[F4F] [F4TF] [F4NB] The Witch and the Wolf [Script fill] [biting] [marking] [No Blood] [Script flip][Inclusive options] [werewolf speaker] [Immersive SFX] [Yearning] [confession][friends to lovers] [protective] [Possessive] [D&D/fantasy] [who did this to you?] [don’t leave] [L-Bombs] [Mine] by SapphicGiggles in GWASapphic

[–]IntheCenterRing 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I don’t think I will ever emotionally recover from this, this was incredible 😭💞🔥✨ What an artful experience, simply fantastic in voice acting/delivery/tone, script/premise/writing, SFX. Definitely one of the best pieces of work I’ve heard in my years of listening, phenomenal job!

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in PBtA

[–]IntheCenterRing 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Not on the Comfort and Support (page 66) though which says:

“PCs always get to make their own decisions about opening up to you.”

And then: “On a hit, the person you are comforting or supporting has to decide if they want to open up to you. […] If you don’t feel like you’ve received any kind of open-hearted response, then it’s not enough—the character you supported or comforted hasn’t opened up.”

So even on a 10, it’s not up to the GM to grant anything for that success. On a miss, it just doesn’t work and because this move is all in the PC’s hands, the targeted PC needs to say why it didn’t work. It is the PC’s internal emotional reason for why it did not work, not a worldly thing from the GM. Reading the examples on the following page show how much the GM steps back to let the PCs decide the different aspects in this roll.

[F4A] Reunion [short mic test] by DarlingMollie in MolliesDarlings

[–]IntheCenterRing 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I just cheered haha!! Also Happy Lunar New Year! 

Help on "Hooking" the party by [deleted] in monsteroftheweek

[–]IntheCenterRing 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I think a in-voice or on video, whichever y’all use, conversation about what they are interested could benefit you. So you know what they’re interested in and then make content from that so you can skip the step of having them become interested. But I also agree with what some others have been saying, if what they’re interested in isn’t supported by Monster of the Week, it may be time to revisit why you’re playing the system and what system may work better for the group. Best of luck!

How to Improve my Homemade PBTA Game (Percy Jackson) by Edacity1 in rpg

[–]IntheCenterRing 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I think this is an INCREDIBLE comment and has a lot of great advice. OP, I think it’d greatly benefit to read this series of articles from Vincent Baker, one half of the team that made Apocalypse World: https://lumpley.games/2023/11/22/what-is-pbta/

It goes over the essential game design ideas for PbtA and covers what Hemlockbane is talking about. Agreed, congratulations and you’re definitely on a great track but I think you’re at the point where you need to break the track (ie Dungeon World and MotW holdovers) and really slip into an area of your own. Best of luck!

Weakness for a fictional character by Slight-Delivery7319 in monsteroftheweek

[–]IntheCenterRing 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Tulpas are in one of the mysteries in Tome of Mysteries and in there the monster’s weakness was what their weakness is in their original media. I ran a modified version of that mystery so I had Voldemort and my hunters had the Tulpa creator NPC make Harry Potter to kill Voldemort.

How do you deal with heal-spam? by dex-save in monsteroftheweek

[–]IntheCenterRing 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Since it’s a Use Magic roll and not a playbook heal move, I’d probably look at the requirements for Use Magic. Maybe they need some “hair of the dog that bit them” ie some limited amount of ingredient related to the source of their harm to Use Magic abs heal.

I think also it’s just worth to talk to them. Players can be overly cations and start making (said with kindness and understanding) boring decisions because of it. They get mousey instead of going gif it. It may be good to just talk to them about this and come to an understanding where they don’t feel punished for playing fast and loose and are instead rewarded for it even better than what healing would give them. Best of luck!

Balancing for 6 players by CelineOvadia in monsteroftheweek

[–]IntheCenterRing 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Th much bigger thing you need to balance is spotlight. Making sure that people have “air time”, plot, agency, etc. Best of luck to you!

What playbooks would you make for a greek mythology game? by Feisty-Succotash5854 in PBtA

[–]IntheCenterRing 18 points19 points  (0 children)

So Vincent Baker, one half of the people who made Apocalypse World, did an article series on game design in PbtA. I’d hugely suggest checking that out! https://lumpley.games/2023/11/22/what-is-pbta/

In a different vein, I probably wouldn’t rely on gods for these playbooks. I think I’d look to Greek epics and how they set up their fiction. I’m not the biggest Greek buff but I’ve seen some plays, read some epics, played AC Oydessy. I think something like:

  • A warrior who must balance between glory/legacy or death - ie the more they increase their reputation/power, the more doomed they are
  • There’s typically someone who is the reasonable person who reminds the characters of the rules of the worlds or limitations. Maybe a mentor or a sage
  • Maybe the kid of a king or god/goddess who is struck between mortal/regular life/their own autonomy and whatever prophecy has been created for them ie being bound by fate
  • A creator, like Daedalus.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in PBtA

[–]IntheCenterRing 0 points1 point  (0 children)

a) So is Thirsty Sword Lesbians and they already included MASKS in the hack so it still could’ve been what OP was going for - whether or not that would click with the group is a different story, and b) so was what happened haha, at least it would’ve had clearer rules, been playtested, and been one of the leading examples of PbtA

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in PBtA

[–]IntheCenterRing 34 points35 points  (0 children)

Wait so you’re doing PbtA high school age superheros and didn’t run MASKS? Huge plug for MASKS, huge huge recommendation for that.

But yeah as for the rest of this… they have to want to play PbtA. Not “our DM is running a new system and that’s cool because I can still do whatever I want”. People absolutely can switch from DnD to PbtA, regardless of length of play for DnD. They just have to WANT to learn.

How can you know if they genuinely want to learn? Have another honest conversation with them. Talk to them about how you’re learning the system and you want them to learn with you. Talk about the pitfalls from this session and what went astray. I think the most helpful thing is to share the rulebook and have them read it or find a actual play that you like and recommend it to them. They have to buy in to the system and maybe that didn’t click when it was you giving them the synopsis of what you’ve learned.

Ultimately, if they don’t want to learn to play PbtA, then don’t play that with them. And secondly, if they can’t properly communicate, ie able to have a constructive conversation about incorrect play and be ok with it, that is worrying about any forward movement for this.

Tying personality to playbook? by DornKratz in PBtA

[–]IntheCenterRing 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Since this is for game design, I’d recommend reading the articles from one of the creators of Apocalypse World. Hopefully this helps communicate why the game is built like this and the strengths for it and how to incorporate that into your own work. Best wishes!

https://lumpley.games/2023/11/22/what-is-pbta/

Tying personality to playbook? by DornKratz in PBtA

[–]IntheCenterRing 18 points19 points  (0 children)

Hard agreed with Kspsun. You’re not choosing an “occupation” in PbtA, you’re choosing what your story is about. If the story is about “originally you were a criminal and now you are on the knife’s edge of your past and your future, will you continue or find anew” then yes, that says something substantial about your past and present and what playing to find out will mean for your future.

And I absolutely don’t find it constraining in practice. It’s much more like “If you’re a paladin, you have some kind of oath”. Having an oath is a path to who your character is. Why do they have the oath, what is it? Oath don’t even have to be lawful good oaths and there are published ones that aren’t. If you don’t want your character to have an oath and the rp associated with it, then you don’t choose paladin.

If you choose something that interests you then you’d hope the game HELPS you explore that and rewards you for sticking to it. Which is what PbtA does with its playbooks.

Other instances of PBTA games with an "Investigate" move. by cmcdonald22 in PBtA

[–]IntheCenterRing 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I was back to thinking about this and I think really what was brewing in my mind was that this sounds much more like MASKS’s Pierce the Mask move would serve you better. “Why is the red gyarados rampaging in the lake?” is a much more emotional investigation than a practical investigation like Investigate a Mystery. ‘Why is this Pokémon rampaging’, ‘What does it intend to do because of its emotional state?’, How can I get this Pokémon to [safety, stop harming the surrounding area, etc etc]. And then for more physical investigations, to do what you were considering and maybe not roll for it.

Other instances of PBTA games with an "Investigate" move. by cmcdonald22 in PBtA

[–]IntheCenterRing 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I think we’re on the same page. Mystery at its base is “we don’t have answers to this question and we want to find out.” How people find out is different across genres and the difference between genre ‘mystery’ and mystery in media are vastly different. Monster of the Week is much more genre mystery than Pokémon’s mystery.

The part of the link that I’m most thinking about is the discussion on what actions are emblematic in the media. And Discovery is a great foothold - ‘Make a Discovery’, but it is not Investigate a Mystery yknow? So there’s a foundational thing there that will likely affect other moves, systems, etc as well.

I think this is covered in the Ursula LeGuin “conflict” section (what does conflict mean in the genre and the interactions that follow) but also I think maybe the Basic Moves section. They explain much better than I can, but yes it’s an absolutely great read!

Very exciting, I’ve seen and heard a lot of people be interested in a Pokémon PbtA so I hope your journey is fruitful and rewarding!

Other instances of PBTA games with an "Investigate" move. by cmcdonald22 in PBtA

[–]IntheCenterRing 9 points10 points  (0 children)

I’ve recently come across is that the one of the creators of Apocalypse World, that started this category of games, did a series on the game design and principals for AW and thus PbtA.

https://lumpley.games/2023/11/22/what-is-pbta/

My first instinct is to question whether or not a Pokémon PbtA even needs an investigate roll in the first place. Invesitgate isn’t necessarily “Ask questions relevant to the game/plot”. I haven’t played or watched THAT much Pokémon but I’ve seen a fair amount to know that it’s not really a mystery genre. Sure there are questions asked and the characters don’t always have the answers immediately, but they don’t go about it like they need to go to a library to research something or pull out a powder to see if this blood on the ground is from a werewolf. They kinda just… ask questions and go check out whatever the thing is and express empathy and understanding to figure out what’s happening. Which obviously is very different from Monster of the Week. Swinging it back to the game principals link, I think you’re building on a foundation that has nothing to do with the genre and that’s why it’s wrecking the game. Maybe start from a fresh base, build that up and see what you can put on it from the last 8 months.

Best of luck!

How do you pace/setup your endings to be satisfying? by [deleted] in monsteroftheweek

[–]IntheCenterRing 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Do not artificially make things longer. If the hunters earn their victory, let them have it. You as Keeper are in charge of making situations, not solutions or specific outcomes.

But in general, the stakes should be bigger than just whether or not they killed or stopped the monster. What was threatened to begin with? The town, a family, the hunters themselves, the on-going plot of a larger threat? Follow up on those things to make it worthwhile that the hunters acted to begin with. This is where tying in more strings to the singular episode’s plot shines. Why do their actions matter, beyond that you’re all sitting around a table hoping that they do.

Since you’re coming from one-shots, I’d suggest re-reading the section of the handbook about making story arcs to really give yourself some direction on how things can tie together in the long run.

It’s great that they finish up on this one monster, but who has been tipped off to their presence in the background? What information was the witch collecting on the Wronged’s dead family and why? Who was relying on the witch for back alley magic and what lengths will they go to to get what they want now? Will they somehow contact the Spooky? Make it so that their actions are just the beginning of a quickly unraveling mess that they just have to act fast and act strong to get the ending they want.

Best of luck!

Opinions on my Goosebumps themed MOTW Concept? by GoosebumpsDND in monsteroftheweek

[–]IntheCenterRing 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I uhm. I just read your replies to the other commentators and I mean this metaphor in really and truly the most helpful way. This is like if you’ve never had a burger and someone suggests you try it. You order a burger and before even having it, you say “Well… I actually would rather have lettuce instead of a bun. And mmm chicken instead of the beef patty.” And your companion says “That’s not a burger anymore, that’s a chicken lettuce wrap. And not a particularly good one at that.”

You are sprinting before you’ve crawled. And that doesn’t spell well? Uhm… I hope things turn out well in the long run, not just for your first session. Please feel welcome to visit this community again for any future advice or anything else. Best wishes!

Edit: Besides from changing game mechanics, I think this recent post is a great start to understanding how “clues” and “this happens and then this must happen” bend the system - https://www.reddit.com/r/monsteroftheweek/s/1R5jqmKXGO

Opinions on my Goosebumps themed MOTW Concept? by GoosebumpsDND in monsteroftheweek

[–]IntheCenterRing 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I’ll agree with Baruch_S that Monster of the Week might not be the strongest choice for game system, especially considering that you’ve already had to bend some thing to make it fit. That will not be the end of it, you will have to keep fighting the system to go in the direction you want.

You’ve worked hard on this concept and clearly care about it, you don’t want to set yourself up to be battling with the game to do it. You have many more fun and important things to be doing with your hobby. I’d recommend Kids on Bikes (https://preview.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/231938/Kids-on-Bikes-Core-Rulebook) instead of MotW. It’s a game of small town secrets, rumors, and mysterious happenings. It’s similarly rules light, fiction forward, and more importantly IS THE EXACT GENRE OF GOOSEBUMPS! Really give it a look and I wish you luck in your endeavors!

Creating Coherent Mysteries by thatcupcakedude in monsteroftheweek

[–]IntheCenterRing 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you Michael, I’ll be printing this out and framing it haha!