Powered by Apocalypse

[aramis erak]

The only PBTA derived game I've played is Sentinel Comics, and it's moved in a different direction... It's very good, tho', so if supers is a genre for you, it's a great choice. (It uses a 7 move system, with 5 outcomes for most of them)

 

[angille]

The only PBTA derived game I've played is Sentinel Comics, and it's moved in a different direction... It's very good, tho', so if supers is a genre for you, it's a great choice. (It uses a 7 move system, with 5 outcomes for most of them)

...if that was PbtA at some point, it's unrecognizable as such now. it's more like if Fate and Cortex had a kid, and then that kid got raised by the Sentinels card game.

I agree, it's very good (I'm in two games of it now), but I wonder if we're talking about different games, lol.

 

[Crusadius]

if someone asked me what PbtA game I’d choose to play, then first on my list would be City of Mist because I like it’s free form “playbook” creation rules and urban fantasy setting. I think the second in my list would be Urban Shadows, again for urban fantasy and also world of darkness vibe.

 

[aramis erak]

...if that was PbtA at some point, it's unrecognizable as such now. it's more like if Fate and Cortex had a kid, and then that kid got raised by the Sentinels card game.

I agree, it's very good (I'm in two games of it now), but I wonder if we're talking about different games, lol.

Neither Fate nor Cortex+ use defined moves. The design team specifically noted that the moves concept is from AW. All actions in SCRPG are one of the 7 moves.

• Boost
• Hinder
• Overcome
• Attack
• Defend
• Heal
• Build

Of those, Heal and Build are not general moves.
Like AWE/PBTA, each move has a result table.
Like AWE/PBTA, there are no difficulty mods per se.
Abnormally for a PBTA, the damage track is double digits.
The Result Ranges are ≤0, 1-3, 4-7, 8-11, ≥12.
Boost and hinder are 0, 1, 2, 3. 4 modifier on the target's next applicable roll.
Attack, Defend, and heal use the positive roll value directly.
Overcome uses fail, Success with major twist, success with minor twist, success, and Success with bonus.
Build has had two different iterations...

Unlike most PBTA (mind you, I've read a dozen or so, despite having played no others), SC uses dice steps to rate abilities, with an unstated d4 in everything else they can reasonably attempt. (Most AWE/PBTA games use an improvable modifier to a fixed die roll), and the HP are 2 places rather than 1 place.
Also, unlike most PBTA, it's explicit to pick your narration to fit your desired ability.
And, of course, the dice tricks...,

But, since you are incredulous... from the Starter Kit Gameplay GUide, bottom of the inside cover...

Special Thanks To​

Meg and Vincent Baker for Powered by the Apocalypse,​

and Leonard Balsera, Rob Donoghue, and Fred Hicks for​

elements of the Action Order system and for Fate.​

That's a pretty explicit acknowledgement of it's PBTA-ish elements being from PBTA.

 

[Neonchameleon]

Neither Fate nor Cortex+ use defined moves. The design team specifically noted that the moves concept is from AW. All actions in SCRPG are one of the 7 moves.

• Boost
• Hinder
• Overcome
• Attack
• Defend
• Heal
• Build

Meanwhile Fate has four basic actions - Attack, Defend, Create an Advantage (which covers boost and hinder), and Overcome. The other two aren't general moves, of course.

That said I see Sentinels Comics as a seriously overhauled Marvel Heroic Roleplaying 2e (which is Cortex Plus - which is basically the offshoot of Cortex and Fate). There's a definite PBTA influence as you outline - but it's way outside the core PBTA range although it has taken some notes from that engine.

 

[aramis erak]

Meanwhile Fate has four basic actions - Attack, Defend, Create an Advantage (which covers boost and hinder), and Overcome. The other two aren't general moves, of course.

That said I see Sentinels Comics as a seriously overhauled Marvel Heroic Roleplaying 2e (which is Cortex Plus - which is basically the offshoot of Cortex and Fate). There's a definite PBTA influence as you outline - but it's way outside the core PBTA range although it has taken some notes from that engine.

I think you're overlooking the biggest difference, and the central mechanical difference: Cortex Plus, and Fate, are both built on opposed rolls; AWE and SC are rolls on a table. You can know your odds in SC without having to know the opponent's score. (And that default assumption is any positive number is a success, and no roll generates negative numbers unless a hinder is in place already. So, again, you can know your odds.)

 

[angille]

But, since you are incredulous... from the Starter Kit Gameplay GUide, bottom of the inside cover...

Special Thanks To​

Meg and Vincent Baker for Powered by the Apocalypse,​

and Leonard Balsera, Rob Donoghue, and Fred Hicks for​

elements of the Action Order system and for Fate.​

That's a pretty explicit acknowledgement of it's PBTA-ish elements being from PBTA.

I agree, it's very good (I'm in two games of it now), but I wonder if we're talking about different games, lol.

ah, they're only sortta different games, lol. I hadn't looked at the Starter Kit, just the final book, which doesn't have any acknowledgement of the Bakers (I did actually check before posting my previous comment), and it pulled Heal and Build out of the action list (Heal is still sortta there, as Recover, but it's generally mixed in with the Abilities), so it does much more resemble Fate's actions as @Neonchameleon pointed out.

anyway... I think we tangented enough — I do really adore the unarguably PbtA supers games too. I already brought up Masks, but City of Mist and Worlds In Peril (and soon Galaxies In Peril — though that's FitD, which is starting to veer away) are wonderful too.

 

[manduck]

If you want to try superheroes in a PbtA game, I very highly recommend Worlds in Peril. It's specifically geared towards the Marvel/DC superhero style. Gives you bonds for the supporting cast, team and base stuff and great rules for creating a superhero. Nothing world specific, so feel free to tell whatever kind of superhero story you want with it. I've played and run in a few different games with it. Always a blast.

 

[hawkeyefan]

If you want to try superheroes in a PbtA game, I very highly recommend Worlds in Peril. It's specifically geared towards the Marvel/DC superhero style. Gives you bonds for the supporting cast, team and base stuff and great rules for creating a superhero. Nothing world specific, so feel free to tell whatever kind of superhero story you want with it. I've played and run in a few different games with it. Always a blast.

I'm currently playing a game with the playtest material for Galaxies in Peril, which is the Forged in the Dark version of Worlds in Peril. My group's enjoying it a lot. There are a few bumps that maybe need to be ironed out, but it is a playtest, so they may be addressed. And even those that aren't can likely easily be modified if needed.

I had never actually played Worlds in Peril, but I do have the PDF and I've read it.

 

[manduck]

I'm currently playing a game with the playtest material for Galaxies in Peril, which is the Forged in the Dark version of Worlds in Peril. My group's enjoying it a lot. There are a few bumps that maybe need to be ironed out, but it is a playtest, so they may be addressed. And even those that aren't can likely easily be modified if needed.

I had never actually played Worlds in Peril, but I do have the PDF and I've read it.

I'm backing Galaxies in Peril too. I'm not familiar with the Blades system, so play testing has been an issue. The mentioned that they were going to add some content on the core rules to the play test documents, for those of us new to the system. Last I checked, they weren't there. What I've read sounds really interesting. I recommend taking WiP out for a spin while you wait. Both games look really well thought out. I'm excited to try Galaxies based on my love of Worlds.