Being Bastet Ramos

Deconstructing Playing Fearless. One Character at a time.

I suspect my GM experience affects how I approach a character when being a player in a game. Here's some of what I’m thinking about when I’m playing characters in games. On Fridays, I play a game called Apocalypse World: Burned Over - Low Earth Orbit, streamed on Twitch.tv/actualplay. It’s a treat to get to play and a dragon’s treasure when another gamer I admire runs the game. Judd is a fantastic player and MC ( GM or DM) —despite the claims of some Redditor’s posts! But you don’t need Judd to run your games; you need someone you trust. I’ve played many games with Judd at the helm, alongside, or as a player in something I ran. We’ve got some game history, and I trust him to run a fair, engaging, consistent series of games. I can’t be a fearless player if I don’t trust the person running the game.

I want to be more confident in creating a believable female character and comfortable playing a female role. I don't want to be playing at something shallow. So, when I began playing this game, I chose to portray the young woman Bastet Ramos. To make the character more realistic, I used elements of my sisters in their youth -as I remember it. At first, I was tempted to go with a male character instead, but that's a safe move, isn't it?

Mechanically, I love playing the Operator. It’s my jam. I know Aaron, the other player, is playing a combat machine —The Weaponized. So I lean hard, and I let him have that whole space of violence. I’m at +2 with my Cool and Sharp stats, but my Aggro and Hard are at -1s. Combat situations will be tough, but that’s the scrappy in Bastet. I’ll be playing at the game to get bonuses to help with fights AND as the Operator, my ship will give me some combat bonuses too —and when it all fails, I’ll be at the mercy of the dice gods and MC Judd.

The work now is arbitrating and filtering my vision of my sisters through the game mechanics and fiction to get a fun, woman character I’m comfortable with playing and knowing I have the space and trust of the folks I’m playing with to fall down and do better.

Today we are several sessions in this game, and Bastet has taken on more of her own essence; it has become easier for me to get a feel for playing her. I like that the three of us as players are discovering things about Bastet as we play. Details that were never part of a backstory or considered until the questions came up in real-time. I’d say I scaffolded this character with my sister’s history, and after several sessions, she’s come into her own.

Now, for sure -It’s all me. I don’t go in for that “My character would or would not do” jazz. Jay wants to see Bastet shank Dionne. Jay enjoyed firing the Anubis’ fighter BFG weapon at an orbital tea shop, depressurizing it. Jay wanted to see if Bastet was really that badass pilot that could slingshot her fighter to Luna City on the moon…

On that moon trick… The game said to roll the dice and find out. The dice came up traitors. Judd, the MC I have trust in running this game, then told us something interesting about those traitorous dice and not making that slingshot maneuver —it was Glorious!

I need a game I grok and love engaging with. I want folks I trust and enjoy playing with and a schedule that’s easy to keep for me to be Bastet Ramos.

YMMV, but please, FAFO.

You should check out Judd’s notes & prep for Low Earth Orbit; I’m not allowed to! 🤷🏾‍♂️