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Dungeons & Dragons is by and far the most popular tabletop roleplaying game in the modern era. While that makes the hobby more generally accessible, it can also cause its fair share of problems. D&D is a great game, but new Dungeon Masters can often fail to look beyond it, choosing to create house rules or make the game nigh-unrecognizable with changes. A better solution is to try a different system entirely -- that’s where Powered by the Apocalypse comes in.
PbtA is a game system named after the first of its kind, Apocalypse World. It’s also, in many ways, the polar opposite of D&D. While D&D is all about giving players a rigorous structure so they don’t have to worry about how to answer a given scenario, PbtA often only gives players the bare minimum. D&D uses an incredible range of different dice (various amounts of d4, d6, d8, d10, d12 and d20). PbtA only ever uses 2d6.
While such striking differences might be intimidating to a Dungeon Master looking to pick up the system, PbtA is quite simple to learn. Each different game will have its own rules, but they all operate off the same core principles. In order to accomplish a task, a player will roll 2d6. If they roll a 10 or higher, they succeed. If they roll a 6 or lower, they fail. If they roll a 7-9, they get a “mixed success.” What that can mean depends on the roll, but it usually involves partially succeeding and still having to endure some difficulty.
Then there’s playbooks. Playbooks are to PbtA what classes are to D&D -- different roles to define what each character is good at and what abilities they have access to. Players pick a playbook when the start the game, and it will define both their stats and moves. Stats can range from -1 to +3 and affect dice rolls. For example, if a player has +2 to “Might” and rolls to beat someone up, they’ll add two to the roll. This could turn a 6 into an 8, stopping them from failing. Conversely, a -1 could turn a 10 into a 9, knocking players down from a full success to a mixed success.
While stats are purely numerical, moves can do any number of things. They might let players roll a different stat for a specific task, or give them experience when they act in flavor with what their playbook is about. Moves are the game’s way of making characters feel distinct. Players will generally pick a few when they make their character and pick up more as they level up.
It’s important to understand that PbtA is a system, not a game. Think of it as a skeleton that can be used as the backbone for any number of games. Apocalypse World was the first, but there are hundreds more that have been created since. One example is Monster of the Week.
Monster of the Week is a PbtA game themed around monster-of-the-week style shows like Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Supernatural and Grimm. It has its own playbooks, each themed around a different archetype. Players might select the Chosen, a magical warrior destined to avert some great calamity. Or, the Mundane might be more to their style -- someone with no special powers at all.
Each of these playbooks then have their own moves, which push players towards their chosen role. The Mundane rewards players for getting kidnapped by the monster and the Chosen wields their own signature weapon. What makes Monster of the Week and other PbtA games so great is how they push players towards roleplaying and acting like the character they’ve chosen to create.
Monster of the Week is just one of dozens of officially published PbtA games and there are plenty more fan-created ones online. That’s why the system is such an excellent choice for those seeking an alternative to D&D. In learning how PbtA works, Dungeon Masters gain the ability to run games set in any number of different worlds -- from familiar high fantasy to an adventure on the high seas to a sci-fi space opera. Dungeons & Dragons is a deep game, but Powered by the Apocalypse is infinitely more flexible.
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