After Hours

After Hours is a project still in development, with further changes and visual improvements (layout/artwork) intended to be made before final release. If you try After Hours out, please leave a comment or send me a message with any feedback, suggestions or other comments you may have. Cheers!

What Is After Hours?

After Hours is a game about having to act like an adult, even when you hardly feel human. Using supernatural, sci-fi and mythical lore as a lens to play around with subjects such as self-ID, social taboos and social detachment, you combine your Monster (your internal conflict) with a Mask (your role in the Community), to form a character with their own unique needs, strengths and weaknesses.

With this cast of misfits, you'll collaborate under the invisible hand of the Director (DM/MC) to find your place within this mortal world, whether that's by blending in, seeking power or burning that mother to the ground. Possibly all three - I've played with groups that could probably do that by accident.

Designed for campaign play, although one-shots should work fairly well, After Hours offers a chance to explore personal issues without having to take them completely seriously. Sometimes your vampire is a brooding metaphor for the parasitic nature of power and wealth...sometimes they're a thottie who looks good in leather pants and not much else. I'm not judging.

How Does It Play?

Using the Powered By The Apocalypse engine (Vincent & Meguey Baker), After Hours utilises a simple 2d6 format for rolling, abiding by the 'failing forward' philosophy of partial successes, hard bargains and ugly truths.

Who Am I?

Playbooks are split into two halves:

The Monster is the, um, monstrous part of your character - the part of themselves that doesn't fit into mortal society and as such is either hidden, suppressed or carefully managed to avoid unwanted consequences. However, the Monster is also the character's sense of self and well being, what they draw upon to achieve the exceptional and the sublime. Playbooks such as the Left Hand focus on performing a service for the community that is seen as taboo, leaving the player to manage the hypocrisy of their clients with the demands they bring. Others such as the Transfigured instead focus on personal identity, exploring their ideas of self, change and finding ways to express them without fear of consequences.

The Mask is your more traditional role within the Community, your job or major commitment that defines how people perceive you, no matter how inaccurate that may be. While your self-worth may not stem from here, your ability to fit in, to leverage your reputation and simply be able to afford to live, are all derived from here. Playbooks such as the Blue Blood are already richer than they have any need to be - but with their affluence comes a variety of problems, demands and rivals out to take what's theirs. Others such as the Temp play out as casualties of the gig economy, always running from one underpaid zero-hour contract to another, but at the same time able to pull connections and hustle where others would't dare.

Where Am I?

The Community is the mortal society that these characters are trying to integrate into, or at least hide successfully within. With a time-agnostic layout to character and world creation, this can be anything from a contemporary slice-of-life through armpit-of-the-dark-ages all the way to visions of how humanity may spread beyond the stars.

Ultimately, After Hours is about using the bizarre to put context to the madness that is real life. Whether you're 32 or 320, from Perth or a gas giant beyond the Crab Nebula, life is never easy.

This Game Contains

• Full Rulebook
• Moves Cheat Sheet
• Quickstart Character & Community Generation Guide
• Playbooks (Editable Text & Double-Side Printable PDF)
• Pregen Community: Levy Beach (Contemporary Setting)

After Hours is a TTRPG based on Vincent and Meguey Baker's Powered By The Apocalypse engine. You can find Apocalypse World and other PBTA content at http://apocalypse-world.com/pbta/