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09:40, 29th March 2024 (GMT+0)

PBTA player turned maybe GM.

Posted by Paradeaddiction
Paradeaddiction
member, 8 posts
Fri 15 Sep 2017
at 01:46
  • msg #1

PBTA player turned maybe GM

 I am a big fan of many of the 'Powered by the Apocalypse' games especially Dungeon World, Monsterhearts, Masks: New Generation. I have read through the books, love to read/listen all the play reports I can find in my spare time, and have played/am playing in a few games right now. The more I dive into the community the more I feel like GMing a game of my own, I have two problems though.

One, I can't decide which system I should GM. I am probably most versed in Dungeon World and fantasy is usually pretty easy to run. I am also really interested lately in The Veil, but I am very new to that system and it's different way of handling stats is a bit intimidating.

Two, it had been a while since I've GMed so I am probably pretty rusty. Alot of pbta games have heavy player input so I think that should help some, but I feel the Play-by-Post is at odds with that some. Prompting player input and creation takes some of the load off me and let's them build something they hopefully will like any more, but to what extent will this slow down play? What would be the right balance for PBP?

Let me know what PBTA game you wold want to play and if you'd be kind enough to offer some advice I would be thankful.

P.S. I would prefer to stay away from PBTA games that have licensed settings like the dbz, borderlands, sixth world games (though I am itching to run a Dr Who game).  I don't think I have the encyclopedic knowledge to do more than a game 'based on' that setting. I'd probably forgot something or completely contradict canon on accident.
White Cat
member, 37 posts
Fri 15 Sep 2017
at 01:57
  • msg #2

PBTA player turned maybe GM

Have you considered Fellowship? It does require creative and committed players but it's a much more shared experience than just GM-vs-players.
Paradeaddiction
member, 9 posts
Fri 15 Sep 2017
at 02:16
  • msg #3

PBTA player turned maybe GM

In replyA to White Cat (msg # 2):

I have, but I didn't include it because I have not seen it in play, and although I've read through it the GMing side of things haven't completely clicked with me yet. If I got a huge push to run it, I suppose I could try to learn it better.
Dgorjones
member, 45 posts
Fri 15 Sep 2017
at 13:01
  • msg #4

PBTA player turned maybe GM

I've been wary of running anything PbtA myself (using PBP) for the reason you mentioned: the dialog those games require doesn't fit well with a PBP.  A traditional tabletop RPG that is turn based fits better, I think.  The back and forth of a PbtA could really bog down in PBP unless everyone posts very frequently.

If you decide to run Dungeon World, I strongly recommend reading the Dungeon World Guide.  It is an amazing resource for learning how to run Dungeon World, especially for people with a traditional RPG background.
Pat
member, 137 posts
Fri 15 Sep 2017
at 17:13
  • msg #5

PBTA player turned maybe GM

I would be game for Dungeon World or maybe Fellowship, though as Dgorjones suggests, it tends to be a challenge. I think I've had one DW game of many I've been in reach most of the party leveling up before the game fizzled.
spectator
member, 184 posts
Fri 22 Sep 2017
at 16:59
  • msg #6

PBTA player turned maybe GM

I ran a Fellowship game recently, to try it out. The amount of agency handed over to the players is fun, though it does require people who will proactively engage it. I had a bit of trouble grappling with the rules, not enough to derail the game but I did find myself less comfortable with the particulars than with some other games. Might just be me though. It would be interesting to come at it from the player side and see if it clicks better.

The thing with "turn based" games is that they're generally only turn based in combat. Everything else is more like the flow encouraged by PbtA games. In my limited experience, combat is the thing that can bog down a pbp game the most, often because of 1) waiting for someone to take their turn, or 2) the sequence of turns taking so long to accomplish anything, or both. At least PbtA keeps things in that free-flow style all the time so fights shouldn't, at least in theory, grind to a halt as much as some other games.

I might be interested in trying out a PbtA game if you were running one. I don't know the Veil; I've done just a bit of DW but it's fun. What else do I have in my "damn I wish I could try this" PbtA file... Masks, Urban Shadows, Monsterhearts, MofW, I just got Pigsmoke from the Kickstarter. Does Blades in the Dark count? I guess I have a habit of picking up these games faster than I can find opportunities to use them.

Oh I forgot, AW itself would be fun, but there's also Fallen Empires, the fantasy re-skin for AW. I don't think it's a finished product, but the playbooks are available as a preview (it's not really a hack, it's just renaming and tweaking the playbooks to fit AW into a fantasy setting).
This message was last edited by the user at 17:04, Fri 22 Sept 2017.
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