Powered by the Apocalypse (PBTA) is a tabletop role playing game system originally created for the game 'Apocalypse World' (hence the name). It was designed around a streamlined focus on the fiction. This meant removing a lot of the mechanical rules bloat that plagues many other game systems.

Forged in the Dark (FitD) is a very similar system that is also narrative driven, bit more narrowly defined. It is inspired by PBTA but has some core differences such as how moves are defined. They share mostly the same design principles.

There are also a couple systems on here that are not PBTA or FitD.

I think there's at least something in this list that everyone would be interested in!

My Recommended Games

Something for everyone!

• Monster of the Week - PBTA - Thematically based on "Monster of the Week" style TV shows such as Buffy, The X Files or Supernatural. You play as a group of monster hunters ready to take down any monster terrorizing the town!
  • PDF ($12) Softcover ($25)
• Dungeon World - PBTA - Your run of the mill fantasy. Unless you don't want it to be. You tell the story of a group of fantasy adventurers and their exploits!
  • PDF ($10) Softcover ($25)
• Masks: A New Generation - PBTA - A superhero role-playing game. You take control of a team of young heroes fighting villains, saving lives and learning who they are.
  • PDF ($15)
• Apocalypse World - PBTA - The one that started it all. It's named Powered by the Apocalypse for a reason! In this one you take control of a band of post-apocalyptic survivors. Think more Mad Max than The Walking Dead, however.
  • PDF ($20)
• World of Dungeons - PBTA - A stripped-down, OSR fantasy game. It's simple and quick to play. It's also compatible with OSR and original DnD monsters, adventures and dungeons.
  • PDF (Free/Name your price)
• Scum and Villainy - FitD -A space-western full of adventure among the stars. Very much in the vein of Cowboy Bebop or Firefly.
  • PDF ($20) Softcover ($35)
• Blades in the Dark - FitD - The first of the Forged in the Dark games, you play as a group of criminals in Victorian London with elements of Gothic fiction.
  • PDF ($20) Softcover ($30)
• Ironsworn - PBTA - A dark fantasy game in which you are tasked with undertaking a quest of untold peril. You will explore wilds, forge bonds, reveal secrets and fight battles of desperation. Also good for Sword and Sorcery, with the right flavoring.
  • PDF (Free) Softcover ($23.50) Hardcover ($28.50)
• Legacy: Life Among the Ruins - PBTA - Take control of a family of post-apocalyptic survivors, born several generations after an apocalypse and guide them out of the shelter and into the new world.
  • PDF ($21.03)
• Urban Shadows - PBTA - An urban fantasy game in which mortals and monsters vie for control over the city in a political battleground hiding just beneath our noses.
  • PDF ($10)
• Band of Blades - FitD - A dark military fantasy game where you assume the role of members of a mercenary legion attempting to hold back the hordes of the undead.
  • PDF ($20) Softcover ($45)
• World of Blades - FitD - A stripped-down variant of Blades in the Dark a la World of Dungeons.
  • PDF (Free/Name your price)
• The Warren - PBTA - A role-playing game where you play as intelligent rabbits trying to survive predators, hazards and other rabbits. A game about survival and community. Big Watership Down vibes.
  • PDF ($12) Softcover ($25)
• Alas for the Awful Sea - PBTA - A story focused game where you play as a 19th century ship crew navigating remote British Isles. A roleplaying game of myth, mystery, and the complexity of the human heart.
  • PDF ($18.75)
• The Sprawl - PBTA - A mission based game set in a gritty neon-and-chrome cyberpunk future where you take on ruthless corporates who have taken control and aim to keep it that way.
  • PDF ($20) Softcover ($31.00) Hardcover ($54.70)
• Comrades - PBTA - An RPG in which you take on the role of working class revolutionaries attempting to overthrow an oppressive state.
  • PDF ($13.50) Softcover ($20.00) Hardcover ($35.00)
• Uncharted Worlds - PBTA - An space opera game centering around discovery and adventure where dramatic encounters drive the narrative ever onward.
  • PDF ($10) Softcover ($12.50) Hardcover ($22.50)
• Agon - Paragon - A fast-paced tabletop roleplaying game of heroic adventure in a mythic world. Have you ever wanted to play Homer's 'Odyssey'? Now you can. A unique system, but it fits.
  • Hardcover ($25)
• Girl Underground - PBTA - A game about a curious girl in a wondrous world, inspired by Alice in Wonderland, Spirited Away, and similar tales.
  • Softcover ($12)
• Wanderhome - PBTA - A pastoral fantasy Role-Playing Game about traveling animal-folk, the world they inhabit, and the way the seasons change. Quintessential cottage-core role playing.
  • Softcover ($45) Hardcover ($65)
• Absurdia - BoB - An absurdist modern fantasy roleplaying game about the inane hilarity and understated horror of everyday life. Inspired by works of absurd humor and surreal horror such as Alice in Wonderland, Gravity Falls, and the Twilight Zone.
  • PDF ($12)
• Chasing Adventure - PBTA - Chasing Adventure is an easy-yet-deep Powered By the Apocalypse game about daring adventurers in a fantasy setting. An attempt at a simplified, more streamlined Dungeon World.
  • Base Version PDF (Name Your Own Price; No Minimum) Full Version PDF ($10 Minimum)
• Fellowship - PBTA - A game about going on an adventure, and the fellowship your party forms in the face of it's adversary. Lots of narrative importance and control. Thematically inspired by Lord of the Rings and Stardust Crusaders.
  • PDF ($16) Softcover ($25) Hardcover ($60)
• We Are All Mad Here - Cypher - A fairy tale-centric system which focuses on fairy tale tropes, how it's different t than standard fantasy and the madness the feywild can bring. Great for fairy tale stories, especially those with a darker twist.
  • PDF ($19) Hardcover ($50)

Cool Looking Upcoming Games

Keep a lookout!

• Avatar Legends - PBTA - A role-playing game set in 5 different eras of the Avatar: The Last Airbender and Avatar: Legend of Korra
  • Release: Late 2022
• The Transformers Roleplaying Game - Essence20 - A roleplaying game based on The Transformers universe. Play as an Autobot or Decepticon and conquer or save the Universe! I know it isn't PBTA or FitD, but it looks really cool and feels similar enough i thought it would be warranted.
  • Release: Q4 2022
• Fantasy World - PBTA - A roleplaying game similar to Dungeon World, but more focused on storytelling rather than fighting and looting. If Dungeon World is like playing a video game, Fantasy World is like you're telling a movie together.
  • Release: Late 2022
• Demigods - PBTA- A table-top adventure RPG where you play the children of gods in a modern day setting, from any belief system you can imagine. Lots of Percy Jackson influence.
  • Release: Early 2023