Editing Monster of the Week

{{Game Infobox
|name = Monster of the Week
|picture = [[File:MotW.png|300px]]
|type = [[RPG]]
|publisher = Evil Hat Productions
|system = Powered by the Apocalypse
|authors =  Michael Sands & Steve Hickey
|year = 2015
}}
'''Monster of the Week''' is a [[Powered By the Apocalypse]] narrativist game by Evil Hat Productions, released in 2015. As you might've guessed, it is generally about hunting monsters of some kind; striking the middle ground between ''Buffy: The Vampire Slayer'', ''The X-Files'', and maybe ''Scooby-Doo''.

In 2017, an expansion called ''Tome of Mysteries'' was released, which gives a couple of sample mysteries, new playbooks, and further options worth messing around with.
== Mechanics ==
It's standard PbtA again, the MC is called the "Keeper", and this time the set of character stats are a little more mundane:

* '''Charm:''' Charisma. Used exclusively in ''Manipulate Someone'' checks, generally a catch-all for any sort of diplomacy, be it mundane or not.
* '''Cool:''' Willpower, used in  ''Help Out'' or ''Act under Pressure'' checks. As the skills imply, it's to see how good you actually are at not panicking when the moment arrives to do something.
* '''Sharp:''' Actual smarts, used in ''Investigate a Mystery'' or ''Read a Bad Situation'' checks. A little crossed with a traditional wisdom stat as well, but mostly just how smart your character is.
* '''Tough:''' Physical prowess, used in ''Kick some Ass'' or ''Protect Someone'' checks. Fairly self explanatory.
* '''Weird:''' Magic. You use this stat to ''Use Magic'' or some other equivalent, based on how you've built the rest of your character or their playbook. You will either never use this or it will be your default solution to everything.

All actions are governed by the checks listed in the stats and in the Playbooks, which gives out Moves for your character to do, Special powers/skills/equipment, and usually two required moves, as well as one move of your choice to take. More than a few playbooks have an extra mechanic or two to spice things up, some no different than an extra box to check, some a little more involved. Two unique systems are Luck, which is a finite resource that is replenished only sparingly that can be used to auto-win a check or avoid damage. And you will be taking damage, you're still a mortal being, after all. And your 7-point Harm Meter only has three "alright" boxes. Maybe something in your Playbook might make you regret it later, but all in the name of a successful hunt.

== Playbooks ==

* '''The Chosen:''' You're the hero of destiny! Your compliance is not a factor in that. Mostly an anti-monster brick that gets special armour, a customizeable weapon, and a special "Fate" that the Player comes up with, with two heroic tags with positive benefits...but also two Doom tags with deeply negative ones. Whenever the Chosen marks off a point of Luck, the Keeper gets to choose one of the tags to throw at The Chosen.
* '''The Crooked:''' A criminal, reformed or otherwise, fighting the supernatural. You get a Background as a certain kind of criminal, which either allows you to substitute certain abilities for others in certain checks, or get special questions you can ask a Keeper to get certain info. You also get Heat, which is some part of your past coming back to bite you at some point the Keeper chooses. You do get three weapons of your choice, though. Two of the choices are even automatic weapons!
* '''The Divine''': Literally just a Paladin. Some of the Moves are even called "Lay on Hands" and "Smite". Might as well be The Chosen playbook but with "Fate" replaced with "God" or "Holy", as it's just as much of an anti-monster brick but with a semi-religious flavor to it. Gets a holy weapon, a holy armour, and a specific Mission that ranges from simply stopping the apocalypse to actively allowing the apocalypse to happen.
* '''The Expert:''' The Monster hunting veteran; you've seen it all and are used to this. Gets three monster hunting weapons of their choice, a lot of Sharp related and Harm reducing/ignoring from some of their Moves, as well as potentially backstory-related abilities to identify monsters. Their special feature is the Haven, which is a secret hideout with a customizable purpose and flavor; ranging from a basement nobody would think to look in to a pocket dimension.
* '''The Flake:''' Charlie Day ranting about Pepe Silvia, but Pepe Silvia is an eight-headed owl that shoots fire from it's ass. You play as a conspiracy nut whose job is generally information gathering and figuring out hidden stuff, capable of plucking seemingly random threads of info and making it fit the "grander narrative" or far more accurately, how and why the Monsters show up. Gets a normal weapon and a couple of hidden weapons they can carry around at all times.
* '''The Initiate:''' The Monster Hunting Pro, but this time from a mystical organization of some kind. The big mechanic for you is your Sect, which you start in good standing with. At the beginning of every session, you roll your dice to get a mission from them; depending on how high or low, it can be either be comically easy, or insanely difficult or emotionally painful to complete. Your Sect gets a good tradition and a bad tradition; ensuring you're always going to have at least some kind of bone to pick with them, but the choice of either being magic, doing martial arts, or using guns to carry that out is always pretty rewarding.
* '''The Monstrous:''' You've spent too long hunting monsters and well, you know how the rest of that quote goes. Your big mechanic is your Monster Breed, which you determine yourself by giving yourself natural attacks (bites, claws, magic stuff, life drain, that sort of thing), two monstrous physiology Moves, and a Curse to even it all out. While very powerful, the Curse hurts like a motherfucker if it goes off, and can easily make you the weak link in a monster hunting team simply because you can't keep your shit together.
* '''The Mundane:''' Unlike the other hunters...you're normal. Really normal. Much of their Moves are support related, such as getting out of danger or helping NPCs or fellow party members by being the person who isn't obviously weighed down with all the crazy bullshit happening around them, but are also ''very'' in danger half the time. While you get two weapons you could get at a department store, your ace in the hole is having a mode of transport; more than half of the options being a car of some kind.
* '''The Professional:''' Your Non-denominational monster hunter, fighting the supernatural for your bread. You get a ''lot'' of Cool or Sharp-based Moves. Your big mechanic is working for The Agency, which is like the Initiate's Sect, only more corporate than religious, and arguably more of a pain in the ass since you can end up needing their support only for a bad roll to fuck you. 
* '''The Spell-Slinger:''' Yer a Wizard, Harry. Every single thing you do is governed by the fact that you can do Magic, starting with your DIY combat magic, and then three moves that ''augment'' that Magic. You get the option of a weapon, but you will never, ever use it. You will be riding your Weird stat like a pony.
* '''The Spooky:''' Yer a Wizard whose powers come at a cost, Harry. Unlike the Spell-Slinger, you get three very specific powers that are very helpful in a fight or info-gathering session, but you have to contend with The Dark Side; the nebulous place where you get all that funny magic, and none of the tags for it are in any way good. If something triggers it, you have to do something the Keeper tells you to do, or you lose your powers until you do it or the mystery ends. As you go through your Luck, those annoying requests can become steep in a big damn hurry.
* '''The Wronged:''' John Wick if his dog was killed by Bigfoot. You're the grieving survivor of a monster attack, and you're out for vengeance. You use your Tough stat a lot, either to save the day or save your party members. You get a cool signature weapon and a pair of practical ones. Your major story bit is that you lost somebody close to you to a specific kind of monster, and you have to explain out why you didn't kill them the first time. Expect that reason to come back to haunt you.

=== ''Tome of Mysteries'' Playbooks ===
* '''The Gumshoe:''' You're a Private Eye with a code. You get bonuses specifically to "Investigate a mystery" checks, with a wide range of contacts to help you figure stuff out. You can also get some more specific flavored stuff like a Columbo-esque Charm roll modifier or becoming a hacker man. You do have a Code to keep up however, and if you break it, ''all'' those cool moves go out the window until you make amends.
* '''The Hex:''' Yer a Witch, Harry. Another spellcasting Playbook, this time with a more ritualistic, wiccan flavor. Your big mechanic is Rotes, which are like the Combat Spells but way, '''way''' more customizable, all you have to do is write out what exactly it does on successes, partial successes, and failures, though you only get one to start. Most of your Moves either help with info-gathering or augmenting your magic use. Your big mechanic is Temptations; you figured out how to do this magic shit, and whatever drives you will cause you to misuse it.
* '''The Pararomantic:''' [[PROMOTIONS]], THE PLAYBOOK! You knew there'd be a little monsterfuckin' in this game. You get a supernatural guide, almost always described as a love interest, that helps you do things you otherwise wouldn't, with a lot of your rolls coming as a result of getting successful modifiers for future ones made by interacting with your paranomal fuckbuddy rather than what's actually going on, or do some emotional manipualting of the Monster for a change. However, your Supernatural guide isn't all puppy love; screw up enough rolls with your Moves, and you could end up with Bond Abuse, which either puts you or your relationship in danger. Sometimes both. Oh, and that fling you're having with the [[Monster girl|Monster Girl]] ''is'' doomed for failure; every time you spend a point of luck, you lose a point in your Relationship Status, which you cannot get back by any means beyond goofing off in the middle of a mission together; which will always put you in greater danger of being found out. Hope that Monster Puss was worth it, you fucking freak.

== The Monsters themselves ==
Monsters in Monsters of the Week are the real star of the show. Monsters are real, they are scary, they're a nightmare to kill, and they're in your neighborhood. The entire session itself is referred to as a ''Mystery'', which outlines all of the signs, sightings, disappearances, and eerie goings-on that have been noticed by the populace which draws your hunting party to the local monster's general location. The location always has a few clues kicking around, but more importantly, it often has a bunch of bystanders who your Players can interact with and also probably save once the Monster gets kicking.

The Monsters themselves are decided by the Keeper, and are as a rule quite dangerous; both to the NPCs and PCs, but they always have a Weakness that can either be figured out through battle, or throughout the Mystery. The thing is that the Monster ''must'' be killed in some way using it's weakness, or it's never going to truly die. These things can start kind of small and escalate out into something truly horrific. Have fun toying with ideas and dropping them unannounced on your players!

{{Powered by the Apocalypse}}
[[Category:Roleplaying]]
[[Category:Powered by the Apocalypse]]