So, I know a current GM of mine who’s keen to try out Monsterhearts and, as a thank you for running the campaign for us, I’m inclined to run it for him once our campaign is finished.
The problem is, while I like teen urban fantasy, Monsterhearts doesn’t seem geared towards the kind that I personally prefer. Ideally I’d like to run it more like Buffy the Vampire Slayer, or a more supernatural-flavoured Veronica Mars, whereas Monsterhearts is really focused more heavily on the sexy teen romance side of things than those shows.
Can Monsterhearts be run more Buffy-style, or is this definitely the wrong system for it?
Try Monster of the Week.
Short answer yes, Monsterhearts can be run like that but it really depends on what you want the game to focus on. If you want it to be about the investigation and the Scooby gang antics then yeah Monster of the Week is a great game is the way to go. If you want the game to be about the drama of High School and the messiness of relationships then Monsterhearts is the better way to go. Between your two examples I’d say that Buffy is a Monster of the Week game and Veronica Mars is Monsterhearts.
Buffy 6th season could probably fit well with Monsterhearts?
Honestly on the broad scope it could go either way with both series. The better way to do this would be to take the show on an episode by episode basis and see where the particular story fits.
Have you ever seen Torchwood? You know how in the first season everyone is banging each other and cheating and being kind of petty and miserable? That’s a prime example of Monsterhearts-as-monster-hunters, I’d say. Monsterhearts can run something like that, I think — otherwise, what you’re looking for sounds more like Monster of the Week.
I think if you’re running the game as a present, though, you should ask what your giftee expects. If they’ve read MH they might be looking mostly for the relationship stuff.
I agree that Monster of the Week sounds like the better fit for what you want, Monsterhearts can change a lot based on the skins. Put a chosen in play, and the game becomes way more focused on combat and monster hunting (one of the reasons I don’t love the skin). I hear the Angel can also push the game that way but I’ve never played with it. I would look through the skins to see what sort of play it encourages (for instance, the ghost adds the creep, the mortal adds abuse, and the vampire adds manipulation)
Travis has the right of it, you really should ask your GM why they want to try Monsterhearts. It’s very possible that they want to play a game that’s about drama and relationships and the messiness there in, in which case playing Monster of the Week will likely be a disappointment.
As a big Monsterhearts fan, I agree with what other people are saying. First, find out what your friend wants to get out of the game. Then, if they don’t want the sexy teen romance experience, either hack the game or run Monster of the Week instead.
Echoing the tactic of checking with your friend first to clarify what they want out of the game. If he’s been begging to play Monsterhearts, Monster of the Week isn’t really going to satisfy that itch. (Both are really amazing and wonderful games, though.) If he wants to be a werewolf in a love triangle with a witch and a selkie, that’s not going to happen in MotW. However, it can happen in Monsterhearts while also looking into the latest supernatural murder. As MC, you can set up situations with a Buffy-like agenda. You just can’t control exactly what your PCs will do about it, and they might just go have sex instead. That being said, you have the same problem in MotW.
Just (like any good MC) ask provocative questions. Here’s my (patent pending) “Do You Want to Play Monsterhearts or Monster of the Week?” quiz:
What about monsters appeals to you?
Are you more interested in the monsters or the hearts?
Do you want to investigate the monsters, kill them, or have sex with them, or all three, and if so, in what order?
Do you want to solve monster problems, or be the cause of them?
In horror movies, do you root for the doomed teenagers, the tough girl who fights back, or the killer?
You could also tailor what you want to run through the use of specific hard moves and how you trigger dark selves. It can be more Buffy than Twilight if you focus on hard moves that focus on the drama rather than encouraging sexy stuff. Lots of options.