Lately, I've come across several RPG's which say they are 'Powered by the Apocalyse' (PbtA). This game system must be good if so many other games are copying it, right? Urban Shadows - Quickstart (US-Q), is PbtA and its free! I figured I would down-load this, and in one reading of the rules become an expert, er, know a little bit about PbtA.

A thing about my tastes, I am not a fan of 'urban fantasy'. Generally, I want my fantasy literature to be in fantastic settings and stories written in realistic settings to be realistic. So US-Q has a couple of big strikes against it right off the bat. I'm not going to game master this, I have no interest in playing this game - I don't care about it, and I'm not fond of the genre. I'm just reading it to see what PbtA is about.

This game IMPRESSED me.

PbtA is a rule light RPG. That is fine, there are many such. In US-Q everyone has a bunch of common moves, and their architype has some specific moves. The key thing is that most of these moves, create drama, and add connections and relationships between PC's and NPC's. This is cool, I can understand why PbtA is a flexible system and creators will want to use its ideas.

But the 'faction moves' are what really made me take note. Each player belongs to their own faction which they want to grow and prosper. There are faction moves, which ALSO help create drama, and add connections and relationships between opposing factions and other PC's and NPC's. (The factions and architypes are further organized by circles which adds another excuse for tension.)

Wow! As a GM I have been creating complex plots for my PC's to enjoy / dismantle. But in this game, a GM can relax a lot more. The game mechanics will generate a lot of storylines. The players will do a lot of the work of creating problems and goals for them to dive into. The GM can sit back, adjudicate questions between PC's in conflict, and occasionally stir the drama pot to keep things bubbling.

US-Q has a lot of clever ideas.

I strongly recommend this game, if you have ANY interest in urban fantasy in a noir setting. It is gorgous, and feels like a labour of love by the creators.

Warm regards, Rick.

Absolutely amazing! Lovely art, smooth gameplay mechanics! I'm so excited to play this!