Grade the Powered by the Apocalypse (PbtA) System

[MatthewJHanson]

I've played a Monster Hearts campaign, plus a smattering of one-shots.

I like the philosophy behind it and the fiction first style of play. I'm not a huge fan of the 2d6 resolution method though. Also while I haven't actually run a game, I've looked at the GM section of some PbtA books (including Apocalypse World) and felt like it was harder for me to understand that I expected.

Also at the end of the day, I feel like Forged in the Dark does most of the things PbtA does, but does them better. To be fair, Blade in the Dark came later and I think the designers of that almost certainly had played and took ideas from PbtA.

 

[Emberashh]

Its gross.

 

[CleverNickName]

Its gross.

What didn't you like about it? (serious question, not trolling)

 

[jdrakeh]

Haven't played it, but really hope to try Monster of the Week and Stonetop one day, among others.

Monster of the Week is one of those PbtA games that I loooooooooove.

 

[Davinshe]

So we tried the "Root" RPG (based on the board game) and really loved it.

PROS:

• fast paced. Can get through a whole story in a night.
• no low stakes rolls. Every action is meaningful.

CONS:

• The fiction first approach combined with the very open sandbox way the convention adventures of root are written does make it easy for players to all go off in separate directions.
• Alot of class specific actions feel like everyone should be able to do them. Might be less of an issue in higher fantasy games, but when fairly mundane actions are limited to a particular playbook (class), it feels weirdly constraining.

 

[Smackpixi]

when fairly mundane actions are limited to a particular playbook (class), it feels weirdly constraining.

So as a PbtA curious person, I wonder is that common to PbtA games or an artifact of Root being a board game? Cause in cooperative board games, or any board game, only being able to do one of 5 things is common. Lots of stuff you cannot do, as opposed to RPGs where there is much more freedom.

 

[Emberashh]

What didn't you like about it? (serious question, not trolling)

I am not a fan of basically everything those kinds of games are trying to do.

They try way too hard to tell stories and get in their own way.

I also don't care for their communities on the whole, nor the fact that they're commonly held up as being "easier" to run when they lean on the same things its evangelizers criticize 5e for doing.

 

[Gradine]

So as a PbtA curious person, I wonder is that common to PbtA games or an artifact of Root being a board game? Cause in cooperative board games, or any board game, only being able to do one of 5 things is common. Lots of stuff you cannot do, as opposed to RPGs where there is much more freedom.

It's... somewhat common, but a big part of the disconnect is thinking of moves as abilities and playbooks as classes, which, at least traditionally in PbtA, is not true in the least. I can't really speak to Root specifically, though.

Playbooks are narrative character archetypes more than they are classes with suites of powers/abilities; and moves are often the kind of narrative beats that are most closely associated with those archetypes, and are often times just bonuses you get for playing into that archetype. Monster of the Week's The Mundane is probably my favorite example of this; they gain bonuses when they get captured, or wander off to investigate something alone, or even just rushing into danger without really thinking about it.

Now, PbtA is a diverse array of systems, and many individual games are better at following this rule than others (and in some games the playbook quality can vary wildly). I'll note that some PbtA games/playbooks don't follow these rules at all, but still manage to work within the system they're designed for perfectly. MotW's The Monstrous is a great example.

 

[payn]

It's a good time. I think you need the right group to excel, not everybody gets/likes how it works.

 

[Tonguez]

Its alright I guess. Though I tend to get confused by how specific playbooks are and find the way moves are presented too restrictive and confusing (I feel the four moves of FATE are easier and more intuitive)

that said I did enjoy Ironsworn and Dungeon World for one shots. But for a playbook based system I’d much rather used FiTD