Monster of the Week (2012)

Overview

Monster of the Week (MOTW) is an urban fantasy-horror tabletop role-playing game developed by Michael Sands. It was first published in 2012, and a revised edition was published by Evil Hat Productions in 2015. The entire theme of the game is heavily inspired by TV shows like Buffy, Supernatural, X-Files, Fringe and many others. The system it directly evolved from is
Apocalypse World
Apocalypse WorldApocalypse World is a post-apocalyptic tabletop roleplaying game by D. Vincent Baker and Meguey Bake...Beginner-friendlyRules-lightApocalyptic

Description

Players in the MOTW system take on the role of monster hunters. Capable of dealing with most creatures that might get in their way. Using skills to solve mysteries, track monsters and eventually defeat them.  System Overview & Key Features
Powered by the Apocalypse Engine (2d6) Players roll two six-sided dice (2d6) when performing actions, adding relevant character modifiers to the result. Rolling a 10 or higher is considered a success. 7-9 is a partial success, which will also carry some added consequences. Getting a 6 or lower means failure - you have not succeeded in whatever you attempted and dire consequences are soon to follow.
Basic and Playbook Moves Game mechanics are categorized into discrete actions called "Moves." Basic Moves are universally available to all characters and cover common actions such as "Investigate a Mystery," "Kick Some Ass," or "Act Under Pressure." Playbook Moves are exclusive, specialized abilities granted by a character's chosen Playbook, allowing them to manipulate the narrative or game mechanics in unique ways.
Finite Luck Points Each character possesses a limited track of Luck points. A player may permanently expend a point of Luck to retroactively alter a dice roll to a 12 (a complete success) or to entirely negate a single instance of sustained damage. Luck is a resource the players have to keep an eye on. Using too much can get you out of trouble, but if you don't have it when you need it most - trouble awaits.
Harm and Exploiting Weaknesses Physical trauma is tracked using a short monitor called "Harm." Player characters and adversaries possess low thresholds for sustaining Harm, making direct combat inherently dangerous. To successfully defeat a primary antagonist, players are mechanically required to investigate and utilize the creature's specific weakness, as standard physical attacks are often insufficient to achieve a permanent victory.
The Mystery Countdown To structure a gameplay session, the Keeper utilizes a tool called the Countdown. This is a chronological timeline detailing the sequence of events that will occur if the player characters fail to intervene. The Countdown is divided into escalating phases, ending with a catastrophic event. It serves to govern the pacing of the investigation and provide a sense of urgency.

Active games and players

MotW
Monster of the Week
Online
Oneshot
looking for casual players for weekly oneshots :D
Players
1/7
GM
1/1
Monster of the Week
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looking for casual players for weekly oneshots :D

Newbie friendly
New players are welcome, and nobody expects you to know the rules beforehand.
Adult
The table is for players who are 18 or over.
(FREE games only) Hi all! :D We’re a group of three looking for a few more players to host our weekly one-shots with! We are also looking to build up our Community group as a whole, so if you are a GM who wants a space to run your own one shots, you are more than welcome to do that here too! We’re all learning together. Very beginner friendly and low commitment, so no pressure at all to show up every week, just drop in when a session sounds fun ^^ You'll get taught everything you need to know if you're not fully familiar with VTTs as a whole. As of now, our main focus is on Troika!, DCC, Call of Cthulhu, and Mothership, and we’re open to trying plenty more! Everything we do runs over VTT & Discord since we’re spread across different countries. When we play: We usually hop on once a week around 8:00 pm (CET) / 7:00 pm (GMT). Weekly games are planned out in advance due to shifting work patterns, so a bit of flexibility goes a long way. If you’re 18+, curious, kind and up for some chaos, we’d absolutely love to have you! Feel free to DM if this sounds interesting to you :)

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MotW
Monster of the Week
Online
Campaign
Monster of the Week
Players
0/4
GM
1/1
Monster of the Week
en English

Monster of the Week

Looking to set up a Monster of the Week campaign. I'm happy to use any of the settings in the game, either a fantasy horror using one of the two fantasy settings, or a straight up action horror set in modern day. I'm happy to teach rules to those who have never played before.

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VtM
Vampire: The Masquerade
MotW
Monster of the Week
...
Online
Hiplobbe
Playstyle: Heavy roleplay, narrative-driven, and collaborative. About Me as a Player Character Creation: I love making goofy, endearing, or overly dramatic characters who somehow bumble through high-stakes situations. Drama and Lore: I actively look to create intricate player dramas and add rich details to the worlds we play in, giving GMs plenty of fun plot hooks to work with. Collaboration: I care far more about emotional arcs, character choices, and team dynamics than crunching numbers or optimizing stats. If you are looking for a player who brings deep storytelling, creative worldbuilding, and a healthy dose of memorable silliness to the table, let us connect!
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DND5E
Dungeons & Dragons 5E
PATH2E
Pathfinder 2E
...
Online
Kelindel
The storyteller Long-haul adventurer
A Note on LGBTQ+ Friendly: It's not just a tag to me, it's a requirement. I am nonbinary. My pronouns are they/them. This is a nonnegotiable for me. I've had far too many people approach me with rather condescending invites to games about how they 'aren't safe spaces' or 'no politics'. I agree that my gender, and gender identity isn't politics, though people have made it politics. Human rights isn't politics and if you think it is something that should be, you can skip on by me. I am more than fine with darker themes with games, I love a good dark game. But the moment someone says 'this isn't a safe space' or 'no politics' it feels like a giant red flag to me as a game I'm not interested in. So if that's your game, you can skip me. Indepth discussions between characters, debates about what to do in different situations. Being challenged on morality of what is happening. Highs of wins fought through hard work and the sting of defeats felt through the whole group, ending in commiseration at the tavern as our characters mourn the loss of a favored NPC. Roleplay is what I love most about TTRPG's. I've been playing them since I was 12 years old (I am now 41), and while at the time it was because of all the cool monsters and stuff, even then I was captured by the different stories you could tell. I would love to share in the telling of the stories with you and your group. I've got extensive experience in a number of different systems from D&D in various incarnations to World of Darkness and Chronicles of Darkness to Masks, Stars Without Number and Fantasy Flight Star Wars. I'm always up for learning a new system! I've also GMed my fair share of games in the past, but am just looking to play right now due to my health right now (I am disabled) That isn't to say I -don't- like the tactical and exploration aspects of the game. When it comes to combat I tend to be more of a tactition sort of player, analyzing the playfield and trying to figure out the enemy. Though that hasn't ever stopped me from making the -stupid- decisions because they were in character. Story and plot over mechanical wins for me every time.  Failure is always an option. It  never is an end point, because it just gives new opportunities for story, even if it stings and hurts in the moment. We find the motivation in that. Current Availability: Tuesday and Thursday evenings weekly. Monday evenings and Saturday days every other week.
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DND5E
Dungeons & Dragons 5E
DND5.5E
Dungeons & Dragons 5.5E (2024)
...
Online
Tchulk
Steady regular Tone chameleon
Hello all. I am Tyler (he/him) (under 18 but over 15) (AEDT) and I have 4 years of experience as a player and 4 years as a GM. I would love to find new games to join as a player. I am someone that enjoys playing character driven and story based game. I'm not really a megadungeon kind of guy. But I do enjoy some combat. Let's say 50:50 RP: combat ratio with it being ok if the roleplay is higher up to 100:0 I am looking for an online weekly or fortnightly table that is sometime from 5:00 AM to 10:00 PM AEDT Even though my most played game is DnD, I enjoy playing other systems like Alien the roleplaying Game, Pathfinder and others. I am always down to learn a new game. If you made it this far, I hope I have left a good impression. My favourite video game at the moment is Baldur's Gate 3, My favourite books are Brandon Sanderson Cosmere and Star Trek Q-Squared and finally my dream job is to be a video game programmer.
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DND5E
Dungeons & Dragons 5E
DND5.5E
Dungeons & Dragons 5.5E (2024)
...
Online
Michelle
The storyteller Narrative minimalist
Let’s go on an adventure together! I'm looking for a free, cooperative, consent-based, story-focused TTRPG table. I enjoy character-driven games with party relationships, meaningful combat, exploration, mystery, downtime, and earned emotional moments. Ideal balance: about 40% roleplay, 20% combat, 40% exploration. I like sincere games with humor, but not constant bits, edgelord behavior, or main character syndrome. I fit best with players who share spotlight, cooperate, respect boundaries, and care about everyone’s character mattering. Consent and safety are important to me. Heavy themes, PvP, romance/flirting, sexual content, intense character conflict, or major effects on another PC should be discussed first. Lines and veils should be respected. I’m in Hawaiʻi Time / UTC-10. Weekends are best, and I prefer 2–3 hour sessions. I’m open to voice, PBP, or hybrid formats. Not a good fit for bigotry, disruptive rules-lawyering, non-cooperative play, unconsented PvP/romance/sexual content, trauma dumping, or using RPGs as therapy.
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