After a successful playtest of the original Cruel Britannia scenario idea at Go Play Leeds last month, I’ve decided to make some adjustments to tighten it up for convention play.
- Leaning into Vincent Baker’s Hatchet City one-shot format, I’ve posited a base location – which I’ve dubbed The Brink – and some possible factions.
- I liked the leading questions approach, but I wanted to make character choice easier, more transparent and clearer for what role each may have within the group.
- I’ve gone full-blown with some love letters to help the players texture the backstory, and kickstart some opportunities and tensions for the kind of game they want to play.
Of course, that changes the scenario pitch. Here’s the late draft ahead of this weekend’s Seven Hills convention.
Scenario: Cruel Britannia 2069. The Brink.
System: Apocalypse World 2
Players: 3-4
Slot: Saturday 6 April, 7:30pm – 11:30pm
Description:
The Brink is the main holding in these parts. It sprawls along a cliff edge, half a mile high, and stands as the last bastion on the eastern flank of Britannia, a flank that is unsteadily receding under the violence of the encroaching sea and the storms it unleashes.
The settlement and its population are eroding. BoJo, the protectionist Hardholder for as long as most Brinksmen can remember, hasn’t been seen or heard in public for weeks. In his absence, the will of the people is beginning to fracture as the way of life on the Brink comes under threat.
Some have started fleeing the front line. Others are digging in, proudly or desperately, while refugees from the last of the Seven Hills take up camp outside the southern boundary, anxiously seeking asylum as the Smog encroaches.
News of BoJo’s disappearance is spreading inland. Instability threatens within as the vultures beyond look on at The Brink for easy – if not rich – pickings. Opportunities are opening up for those so inclined.
Together, you are on The Brink.
Characters: Playbooks are restricted, based on the following ‘pillars’ that players may choose:
- Authority: Waterbearer / Hocus
- Influence: Maestro D’ / Brainer / News
- Survival: Battlebabe / Angel / Chopper
- Hope: Skinner / Quarantine
Content Advisory: 18+, sensitive themes
Genre: post-apocalypse
Tags: political, Britain
