Hi, everyone. All though I’ve played a little PbtA, my knowledge of the games using it isn’t that good, so I have a few questions.
I listened to a podcast of Monsterhearts. There seemed to be this framing device where the PCs are in a homeroom class at the start of the session.
Does other PbtA games have this device? Is it purely for idea generation or does it have mechanical differences during play, in Monsterhearts or otherwise?
It sets up the dramatic situation at the start of play, including a rich cast of NPCs. This replaces the “Day in the Life” procedure in the Apocalypse World text, and fulfills a similar function. It sets up relationships and conflicts, which are then dealt with mechanically.
The Warren starts with a list of questions that set up a fraught situation.
The Sprawl starts with building what the sprawl is like and what some of the largest corporations are along with some of their agendas.
Jason Pitre Victor Wyatt Is that for every session, or every campaign, or every story line? I’m trying to separate what is world building on a larger scale, and what is there to seed a story.
Karl Larsson It’s a campaign starter typically.
Campaign starter for The Sprawl too.
Urban Shadows has a Session Intro move that is super solid and had each player talk about rumors that they hear about conflicts in the city before rolling some dice to see if they’re prepared or involved in some way.
Masks does it.
Thanks everyone. I have an idea for a game about the French Revolution that PbtA might be perfect for. I want some sort of framework for play that centers around the constantly shifting political bodies. Like instead of the Homeroom from Monsterhearts you have the Committee, Club or Convention.
Headspace has a series of questions each playbook has to answer, tying their character to the other characters through shared history and interesting events build during character creation.