I wrote a playbook for Apocalypse World, you can find it by clicking here
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Showing posts with label playbooks. Show all posts
Showing posts with label playbooks. Show all posts
Friday, February 11, 2022
Thursday, October 30, 2014
the unofficial playbook moves
I've been working on a project that is consuming more time than I thought it would, creating an index of all of the moves from the "unofficial" player-written playbooks of Apocalypse World. I wanted it to look and feel just like the index of moves from the official refbook pdf, however I've been using scribus to create my pdfs and I have not found a way to embed text within a pdf so that it may be copy+pasted. I stayed in wordpad for the index, and many pdfs had formatting issues so I had to fix typos and in some cases rearrange sentences or just retype them, then I alphabetized all of the moves. While doing all of this I got to really analyze every playbook. Many of these playbooks focus on relationships with NPCs and quantify them similar to gear or as part of moves. There are lots of unique mechanics like Sentience for the Synthetic or Rage for the Behemoth, etc. I decided to include brief summaries of what these things are and included them at the end of the document.
A link to the "unofficial" moves document = https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B9cu0IVYfHtiX2ZzbHU0bzNIWEU/view
This project started initially because I wanted to create an index of ALL of the moves that I would be able to give to my players and say "here's the moves list" but I've ended the project with a completely different perspective. I think each of the really unique playbooks are internally consistent, but picking up a move from another playbook is not always relative to the character you are playing. Thus, I think when a player chooses to get a move from another playbook the new move should perhaps be rewritten slightly to address the theme of the core playbook and overall tone of the character being played. I'm also regarding stat substitution moves as generally boring now, but that's a subject for another day. Rewriting the moves on the fly is just an idea, but one I'm going to experiment with a little. For now I have made sure that my document linked above is universal for anybody downloading it. The suggestions and descriptions are written generically, and directed toward the players rather than the MC.
I hope you find it useful!
A link to the "unofficial" moves document = https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B9cu0IVYfHtiX2ZzbHU0bzNIWEU/view
This project started initially because I wanted to create an index of ALL of the moves that I would be able to give to my players and say "here's the moves list" but I've ended the project with a completely different perspective. I think each of the really unique playbooks are internally consistent, but picking up a move from another playbook is not always relative to the character you are playing. Thus, I think when a player chooses to get a move from another playbook the new move should perhaps be rewritten slightly to address the theme of the core playbook and overall tone of the character being played. I'm also regarding stat substitution moves as generally boring now, but that's a subject for another day. Rewriting the moves on the fly is just an idea, but one I'm going to experiment with a little. For now I have made sure that my document linked above is universal for anybody downloading it. The suggestions and descriptions are written generically, and directed toward the players rather than the MC.
I hope you find it useful!
Friday, May 10, 2013
Dungeon World playbooks
I made letter-sized playbooks for Dungeon World, similar to Apocalypse World only in that they're printed double-sided and along the short edge of the page. I left plenty of empty space on the second page for changing Bonds around and picking up extra Gear.
And treasure of course!
Click on the pictures to see bigger versions

The pdfs are in color, but as you can see from the pictures they print off into black and white just fine. They're intended to be printed two-sided, divided by the short edge of the paper.
the Barbarian
the Dungeoneer, by Johnstone Metzger
And treasure of course!
Click on the pictures to see bigger versions
The pdfs are in color, but as you can see from the pictures they print off into black and white just fine. They're intended to be printed two-sided, divided by the short edge of the paper.
EXTRAS!
the Bard
the Cleric, and Cleric spells
the Druid
the Fighter
the Paladin
the Ranger
the Thief
the Wizard, and Wizard spells
Moves booklet
Friday, April 26, 2013
Writing Playbooks
I've written a few playbooks now, and I've looked through a lot of really promising builds for playbooks and some that are just atrocious. Having scoured the Barf Forth Apocalyptica forums and committed to memory many of the random details from Vincent about how he wrote the original 11 playbooks, I feel pretty confident in writing this step by step process for writing a playbook.
Step 1: Have an open-ended concept
This is key. Your concept is everything, it helps define what you're going to write about the playbook. But you can't cling to it like a bible. Your vision of the archetype can't be constrained and must be open to interpretation. The best playbooks have a concept which is clearly understood and open to enough interpretation that it doesn't force the character to behave a certain way. The archetype molds to the character, not the other way around.
Look at the core playbooks and you can see the archetypes clearly: the Brainer is a weird psychic, the Angel is a competent medic, the Driver is a car obsessive, etc.
Step 2: Balance isn't everything
Every playbook has a stat block that usually includes a "best" stat. In almost every instance, the stat blocks add up to a total of +3 (+2 +1 -1 +1 +0 = +3). In some instances a character starts with two stats at +2 and those break the mold, but those stat lines also have a consistent math of adding up to +2 (+2 +2 +0 -1 -1 = +2), the price you pay for starting with two +2s is one less beneficial point.
Also, every playbook should start with three moves, or things, that make it distinct. These don't need to be balanced in power with other playbooks, as long as the character simply has 3 things. Look at the core playbooks and they all have three things to start: the Gunlugger starts with a choice of 3 moves, the Driver has their car (1) the no shit driver move (2) and then a choice of a second move (3), and the Savvyhead has their workspace (1) and a choice of 2 more moves (2 and 3).
Again, there are some playbooks that break the mold, but these tend to be balanced within themselves:
the Battlebabe only chooses 2 moves to start, but they have a Cool +3 and that's their third thing
the Hardholder only has their hold and a gang, with moves that accompany each, however these are bigger than the holds and gangs other playbooks can get as improvements, plus the Hardholder explicitly never needs to spend money for food and lodging
the Operator gets gigs and moonlighting, plus one more move, but the Operator's gigs outnumber what other characters can get as improvements
Step 3: Scarcity is the name of the game
One of the key things when writing moves and improvements for your playbook is to remember the theme of scarcity. In other words, you can't get all of the options! Nothing is perfect in Apocalypse World and you're always left wanting a little more, this should apply to character improvement as well. If your playbook has 5 moves to choose from and you can choose 3 during character creation, then you should think about adding a 6th move, maybe even a 7th move, or limiting the "get a new playbook move" improvement so that there's one move you can't get.
Again, look at the examples with the core game:
the Skinner starts with 2 moves and can get 2 more through improvements, but there are 5 Skinner moves total
the Gunlugger starts with 3 moves and can get 2 more through improvements, but there are 7 Gunlugger moves total
Step 4: Peer review
Share your ideas with your gaming friends and ask them for criticism. Share your ideas in the forums and ask for criticism. There is no better resource for criticism than a gaming community, just remember to not let all criticism affect your work. When I first shared the Wolf some people noted the villainous nature of the archetype and said they didn't think it fit with the game, I ignored that criticism because FUCK YOU! Don't tell me how to play the game! Just because it wouldn't be fun for you or your group doesn't mean it won't be fun for me and mine. Those kinds of criticisms about the theme and tone of your work are useless. In a way, they are just an outsider reaction similar to that lack of trust one displays at the gaming table when somebody else is narrating the action.
But when somebody says "Hey, it looks like your math is wrong." or "Isn't this move just a weaker version of going aggro?" Those are valid. Listen to them.
Scratch that! Listen to everybody. Just keep your bullshit detector on a high frequency.
And don't wait until your playbook is finished to share it either. As soon as you have something to work with you should be talking about it and sharing it to see where the cracks are. Poke and prod at your work until you think it's solid.
Step 5: Play it!
Once you think your work is solid, you have got to play it. Get other people to play it if you can. Play it, play it, and play it some more. Because you will never have played it enough and somebody might still find something wrong with it.
That's all I've got. Good luck!
Step 1: Have an open-ended concept
This is key. Your concept is everything, it helps define what you're going to write about the playbook. But you can't cling to it like a bible. Your vision of the archetype can't be constrained and must be open to interpretation. The best playbooks have a concept which is clearly understood and open to enough interpretation that it doesn't force the character to behave a certain way. The archetype molds to the character, not the other way around.
Look at the core playbooks and you can see the archetypes clearly: the Brainer is a weird psychic, the Angel is a competent medic, the Driver is a car obsessive, etc.
Step 2: Balance isn't everything
Every playbook has a stat block that usually includes a "best" stat. In almost every instance, the stat blocks add up to a total of +3 (+2 +1 -1 +1 +0 = +3). In some instances a character starts with two stats at +2 and those break the mold, but those stat lines also have a consistent math of adding up to +2 (+2 +2 +0 -1 -1 = +2), the price you pay for starting with two +2s is one less beneficial point.
Also, every playbook should start with three moves, or things, that make it distinct. These don't need to be balanced in power with other playbooks, as long as the character simply has 3 things. Look at the core playbooks and they all have three things to start: the Gunlugger starts with a choice of 3 moves, the Driver has their car (1) the no shit driver move (2) and then a choice of a second move (3), and the Savvyhead has their workspace (1) and a choice of 2 more moves (2 and 3).
Again, there are some playbooks that break the mold, but these tend to be balanced within themselves:
the Battlebabe only chooses 2 moves to start, but they have a Cool +3 and that's their third thing
the Hardholder only has their hold and a gang, with moves that accompany each, however these are bigger than the holds and gangs other playbooks can get as improvements, plus the Hardholder explicitly never needs to spend money for food and lodging
the Operator gets gigs and moonlighting, plus one more move, but the Operator's gigs outnumber what other characters can get as improvements
Step 3: Scarcity is the name of the game
One of the key things when writing moves and improvements for your playbook is to remember the theme of scarcity. In other words, you can't get all of the options! Nothing is perfect in Apocalypse World and you're always left wanting a little more, this should apply to character improvement as well. If your playbook has 5 moves to choose from and you can choose 3 during character creation, then you should think about adding a 6th move, maybe even a 7th move, or limiting the "get a new playbook move" improvement so that there's one move you can't get.
Again, look at the examples with the core game:
the Skinner starts with 2 moves and can get 2 more through improvements, but there are 5 Skinner moves total
the Gunlugger starts with 3 moves and can get 2 more through improvements, but there are 7 Gunlugger moves total
Step 4: Peer review
Share your ideas with your gaming friends and ask them for criticism. Share your ideas in the forums and ask for criticism. There is no better resource for criticism than a gaming community, just remember to not let all criticism affect your work. When I first shared the Wolf some people noted the villainous nature of the archetype and said they didn't think it fit with the game, I ignored that criticism because FUCK YOU! Don't tell me how to play the game! Just because it wouldn't be fun for you or your group doesn't mean it won't be fun for me and mine. Those kinds of criticisms about the theme and tone of your work are useless. In a way, they are just an outsider reaction similar to that lack of trust one displays at the gaming table when somebody else is narrating the action.
But when somebody says "Hey, it looks like your math is wrong." or "Isn't this move just a weaker version of going aggro?" Those are valid. Listen to them.
Scratch that! Listen to everybody. Just keep your bullshit detector on a high frequency.
And don't wait until your playbook is finished to share it either. As soon as you have something to work with you should be talking about it and sharing it to see where the cracks are. Poke and prod at your work until you think it's solid.
Step 5: Play it!
Once you think your work is solid, you have got to play it. Get other people to play it if you can. Play it, play it, and play it some more. Because you will never have played it enough and somebody might still find something wrong with it.
That's all I've got. Good luck!
Monday, April 22, 2013
Introducing THE DOG
Everybody's got to eat, and humans have most of the food. It's win-win as far as you're concerned because most people seem to like you just because of what you are, without even being able to get to know you. If foraging and stealing isn't working for you, you do have other abilities you can rely upon.
Man's best friend. If they only knew.
When I was talking with Willow Palecek about fleshing out the missing spots of her The Boy & His Dog playbook, I spent some time re-reading the novella by Harlan Ellison titled "A Boy and His Dog" and I woke up the next day from a dream where I was a dog like Blood, telepathic and in the wasteland, and I mentioned the dream to Willow saying it would be an unusual spin if the playbook were for the dog and the human companion was the NPC that you could control and guide. Her response was "You should write it!" So I did.
SOME NOTES
1) The playbook is a little bit derivative, but my original write-up for the "psychic dog" archetype was incredibly complex and by trying to simplify it I realized that some of the things I had written were simply unnecessary.
2) Ears up, nose down is my rewrite of Willow's Somewhere over the wasteland move, which I felt the original was too harsh on the player, and Third nostril is just the Angel's Sixth sense. Once I had given the Dog a +3 in Sharp as one of it's main "things" I felt the move was perfect and didn't want to rewrite something new and convoluted to do a similar thing. Besides, the Angel's Sixth sense is identical to the Driver's Weather eye so I also didn't feel I was breaking a rule of playbook creation by having an identical move with a different name. Then Lassie come home is not identical to Bonefeel but I used Bonefeel as the starting point. The hold from Lassie come home is triggered by wanting to help or interfere with another PC, so it's meant to act as a "that dog that's been following you was just waiting for you behind the door" or "that dog that's been following you leaps in through the window, attacking that guy" sort of move.
3) The human companion is a unique feature of the playbook, separate from the A Friend in the Wasteland starting move. They always have +tele-radar so the dog will always have at least one person they can consistently communicate with. The A Friend in the Wasteland move doesn't give +tele-radar because another character might conceivably take that move. Think of A Friend in the Wasteland as the "I'm getting a loyal follower" move. It's written in such a way that the character could be a confidant or ally, like Batman's butler Alfred or Batman's sidekick Robin, but when The Dog has a follower they get +tele-radar.
4) You're a psychic dog! is not a move. That's why it's on the back of the playbook and it's not listed as a starting move. It's a feature of the playbook, and other characters should not be able to get it, unless your MC is running a very weird game.
link = the Dog playbook
if you use this in your group, I would love to hear about how it played, please e-mail me with your stories:
nerdwerds AT gmail
Man's best friend. If they only knew.
SOME NOTES
1) The playbook is a little bit derivative, but my original write-up for the "psychic dog" archetype was incredibly complex and by trying to simplify it I realized that some of the things I had written were simply unnecessary.
2) Ears up, nose down is my rewrite of Willow's Somewhere over the wasteland move, which I felt the original was too harsh on the player, and Third nostril is just the Angel's Sixth sense. Once I had given the Dog a +3 in Sharp as one of it's main "things" I felt the move was perfect and didn't want to rewrite something new and convoluted to do a similar thing. Besides, the Angel's Sixth sense is identical to the Driver's Weather eye so I also didn't feel I was breaking a rule of playbook creation by having an identical move with a different name. Then Lassie come home is not identical to Bonefeel but I used Bonefeel as the starting point. The hold from Lassie come home is triggered by wanting to help or interfere with another PC, so it's meant to act as a "that dog that's been following you was just waiting for you behind the door" or "that dog that's been following you leaps in through the window, attacking that guy" sort of move.
3) The human companion is a unique feature of the playbook, separate from the A Friend in the Wasteland starting move. They always have +tele-radar so the dog will always have at least one person they can consistently communicate with. The A Friend in the Wasteland move doesn't give +tele-radar because another character might conceivably take that move. Think of A Friend in the Wasteland as the "I'm getting a loyal follower" move. It's written in such a way that the character could be a confidant or ally, like Batman's butler Alfred or Batman's sidekick Robin, but when The Dog has a follower they get +tele-radar.
4) You're a psychic dog! is not a move. That's why it's on the back of the playbook and it's not listed as a starting move. It's a feature of the playbook, and other characters should not be able to get it, unless your MC is running a very weird game.
link = the Dog playbook
if you use this in your group, I would love to hear about how it played, please e-mail me with your stories:
nerdwerds AT gmail
Monday, April 15, 2013
What is Apocalypse World?
For distribution at conventions and introducing to new players, I created this informative brochure about Apocalypse World in the style of a character playbook from Apocalypse World.


link = What is Apocalypse World?
http://www.apocalypse-world.com
link = What is Apocalypse World?
http://www.apocalypse-world.com
Sunday, April 7, 2013
Introducing THE WOLF
The world is a dangerous place filled with smoke and mirrors, it’s a steaming pile of crap where others bicker and fight over meaningless twaddle. They circle each other like dogs, waiting to bite the closest friend with a leg up. You’re in this world too, but you see through the smoke, you’re above the crap, and you have the leash. You just have to teach them all who’s really in charge.

Originally written in a flurry of activity as a response to the Solace. I was never entirely happy with some of the moves I had written and one move in particular was rewritten five times before I eventually just abandoned it and wrote something new to replace it. This is probably the third version of the playbook, but maybe not the final version since I still need to playtest it.
SOME NOTES
1) The Wolf is a villain. It gives a player the opportunity to be an additional threat impulse, but they will have to contend with NPC threats just like the other players. I initially planned on calling the playbook The Instigator and He's got a gun! was the first move I wrote. This quickly changed when I embraced the concept that a player might want to actively be a wolf of the maelstrom (as described in the Solace playbook).
2) Many of the moves are literal reverses of the Solace's moves. He's got a gun! is the opposite of Disarming presence, Taking care of business is the opposite of An understanding, and Howling into the wind is the opposite of A higher standard. The Wolf is not just a predatory character, but I envisioned it being the antithesis of the Solace.
3) The suitcase of secrets was my take on the opposition of the Solace's threshold. I don't expect NPC wolves would all have suitcases, but this Wolf does because it is THE Wolf. I envision the suitcase as being a direct conduit to whatever sentient force might exist within or as a part of the world's psychic maelstrom. The suitcase is not just a tool for the Wolf, but it's an object that allows the MC to barf forth apocalyptica every time it's used, carried, or looked at.
4) Finally, keen eyes might notice that when you retire your character you can do so "as a threat" and this is exactly what it means. You give the character to the MC and they can keep using it as a threat impulse within the game. In general, I think retiring your character should give the player a bit of dictatorial control as to what happens to that character, and being able to say that your old Wolf is still out there fucking with people is just too cool to pass up!
link = the Wolf playbook
if you use this in your group, I would love to hear about how it played, please e-mail me with your stories:
nerdwerds AT gmail
Originally written in a flurry of activity as a response to the Solace. I was never entirely happy with some of the moves I had written and one move in particular was rewritten five times before I eventually just abandoned it and wrote something new to replace it. This is probably the third version of the playbook, but maybe not the final version since I still need to playtest it.
SOME NOTES
1) The Wolf is a villain. It gives a player the opportunity to be an additional threat impulse, but they will have to contend with NPC threats just like the other players. I initially planned on calling the playbook The Instigator and He's got a gun! was the first move I wrote. This quickly changed when I embraced the concept that a player might want to actively be a wolf of the maelstrom (as described in the Solace playbook).
2) Many of the moves are literal reverses of the Solace's moves. He's got a gun! is the opposite of Disarming presence, Taking care of business is the opposite of An understanding, and Howling into the wind is the opposite of A higher standard. The Wolf is not just a predatory character, but I envisioned it being the antithesis of the Solace.
3) The suitcase of secrets was my take on the opposition of the Solace's threshold. I don't expect NPC wolves would all have suitcases, but this Wolf does because it is THE Wolf. I envision the suitcase as being a direct conduit to whatever sentient force might exist within or as a part of the world's psychic maelstrom. The suitcase is not just a tool for the Wolf, but it's an object that allows the MC to barf forth apocalyptica every time it's used, carried, or looked at.
4) Finally, keen eyes might notice that when you retire your character you can do so "as a threat" and this is exactly what it means. You give the character to the MC and they can keep using it as a threat impulse within the game. In general, I think retiring your character should give the player a bit of dictatorial control as to what happens to that character, and being able to say that your old Wolf is still out there fucking with people is just too cool to pass up!
link = the Wolf playbook
if you use this in your group, I would love to hear about how it played, please e-mail me with your stories:
nerdwerds AT gmail
Thursday, February 14, 2013
new Apocalypse World playbooks
I can make my own pdfs now, which means that I've turned my response to the Solace into a trifold pdf: the Wolf
I also made a Basic Moves playbook that includes the descriptions for the advanced versions of the basic moves, I called the file Advanced Moves
Another member of the AW community is really active and always posting his ideas to the google+ forum, and I took his concept of character with a pack of animals into a pdf: the Wrangler
The MC of my Sunday game wrote up notes for a Boy And His Dog playbook, but when she posted her ideas to the Barf Forth Apocalypica forums it seems the conversation derailed away from her ideas and another user supplanted a lot of his own ideas, then somebody else turned that into a playbook. I asked Willow for her notes and I put what she had into a new version of the playbook: the Boy & His Dog
I asked Johnstone Metzger if I could get a copy of the Heralds of Hell playbooks, mainly because I was curious about seeing them and in many forums they were described as print-only, but it turns out he had them in a pdf and he sent them to me. When I asked him if I could turn them into trifolds and distribute them he said "do whatever you want with them" and so I started turning them into playbooks: the Damned, the Haunted, and the Sorcerer
Finally, the author of the Wrangler and I worked together to make a different kind of playbook: the Beast Master
All of which have been quietly added to my omnibus page of playbooks.
It's actually incredibly easy for me to make trifolds. I have a generic playbook file set up and all I have to do is copy-paste text into the boxes. Empty space is the hardest part because it needs to be filled with info boxes for gear and barter, and these usually need to be custom-made for the spaces that the text fills up. But the longest this takes is two hours. Making the portrait that accompanies the playbook can take another one or two hours, depending on the complexity of the image. I'm slowly going through the potential playbooks that are talked about in the forums and turning them into trifolds, but in the meantime I've also made custom character trifolds for my gaming group.

I also made a Basic Moves playbook that includes the descriptions for the advanced versions of the basic moves, I called the file Advanced Moves
Another member of the AW community is really active and always posting his ideas to the google+ forum, and I took his concept of character with a pack of animals into a pdf: the Wrangler
The MC of my Sunday game wrote up notes for a Boy And His Dog playbook, but when she posted her ideas to the Barf Forth Apocalypica forums it seems the conversation derailed away from her ideas and another user supplanted a lot of his own ideas, then somebody else turned that into a playbook. I asked Willow for her notes and I put what she had into a new version of the playbook: the Boy & His Dog
I asked Johnstone Metzger if I could get a copy of the Heralds of Hell playbooks, mainly because I was curious about seeing them and in many forums they were described as print-only, but it turns out he had them in a pdf and he sent them to me. When I asked him if I could turn them into trifolds and distribute them he said "do whatever you want with them" and so I started turning them into playbooks: the Damned, the Haunted, and the Sorcerer
Finally, the author of the Wrangler and I worked together to make a different kind of playbook: the Beast Master
All of which have been quietly added to my omnibus page of playbooks.
It's actually incredibly easy for me to make trifolds. I have a generic playbook file set up and all I have to do is copy-paste text into the boxes. Empty space is the hardest part because it needs to be filled with info boxes for gear and barter, and these usually need to be custom-made for the spaces that the text fills up. But the longest this takes is two hours. Making the portrait that accompanies the playbook can take another one or two hours, depending on the complexity of the image. I'm slowly going through the potential playbooks that are talked about in the forums and turning them into trifolds, but in the meantime I've also made custom character trifolds for my gaming group.
Friday, December 14, 2012
ALL of the Playbooks
If you want to contact me to share a new playbook, inform me of a dead link, or anything about this page, put "AW page" in the subject heading and send it to nerdwerds AT gmail dot com
Keep checking back! Last updates...
December, 2021 = moved my own playbooks to itch
November 22, 2021 = I'm getting rid of all of the non-AW links on this page. I gave up following all of the individual PbtA hacks a long time ago, and it's not my place to support games that in most cases I know nothing about. This page has gotten entirely too long and bloated, and it's already quite large with all of the playbooks that have been made! (also, I haven't been playing AW for several years, but I am set to start a new game soon, and hopefully that will push me to finish converting more of the 1st edition playbooks into 2nd edition.)
September 29, 2021 = it's been awhile! Google Drive has updated their service twice over and it changed all of the sharing options on the pdfs, I want to find a new place to host the pdfs and until then trying to download a pdf requires me to "approve" the download, sorry about this, I'll try to get it fixed soon
October 1, 2017 = Added the Dog playbook, removed 1st edition version
August 31, 2017 = Added flipbook-style playbook links
If you download anything from this page, please donate a little money to Doctors Without Borders. Thanks!
2nd edition!
"old school" legal-size playbooks
link to download
includes Angel, Battlebabe, Brainer, Chopper, Driver, Gunlugger, Hardholder, Hocus, Maestro d', Savvyhead, Skinner, Child-Thing, Faceless, News, Quarantine, Show, Waterbearer, and Landfall Marine
Unnofficial Playbooks
The Beemaster, by Zach Staads
In olden days, folks told tales of fantastic places and bold adventurers. Some fought with steel, some with smarts, and some through furred, scaled, or feathered friends, animalistic companions bold and loyal.
Aint no one telling fantastic tales any more, but the real weird makes up for it; you might not have a direwolf or a chimera, but you've sure got a hell of a lot of bees.
Inspired by Drawfee and the Beeforged fan class from 5th edition D&D.
legal size

The Damned, by Johnstone Metzger
The apocalypse came and went, now its leftover terrors lie across the land like a plague of fear. The weak cower in their hovels, content to eke out a meager life, praying that demons in the guise of men will pass them over. For those demons have no fears, they refuse to kneel, they want your crowns. And how will you threaten them from atop your thrones? How can you reason with a fiend when all it knows is hunger?
Johnstone Metzger once granted me permission to convert his Heralds of Hell playbooks into a legal-size format, and he granted me permission again to revise those same playbooks to the second edition rules for Apocalypse World.
LINKS
letter size
legal size
full book size
The Dog, by Patrick Mallah
Man's best friend.
If they only knew.
A playbook for Apocalypse World that puts the player into the role of a psychic dog, heavily inspired by the novella A Boy and His Dog by Harlan Ellison.
The dog is a telepath, and is supported by their own human companion and/or the other players. If you've ever wanted to play a psychic dog, this is the playbook for you. Warning: you are still just a dog, and all that implies.
letter size
The Grotesque, by Avery Adler
They talk about the apocalypse like it’s a curse. They talk about the apocalypse like it took something from them - the golden age of once upon a time. They talk about the apocalypse like it’s an act of betrayal, perpetrated by some malign entity.
They talk about the apocalypse as if they don’t realize you’re standing right there.
Thanks to the generous permission granted by Avery Alder, I have revised the Grotesque playbook to fit with the second edition rules for Apocalypse World, with all new artwork provided by Marie Ann Mallah!
LINKS
letter size
legal size
full book size
The Haunted, by Johnstone Metzger
Everything we have is robbed from graves, from corpses entombed in their own homes, from the dead cities buried under dirt and water, from the past and its memories. Do you think they see you, with their crowpicked eye-holes? Can you hear them speak, with their black and bloated mouths? Yeah, go ahead, son. Brush it off. But there’s more things under these shattered heavens than you think. The dead far outnumber the living now. And I have to wonder: is there still room enough in hell?
Once upon a time Johnstone Metzger granted me permission to convert his Heralds of Hell playbooks into a legal-size format, and I asked him again for permission to revise those same playbooks to the second edition rules for Apocalypse World, which he granted.
LINKS
letter size
legal size
full book size
The Horseman, by Johnstone Metzger
Those seals are broken and the end has come.
Seems like we didn't all get the message, huh?
Well, somebody has to break the bad news to the fools gone deaf.
Better be one tough sonofabitch though.
These motherfuckers are likely to kill the messenger.
Johnstone Metzger once granted me permission to convert his Heralds of Hell playbooks into a legal-size format, and now he has granted me permission again to revise those same playbooks to the second edition rules for Apocalypse World.
The Red Shirt, by Patrick Mallah
They say some people were born to lead. They weren't talking about you.
The red shirt is a henchman to someone else's agenda, an expendable but not forgettable character. Play a red shirt if you want to be a support character. Warning: prepare to die, but give yourself permission to change allegiances if you need to.
letter size
The Unstitched, by Patrick Mallah
You're on a crusade to save your home, you've stepped sideways through the maelstrom to fulfill your duty, only to find yourself dancing with death. You're here now, unstuck from your own time, and you know that all of this happened already, more or less.
An ingratiating infiltrator who knows too much, struggling to find their own peace. Play an unstitched if you want to have access to the most dangerous knowledge about anyone else, or anywhen. Warning: failing your mission from the future can seriously change your plans, unless that IS your plan.
letter size
The Wolf, by Patrick Mallah
The world is a dangerous place filled with smoke and mirrors, it's a steaming pile of crap where others bicker and fight over meaningless twaddle. They circle each other like dogs, waiting to bite the closest friend with a leg up. You're in this world too, but you see through the smoke, you're above the crap, and you have the leash. You just have to teach them who's really in charge.
The wolf is a villain. It gives a player the opportunity to be an additional threat impulse, but still has to contend with threats the MC throws at them. Play a wolf if you want to stir up shit and start trouble. Warning: you will be considered a threat and a nuisance by everybody else.
letter size
LINKS
letter size
legal size
full book size
The Last Child, by Johnstone Metzger
We knew we’d never live enough to grow old, but our children never even grow up. Between cannibals, plague and the black wind howling in our minds, the souls of our young are snatched from our homes nearly every day.
Except for that one, the youngest. The last one born, who looks at you like they say the sun used to, before all of this. Don’t speak of kill or be killed, this one has other means, so strange to see. Is this child really the last of us, or the first of something else?
Johnstone Metzger once granted me permission to convert his Heralds of Hell playbooks into a legal-size format, and now he has granted me permission again to revise those same playbooks to the second edition rules for Apocalypse World.
LINKS
letter size
legal size
full book size
1st edition!
Apocalypse World - tri-fold pdfs of player-made Playbooks
the Agent, by Madu - the 3rd version, but if the pdf doesn't work for you HERE is a link to the 1st version
this playbook was originally posted to the AW forum HERE
the Beast Master, by Tim Franzke & Patrick Mallah

the Behemoth (original), by J. Walton (alpha, possibly subject to change)
the Behemoth (trifold), by J. Walton (alpha, possibly subject to change)
the Boy and his Dog, by Dragonraven (seems incomplete)
the Boy & His Dog, by Willow Palecek
the Coot, by Dan Hull
the Damned, one of the Heralds of Hell playbooks, by Johnstone Metzger
Basically a vampire but they feed on sin, they get close to people find the worst ones then feed their hunger. If you want to be sneaky and have moral ambiguity, play a Damned. Warning: your hunger dominates everything you do, and it is also your greatest sin
the Feral Kid, by Mike Sands
the Giant & the Kid, by Davide
the Grotesque, by Avery Mcdaldno - follow instructions at the link, IT'S WORTH IT!
Basically a mutant. Unpredictable and alien, the Grotesque is sometimes defined by their mutations but they also have something good to offer the community that accepts them. If you want to be a capital-W weird outsider, then play a Grotesque. Warning: being grotesque doesn't make you a threat, but it does make threats zero in on you
the Haunted, one of the Heralds of Hell playbooks, by Johnstone Metzger
the Horseman, one of the Heralds of Hell playbooks, by Johnstone Metzger
the Juggernaut, by Mike Sands
the Kid, author unknown, based on Mike Sands' the Feral Kid
the Last Child, one of the Heralds of Hell playbooks, by Johnstone Metzger
the Man in the Box, a not very serious playbook by Yragaël Malbos
the Orphan, by Jamie Fristrom & Matt Strickling
the Radio, by Monte Lin
the Rat-Pack, by Gerald C.
the Ruin Runner, by Jeff Russell
the Scholar, by dheeney
the Shieldbearer, by Markus Öhman
Basically a sheriff. They exude authority and people listen to them. If you want to push people around just by being canny and smart, play a Shieldbearer. Warning: by setting yourself up as the authority who can muscle into anybody's shit, and everybody will be coming to you looking for help with their shit
the Shieldbearer - Officer Dangle artwork, by Markus Öhman
the Sorceror, one of the Heralds of Hell playbooks, by Johnstone Metzger
the Spectacle, by Sean Musgrave
Basically a gladiator. They're decent fighters all on their own, but mostly for show and adulation. If you want people to love you and still be a badass, play a Spectacle. Warning: being in the limelight is not always the best place to be, and fans can also be fickle if they feel mistreated

the Synthetic, by Nathan Roberts (noofy)
the Tribal, original artwork, by Dragonraven
the Tribal, by Dragonraven
the Turncoat, by Nick Doyle
the Witch, by Christopher Weeks
the Wolf, by Patrick Mallah
Warning: you will be considered a threat and a nuisance by everybody else
the Wrangler, by Tim Franzke
Basically an animal handler. They own a pack of animals and have a strange connection to them, which means security, happiness, and peace, as long as your pack is fed and alive. If you want to do awesome and weird things and still keep others at a distance, play a Wrangler. Warning: your pack is awesome, but you’ll be at a pretty significant disadvantage when they aren’t around, plus people will think you smell funny
Apocalypse World - Expansion Playbooks
the Broodmother - a Brainer expansion, by Jonathan Walton
the Catalyst - a Battlebabe expansion, by Jonathan Walton
the Devoted - a Brainer expansion, by Dylan Boates
the Fallen - a Quarantine expansion, by Jonathan Walton
the Living God - a Hocus expansion, by Johnstone Metzger
the Loner - a Gunlugger expansion, by Jonathan Walton
the Maelstrom Incarnate - a universal expansion, by Joshua Bailey
The Mendicant - a Touchstone expansion, by Jonathan Walton
the Valkyrie - a Battlebabe expansion, by Jonathan Walton
the Witch King - a Hocus expansion, by Ben Wray
the Wurm - a Hoarder expansion, by Jonathan Walton
Apocalypse World - Party Favors
Advanced Moves - basic moves playbooks with the advanced versions of the moves added into their descriptions
The Afterborn - an MC and player resource for role-playing young adults in Apocalypse World, by Jonathan Walton
Blank Cards - for Customs Moves, +1s, and Mysteries, by Patrick Mallah
Blood & Guts - an alternative to and more detailed version of the Harm move, by Simon C.
generic playbook - a Scribus file for creating your own trifold playbooks
Harm Moves - alternate or extra harm moves, by Paul Taliesin
the 11 Core Playbooks + Moves - the core playbooks and pamphlets as single-page sheets, by John Harper
MC Toolkit - random settlements, NPCs, hazards, etc., by Michael Bay
NPC Generator
Playbook Template
Supplemental - a trifold containing information from the Mysteries and Walkingsuit supplementals
What is Apocalypse World? - an informational brochure for introducing new players to the game
Apocalypse World - downloads or forum posts where a new playbook is described but no tri-fold pdf exists (yet)
the Abacus
the Firebug
the Hound
the Revenant
the Swashbuckler
the Transmitter
the Traveller
the Wildcard
ORIGINAL POST
Many of the player-created playbooks for Apocalypse World are hard to track down, and that's kind of annoying. I'm actually surprised at how many comments I've seen online from people saying "I don't have that one" or "I only have these."
It looks like about a year ago there was this trading community happening with a handful of people on a few forums, probably because there was no single place to upload files to, but as somebody who is relatively new to Apocalypse World it feels like there are players hoarding playbooks and not sharing them with the rest of us who are late to the party, and that attitude seems really childish.
When I do searches for playbooks the first page almost always links back to multiple forums where one person is spam-asking for the same playbooks over and over again, yet he refuses to share what he's acquired unless somebody else trades him something new. Today he offered to sell me all of the playbooks he's accumulated for $15. So, you know, if you wrote a playbook that you intended to share with other players there's one guy out there trying to profit from your work without sharing the profit with you. In contrast, the stuff that I spent the last few weeks working on I make publicly available on my blog for anybody to use.
I feel that this whole trading and keeping it hard to find attitude also runs counter to the spirit of encouragement D. Vincent Baker wrote into the game by asking people to hack the game and make it their own. I think there needs to be a unified place for those who've contributed to AW, even in a small way, to share their work and get recognition for it. The Barf Forth Apocalyptica forums are difficult to navigate at times, there isn't a list of links to others' work, and there isn't a single sticky-ed thread that lists all of the great work that's come out of the community.
I'm making this post in the hopes that other people with player-made custom playbooks will upload their work to the internet and share their work with the rest of us. Here are links or instructions for getting all of the playbooks I've managed to find online. (If I know who wrote it, I also credit them.)
UPDATED, November 2013
When I first started this page I thought there were only about a dozen playbooks that had been made by other players. I'm truly surprised at the abundance of work that has been done, the shared enthusiasm so many people hold for the Apocalypse World rules, and the generosity so many of the creators of these links have shared. There are also TONS of hacks!
edit edit edit

Keep checking back! Last updates...
December, 2021 = moved my own playbooks to itch
November 22, 2021 = I'm getting rid of all of the non-AW links on this page. I gave up following all of the individual PbtA hacks a long time ago, and it's not my place to support games that in most cases I know nothing about. This page has gotten entirely too long and bloated, and it's already quite large with all of the playbooks that have been made! (also, I haven't been playing AW for several years, but I am set to start a new game soon, and hopefully that will push me to finish converting more of the 1st edition playbooks into 2nd edition.)
September 29, 2021 = it's been awhile! Google Drive has updated their service twice over and it changed all of the sharing options on the pdfs, I want to find a new place to host the pdfs and until then trying to download a pdf requires me to "approve" the download, sorry about this, I'll try to get it fixed soon
October 1, 2017 = Added the Dog playbook, removed 1st edition version
August 31, 2017 = Added flipbook-style playbook links
If you download anything from this page, please donate a little money to Doctors Without Borders. Thanks!
2nd edition!
"old school" legal-size playbooks
link to download
includes Angel, Battlebabe, Brainer, Chopper, Driver, Gunlugger, Hardholder, Hocus, Maestro d', Savvyhead, Skinner, Child-Thing, Faceless, News, Quarantine, Show, Waterbearer, and Landfall Marine
Unnofficial Playbooks
The Beemaster, by Zach StaadsIn olden days, folks told tales of fantastic places and bold adventurers. Some fought with steel, some with smarts, and some through furred, scaled, or feathered friends, animalistic companions bold and loyal.
Aint no one telling fantastic tales any more, but the real weird makes up for it; you might not have a direwolf or a chimera, but you've sure got a hell of a lot of bees.
Inspired by Drawfee and the Beeforged fan class from 5th edition D&D.
legal size

The Damned, by Johnstone Metzger
The apocalypse came and went, now its leftover terrors lie across the land like a plague of fear. The weak cower in their hovels, content to eke out a meager life, praying that demons in the guise of men will pass them over. For those demons have no fears, they refuse to kneel, they want your crowns. And how will you threaten them from atop your thrones? How can you reason with a fiend when all it knows is hunger?
Johnstone Metzger once granted me permission to convert his Heralds of Hell playbooks into a legal-size format, and he granted me permission again to revise those same playbooks to the second edition rules for Apocalypse World.
LINKS
letter size
legal size
full book size
Man's best friend.
If they only knew.
A playbook for Apocalypse World that puts the player into the role of a psychic dog, heavily inspired by the novella A Boy and His Dog by Harlan Ellison.
The dog is a telepath, and is supported by their own human companion and/or the other players. If you've ever wanted to play a psychic dog, this is the playbook for you. Warning: you are still just a dog, and all that implies.
letter size
The Grotesque, by Avery AdlerThey talk about the apocalypse like it’s a curse. They talk about the apocalypse like it took something from them - the golden age of once upon a time. They talk about the apocalypse like it’s an act of betrayal, perpetrated by some malign entity.
They talk about the apocalypse as if they don’t realize you’re standing right there.
Thanks to the generous permission granted by Avery Alder, I have revised the Grotesque playbook to fit with the second edition rules for Apocalypse World, with all new artwork provided by Marie Ann Mallah!
LINKS
letter size
legal size
full book size
The Haunted, by Johnstone Metzger
Everything we have is robbed from graves, from corpses entombed in their own homes, from the dead cities buried under dirt and water, from the past and its memories. Do you think they see you, with their crowpicked eye-holes? Can you hear them speak, with their black and bloated mouths? Yeah, go ahead, son. Brush it off. But there’s more things under these shattered heavens than you think. The dead far outnumber the living now. And I have to wonder: is there still room enough in hell? Once upon a time Johnstone Metzger granted me permission to convert his Heralds of Hell playbooks into a legal-size format, and I asked him again for permission to revise those same playbooks to the second edition rules for Apocalypse World, which he granted.
LINKS
letter size
legal size
full book size
The Horseman, by Johnstone Metzger
Those seals are broken and the end has come. Seems like we didn't all get the message, huh?
Well, somebody has to break the bad news to the fools gone deaf.
Better be one tough sonofabitch though.
These motherfuckers are likely to kill the messenger.
Johnstone Metzger once granted me permission to convert his Heralds of Hell playbooks into a legal-size format, and now he has granted me permission again to revise those same playbooks to the second edition rules for Apocalypse World.
The Red Shirt, by Patrick MallahThey say some people were born to lead. They weren't talking about you.
The red shirt is a henchman to someone else's agenda, an expendable but not forgettable character. Play a red shirt if you want to be a support character. Warning: prepare to die, but give yourself permission to change allegiances if you need to.
letter size
The Unstitched, by Patrick MallahYou're on a crusade to save your home, you've stepped sideways through the maelstrom to fulfill your duty, only to find yourself dancing with death. You're here now, unstuck from your own time, and you know that all of this happened already, more or less.
An ingratiating infiltrator who knows too much, struggling to find their own peace. Play an unstitched if you want to have access to the most dangerous knowledge about anyone else, or anywhen. Warning: failing your mission from the future can seriously change your plans, unless that IS your plan.
letter size
The Wolf, by Patrick MallahThe world is a dangerous place filled with smoke and mirrors, it's a steaming pile of crap where others bicker and fight over meaningless twaddle. They circle each other like dogs, waiting to bite the closest friend with a leg up. You're in this world too, but you see through the smoke, you're above the crap, and you have the leash. You just have to teach them who's really in charge.
The wolf is a villain. It gives a player the opportunity to be an additional threat impulse, but still has to contend with threats the MC throws at them. Play a wolf if you want to stir up shit and start trouble. Warning: you will be considered a threat and a nuisance by everybody else.
letter size
LINKS
letter size
legal size
full book size
The Last Child, by Johnstone MetzgerWe knew we’d never live enough to grow old, but our children never even grow up. Between cannibals, plague and the black wind howling in our minds, the souls of our young are snatched from our homes nearly every day.
Except for that one, the youngest. The last one born, who looks at you like they say the sun used to, before all of this. Don’t speak of kill or be killed, this one has other means, so strange to see. Is this child really the last of us, or the first of something else?
Johnstone Metzger once granted me permission to convert his Heralds of Hell playbooks into a legal-size format, and now he has granted me permission again to revise those same playbooks to the second edition rules for Apocalypse World.
LINKS
letter size
legal size
full book size
1st edition!
Apocalypse World - tri-fold pdfs of player-made Playbooks
this playbook was originally posted to the AW forum HERE
the Behemoth (original), by J. Walton (alpha, possibly subject to change)
the Behemoth (trifold), by J. Walton (alpha, possibly subject to change)
Basically a vampire but they feed on sin, they get close to people find the worst ones then feed their hunger. If you want to be sneaky and have moral ambiguity, play a Damned. Warning: your hunger dominates everything you do, and it is also your greatest sin
Basically a mutant. Unpredictable and alien, the Grotesque is sometimes defined by their mutations but they also have something good to offer the community that accepts them. If you want to be a capital-W weird outsider, then play a Grotesque. Warning: being grotesque doesn't make you a threat, but it does make threats zero in on you
Basically a sheriff. They exude authority and people listen to them. If you want to push people around just by being canny and smart, play a Shieldbearer. Warning: by setting yourself up as the authority who can muscle into anybody's shit, and everybody will be coming to you looking for help with their shit
Basically a gladiator. They're decent fighters all on their own, but mostly for show and adulation. If you want people to love you and still be a badass, play a Spectacle. Warning: being in the limelight is not always the best place to be, and fans can also be fickle if they feel mistreated
Warning: you will be considered a threat and a nuisance by everybody else
Basically an animal handler. They own a pack of animals and have a strange connection to them, which means security, happiness, and peace, as long as your pack is fed and alive. If you want to do awesome and weird things and still keep others at a distance, play a Wrangler. Warning: your pack is awesome, but you’ll be at a pretty significant disadvantage when they aren’t around, plus people will think you smell funny
Apocalypse World - Expansion Playbooks
Apocalypse World - Party Favors
Apocalypse World - downloads or forum posts where a new playbook is described but no tri-fold pdf exists (yet)
ORIGINAL POST
Many of the player-created playbooks for Apocalypse World are hard to track down, and that's kind of annoying. I'm actually surprised at how many comments I've seen online from people saying "I don't have that one" or "I only have these."
It looks like about a year ago there was this trading community happening with a handful of people on a few forums, probably because there was no single place to upload files to, but as somebody who is relatively new to Apocalypse World it feels like there are players hoarding playbooks and not sharing them with the rest of us who are late to the party, and that attitude seems really childish.
When I do searches for playbooks the first page almost always links back to multiple forums where one person is spam-asking for the same playbooks over and over again, yet he refuses to share what he's acquired unless somebody else trades him something new. Today he offered to sell me all of the playbooks he's accumulated for $15. So, you know, if you wrote a playbook that you intended to share with other players there's one guy out there trying to profit from your work without sharing the profit with you. In contrast, the stuff that I spent the last few weeks working on I make publicly available on my blog for anybody to use.
I feel that this whole trading and keeping it hard to find attitude also runs counter to the spirit of encouragement D. Vincent Baker wrote into the game by asking people to hack the game and make it their own. I think there needs to be a unified place for those who've contributed to AW, even in a small way, to share their work and get recognition for it. The Barf Forth Apocalyptica forums are difficult to navigate at times, there isn't a list of links to others' work, and there isn't a single sticky-ed thread that lists all of the great work that's come out of the community.
I'm making this post in the hopes that other people with player-made custom playbooks will upload their work to the internet and share their work with the rest of us. Here are links or instructions for getting all of the playbooks I've managed to find online. (If I know who wrote it, I also credit them.)
UPDATED, November 2013
When I first started this page I thought there were only about a dozen playbooks that had been made by other players. I'm truly surprised at the abundance of work that has been done, the shared enthusiasm so many people hold for the Apocalypse World rules, and the generosity so many of the creators of these links have shared. There are also TONS of hacks!
edit edit edit

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