Solo AW2e - Under Threat

I spent a bit of time going over the Threats, as per the MC between session prep moves.  I originally wasn't going to post this stuff, but I think it has an impact on the whole solo play angle. Setting up stuff like stakes questions and countdown clocks really set up the fiction and points in certain directions, lessening the need for stuff like story cubes and the like. Or that's the theory, anyway. We shall see.

I decided not to write up a threat map. There are mini maps with each threat anyway. NOTE: I later realised that the book actually says to use the map as a note taking tool during play, and that it's the threats that are the bulk of the between session prep. Suits me.

The rules say to write up my vehicle as a threat. I wasn't sure about that, since it got stolen, but what the hey?

THREAT #1

NAME   Farley's V8 ute

KIND   Ferocious bastard

IMPULSE   to outrun

DESCRIPTION & CAST

Farley

The Red Mantis Gang

STAKES & QUESTIONS

Will Farley get his wheels back?  Will he even see it again?

COUNTDOWN CLOCK

3 O'CLOCK - Ute stolen

6 O'CLOCK - Farley sold

9 O'CLOCK  -  Wildcats show up in Rope Blood Tower

10 O'CLOCK  -  Red Mantis skip town

11 O'CLOCK  -  Red Mantis gang ambushed

12 O'CLOCK  -  Ute destroyed

CONNECTED THREATS

Red Mantis Gang

Wildcats

Rope Blood Towers

Badlands highways

I was going to ask the Loom of Fate whether or not the RM gang had already split with my wheels at the beginning of the next session, but this largely takes care of that for me. My understanding is that the countdown should not be irrevocable until the 9 O'Clock piece is filled, so I've still got one chance.

THREAT #2

NAME  Rope Blood Towers

KIND  Landscape, furnace

IMPULSE  to consume things

DESCRIPTION & CAST

Drivebelt Tyra & her gang

The games/show

Rolfball the butcher and other cannibals

STAKES & QUESTIONS

Can Farley keep winning? Will he ever escape?

COUNTDOWN CLOCK

3 O'CLOCK  -  Farley sold to Drivebelt

6 O'CLOCK  -  Farley competes in the games

9 O'CLOCK  -  Farley becomes the crowd favourite

10 O'CLOCK  -  Jealous rivals emerge

11 O'CLOCK  -  Sabotage!

12 O'CLOCK  -  Farley marked for death

CONNECTED THREATS

V8 ute

Drivebelt

Wildcats?

At first I wasn't sure what to do with the countdown clock here, until I realised that it only mattered if Farley kept winning in the games. If he lost, he was dead anyway, so I had to track what would happen if he kept winning.  Then it practically wrote itself.

THREAT #3

NAME  Drivebelt Tyra & her gang

KIND  Slaver (warlord)

IMPULSE  to own and sell

DESCRIPTION & CAST

Drivebelt Tyra, local tyrant

Kickskirt, Drivebelts bodyguard

Blues & AT, some goons

STAKES & QUESTIONS

Will they sell Farley? Will someone else make a bid for their power?

COUNTDOWN CLOCK

3 O'CLOCK  -  Buy Farley

6 O'CLOCK  -  Build his fame

9 O'CLOCK  -  Farley the star of the show

10 O'CLOCK  -  Promise of freedom in exchange for taking a dive

11 O'CLOCK  -  Sell Farley

12 O'CLOCK  -  Farley on the lunch menu. Literally.

CONNECTED THREATS

Rope Blood Towers

Rolfball the butcher

Wildcats

Red Mantis Gang

The countdown clock here puts a different slant on Farleys future in the games.  Again, all assuming he keeps winning.

THREAT #4

NAME  Red Mantis Gang

KIND Hunting pack (brutes)

IMPULSE  to victimise the vulnerable

DESCRIPTION & CAST

Bone, Fillet and Thrice.

STAKES & QUESTIONS

Are these three all that's left of the gang (ask CRGE)? Will they evade the Wildcats? Will they leave with Farleys ute?

COUNTDOWN CLOCK

3 O'CLOCK  -  Bring Farley to Rope Blood Towers

6 O'CLOCK  -  Spending it up in town

9 O'CLOCK  -  Wildcats come hunting

10 O'CLOCK  -  Make a run for it

11 O'CLOCK  -  Ambushed

12 O'CLOCK  -  Dead

CONNECTED THREATS

Farley's ute

Wildcats

Badlands highways

Rope Blood Towers

Give me my fucking car back, you bastards!

THREAT #5

NAME  Rolfball the Butcher

KIND  Cannibal (grotesque)

IMPULSE  craves satiety and plenty

DESCRIPTION & CAST
Rolfball, the butcher
various cannibals of Rope Blood Towers

STAKES & QUESTIONS
Who will they eat next?

COUNTDOWN CLOCK

3 O'CLOCK

6 O'CLOCK

9 O'CLOCK

10 O'CLOCK

11 O'CLOCK

12 O'CLOCK

CONNECTED THREATS
Rope Blood Towers
Drivebelt Tyra & Gang

This one is not very fleshed out at this point. Rolfball is a stand in for the cannibals of RBT (Random Breath Test! An ironic acronym in a Driver game). By the rules, I probably should have done this as an Affliction, but this seems right somehow, until we learn more. If we learn more.

THREAT #6

NAME  Badlands highways

KIND  Mirage

IMPULSE  to entice and entrap

DESCRIPTION & CAST
Farley, his ute, the Red Mantis Gang, the Wildcats Gang.

STAKES & QUESTIONS

COUNTDOWN CLOCK

3 O'CLOCK

6 O'CLOCK

9 O'CLOCK

10 O'CLOCK

11 O'CLOCK

12 O'CLOCK

CONNECTED THREATS

Another not particularly thought out threat, hovering in the background. It represents a false promise of freedom and escape.

THREAT #7

NAME  The Wildcats

KIND  Mob

IMPULSE  Riot, burn, kill scapegoats

DESCRIPTION & CAST
The Wildcats, a large gang

STAKES & QUESTIONS
When will the Wildcats track down the Red Mantis Gang?
How will their presence destabilise Rope Blood Towers? Will they clash with Drivebelt?

COUNTDOWN CLOCK

3 O'CLOCK  -   Wildcats arrive

6 O'CLOCK  -  Wipe out Red Mantis

9 O'CLOCK  -  Betting in the games

10 O'CLOCK  -  Cheating at the games

11 O'CLOCK  -  violence erupts

12 O'CLOCK  -  Rope Blood Towers burnt to the ground

CONNECTED THREATS
Red Mantis Gang
Farleys's V8 ute
Drivebelt Tyra
Rope Blood Towers

This gang are set to ride into town and trash the whole place. Only Farley can stop it, should he want to.