... And this is the post where I talk about Mad Max as an RPG.
The obvious choice for Mad Max is Apocalypse World. There's been a lot said about this already, so I'll just point to the authors patreon campaign: https://www.patreon.com/lumpley (which I just backed on the grounds that I spent what, $20 to see a 2 hour movie? And that's like 6 installments of the the patreon, and I'll probably get SO MUCH MORE than 2 hours of enjoyment ... )
There's a few traits that, for me, make a movie seem like it'd make a good RPG. Those are character agency, threats that the main characters are uniquely suited to deal with, and -- this is the hard one -- a world where other characters could be dropped in and be awesome.
Star Wars, much as I have a certain fondness for it, fails on the last one -- its all about the Skywalkers. Star Trek fails on the second one -- one redshirt is as good as another (this is fuzzy, and I'm thinking of rewriting how i word this, as Sisko isn't just any captain -- but then, maybe that's why DS9 seems like the closest to an RPG). And Bond often fails on the first one -- it is too often quest driven. And some other regressive nonesense.
But, who are the PCs in mad max? a driver who rebels against the warlord, a wandered who joins her, a soldier who finds humanity, and -- yes --- the wives.
There's nothing truly special about them -- and I mean this in the best way imaginable. They aren't the scions of a fallen empire, nor chosen by a mysical energy field to wield supernatural powers. They aren't even trained and backed by a quasi-military organization that spreads root beer.
Just people, picked up from the void and given the reigns. People who are empowed to change the world not through badassery (which they have!), but through willful decision to exist outside of the civilization.
And that's what makes a player character.
There's a hell of a lot more I could say on this, but I'm still getting these thoughts together. I'm curious if this sounds right, or like crazy talk.
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I've thought and written rather a lot about this, as you might expect. Most of it can be found by checking the #AW2e tag or my posts in the Powered by the Apocalypse g+ community. To answer your question though, yeah, that's good. PCs are Furiosa, Max, Angharad, Nux, and Capable. Possible PCs are Keeper and Valkyrie and Toast. The rest are NPCs.
ReplyDeleteMeguey Baker Yes, indeed. I recall your post about Immortal Joe NOT being a PC. A couple weeks after that, I started playing a hardholder with -2 weird, knowing that leaves the character open to some pretty great hard moves.
ReplyDeleteOn the main topic: there's something amazingly uplifting about main characters who make real changes in the world due to their decision to do so, as opposed to being gifted abilities. And sure, the deck is stacked against you in the apocalypse, but is that intentional? That is, running with the cultural artifact that player characters don't act like everyone else and using it for game purposes?
"[M]ain characters who make real changes in the world due to their decision to do so, as opposed to being gifted abilities."
ReplyDeleteYes, exactly this. Lots of people drive cars, but there's only one Nux, one Max, and one Furiosa. They have some agency and drive to take action that make them the main characters.