screenshot you shared. It looks very nice.

Thanks

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Thank you for the cudos. Unfortunately, it isn't available anywhere but my PC. It's chock full of copyrighted material that I don't have permission to distribute. Each of the rolls on the character sheet has the text from the manual in it and I'm not sure what would count as game mechanics and what wouldn't since so much of PBTA games are "choose from these lines of text".

I'm also working on a module for Dungeon World that I can post since the text for it was released under a Creative Commons Attribution license. It'll have a full reference manual, base "pregens" for each class, as well as NPCs with damage rolls and random treasure rolls. I've not done anything theme-wise with that yet though.

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Originally Posted by wndrngdru

Thank you for the cudos. Unfortunately, it isn't available anywhere but my PC. It's chock full of copyrighted material that I don't have permission to distribute. Each of the rolls on the character sheet has the text from the manual in it and I'm not sure what would count as game mechanics and what wouldn't since so much of PBTA games are "choose from these lines of text".

I'm also working on a module for Dungeon World that I can post since the text for it was released under a Creative Commons Attribution license. It'll have a full reference manual, base "pregens" for each class, as well as NPCs with damage rolls and random treasure rolls. I've not done anything theme-wise with that yet though.

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Perhaps just the desktop format would be okay to share under copyright rules?

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Originally Posted by Hector Trelane

Perhaps just the desktop format would be okay to share under copyright rules?

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Technically, I would need to change the background picture, but I haven't yet found something as cool that I can share.

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Originally Posted by wndrngdru

I'm also working on a module for Dungeon World that I can post since the text for it was released under a Creative Commons Attribution license. It'll have a full reference manual, base "pregens" for each class, as well as NPCs with damage rolls and random treasure rolls. I've not done anything theme-wise with that yet though.

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Thread rez...

Hi wndrngdru, any headway on a Dungeon World mod (there is interest), and would you be willing to host a session or two of PbtA for the upcoming FG-Con?

PS I hope to play in a couple more PbtA games to increase my player/GM-fu

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Originally Posted by Hector Trelane

Thread rez...

Hi wndrngdru, any headway on a Dungeon World mod (there is interest),

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Yep. Released it a while ago. https://www.fantasygrounds.com/forum...n-World-Manual
I'll be updating some of the rolls to take advantage of Damned's updates.

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and would you be willing to host a session or two of PbtA for the upcoming FG-Con?

PS I hope to play in a couple more PbtA games to increase my player/GM-fu

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I'm sure I'll get at least one session in. I just need to get my schedule worked out.

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Originally Posted by wndrngdru

Yep. Released it a while ago. https://www.fantasygrounds.com/forum...n-World-Manual
I'll be updating some of the rolls to take advantage of Damned's updates.


I'm sure I'll get at least one session in. I just need to get my schedule worked out.

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Awesome—thanks on both counts!