APOCALYPSE WORLD
LIMITED EDITION PLAYBOOKS
Between 2010 and 2013 I published 9 "limited edition" playbooks for Apocalypse World.
The FACELESS
Written with Bret Gillan
Is it true everywhere, always? Was it true in the golden age of legend, when life was kind? For certain it's true here in Apocalypse World: some of us are born and grow up and live without faces. We have things on the fronts of our heads, of course, but they're soft, malleable, expressive, revealing things, they aren't our faces. Our faces would be hard, ungiving, silent and stern, they would be what we are. They would never flinch.
The Faceless is a giant unstoppable killing machine, but built for tragedy. If you want to barf out violence, grotesquerie, and externalized pain, play the faceless. Warning: you'll hurt and disappoint the people you care about, for reals.
The Faceless was originally created for distribution at conventions.
The HOARDER
Written with Elizabeth Shoemaker Sampat
When the world ended, so much was lost among the blood and shit and debris of a dying world in its last spasms of life. Some say it was a tragedy; some say it made us stronger.
Fuck them. You know what I say? Finders keepers.
The Hoarder is a creepy character with a powerful collection of goods and a uniquely appraising vision. If you want to play a weird and grotesque villain but you're tired of playing brainers, try a hoarder. Warning: your MC will have a lot of leverage over you. You'll sometimes have to fight to pursue your own agenda.
The Hoarder was originally created for the Sight for Sore Eyes benefit bundle.
The MACALUSO
When the apocalypse came, it did not come as they expected it. Oh, they expected their world to break down — feared it would, denied it would, planned for it, planned against it, whatever. But they looked at their future and they could only see their own monsters. They couldn't see, couldn't even guess, the creatures that would come that were not them.
The Macaluso is a multibodied psychic entity, a single person with several human bodies. If you want to play the weirdest character in the game, play the Macaluso. Warning: don't play the Macaluso your first time out with Apocalypse World. Learn the game first.
The Macaluso was originally created to celebrate Il Mondo dell'Apocalisse and its Best of Show win at Lucca Comics and Games.
The MAESTRO D'
In the golden age of legend, there was this guy named Maestro. He was known for dressing up real dap and whever he went, the people had much luxe tune. There was this other guy named Maitre d'. He was known for dressing up real dap and whever he went, the people had all the food they could eat and the fanciest of it.
Here in Apocalypse World, those two guys are dead. They died and the fat sizzled off them, they died same as much-luxe-tune and all-you-can-eat. The maestro d' now, he can't give you what those guys used to could, but fuck it, maybe he can find you a little somethin somethin to take off the edge.
The maestro d' runs a social establishment, like a bar, a drug den or a bordello. If you want to be sexier than a hardholder, with fewer obligations and less shit to deal with, play a maestro d'. Warning: fewer obligations and less shit, not none and none.
The Maestro D' was originally created as a perk for preordering the game.
The MARMOT
Written with Ben Lehman
One thing that hasn't changed since the apocalypse: people do bad things to each other and expect to get away with it. If there's any marmot who can untangle the secrets, the lies, and the pain to find some justice in this filthy, filthy world, it's you.
The marmot is a detective, and no shit, it's a marmot. A furry little rodent dude who solves mysteries. If you want to play a marmot detective, well, here's your chance. Warning: your fellow players just might think you're fucking around with them.
The Marmot was originally created to support Animal Crime by Ben Lehman.
QUARANTINE
It's possible, when the Golden Age of Legend fell, that no one saw it coming. It's possible that it came upon them unprepared and unsuspecting. Maybe they, like we, were simply fucked.
It's also possible that they knew.
Quarantine is a soldier from the past who's been in stasis since the apocalypse. If you want to bring a sane modern-day sensibility and point of view to Apocalypse World, play a quarantine. Warning: a sane modern-day sensibility and point of view makes you spectacularly unsuited to life in Apocalypse World.
Quarantine was originally created to support Shock:Human Contact by Joshua A.C. Newman.
SOLACE
The world's psychic maelstrom vomits forth its own. It eats the fortune of all living and all dead and leaves no fortune for any but itself. In this Apocalypse World, howling at the door, they used to be called wolves but we know them for themselves at last.
Solace is a pacifist and an enemy of violence. If you want to disarm potential violence, promote collaboration and cooperation, and call the other characters out as the big violent meanies they are, play the solace. Warning: you can already guess that your situation is precarious. What you may not guess is that the other characters might really resent being called out as big violent meanies, and might call you out as a priggish killjoy in turn.
Solace was originally created for a “nice games” bundle for Epimas.
The SPACE MARINE MAMMAL
50 years ago, the enemies of Earth unleashed a psychic weapon that destroyed all hope for the future of dolphinity. Anticipating the attack and its outcome, leaving many behind to suffer and die, your grandparents rushed to evacuate Earth. They built secret orbital stations and expanded the hidden Mars base into a functional colony. Their grandchildren — you — are all that remains of true dolphinity after this appalling apocalyptic assault.
Today, the mission to reclaim Earth begins.
The Space Marine Mammal enters play as a wicked badass automatically disposed against the other PCs. Its badassery is in tension with its experience — it might learn to get along — but still play it only if you want to deal with that.
The Space Marine Mammal was originally created to support Sea Dracula: Judicial Inquest by Morgan Stinson and Jackson Tegu.
The TOUCHSTONE
At the earliest reaches of living memory, the world collapsed. Cities raged, burned, or just died in agony, starved, fell silent. The sky howled. Not everyone who remembers it remembers it the same way. People forgot who they were, where they had come from, what they could make.
Now, in this world of filth and blindness, there are a few with new vision. They go among us at war, indomitable and doomed, hoping and fighting for something better.
The Touchstone hopes and fights for a better future that only she can see. If you want to declare yourself an enemy of the world and fight hard to change it, play a touchstone. Warning: you have hope and vision, but violence is all you're good at.
The Touchstone was originally created to give newcomers to the game a playbook to trade with.
BEGINNING IN 2013 I've published these in a general, not limited, release. You can buy the complete set, with supplementals and an inclusive character moves reference, at nightskygames.com.
Vincent Baker
September 1 2013