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 (2010)
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.
Additional links evilhat.com https://evilhat.com - Official Evil Hat Productions website genericgames.co.nz https://genericgames.co.nz - Official home of Michael Sands and the original game files

Active games and players

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

Specimen Unknown

Eli Boone grew up in a small agricultural town in Ohio. He's a friendly, loyal, hardworking guy with strong small-town values. He believes in helping people, keeping his word, and doing what's right. He wasn't always a believer in the supernatural. That changed during a family trip to Wisconsin. While visiting his uncle, Eli experienced what appeared to be a genuine haunting: cold spots, voices, the sensation of being watched, and other unexplained events. During the same trip, his family's car was chased by what Eli believes was the Beast of Bray Road. On the drive home, the family witnessed two unidentified objects in the sky. Three completely different paranormal experiences in the span of one trip convinced Eli that the world was considerably stranger than he had thought. He posted about the experiences online, expecting people to think he was crazy. Most did. But one organization took his story very seriously. The Aegis Foundation The Aegis Foundation is a recently established international organization that publicly presents itself as a humanitarian and charitable organization dedicated to protecting people and improving lives. Behind the scenes, however, Aegis knows that monsters and other supernatural phenomena exist. The organization has wealthy international benefactors, extensive resources, official connections, rigorous training programs, and a growing network of facilities. It is also extremely bureaucratic and secretive. Aegis wants monster specimens—dead or alive—for reasons that aren't entirely clear. Eli was recruited immediately after high school and became the first paid field Hunter employed by Aegis. He's been extensively trained and equipped, and he's genuinely proud to work for them. Aegis gave him a purpose and took him seriously when everyone else thought he was crazy. The catch? Eli doesn't actually know what Aegis ultimately wants. And neither do I. I'd love to explore that mystery during the campaign. What I'm Looking For I'm hoping to find a Keeper who is interested in taking this premise and running with it. I'm particularly interested in: Monster-hunting and investigation Character-driven stories A little mystery surrounding Aegis The occasional horror, but not necessarily nonstop grimdark Humor and fun between the scary stuff Characters who have reasons to care about each other Collaborative worldbuilding The possibility of the characters gradually discovering what Aegis is really doing I'm new to Monster of the Week, so I'm looking for a group that's welcoming to someone learning the system. I'm not expecting the campaign to revolve around Eli or Aegis—I'd like the other players' characters and stories to be just as important. If you're a Keeper looking for a campaign idea, or a player interested in joining something like this, I'd love to hear from you.

Read more

Save to favorites
MotW
Monster of the Week
Online
Campaign
Motw - Night Shift
Players
0/4
GM
1/1
Monster of the Week
en English

Motw - Night Shift

LGBTQ+ friendly
The table is openly welcoming to LGBTQ+ players.
No paid games
On a player profile - you are looking for free games and are not interested in paid ones.
Game system: monster of the week (pbta) tools: discord (voice required), roll20 time zone: 19:30 EST every monday running for about two hours (campaign) date of the game: session zero July 27th player slots: 0/4 pitch/hook: you are workers in the night shift of a megastore often visited by weird people, creatures and God knows what else. A monster hunting game with elements of comedy/dark humor. language: english if interested, please fill this form and I'll contact you: https://forms.gle/WYT2WaDBjUezyv3k6

Read more

Save to favorites
en English
DND5E
Dungeons & Dragons 5E
DND5.5E
Dungeons & Dragons 5.5E (2024)
...
Online
Andy
Hi, my name's Andy. I'm 29 years old, gay and I love RPGs. I'm a little shy and not the best at roleplay, but I will try my best! I love campaigns that can balance silliness and serious moments. I'm interested in D&D 5e or 5.5e, Vampire the Masquerade, Changeling the Dreaming, or Monster of the Week! Just keeping this up here for the future. I'm currently not looking for a group.
Save to favorites
en English ru Russian
DND5E
Dungeons & Dragons 5E
...
Tokyo
Online
D
Languages; Русский/English/日本語 Hello everyone!  I'm a somewhat experienced player when it comes to TTRPGs, ran mostly as DM but due to recent time constraints really would like to be a player this time around. Hope to make some friends here!
Save to favorites
de German
CoC
Call of Cthulhu
PbtA
Powered By The Apocalypse
...
Online
CSI Arkham
Hi, mein Name ist CSI Arkham – du kannst mich einfach CSI oder Arkham nennen. Ich spiele seit vielen Jahren Call of Cthulhu. Über KULT bin ich schließlich bei PbtA-Systemen wie Dungeon World und Monster of the Week gelandet. Zuletzt lag mein Schwerpunkt bei The One Ring, aber nun möchte ich meinen Horizont wieder erweitern und mich in Pathfinder Zweite Edition sowie Starfinder Zweite Edition einarbeiten. Mein SL Profiel aus WE20: https://wyrm.li/csi Hi, my name is CSI Arkham — you can just call me CSI or Arkham. I’ve been playing Call of Cthulhu for many years. Through KULT, I eventually found my way into PbtA systems like Dungeon World and Monster of the Week. Most recently, The One Ring has been my main focus, but now I’m looking to broaden my horizons again and dive into Pathfinder Second Edition and Starfinder Second Edition.
Save to favorites
en English
DND5E
Dungeons & Dragons 5E
...
Denver
Online
Jillian
Hi! My name is Jillian. I just moved to Denver from the Midwest and am hoping to link up with a group to play some games and make some friends :) I am still very much a beginner, but I have dabbled in DnD, CoC, and Delta Green. I've also some brief experience with Coriolis, Old Gods of Appalachia, and Vaesen. I tend to favor horror-oriented stories but this is not a must!  Im hoping to find a group that likes to have a good time and is welcoming to someone who is still learning. As far as playstyle goes, I'm just gonna try my best and take feedback as it comes :)
Save to favorites

Articles & Videos

Reviews

Sorted by:

No reviews yet.

Login to leave a review.

Other entries

Nimble
Tabletop Roleplaying Games

Nimble

TTRPG
English
Rules-light
Nimble is a fast, tactical (and 5e compatible), TTRPG. Your game nights are too precious to waste with slow or fiddly rules! Slay the slog using the best elements from the greatest RPGs around. Nimble empowers players and GMs with more interesting choices, less waiting around, and have more fun playing epic stories Description Nimble RPG is designed to prioritize speed, tactical decision-making, and reduced administrative tracking for both players and Game Masters. The system condenses character sheets and streamlines the action economy to prevent long waiting periods between player turns. Its primary design philosophy centers on accelerating combat encounters without sacrificing strategic depth, utilizing highly lethal weapon mechanics and dynamic monster behaviors. The game is offered both as a complete standalone system and as a modular "rules hack" booklet that can be integrated directly into an ongoing Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition campaign. System Overview & Key Features Fast Combat Don’t waste your time rolling to see if you can deal damage, just roll your damage dice! You deal that much damage. Attacks miss on a 1, but rolling the maximum is an EXPLODING Critical Hit! Exploding critical hits Roll the die again and add it to the total. There is no limit to how many times this damage can stack, except your luck! Instant Initiative Get RIGHT into combat with Improved Initiative rules that get players immediately into combat in a way that serves the story without breaking up the flow. Quick to prep Nimble is quick to prep and easy to run. You've got enough going on while GMing—Mechanics are all designed to be easy to manage and track at the table. You can be ready to run an adventure in as little as 5 minutes! And there's no need to for new players to read though endless pages of rules, teach new players as you play. Easy to balance Easy Encounter Creation. No matter the size of your party—whether you play in a cozy group with just 1 or 2 heroes, or a huge group of 8 or more—Encounters are easy and intuitive to build and balance for just the right level of challenge you like. Craft massive scale combat encounters, down to legendary solo encounters. Strategic Weapon System A subtly DEEP weapon system that rewards thoughtful play. No more, “I guess I’ll pick the bigger one...” Every weapon is balanced to have interesting strengths & weaknesses in combat. Additional links nimblerpg.com - Official website and rules repository

Read more

TableTone
Tools & Platforms

TableTone

English
Tabletone
Audio & Music
TableTone brings immersive, evolving soundscapes to your TTRPG sessions, helping your story come alive with music that adapts to every moment. Designed specifically for game masters as it offers intuitive controls that make managing sound effortless. A growing library of studio-quality content, created by professional producers, ensures a rich and cinematic experience. No generative AI is used — just handcrafted audio built for storytelling.

Read more

DM Timothy
Video

DM Timothy

English
Dungeons & Dragons
Youtube
Welcome! I'm a giant, obsessed, D&D Nerd, running well over 300 games a year. In short, I play more D&D than is probably healthy. The goal here on the channel is to leverage that obsession, and your own talents, to help one another improve our games of dungeons and dragons, without ALL of us needing to sacrifice a full time job's worth of time on prep and gameplay. If that sounds like a good deal, I'd love to earn your sub! I'd be happy to start by answering ANY D&D question you might have, either in the comments section, on my discord server, or in a dedicated video. Just drop a comment and I'll do my best to help. Links youtube.com - Youtube channel discord.gg - Discord server

Read more

Looking for a group?

Find a tabletop group to join or players to invite. Groupfinder is a free looking-for-group platform. By players, for players.