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| 2-6 | 12+ | 2-8 hr | $25 |
Most people don’t believe in monsters, but you know the truth. They’re real, and it’s your task to bring them down. This revised edition of Monster of the Week brings that adventure to life.
Monster of the Week is a standalone action-horror RPG for 3-5 people. Hunt high school beasties a la Buffy the Vampire Slayer, travel the country to bring down unnatural creatures like the Winchester brothers of Supernatural, or head up the government investigation like Mulder and Scully.
This book contains everything you need to tackle Bigfoot, collar a chupacabra, and drive away demons. In this revised edition, you’ll find:
- Character creation rules to bring your hunter to life and create a cohesive hunting team.
- Eight simple moves to investigate and deal with monsters.
- An easy-to-use system based on the popular Apocalypse World RPG.
- Thorough mystery-creation tools and two ready-to-play mysteries.
- New material including an introductory mystery; example monsters like Balkan vampires, werewolves, and other-dimensional creatures; and hunter types like the Crooked and the Spell-Slinger.
Grab the fireplace poker and get your spell book. That monster’s going down!
GAME INFORMATION
Number of players: 2-6
Age of players: 12+
Length: 2-8 hours
Type of Game: Roleplaying Game
Languages Available: English
Suggested Retail: $25
Game Designers: Michael Sands & Steve Hickey
Release Date: early 2015
That’s great to hear, Gina, thanks! I hope you continue to have fun with it.
I bought this game, two weeks ago and ran my first two Mysteries last Sunday. This game is awesome, it is the perfect game engine for my monster hunting setting that takes place a few years before the end of the world. I have recommended this game to my wife and all my friends, this is a great game. Will there ever be a monster book? Not that the discussion board does a great job of putting up new and unique monsters, just curious if there will be more out you? Thank you.
This has largely been a one-and-done co-publishing deal with Generic Games. No monster book currently planned.
Loving the book, yet to run a session. I have plans though, big plans mwahaha!
Thank you for putting this together. My group will love this.
Incidentaly, I’m guessing someone is a Being Human fan from the names in the werewolf example? I squeed a little.
I was the GM of several MonsterHearts groups. My friend bought this hoping I would like it. I’m starting my first session this week, SO EXCITED! (Huge supernatural fan)
Hello,
I have played this game as a PC a few times and love it! I am now putting together a game where I am the Handler. I am having trouble finding information on spell casting. Is there a list of spells and requirements somewhere? I get the idea that spells and requirements are something the Handler and Spell Caster(s) work out together. If that’s the case, is there a guide that I can refer to for specifics?
Thanks,
Aaron
Hi Aaron, glad to hear you’re dipping your toe into the MC waters. For advice I’d tap into the various G+ communities. There are a ton of experienced players and MCs there. Here’s one but there are more out there as well:
https://plus.google.com/communities/110209328442902551212
I’m pretty sure there’s not meant to be a “list” of spells. There’s a list of things that magic can do in the relevant move, but typically it grows out of the mystery you’re currently investigating and gets negotiated at the time the players decide they want to use the Use Magic move. If they want to do something that’s not covered by the listed effects, then they’re probably talking Big Magic, which can do pretty much anything but should come with some heavy costs (and usually after a series of preparatory moves are done).
Howdy! Our gaming/podcasting group has been playing a campaign, Troublesome Times in Tumbleson County, using Monster of the Week for the past few months that has finally started airing episodes on iTunes and Stitcher. We’ve been having a blast with the system, especially coming from a three-year game running in 4th edition D&D, as we love the fact that it’s very flexible and character-driven – it makes it really easy to tell a great story. (And it helps make a great podcast as a result!) We’re looking forward to using MotW for much more in the future! Thanks for making such an awesome system!
hi! i just bought the game and am planning on playing it with a small group of people soon and. it’s going to be my first rpg and i’m very excited. however i am slightly confused at how to handle firearms and such? it would seem to me like any long range attacks would keep the hunters safe from harm for at least a little bit, but the kick some ass move afflicts damage on both party so how am i supposed to handle them? no rolls at all?
thanks in advance.
Don’t get locked up thinking about physics. The game’s rules aren’t there to represent physics, they’re there to represent fiction. So your guy takes a shot, but rolls such that he receives harm as well; the GM might say, “You unload your gun into the thing, but it crosses the distance to you in a flash, seeming only mildly distressed by the bullets that definitely hit. Its hand is around your throat and your vision’s swimming. Take 3 harm.”
Also, that instinct about not always using kick some ass was right. If a hunter sets themself up so they can take a shot without the monster able to harm them, then kick some ass is not triggered (I normally resolve this with the keeper move “inflict harm, as established”).
Monster of the week is the best PbtA game I’ve played.
It’s smart, complete, focused and exhaustive.
Go ahead!
Hello! I’ve been having a tone of fun with this system, and I see some others have made custom playbooks for it as well, unfortunately they are not in the same trifold format as the original playbooks.
Any chance you could release or somehow provide me with a blank trifold playbook so we could have more uniform playbooks?
Well, I did the layout in InDesign. Do you have it? 🙂
If you don’t, here are some specs: The body font is Warnock Pro. The pages in the trifolds are landscape, letter sized, with half inch margins and a 1/3 inch gutter between columns. The distressed header uses the 3rd Man font.
Strangely enough I do, if you could share the InDesign file that would be awesome. if not though I think that’s enough information to go off of. ^_^
Can’t promise this link will work in perpetuity, but here you go https://www.dropbox.com/s/ud0c7rbs5l8pr46/MOTW%20Playbooks.indd?dl=0
Awesome thank you very much!
I was an original kickstarter backer of the first edition, but somehow I’ve managed to not run this game yet – but I’m running it next weekend at a convention, in a Warren Zevon / Rivers of London / Neverwhere mashup, and I’m blogging about it here – may be of interest:
https://burnafterrunningrpg.wordpress.com/2017/04/17/hell-rip-your-lungs-out-jim-monster-of-the-week-at-seven-hills-spoiler-free/
Yo Guys!
Just wanted to drop a line and say that both Mike and Fred – you guys absolutely killed it with this system and book. Such a fantastically easy to read system with awesome mechanics. I’ve been playing Dungeon World with friends as a player but after tossing around a campaign idea in both DND and Dungeon World I found this system and absolutely adore it. The McElroys playing your game as their main system on the Adventure Zone podcast is also gonna drum up business for both of you and I wish you all great success!
Hey guys, just wanted to say my players and i love the system. We are a group of actors and love the fluidity of game play and the focus on character and story above heavy mathematics. Everything just flows so well. I set our game in the fictional 80s town of Enoch falls. Heavy synth, big hair, red fear and stereotypes. 80s is great as there is so much paranoia floating around as is. As a keeper i really enjoy researching folk lore and shared fears and this system lets me do that.
I was just wondering if any folks have a collection of monster ideas up anywhere?
I was thinking if there was a space for it i might throw up some ideas? or maybe share some ideas on youtube?
Hi Darcy, I have two things for you:
1. I’m just finishing up the text for an expansion that has loads of new mysteries (and monsters) in it, you’ll see some more news about that soon.
2. The G+ community for Monster of the Week is active and has lots of people posting monsters, you can find it at: https://plus.google.com/u/0/communities/110209328442902551212
Hi there.
I came here after watching a video on YouTube ( https://youtu.be/tlH1H-FmEWk ) where a veteran Kiwi dungeon master highly recommended ‘Monster of the Week’ when asked about alternatives to D&D. I’m into board/card games but I’ve never had the chance to play an RPG. Not sure how newbie friendly Monster of the Week is. Cheers
Louie, I think if anything it’s more friendly to newbies than it is to veterans (as vets may have some habits-from-other-games to unlearn). The game is very good about explaining what’s expected of you at every step.
Hey, love the system guys. My friends and I have been playing for a couple months now. I had a question though. My Crooked character just leveled up and changed playbooks yo the Expert. I was wondering if that means he starts back at level one or can he still take level 5 perks when he levels up?
Hi Ethan, the answer to that one is: it’s up to your group. It’s intentionally not defined in the rulebook so you can decide for yourself which way makes sense.
Hey!
Just wanted to say I bought this book and my friends and I love the game!
So much that we’ve started a “podcast”! 🙂
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZgQ937AgC0c&list=PLi3GntqZ-km6AqZahWcmyJM5aFr7fvN2A
Thanks for making such a fun and amazing game!
In the Spooky playbook it says when describing their “Dark Side”,
If you do whatever is asked, mark experience. If you don’t do it, then your powers are unavailable until the end of the mystery (or until you cave).
Seems to me like it should be, if you do it, you get your powers back. Proceed as normal. If you don’t do it, then your powers are unavailable until the end of the mystery (or until you cave). If you make it to the end of the mystery, mark experience. It seems like the first way is double rewarding the bad behavior (i.e. you get your powers back AND exp) where as if you exercise your willpower and resist you get nothing. Continued access to the phenomenal cosmic powers seems like reward enough for giving in to the urges. Exp seems like a reward for figuring out ways to deal with the situation without powers. The current method seems like a bad deal, and feels like punishing the resister’s player for choosing a different roleplaying path.
I have no problem with the lack of powers if you don’t do the thing, that makes perfect sense (though they do apparently come back at the end of the current adventure/mystery). However, by not simply depending on their powers they are expanding their thought process and figuring out how to survive a difficult situation (pretty much the definition of gaining experience). Just like Failing a Roll grants experience because you are overcoming adversity, it seems like this would as well. Also, there is no mechanical advantage under the current rules to choose avoiding temptation (and actually takes a pretty big penalty), but [B]great[/B] advantage to giving in (both in terms of returned power and experience). I understand that there can certainly be lots of good RP reasons to avoid giving in, but the system actively discourages players from choosing to follow through on them.
I hope I am not double posting somehow. Where can I find the additional classes?
Hello! Question about combat: I have a couple of Players who are used to playing very stealthy characters. So, how should I handle things like sneaking and stealth attacks, or attacking from a distance, like a sniper? Any help you could give would be greatly appreciated.
Hi Kyle,
You just need to treat those actions like anything else. Describe what’s happening, take note when any moves are triggered, and use your Keeper moves as appropriate.
Sometimes stealth tactics may call for an Act Under Pressure move, other times it might be a Keeper move like Seperate Them. Just follow along with the situation that’s in play using the moves. And if you need something a little different, you can create a custom move for it.
Gonna be playing a MoTW campaign soon and I was wondering what does the life drain tag actually do? Does it heal me? Or does it do something else?
I’ve been hacking MotW for a Dark Age setting for a while but I’m nervous about releasing it into the wild in case I unwittingly cross a copyright line. Any advice welcomed.
Hi Paren,
Yes, it does heal you. Check the weapon tags list on p115 for the details.
Whoops! Now I see why this might be confusing. life-drain isn’t positioned alphabetically like the other tags — it’s between “hand” and “heavy” on page 115. Possibly a result of the term getting changed at some point after the alphabetization?