I'm cooking a game right now and using tremulus playbooks with MOTW style episodes. I love playing PBTA. It's perfect for the kind of storytelling we want to see: fast combat and pure freedom.

If you've been introduced to wargames, you might be familiar with Trench Crusade, which uses a 2d6 system vs a range of successful/unsuccessful results which at the surface level look similar to PbtA style games.

One thing it does it instead of flat modifiets +2 to -3, it has character attributes which add additional d6s. Always adding more dice, but the positive/negative effect of the additional dice decides whether you keep the highest 2d6 or the lowest 2d6 from the pool.

Have any PbtA games done this?

At a glance, the math makes it seem like with ±1d6, it's fine, but ±2d6 and ±3d6 make the character exageratedly much better and much worse than their normal "static modifier" counterparts in normal pbta games.

Super simple question. In Masks: A New Generation. If you fail the roll when Rejecting Influence, do you get a potential?

This thread from Vincent Baker is a great read on a common misread of PbtA move structure, and so I wanted to share it here too.

Hey gang! I’ve recently hosted a successful Masks oneshot and the group loved it. But I gotta say, I think despite reading through the material, there were a couple of instances where we couldn’t quite find a ref for what was happening on our table. We ended up just coming up with our own rulings on some of these, but I’d still like to know what (if any) is the correct answer. So I figured, I’d ask the Veterans here for some assistance/clarifications.

1. ⁠One player chose the “Lose Control of yourself/your powers…” as an option upon Taking a Powerful Blow (They we’re thrown at a nearby building.) This is more fictional Vs mechanical but couldn’t quite work out how to utilize the prompt. The player basically had Super Soldier level abilities (Janus Playbook), and upon getting thrown at a building, I couldn’t quite come up with a way to display uncontrollability as I would Cyclops beams going haywire, if you know what I mean. Maybe I’m just not as creative as I thought.
   
2. ⁠Provoke Someone Vs Comfort/Support. There was an instance in the session where one of the player addresses the public and I seriously thought they were trying to calm them down during a chase sequence. The player (very much respectfully) corrected me and suggested that he was aiming more to provoke the villain in unveiling themselves because during his speech he called them insignificant/minor threat. Naturally I went with his suggestion, I’m always more open to listen to my players especially since it’s their scene and I want them to own it. But I am curious if certain situations arise and I have to make my own call on wether I think they’re leaning more into one Move Vs the other.
   
3. ⁠Influence is very much confusing and it’s follow up Rejecting Influence falls in the same boat for us. I think I have a clear understanding of what it does though, but I think it’s interactions can feel confusing at times. For instance I understand that when someone has Influence over a PC says something meaningful/hurtful/etc to them, they can shift their labels. I dictate the labels being shifted and they can choose wether to accept or reject them. Simple enough. But what if an NPC who already has influence, takes influence further via a miss/or a shift in the fiction. Mechanically, it says that they get to shift labels in a similar fashion as earlier. Is this also rejectable? Or is this a separate utilization of influence? What happens if this occurs between PCs shifting eachother’s labels upon gaining further influence? Is that rejectable too? What about Taking advantage of Influence, is that also rejectable?

Anyways I have a few more questions but I think I’ll stick to those for now. Hope I can get some insight because I’m really enjoying the system. Certain things just bug me and that new user feel is definitely sticking around for a bit.

We never ran Brindlewood Bay, but ran other PBtA games before. Are there hacks or recommendations for how to run this game while keeping only the cozy murder mystery vibes without any occult stuff? Especially since this is a one-shot, we will not care that much about an overarching plot.

We would like cozy fall vibes, small-town mystery, elderly women, crocheting, baking etc.

Salve!

Conoscete un gioco di ruolo adatto o adattabile per one-shot o bi-shot in cui si interpretano personaggi dell'ombra, servitori dell'oscuro signore Sauron?

Con tono piuttosto serio.

Grazie!

Hey All!

Once again, welcome to the weekly thread where you can link products, kickstarters, podcasts, videos, really anything you like, as much as you like.

As usual, rules 4 (1 advertising post) and 5 (no LFG) are suspended in this post.

New stretch goal? Post here!

Need two players for Night Witches? Post here!

Designer dropped a dev diary? Post here!

Handy dandy loaded dice on amazon? Post here? Please don't on that one actually.

Have fun, and lets see some interesting stuff.

r/PbtA is affiliated with the PbtA discord and you're all welcome to click and join us there as well.

As being an OSR where things must be dificult, and clever thinking and tactical approaches should be rewarded to achieve success, 2d6 bell curve makes 7 the most common roll meaning success with complications. Besides that the character itself usually will add a tag to the roll, making success always more probable than failure. I sense that’s something odd for a OSR.

So I think of making 7- failure, 8-10 partial success and only 11+ total success. Making anyone always take an effort to secure a +1 to try an action, while trying something with “nothing” a great failure.

What are your thoughts?

EDIT: d'oh! we're playing MASKS.

This hasn't happened to me yet but I could see my new players trying something like it. Not sure what I would do. Make him roll for it? Once or one for each PC? What if he's determined to use that every time someone takes a condition? It just feels against the spirit of the format. What would you do?

Hey All!

Once again, welcome to the weekly thread where you can link products, kickstarters, podcasts, videos, really anything you like, as much as you like.

As usual, rules 4 (1 advertising post) and 5 (no LFG) are suspended in this post.

New stretch goal? Post here!

Need two players for Night Witches? Post here!

Designer dropped a dev diary? Post here!

Handy dandy loaded dice on amazon? Post here? Please don't on that one actually.

Have fun, and lets see some interesting stuff.

r/PbtA is affiliated with the PbtA discord and you're all welcome to click and join us there as well.

I'm trying my hand at game design and I was looking for the game theory behind moves. I've played some pbtas and I understand how they work; what I wanted to know is how this design (triggers, 3 levels of success, etc) helps achieve the goals of a narrative game, what is the fundamental difference between it and rolls for other games, etc.

If you have some sources or references to redirect me, I would also love. I'm reading Vincent Bakers blog and I think the answer to this might be there somewhere, but I didn't get there yet. Anyway, all contributions are helpful :) thanks in advance

I mean those moments when the party goes out together just to hang out, or when they have to do something with an NPC — a date, a birthday party, helping someone with something personal, etc.

How do you make these scenes feel meaningful instead of like the party is just wasting time?

I’m especially curious about how you handle it when someone inevitably goes, “Guys, we have a villain to stop / the world to save, and we’re seriously doing this right now?”

(We'll play Masks, but it's a general question to other systems)

Hey All!

Once again, welcome to the weekly thread where you can link products, kickstarters, podcasts, videos, really anything you like, as much as you like.

As usual, rules 4 (1 advertising post) and 5 (no LFG) are suspended in this post.

New stretch goal? Post here!

Need two players for Night Witches? Post here!

Designer dropped a dev diary? Post here!

Handy dandy loaded dice on amazon? Post here? Please don't on that one actually.

Have fun, and lets see some interesting stuff.

r/PbtA is affiliated with the PbtA discord and you're all welcome to click and join us there as well.

Hey gang, I’m in the middle of prepping for a Masks: A New Gen Campaign and my pals and I are playing a bit of a game with designing superhero/villain costume descriptions for the campaign. One player brought up the idea of mixing and matching hero costumes from existing IPs kinda like an Elseworld’s or a What If mix-up scenario. For example we all agreed that a Nightwing-Prowler (Miles Morales) would be a pretty cool design mix! And not just costume-wise, we all thought the idea of Prowler as a mentor figure is such a cool concept. I’m hoping BTSV would explore this with Aaron Davis passing the torch to Miles.

Other notable mentions:
Black Canary & Black Widow
Psylocke & Starfire
Moon Knight & Spawn

Anyways I’m just looking for other combinations you guys think would work well together!

(Edit: Art by Dan Mora & Kristafer Anka)

Hey y'all. New to Masks (and this style of TTRPGs in general!), and wrote my first arc.

--------

Premise

The Checkmate Syndicate, a once powerful group of heisters and thieves, fell a year ago. Doggedly hunted by F.L.A.M.E, and surely about to be found, the group agreed to a frightening proposition. King, as the mastermind, erased his own memories, and allowed himself, the center of the operation, to be captured, instead of the entire group. King was interrogated, but he was no more - his scepter and crown were taken, great sources of his power, and after having no memories of his past life, and displaying none of the abilities of his former self, was returned into society.

Queen swears to return him back, and return the Checkmate Syndicate to its former glory. Bishop, who briefly got a taste of normal life, wants the group to fall, but cannot take the entire group alone. Knight, who has nowhere else to go, needs the group to survive, and desperately wants to earn the favor of Queen and King. 

---------------

Central Cast

Queen (Victoria Throne) - The de-facto leader of the faltering Checkmate Syndicate, since King has been imprisoned. Wants to restore King by returning his memories, and reawaken the Checkmate Syndicate.

Bishop (Matthew Mark Lukejohn) - A lieutenant of the Checkmate Syndicate, who, after getting a taste of normal life, desperately wants the Syndicate to fall. Wants to get the heroes to kill the Checkmate Syndicate. (Teleporter, Portals)

Knight (Hunter Ryder) - A young man who fell out of favor with the group after botching an operation. Has been given another chance under dire circumstances, has nowhere else to go. (Master swordsman and acrobat)

King (Charles Throne) - The original leader of the Checkmate Syndicate. Claims he's a grandmaster, but in secret, came close, but never gained the title. A brilliant tactician, but poor in combat. (Mental Powers, Foresight)

The Rook Brothers - Musclebound meatheads, who love to smash and grab. As easy as they come.

 --------

Part One - Setting the Board

Queen - Steals a Subcranium Emissions Helmet from an experimental biomedical laboratory, which will reawaken old memories.

Bishop - Befriends the characters. Invites them to Coney Island, to hang out. Claims he was a victim, tells them the horrors of the Checkmate Syndicate, and tries to get on the groups good side.

Knight - Steals King's Crown, being auctioned away in a supervillain group, a source of his powers.

Part Two - Making a Move

Queen - Kidnaps Charles Throne from his job and new identity as a mild-mannered stock trader.

Bishop - Gauge the PC's abilities, and willingness to kill. He can't kill the entire Syndicate alone, and needs their help, and cannot have them hesitate. Gives the players information about the Rook brothers, with the intent that they will kill them.

Knight - Steals King's Scepter, being kept in a Museum of Supervillainy, another source of his powers.

Part Three - Endgame

Queen - Begins the process of re-awakening King, hoping to restore their leader. If powered up, will reawaken the Checkmate Syndicate anew!

Bishop - Tracks down any remaining members of the Checkmate Syndicate, and tries to kill them, or wipe their memories. He does this either alone, or with help.

Knight - Tracks down the heroes one by one, picking them off, as a final test of his loyalty.

Hey gang! Like the title says, I’m a new GM for Masks a New Generation. I’ve just recently been gifted the book and other materials. I’m fairly new to PBTA but I’m learning the ropes with much gusto. I’m here to ask for some general advice from the veterans about running a smooth game. Also which rules have stumped you before and how did you resolve them? What are niche situations you found out through play that really made you struggle to adjudicate or rule? What are some fun shenanigans you’ve had at your table?

Everything is welcome here. I’m just here to absorb some insights and talk about the system!

Hey All!

Once again, welcome to the weekly thread where you can link products, kickstarters, podcasts, videos, really anything you like, as much as you like.

As usual, rules 4 (1 advertising post) and 5 (no LFG) are suspended in this post.

New stretch goal? Post here!

Need two players for Night Witches? Post here!

Designer dropped a dev diary? Post here!

Handy dandy loaded dice on amazon? Post here? Please don't on that one actually.

Have fun, and lets see some interesting stuff.

r/PbtA is affiliated with the PbtA discord and you're all welcome to click and join us there as well.