I guess it can also be a PbtA general. But I wanted to ask:
>Why is The Original so different from all of its hacks?
>Was PbtA a mistake?
>Is it worth your time trying to make your own PbtA?
>What is the core of PbtA?
>Can we make it great?
Things that are true:
>PbtA is like GURPS
>Most published PbtA is low-effort garbage
>Dungeon World is not true PbtA
>PbtA can do any setting or genre
>2d6+add is not the core of PbtA
Hate/criticism welcome, since this isn't a General.
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>Why is The Original so different from all of its hacks?
If well designed PbtA games should be specifically designed for their genre, meaning they also wind up working very different from each other
>Was PbtA a mistake?
No
>Is it worth your time trying to make your own PbtA?
Sure, it's one of the easier starting points if you want to make your own system
>What is the core of PbtA?
The idea of the 'conversation' as the focus of gameplay, also forcing players to make hard choices about how the situation develops
>Can we make it great?
Make enough good hacks for it and sure
One thing I wanted to ask: in MonsterHearts what do people think of the Witch's spells? I tend to find quite a few become really annoying to deal with for other players
>PbtA is like Gurps.
Explain
Both are toolsets for the GM to modify in accordance to the campaign he/she xhims't wants to run.
Both are able to handle a variety of settings, moods, genres.
And both are, at their core, designed to be modified instead of played straight out of the box.
I don't know anything about it. Where should I start?
Do any of these games work alright with just a GM and single player? I mostly game with my buddy these days, and trying to get a group down with trying anything that isn't D&D is fucking painful.
Okay that's fair.
The playstyle is wildly different which gave me cause for concern.
>I guess it can also be a PbtA general. But I wanted to ask:
>>Why is The Original so different from all of its hacks?
Likely because most people aren't willing to put in the effort to make something great when they can shoehorn crap into a pdf and make money hand over fist.
>>Was PbtA a mistake?
Yes.
>>Is it worth your time trying to make your own PbtA?
Probably not. The reputation the system has garnered for itself doesn't bode well for future projects. A lot of people simply see 'Powered by the Apocalypse' and immediately lose interest.
>>What is the core of PbtA?
An attempt to make a system that revels in the idea of the storytelling of a roleplaying game rather than the surrounding mechanics of it.
>>Can we make it great?
Not likely.
I've played PtBA games with most of my non casual rp friends and they can get pretty into it easily.
They really like it when I ask them questions about what's going on because they have input on the world.
If they're too scared to go out of their D&D comfort zone you can introduce Dungeon World which has D&D novelties, which can be an upside to some but also detracts from its full potential.
I feel kind of bad because I've never actually played the original. They keep releasing hacks for settings I'm actually interested in.
>I don't know anything about it. Where should I start?
apocalypse-world.com
If you're a poorfag I'm sure torrenting it is easy as well.
Read the book (it's actually very well written and an enjoyable read) and if you don't really dig the flavour, try one of the more popular (i.e. finished) hacks
Monsterhearts (very different and with a heavier focus on drama and PVP):
buriedwithoutceremony.com
Monster of the week (more similar to dungeoncrawling)
evilhat.com
>Do any of these games work alright with just a GM and single player?
The original is designed with PVP in mind but a one-player PbtA would actually be more feasible than other systems I can think of. Go for it and let us know how it went.
That was constructive criticism. Really made me see the problems of the game other than "I don't like it and I think no one else does"
I have absolutely no interest in Dungeon World. Dungeon-delving fantasy is already adequately covered for me by 5th edition and Labyrinth Lord (for when I want something old school).
Sprawl also sounded kind of interesting. Is it any good?
It's decent once you realise that the PCs are not the main characters, the megacorps are. once you run the game accordingly (i.e. not caring if the PCs fail and/or die) it works better
It does heists very well.
You can retroactively bring out gear and information to the heist, but you risk more danger the more you take time for setup.
my one criticism is that it feels like everyone will try to completely sabotage the mission for their own directives but at the same time this can be fixed by the MC throwing good curveballs rather than self defeating ones (or just electing a leader who has a final say in everything).
Playing Urban Shadows.
Going from Chronicles of Darkness I really enjoy the system more (especially in the corruption side of thing) but it's really hard for me manage the politics and the politics is often uninteresting.
it feels like you only get to skim the surface of each playbooks community/culture trying to incorporate everyone in, while in single playbook games you really feel like you get to know what being a vampire/demon/mage/ghost is like.
Maybe I'm used to White Wolf/OnyxPath too much...
Does anyone feel that all the hacks have the problem of catering to players who want to fuck each other over?
My last game group really enjoyed playing them, but on a personal level they're all assholes to each other.
I think Dungeon World gets too much shit for not being a PbtA game, when it's just not a very god one. It could easily be a good PbtA game as a sequel without too much work, you just change the stats, break out moves like Defy Danger into a few moves, and take the good playbooks to use as the core instead of the very bad core books.
I think it's because AW did PvP pretty well so it's easy for hacks to borrow those mechanics if they want to also incorporate PvP
It's never caused me an issue, in the MonsterHearts game I run the PCs are constantly at each other's throats but the players are encouraging to each other with that behaviour so it's all good
The original is pretty focused on one-upmanship.
Monsterhearts is forgiven because High School sucks.
Though I feel the only two games to hold back on this are Dungeon World and Uncharted Worlds (which is a barebones piece of garbage)
Side Note: World Wide Wrestling is the greatest Pro Wrestling RPG of all time.
Side Side Note: my friends REALLY liked The Warren (Watership Down RPG) for some reason but I missed out on that day, so i'll never know the appeal.
How would a LFG PbtA experience go? Given the engine's focus on "the conversation", would it even be possible?
>i've never actually played the original
What hacks have you played and which do you like most, user?
Sprawl - Great at what it's meant for
Urban Shadows - I like it for the setting
Monsterhearts - A friend convinced us to play it, not my cup of tea.
Dungeon World - I liked it despite (maybe a little because of) the D&D aspect being shoehorned in.
World Wide Wrestling - Very Niche appeal but it's amazing at what it does.
I'd have to say Sprawl and Urban Shadows are my faves.
But honestly you gotta look at the settings you and your players want to play.
I also have a copy of Uncharted worlds but was so shallow I had lost interest in playing it. Which is sad cause I really want a Sci Fi Exploration game with my friends.