What is PBTA and FITD?

 This is some acronym hell. We all like those acronyms don't we. Well I don't. But I get it. I understand that PBTA is a better mouthful than constantly saying POWERED BY THE APOCALYPSE. And FITD, while it doesnt trip off the tongue, is much better than FORGED IN THE DARK. 

Okay so that's what they stand for but what do they mean? Well, its all about the systems that TTRPGs run. (Damn, thats another acronym - TableTop Roleplaying Games) The most familiar of these is the 5e that we see in reference to the Dungeons and Dragons system. The 5e standing for the fifth published edition of the rules. PBTA is a different system so to speak. Or actually, its not so much a system but a gaming system philosophy. Its probably easier to tell it as a story.

Once upon a tabletop there was a newly published game called Apocolypse World by Meguey and Vincent Baker. This was the start of an explosion of indie game development that fundementally used the framework of Apocolypse World as its own structure, idea base or rule format. This framework is referred to as games that are Powered By The Apocolypse. The system has a focus on character and narrative structure. The story being told triggers the action rolls. These are called moves. Instead of the character sheet that is filled in by a player, there is a playbook that is then molded around the character design. One of the significant aspects is that the GM (which in this games framework is called the MC) doesnt roll dice.The focus is on player agency and the rolls that players make having consequences. 

What was crucial in this publication was Vincent and Meg Baker inviting -

"If you've created a game inspired by Apocalypse World, and would like to publish it, please do." 

This kickstarted a  flood of variants that either used the mechanisms as was or used the design to influence their own. This diagram from RPG.net captures that evolution.

Forged in the Dark began with John Harper's Ghost Lines and then Blades in the Dark. This mantle and expansion was taken up by others such as Sean Nittner, Stras Acimovic and John LeBoeuf-Little. 

Evil Hat Games and Free League Publishing are the go-to-places for the latest titles being produced in some of these frameworks.