If you’ve spent any time in a local game store or lurking on TTRPG forums lately, you’ve probably heard someone mention Powered by the Apocalypse games. It's a mouthful. It sounds like a heavy metal album from 1984. But honestly, it’s just the name for a design philosophy that started with a single, gritty game called Apocalypse World by D. Vincent Baker and Meguey Baker. People call them PbtA for short. These games aren't just "rulesets" in the way Dungeons & Dragons is a ruleset; they’re more like a conversation. A very specific, often messy, and incredibly dramatic conversation.
I remember the first time I ran a PbtA game. I was terrified. There were no initiative tracks. There were no 5-foot squares to count. I kept waiting for the "rules" to kick in and stop me from making a mistake. But that’s the thing—the rules in Powered by the Apocalypse games are designed to catch you when you fall, not to trip you up with math. They focus on what happens in the fiction first. If your character swings a sword, you don't look at a stat block to see if you have the "Cleave" feat. You just describe the swing, and the game tells you what the consequences are. It’s liberating. It's also kind of exhausting if you're used to just "pressing buttons" on a character sheet.
What It Actually Means to Be Powered by the Apocalypse
Most people think PbtA is a system. It isn't. Vincent Baker has been pretty vocal about this on his blog, Anyway, and in various interviews. He basically says that if a game is inspired by Apocalypse World and the designer wants to call it PbtA, then it is. There’s no PbtA police. There’s no licensing fee. This has led to a massive explosion of titles like Monsterhearts, Masks: A New Generation, and Root: The TTRPG.
At the core of almost every Powered by the Apocalypse game is the "Move." This is where the magic happens. A Move is a little nugget of rules that says: "When you do X, roll 2d6 and add a stat." Usually, a 10 or higher is a total success. A 7 to 9 is a success with a catch—maybe you lose some gear, or you get hurt, or you have to make a hard choice. A 6 or lower? That’s a "Miss." In PbtA, a miss doesn't mean "nothing happens." It means the GM (or Master of Ceremonies) gets to do something mean to you. It keeps the story moving. Always.
The Fiction First Mentality
You can't just say, "I use my 'Sucker Punch' move." That's illegal in PbtA-speak. You have to actually describe your character lunging across the bar, knocking over a glass of cheap rye, and throwing a desperate hook at the biker's jaw. The GM then says, "Okay, that sounds like you're Acting Under Pressure," or whatever the specific move is in that game. The fiction triggers the move. The move then changes the fiction. It's a loop.
This sounds simple, but it’s a radical shift from "I move 30 feet and use my bonus action." In Powered by the Apocalypse games, the mechanics are invisible until they are absolutely necessary to resolve a conflict. This is why these games are so popular for streamers and podcasters. They move fast. They prioritize drama over "builds."
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Why These Games Are Ruining (and Saving) Your Table
Some players hate this stuff. They really do. If you love optimizing a character to have the highest possible Armor Class, PbtA will feel like you're playing pretend in the backyard. There isn't much "crunch" to bite into. You won't find 400-page manuals filled with tables for weapon weights or encumbrance rules.
But for players who want to explore relationships or complex themes, these games are a godsend. Take Monsterhearts by Avery Alder. It’s a game about teenage monsters, but it’s really about the messiness of being a teenager and the way we use and abuse power in relationships. You don't "win" Monsterhearts. You just try to survive the emotional fallout of your own bad decisions. It uses the PbtA framework to force players into uncomfortable, beautiful, and hilarious social situations that a d20-based combat system just couldn't handle.
Then you have The Sprawl, which is pure cyberpunk. It uses Moves to simulate the ticking clock of a corporate heist. Or Brindlewood Bay, which mixes "Murder, She Wrote" with Lovecraftian horror. These games prove that the PbtA engine is incredibly modular. You can swap out the "Playbooks" (the PbtA version of classes) and the Moves to fit almost any genre imaginable.
The Role of the GM
In Powered by the Apocalypse games, the GM has rules too. This is a huge distinction. In many games, the GM is a god who can do whatever they want. In PbtA, the GM has a list of "Principles" and "Moves." They are told to "Be a fan of the players" or "Draw maps, leave blanks." They can't just arbitrarily kill a character because they’re bored. They have to follow the flow of the game's internal logic.
It actually makes GMing much easier. You don't have to prep three hours of combat encounters. You just show up with a few "Fronts" (looming threats) and react to what the players do. It’s improvisational. It’s collaborative. It’s also a little terrifying if you like being in total control of the narrative.
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Common Misconceptions About the 2d6 System
A lot of folks look at the 2d6 curve and think the games are "easy." Mathematically, you're most likely to roll a 7. This means that in Powered by the Apocalypse games, you spend most of your time in that "mixed success" zone. You're constantly winning, but at a cost. This creates a specific kind of tension. You aren't just succeeding or failing; you're constantly negotiating with the world.
- Myth 1: You can't play long campaigns.
- People say PbtA is only for one-shots. Tell that to the Masks group that's been playing for three years. While character progression isn't about getting +5 swords, it's about changing who the character is. You might swap Playbooks entirely as your hero grows up.
- Myth 2: There's no strategy.
- The strategy is in the narrative. If you know a monster is invulnerable to steel, you don't keep "rolling to hit." You find a way to change the fiction so you have leverage. That’s a different kind of tactical thinking.
- Myth 3: Every PbtA game is the same.
- Hard no. Urban Shadows feels nothing like Avatar Legends. The core might be 2d6, but the "vibe" is dictated by the specific Moves written for that world.
Notable Games You Should Actually Check Out
If you're looking to dive in, don't just start with Apocalypse World unless you like really dark, adult themes. It’s the original, but it’s gritty.
For something more accessible, Masks: A New Generation is the gold standard. You play teen superheroes trying to figure out who they are while being told who to be by adults. Your "stats" aren't Strength or Agility; they're things like "Danger," "Freak," and "Savior." When an adult tells you you're a freak, your Freak stat literally goes up, and your Savior stat goes down. It's brilliant. It maps the mechanics of the game directly onto the emotional experience of the characters.
Thirsty Sword Lesbians by April Kit Walsh is another one that’s been huge lately. It’s exactly what it says on the tin: high drama, queer romance, and sword fighting. It uses the PbtA engine to facilitate "flirting" as a mechanical action. It’s a great example of how these games can carve out spaces for stories that traditional RPGs often ignore.
Then there's Root: The TTRPG, based on the board game. It’s a bit crunchier than your average PbtA game, adding more detailed equipment and combat rules. It’s a good "bridge" game for people coming from D&D or Pathfinder who aren't quite ready to give up their inventory management.
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Practical Steps for Running Your First Session
So, you want to try one of these Powered by the Apocalypse games. Don't just read the book and try to memorize it. That's a mistake.
- Print the Playbooks. PbtA games are designed so that everything a player needs is on a two-page sheet. Hand them out. Let the players pick the one that sounds cool.
- Ask Questions. Instead of telling the players what the town looks like, ask them. "Hey, The Hocus, who did you piss off to get kicked out of the temple?" This builds the world instantly and gives the players "buy-in."
- Forget Initiative. Just talk. If someone is being loud and aggressive, they're probably making a move. If someone is hanging back, ask them what they're doing.
- Follow the 7-9. This is the soul of the game. Don't just give them what they want on a partial success. Make it hurt a little. Make it interesting.
- Stop Prepping Plots. PbtA games die when the GM tries to force a specific ending. Prep situations, not stories. Let the dice and the players decide where it goes.
Honestly, PbtA changed the way I look at gaming. It taught me that the "rules" aren't a physics simulator for a fantasy world. They're a tool to help us tell better stories together. It’s not for everyone, and that’s fine. But if you’re tired of looking up grapple rules in the middle of a life-or-death fight, you might find exactly what you’re looking for in the apocalypse.
Start by grabbing a PDF of a game that fits a genre you love. Read the GM moves. They will change how you run every other game you ever play, even if you go back to the d20 systems. The focus on "failing forward" is a skill that translates everywhere. It makes every roll feel like it matters, and in the end, isn't that why we play?
Next Steps for New Players and GMs:
- Download a "Quickstart": Most PbtA games like Masks or Avatar Legends have free PDF starters.
- Watch a "Powered by the Apocalypse" Actual Play: Seeing the flow of "Moves" in real-time is much easier than reading about them. The Adventure Zone: Amnesty or The Magpies are great places to start.
- Focus on the "Principles": If you're GMing, print out the GM page and keep it in front of you. When you're stuck, look at your list of moves and just pick one.