The Big Easy: a 1940s Noir game using Urban Shadows

I've been working on a D6 version of Unknown Armies recently, using the old rules from D6 Star Wars from West End Games, but that is probably for another post as I make progress with it. In short it combines the best elements of both games into what I hope will be a harmonious whole. I also need to finish writing the 1940 instalment of my Achtung Cthulhu campaign - if you are interested in the initial chapter from 1939, you can read about it here.

I've had an idea for a noir campaign using the Apocalypse World engine which would require me to work up some playbooks - some time ago, I ran a Deadlands Noir campaign which was very enjoyable, set in 1930s New Orleans. Having perused the PBtA game, Urban Shadows, it struck me that the ingredients were here for a noir game in the Big Easy...

Urban Shadows is a World of Darkness / urban fantasy game, but what makes it interesting is that it also includes faction politics and debts as a big part of its context. While you can play vampires, werewolves, monster hunters, etc each playbook is aligned with one of the four factions which dominate the supernatural underworld of the city that the campaign is set in.

Instead, let's think here about a 1940s New Orleans along the lines of the film Angelheart, but using the same faction mechanics as Urban Shadows. The game requires about four factions, with 3-4 play books associated with each faction. It is not necessary for playbooks to be used from every faction, as far as I can see. For example, in Urban Shadows, there is nothing to prevent the players from all picking playbooks from the Mortal faction.

For my Big Easy game I came up with the following factions pretty quickly:

• The Underworld: the criminals who are responsible for all illegal activity in the city
• The Powerful: those in positions of influence, who are really in charge of the city
• The People: those trying to get by, but who also represent the opinions and real interests of the citizens, the normal folk. This is also a bit of a catch-all for playbooks that don't go anywhere else!
• The Supernatural: those who are able to exercise some level of occult power; I had pondered going with a 'zero magic' campaign, in which case this faction might be the Outsiders...e.g the Hobo.
• The Outsiders: heck, let's throw it in here. These are the people marginalised and looked down on by everyone else, but they have their own interests.

So let's look at a couple of the factions and what sort of playbooks you can expect from this setting.

The Underworld

This faction is really the city's criminal fraternity...it encompasses all criminal activity, but focuses mainly on the organised kind and those who run these syndicates. I thought the following would actually be fairly representative:

• The Capo: a lieutenant in one of the bigger crime syndicates in the city, he can command underlings and to a limited extent other resources within his organisation.
• The Hit Man: a hired killer who is essentially a professional assassin - good at killing people but may have other problems he needs to deal with. Has access to a good arsenal of illegal weapons.
• The Grifter: a con man, an artful dodger, like Robert Redford's character in The Sting.
• The Bootlegger: a smuggler able to lay his hands quickly on contraband, transport, has a secret base in the Bayou, familiar with the ins and outs of the waterways. Very resourceful but needs to keep his network operational.

The Supernatural

So this is an optional faction which you can drop into your 1940s Big Easy campaign if you want it, or you can leave it out and play things straight...

• The Priest: New Orleans is a very Catholic society, and the Church has a lot of power and influence over its inhabitants. This playbook does have the ability to use its faith to combat evil. But this can also be used for a non-conformist preacher as well. 
• The Houngan: it being New Orleans you need an element of voodoo in the game, so the Houngan is an option here. Can raise the dead and commune with spirits as well as curse his enemies.
• The Fortune Teller: I think this will be an easy port over from the Oracle in the original Urban Shadows but stretches to fortune tellers and spiritualists. Can potentially talk to the dead.
• The Crossroads Demon: the only monstrous playbook, this comes from the lore of the Deep South and a monster in the original Deadlands Noir RPG. Can possess others. Gets experience from leading people into sin.

The Outsiders

These characters are not an integral part of society, they operate on its fringes, and their 'faction' is less organised than some of the others, but they can still draw on people and resources from the underbelly of society to assist them. The faction is also one you don't really want to cross either.

• The Gumshoe: this is really a must have for noir campaigns; there is also going to be a Bent Cop playbook sitting in the Powerful faction. But this one is the private dick who is so essential to a campaign of this type.
• The Hobo: the man on the street, who sees and hears everything, tapped into the city's underground. Can blend into his surrounding to go unnoticed.
• The Ex-Con: a criminal recently released from jail, his options determine what he did to get into prison and what complications he faces now he is out.
• The Gambler: again, it would not be the Big Easy without the Gambler, this represents a professional gambler who makes his living at the card table. He's not a criminal, so does not fit into the Underworld faction.

That's really it in a nutshell. You can see how it is easy to rustle this up. I'll be hopefully back with a future post on the Powerful and the People, but have not fleshed those factions out fully yet, but expect to see the Politician and the Corrupt Lawyer on that list, not to mention the Femme Fatale. I'll probably start posting the playbooks to the blog as well as they take shape.