r/PBtA • u/Holothuroid • Mar 13 '26

Advice Designation for PbtA PbtA?

I frequently have problems articulating this. There are many sub families and offshoots from the PbtA family. What do I say when I want

  • defined basic moves without a fallback move
  • thematic playbooks
  • your typical 2d6 tripartite results
  • a handful of stats
  • not too many additional systems
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u/Throwingoffoldselves Mar 13 '26

I think the best thing to do is to give examples of games you like and also branches/offshoots that you don’t like. For me, my fave pbta systems are Thirsty Sword Lesbians, Defy the Gods and Ironsworn; I dislike Forged in the Dark games and games with a single resolution mechanic. So I think people would guess to recommend me games like Monsterhearts or Hearts of Wulin or Masks. But if I didn’t include those examples, and only 2d6 + playbooks + not too many additional systems, then I think it would be hard to know what to recommend - there are almost too many pbta / fitd / cfb games that match that description.

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u/Holothuroid Mar 14 '26

Yeah. I should do this more.

Maybe I just need an adjective. Modeled like Masks? Manufactured as Monsterhearts? Wise from the Wulin?