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19:34, 28th March 2024 (GMT+0)

PbtA - Powered by the Apocalypse...

Posted by chromatophoria
chromatophoria
member, 686 posts
Be excellent
to each other.
Wed 18 Sep 2019
at 12:14
  • msg #1

PbtA - Powered by the Apocalypse...

What's your experience running games of this nature on RPOL?

I'm thinking about Legacy Life Among the Ruins 2e... but it feels like... it might be challenging.
engine
member, 730 posts
There's a brain alright
but it's made out of meat
Wed 18 Sep 2019
at 13:42
  • msg #2

PbtA - Powered by the Apocalypse...

In reply to chromatophoria (msg # 1):

I have only played, not run, and have had a range of experiences. What makes you think it might be challenging?
Ski-Bird
subscriber, 51 posts
Wed 18 Sep 2019
at 15:47
  • msg #3

PbtA - Powered by the Apocalypse...

It’s player facing, so that’s a plus.

I have had really good experiences with PbP games that used PbtA settings. The few times that things went wonky were basically variations on:

The lack of a turn structure needs to be addressed. I have a formal ‘this is what I am expecting’ post for games that I run.  I’ve played in games where the expectations were not as explicit, and the players’ varying posting rates (and guys who tended — intentionally or otherwise — to be spotlight hogs) sort of ruined it for me.

The likelihood for PbtA games to veer off into unexpected directions is a fair bit higher than other systems and the mechanic of using a player’s 6- to drop a hard move on the table usually means that these ‘go stomping off in a new direction’ moments are directly connected to when a player busts out a move.

So it becomes essential that when a move is on the table, it gets resolved before all the other players respond. Guys coming over from a more traditional turn-based system might think that each player gets to drop moves on the table and then the GM will sort them out and sum up the round. That play style and PbtA do not mix well.

The last pinch point that I have run into is player familiarity with the system. I think there are a lot of guys that think because the playbook looks simple ... then there is no need to read the core book. (And when they skip reading the book, there is a chance they might have actually missed large chunks that are central to the game).

An example of that happened recently to me ...

While playing a PbtA game that on its face, was intended to be a messy and dramatic superhero tale, I had a player join who mistook it for a four color action/adventure yarn.

In that tale, emotional conditions are assigned ... and the player had one that they felt was distasteful and let me know that they saw no way forward with the tale. The single action they knew of to remove the condition was not in keeping with their character, yadda, yadda ...

I reminded the player that there were at least ten ways in the book to skin that particular cat.

The distasteful ‘this does not fit my character ‘ option was only one of the ten options ... but the player was one of these types that hadn’t read the book. After letting them know what options were on the table ... then the light bulb finally clicked that they were not in a four color adventure tale ... and they withdrew.

tl;dr

Set expectations with regard to (lack of) turn structure.
Remind the players that once a move is on the table, it gets resolved before the next move gets posted.
Finally, ensure any players you recruit have a passing familiarity with the system (or be ready/willing to run the game as a tutorial).
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