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Message: <blockquote data-quote="schneeland" data-source="post: 9144639" data-attributes="member: 6900337">PbtA is a mixed bag for me. It does some things I really like a lot, while other properties make it hard for me to consistently enjoy it.The games I ran most were Dungeon World and The Sprawl, and I have some specific issues with parts of their design, but would ignore it for the time being and be a bit more generic.Somewhat overlapping with the list [USER=5142]@Aldarc[/USER] compiled above, things I enjoyed about the games I played and read were:<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Playbooks really make both games and genres much more accessible for players, and have also provided a good first impression of how the game author understands the genre (I'm a fan of playbooks ever since I first saw them in Dungeon World)</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">The games often seem to condense a genre to its essential building blocks</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Similarly, mechanics are typically relatively straight-forward, with just 2d6 (sometimes 3d6) and small modifiers</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Rather being two modes of play, combat and the rest of the fiction are cast from the same mold, and thus flow easier</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">I appreciate the fiction first approach to gaming</li> </ul>The downsides I found were:<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">While moves facilitate genre-typical situations, it sometimes feels like the game is basically forcing you "back on the rails"; this becomes especially problematic when the understanding of a genre implemented through them is a bit different from your own (this problem surfaced a lot more in The Sprawl for me than it did in Dungeon World)</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">I found the games notably harder to hack than traditional games, since you need to make sure that any new move fits with the existing ones and doesn't break the flow</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Probably the biggest issue: everybody at the table really needs to be into the concept of stories that escalate through moves. If they are not, their characters will feel rather incompetent (that was a common feedback with my trad game-trained players, who felt that, even though they succeeded with the task at hand, they didn't really succeed since the situation escalated). I tend to say, the PbtA games in general work better for people who view their characters as tools for story-telling, not as fictional persons they inhabit for the time of the game.</li> </ul>I have moved away from PbtA games for a while now, but I think, I'll at least have a look at Stonetop when it comes out. And hopefully once it's done, we will also see the new edition of Freebooters on the Frontier that has been discussed a few years back.</blockquote>

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