Hey, I'm doing an AMA over on r/PbtA, if anybody's interested:
www.reddit.com/r/PBtA/comme...
I've answered a bunch of questions and a bunch more to go. If you want to read up or add to the pile, please come!
www.reddit.com/r/PBtA/comme...
I've answered a bunch of questions and a bunch more to go. If you want to read up or add to the pile, please come!
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November 11, 2025 at 5:05 PM
Hey, I'm doing an AMA over on r/PbtA, if anybody's interested:
www.reddit.com/r/PBtA/comme...
I've answered a bunch of questions and a bunch more to go. If you want to read up or add to the pile, please come!
www.reddit.com/r/PBtA/comme...
I've answered a bunch of questions and a bunch more to go. If you want to read up or add to the pile, please come!
For 15 years, there's always somebody proclaiming the end of PbtA or wishing it would come already.
They especially seem to hate it when they see someone say "I heard bad things about PbtA, but..." or "I didn't used to like PbtA, but..."
It must be pretty frustrating and disappointing for them.
They especially seem to hate it when they see someone say "I heard bad things about PbtA, but..." or "I didn't used to like PbtA, but..."
It must be pretty frustrating and disappointing for them.
May 22, 2026 at 12:57 PM
For 15 years, there's always somebody proclaiming the end of PbtA or wishing it would come already.
They especially seem to hate it when they see someone say "I heard bad things about PbtA, but..." or "I didn't used to like PbtA, but..."
It must be pretty frustrating and disappointing for them.
They especially seem to hate it when they see someone say "I heard bad things about PbtA, but..." or "I didn't used to like PbtA, but..."
It must be pretty frustrating and disappointing for them.
Now, this misunderstanding of PbtA—
Good happen, so-so happen, bad happen
— it's not the fault of the people who've had PbtA presented to them this way. They shouldn't somehow know better, when this is what people have been telling them!
Good happen, so-so happen, bad happen
— it's not the fault of the people who've had PbtA presented to them this way. They shouldn't somehow know better, when this is what people have been telling them!
September 30, 2026 at 5:20 PM
Now, this misunderstanding of PbtA—
Good happen, so-so happen, bad happen
— it's not the fault of the people who've had PbtA presented to them this way. They shouldn't somehow know better, when this is what people have been telling them!
Good happen, so-so happen, bad happen
— it's not the fault of the people who've had PbtA presented to them this way. They shouldn't somehow know better, when this is what people have been telling them!
clever spin on pbta, I like these big interlocking pbta games that are coming out, i also like rules that tell you shit happens to your character and don't let you wiggle out of it
June 12, 2026 at 5:16 PM
clever spin on pbta, I like these big interlocking pbta games that are coming out, i also like rules that tell you shit happens to your character and don't let you wiggle out of it
PbtA fans, here's my challenge to you. For the next 12 months, when somebody asks how PbtA works, tell them that normally a 10+ is a critical hit, a 7-9 is a hit, and a 6- is a compromise, but that unusually challenging or dangerous situations can bump itdown.
September 30, 2026 at 5:20 PM
PbtA fans, here's my challenge to you. For the next 12 months, when somebody asks how PbtA works, tell them that normally a 10+ is a critical hit, a 7-9 is a hit, and a 6- is a compromise, but that unusually challenging or dangerous situations can bump itdown.
Now, there are some PbtA and post-PbtA games that do take "acting under fire" as their core template, and build their resolution rules on top of it.
Significantly, crucially, they add new systems that deal with the problem I'm describing.
Blades in the Dark's position and effect, for instance...
Significantly, crucially, they add new systems that deal with the problem I'm describing.
Blades in the Dark's position and effect, for instance...
15 years ago when Apocalypse World was new and people were beginning to understand and work with it, it was seductive to look at "acting under fire" and see, not one basic move of several, but the template underlying all the game's moves.
Like @kierongillen.bsky.social 's classic gag:
Like @kierongillen.bsky.social 's classic gag:
WHAT HAPPEN?
October 2, 2026 at 3:42 AM
Now, there are some PbtA and post-PbtA games that do take "acting under fire" as their core template, and build their resolution rules on top of it.
Significantly, crucially, they add new systems that deal with the problem I'm describing.
Blades in the Dark's position and effect, for instance...
Significantly, crucially, they add new systems that deal with the problem I'm describing.
Blades in the Dark's position and effect, for instance...
It's only PBTA if it has sex moves, otherwise it's just sparkling FITD
December 10, 2025 at 4:45 AM
It's only PBTA if it has sex moves, otherwise it's just sparkling FITD
Why didn't these kinds of moves—
Pick 3, pick 2, pick 1
Pick 2, pick 1, pick none
Exceptional success, success, compromise
— become "how PbtA works"?
Like I say, I think it's obvious why, but choosing one move to be "how PbtA works" at all was the first mistake.
Pick 3, pick 2, pick 1
Pick 2, pick 1, pick none
Exceptional success, success, compromise
— become "how PbtA works"?
Like I say, I think it's obvious why, but choosing one move to be "how PbtA works" at all was the first mistake.
September 30, 2026 at 5:20 PM
Why didn't these kinds of moves—
Pick 3, pick 2, pick 1
Pick 2, pick 1, pick none
Exceptional success, success, compromise
— become "how PbtA works"?
Like I say, I think it's obvious why, but choosing one move to be "how PbtA works" at all was the first mistake.
Pick 3, pick 2, pick 1
Pick 2, pick 1, pick none
Exceptional success, success, compromise
— become "how PbtA works"?
Like I say, I think it's obvious why, but choosing one move to be "how PbtA works" at all was the first mistake.
I've been keeping track of a PbtA project called Dungeon World 2 trying to basically adapt a D&D style to the PbtA ruleset and I'm 👀👀
I like a lot of things about D&D, but after playing Masks on D&Dorks I've been entirely won over to the PbtA approach to mechanics.
I like a lot of things about D&D, but after playing Masks on D&Dorks I've been entirely won over to the PbtA approach to mechanics.
September 25, 2025 at 5:36 AM
I've been keeping track of a PbtA project called Dungeon World 2 trying to basically adapt a D&D style to the PbtA ruleset and I'm 👀👀
I like a lot of things about D&D, but after playing Masks on D&Dorks I've been entirely won over to the PbtA approach to mechanics.
I like a lot of things about D&D, but after playing Masks on D&Dorks I've been entirely won over to the PbtA approach to mechanics.
you cannot fucking fathom how tightly this game is designed, playing a pbta spin off will give you ZERO idea
November 7, 2025 at 2:15 AM
you cannot fucking fathom how tightly this game is designed, playing a pbta spin off will give you ZERO idea
Every once in a while I'll get to tell someone, and they'll suddenly understand what I mean, that PbtA doesn't begin and end with the fiction, it begins and ends with the conversation.
"Fiction first" is an idea that came to PbtA later, from I don't really know where.
"Fiction first" is an idea that came to PbtA later, from I don't really know where.
Whenever I hear someone dogmatically saying "the moves MUST begin and end with the fiction" I always want to crack open Apocalypse World and pull out pretty much any example from the book.
March 29, 2025 at 10:44 PM
Every once in a while I'll get to tell someone, and they'll suddenly understand what I mean, that PbtA doesn't begin and end with the fiction, it begins and ends with the conversation.
"Fiction first" is an idea that came to PbtA later, from I don't really know where.
"Fiction first" is an idea that came to PbtA later, from I don't really know where.
my entire stance on PBTA is that it's a fine enough system but there was a period where it felt like a solid 50% of gamebooks coming out were PBTA, and PBTA just doesn't feed me mechanically. Can't tell you how many times I'd get excited for a game announcement and then see "And it's PBTA!"
May 24, 2026 at 4:36 PM
my entire stance on PBTA is that it's a fine enough system but there was a period where it felt like a solid 50% of gamebooks coming out were PBTA, and PBTA just doesn't feed me mechanically. Can't tell you how many times I'd get excited for a game announcement and then see "And it's PBTA!"
"This PbtA game might end up feeling TOO MUCH like a PbtA game and that's bad, actually"
December 25, 2024 at 5:13 AM
"This PbtA game might end up feeling TOO MUCH like a PbtA game and that's bad, actually"
highly rated nb pbta designer call me mx success. did anyone do this one yet
April 5, 2025 at 7:50 PM
highly rated nb pbta designer call me mx success. did anyone do this one yet
Re PbtA moves, a great question!
Do you have a feel for what proportion of moves fit this pattern?
October 1, 2026 at 4:17 PM
Re PbtA moves, a great question!
to my mind, the core of pbta is not "2d6+stat with mixed successes", it's the system of "when x trigger happens in the fiction, apply y specific mechanic". Codified, genre specific moves are its main innovation.
If you think pbta is just 2d6+stat with varied levels of success, you missed the point
If you think pbta is just 2d6+stat with varied levels of success, you missed the point
May 26, 2026 at 5:23 AM
to my mind, the core of pbta is not "2d6+stat with mixed successes", it's the system of "when x trigger happens in the fiction, apply y specific mechanic". Codified, genre specific moves are its main innovation.
If you think pbta is just 2d6+stat with varied levels of success, you missed the point
If you think pbta is just 2d6+stat with varied levels of success, you missed the point
Maybe Murderous Ghosts is my least-like Apocalypse World PbtA game.
October 5, 2026 at 6:08 PM
Maybe Murderous Ghosts is my least-like Apocalypse World PbtA game.
If your PBTA Pick lists for chargen don't look like this, you're not trying hard enough.
June 16, 2025 at 11:58 AM
If your PBTA Pick lists for chargen don't look like this, you're not trying hard enough.
T minus 10! We have a lot to do by November 3rd, when we will be launching the 3rd edition of our best-known #ttrpg, the one that started #PBTA.
If you know or have heard of #ApocalypseWorld, check out #AW3RD !
www.kickstarter.com/projects/lum...
If you know or have heard of #ApocalypseWorld, check out #AW3RD !
www.kickstarter.com/projects/lum...
Coming soon: Apocalypse World: Burned Over
The 3rd edition of the groundbreaking original.
www.kickstarter.com
October 26, 2025 at 4:17 PM
Playbooks in "In Another World, Who Writes This Shit?", the incredibly shitty PbtA game Lexie and I somehow vomited up quite nearly whole in like three days
October 2, 2025 at 11:48 PM
Playbooks in "In Another World, Who Writes This Shit?", the incredibly shitty PbtA game Lexie and I somehow vomited up quite nearly whole in like three days
medium.com/@isabellerue... looking at a bunch of different PbtA and Belonging Outside Belonging games and discussing how they handle setting up PC bonds. I think this one is pretty good #pbta
PC Bonds: Looking at PbtA & Descendants
Player Character (PC) Bonds are a common staple in Powered by the Apocalypse (PbtA) games, and Belonging Outside Belonging (BOB) by…
medium.com
February 19, 2026 at 2:41 PM
medium.com/@isabellerue... looking at a bunch of different PbtA and Belonging Outside Belonging games and discussing how they handle setting up PC bonds. I think this one is pretty good #pbta
Fantastic thread on a common misread of move structure. Practically required reading for folks interested at all in PBTA design.
15 years ago when Apocalypse World was new and people were beginning to understand and work with it, it was seductive to look at "acting under fire" and see, not one basic move of several, but the template underlying all the game's moves.
Like @kierongillen.bsky.social 's classic gag:
Like @kierongillen.bsky.social 's classic gag:
WHAT HAPPEN?
September 30, 2026 at 5:46 PM
Fantastic thread on a common misread of move structure. Practically required reading for folks interested at all in PBTA design.
5e and PbtA, what else is there?
October 6, 2026 at 8:42 PM
5e and PbtA, what else is there?
My day job (self-employed) includes wandering around the internet and keeping track what people say about PbtA. Occasionally a new one will pop up.
Lately I've been seeing "in a PbtA game, you shouldn't be rolling dice that often anyway."
I'm like, you shouldn't what now? Where did THIS come from?
Lately I've been seeing "in a PbtA game, you shouldn't be rolling dice that often anyway."
I'm like, you shouldn't what now? Where did THIS come from?
April 16, 2026 at 3:51 PM
My day job (self-employed) includes wandering around the internet and keeping track what people say about PbtA. Occasionally a new one will pop up.
Lately I've been seeing "in a PbtA game, you shouldn't be rolling dice that often anyway."
I'm like, you shouldn't what now? Where did THIS come from?
Lately I've been seeing "in a PbtA game, you shouldn't be rolling dice that often anyway."
I'm like, you shouldn't what now? Where did THIS come from?
Sometime recently I saw a conversation scroll on past that was like, "what's the difference between moves in PbtA and skills in other rpgs?"
I can't speak to PbtA in general, of course, but in Apocalypse World, moves aren't skills, they're actions. You know how in a D&D-like game...
I can't speak to PbtA in general, of course, but in Apocalypse World, moves aren't skills, they're actions. You know how in a D&D-like game...
July 8, 2025 at 1:58 AM
Sometime recently I saw a conversation scroll on past that was like, "what's the difference between moves in PbtA and skills in other rpgs?"
I can't speak to PbtA in general, of course, but in Apocalypse World, moves aren't skills, they're actions. You know how in a D&D-like game...
I can't speak to PbtA in general, of course, but in Apocalypse World, moves aren't skills, they're actions. You know how in a D&D-like game...