What do you think?
Rate this book
Monsterhearts #2
Monsterhearts 2
Cuando llegamos a la adolescencia, la mayoría ha superado su miedo a la oscuridad. Pasan la media noche en llamadas telefónicas emocionadas, divagando en su diario y en sueños húmedos. Se quedan dormidos plácidamente, confiados de que las sombras no albergan monstruos.
Pero los monstruos moran en las sombras. Lo sabes porque eres uno. La maldad mora en tu corazón, el hambre fluye por tus venas. El instituto te pesa y el drama adolescente te pone al límite, pero tienes el poder. ¿Qué vas a hacer?
Monsterhearts 2 os permite a tus amigos y a ti crear historias sobre monstruos sexys, desasosiego adolescente, horror personal y triángulos amorosos secretos. Cuando juegas, exploras el terror y la confusión de tener un cuerpo que están cambiando sin tu consentimiento.
Este juego tiene el motor Powered by the Apocalypse. Se inspira en obras como Crepúsculo, Buffy, Ginger Snaps, Crónicas vampíricas y Jóvenes y brujas.
Pero los monstruos moran en las sombras. Lo sabes porque eres uno. La maldad mora en tu corazón, el hambre fluye por tus venas. El instituto te pesa y el drama adolescente te pone al límite, pero tienes el poder. ¿Qué vas a hacer?
Monsterhearts 2 os permite a tus amigos y a ti crear historias sobre monstruos sexys, desasosiego adolescente, horror personal y triángulos amorosos secretos. Cuando juegas, exploras el terror y la confusión de tener un cuerpo que están cambiando sin tu consentimiento.
Este juego tiene el motor Powered by the Apocalypse. Se inspira en obras como Crepúsculo, Buffy, Ginger Snaps, Crónicas vampíricas y Jóvenes y brujas.
174 pages, Paperback
Published June 1, 2019
6 people are currently reading
62 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews
January 15, 2018
As with Monsterhearts 1: This is a killer book. The book that got me into Apocalypse World games. A trashy, morbid, hilarious, tragic, creative, supernatural experience. It was the hardest I ever had to think when GM-ing, but running Monsterhearts was the thing that helped me break the narrow action-adventure bandwidth of my GM-ing style. It opened my eyes to the sparkly, vampiric possibilities walking around in the light of day.
It's tough to recommend it enough. If you're not into the genres that it so proudly wears on its sleeve, you won't find much here for you. That's no knock on Monsthearts; it sets out to do exactly what it intends.
Monsterhearts 2 is an improvement from the first Monsterhearts largely thanks to a few additional essays that address safety technology for your games, address race in your games, and revamp some of the issues around sexuality of the first Monsterhearts (for example, ace characters no longer have to tap dance around their effective erasure in the "Turn Someone On" move). They also include a couple sample towns, and these are wonderful.
Get it, run it!
It's tough to recommend it enough. If you're not into the genres that it so proudly wears on its sleeve, you won't find much here for you. That's no knock on Monsthearts; it sets out to do exactly what it intends.
Monsterhearts 2 is an improvement from the first Monsterhearts largely thanks to a few additional essays that address safety technology for your games, address race in your games, and revamp some of the issues around sexuality of the first Monsterhearts (for example, ace characters no longer have to tap dance around their effective erasure in the "Turn Someone On" move). They also include a couple sample towns, and these are wonderful.
Get it, run it!
July 29, 2019
Esta obra solo he podido leerla (aunque si me gustaría probarla en la mesa de juego) y la verdad es que me ha encantado la forma de plantearse la partida que presenta: Safe Hearts fue un gran añadido para el juego y toda la preocupación tanto por el bienestar como por la representación en mesa muestra cómo es la autora de la obra. Los fragmentos narrativos que se ofrecen en el libro a modo de ejemplos enganchan hasta tal punto que me impactó el final que deja, en pleno clímax, y me quedé con ganas de saber más sobre esos personajes. Repito, aún no lo he probado en juego, pero me encantó toda la sección de cómo dirigir y detalles como cómo crear una clase y "colocar" a los personajes.
March 30, 2022
This roleplaying game system is amazing. I can't wait to see how it works around the table.
It feels like this is the quientessential cornerstone for all the interesting systems I have seen follow it and I feel silly to have waited this long to become familiar with the rules.
What makes it the most interesting to me is it's rule for dealing with humane aspects of being a teenager, such as relationships (strings) and arousal ( the move Turn Someone On).
It also has really good ideas for the keeper for making the game "feral", which I am going to list so I never forget them when GMing: put them together, seperate them, tell them a possible consequence and ask, inflict harm (as established), enact drastic measures, turn their move back on them, leap to the worst possible conclusions, take a String on someone, Herald the abyss, Trigger their darkest self and always "what do you do?"
It's all such good narrative, roleplaying advice.
I found this rulebook a helpful resource and can't wait to use it with my players to see what stories we tell.
It feels like this is the quientessential cornerstone for all the interesting systems I have seen follow it and I feel silly to have waited this long to become familiar with the rules.
What makes it the most interesting to me is it's rule for dealing with humane aspects of being a teenager, such as relationships (strings) and arousal ( the move Turn Someone On).
It also has really good ideas for the keeper for making the game "feral", which I am going to list so I never forget them when GMing: put them together, seperate them, tell them a possible consequence and ask, inflict harm (as established), enact drastic measures, turn their move back on them, leap to the worst possible conclusions, take a String on someone, Herald the abyss, Trigger their darkest self and always "what do you do?"
It's all such good narrative, roleplaying advice.
I found this rulebook a helpful resource and can't wait to use it with my players to see what stories we tell.
July 28, 2020
Spoiler alert: Get ready for more tabletop shenanigans.
August 8, 2017
Five stars, I remind, is what I give books that everybody should read regardless of whether or not they usually read the genre.
This is a book that everyone should read regardless of whether or not they usually read the genre.
Clearly written, thoughtful, kind, honest, it invites other people to remember or imagine what it's like trying to figure out where you're going when you yourself don't know and no-one is listening to you and it's all desperately, desperately important.
This is a book that everyone should read regardless of whether or not they usually read the genre.
Clearly written, thoughtful, kind, honest, it invites other people to remember or imagine what it's like trying to figure out where you're going when you yourself don't know and no-one is listening to you and it's all desperately, desperately important.
February 15, 2018
I haven’t had the good fortune to play Monsterhearts yet, either the original or the second edition. The people and podcasts I follow are and have been deeply in love with Avery Alder’s creation, and I have only heard wonderful things about the game in play.
The second edition is a great text for both new and experienced players. Alder has taken the time to carefully organize the material and content in an original manner, starting with the information most critical to understanding the focus and concerns of the game. It is easy when writing the text of a game powered by the Apocalypse to use the structural order of books that have come before. In Monsterhearts 2, you can feel that each section is carefully placed.
Alder is also intent on showing that there is nothing up her sleeves, laying out how each part of the game functions in relation to the other parts so that whether you are playing a main character or the MC, you know why the game is setup the way it is. The writing is clear, compelling, and illuminating.
Alder is clearly aware that this game will be the first RPG for a number of players, and she dedicates quite a few choice pages to techniques for teaching the game to others. I’m not sure I’ve seen another game analyze the process of teaching as carefully as this one does.
The magic and beauty of the game are in the presentation of the mechanics. To read a playbook is to get little jolts of excitement as you see all the flavor that makes the character dynamic and focused. To read the basic moves is to see the game playing in your mind, watching how strings appear and get spent, how harm occurs and potentially transforms the characters, how experience builds up, and especially how the characters are able to pull and tug at each other to pursue their individual goals. You can see clearly how the monster metaphor and teen-experience metaphors line up into a single thing of beauty.
For me, a well-written RPG has me playing the game in my head, throwing switches and pulling levers and holding characters up to each other like I was playing with my Star Wars figures in my childhood. Monsterhearts 2 has exactly that effect, and I can see immediately why so many other players have been drawn to its magic.
The second edition is a great text for both new and experienced players. Alder has taken the time to carefully organize the material and content in an original manner, starting with the information most critical to understanding the focus and concerns of the game. It is easy when writing the text of a game powered by the Apocalypse to use the structural order of books that have come before. In Monsterhearts 2, you can feel that each section is carefully placed.
Alder is also intent on showing that there is nothing up her sleeves, laying out how each part of the game functions in relation to the other parts so that whether you are playing a main character or the MC, you know why the game is setup the way it is. The writing is clear, compelling, and illuminating.
Alder is clearly aware that this game will be the first RPG for a number of players, and she dedicates quite a few choice pages to techniques for teaching the game to others. I’m not sure I’ve seen another game analyze the process of teaching as carefully as this one does.
The magic and beauty of the game are in the presentation of the mechanics. To read a playbook is to get little jolts of excitement as you see all the flavor that makes the character dynamic and focused. To read the basic moves is to see the game playing in your mind, watching how strings appear and get spent, how harm occurs and potentially transforms the characters, how experience builds up, and especially how the characters are able to pull and tug at each other to pursue their individual goals. You can see clearly how the monster metaphor and teen-experience metaphors line up into a single thing of beauty.
For me, a well-written RPG has me playing the game in my head, throwing switches and pulling levers and holding characters up to each other like I was playing with my Star Wars figures in my childhood. Monsterhearts 2 has exactly that effect, and I can see immediately why so many other players have been drawn to its magic.
August 7, 2017
In addition to a tightening up of the rules, there's a renewed focus on diversity. I particularly appreciated the section on incorporating asexual characters in a game that is often driven by sexuality.
July 31, 2019
Me ha gustado mucho y desde luego se entiende mucho mejor el sistema que en el original de Apocalypse World. Muchas posibilidades y con muchas ganas de probarlo en mesa.
February 10, 2019
The text is well-written, the rules are clearly presented, it doesn't waste a bunch of time on unstructured digressions (i.e. if you want to just lightly skim past part because you're with a group of experienced gamers who've dealt with all that stuff before, it's probably clearly marked), the index is useful, the interior art can be inspirational, the basic premises are interesting, the guidance for how to carry an ongoing campaign and keep it fresh is great, and it's enjoyable to play.
It adapts the Apocalypse World rules to a different setting and set of premises. Unlike many "Powered By The Apocalypse" games that do so, I don't feel like it lost anything in the translation; it changed things to fit a different context, and did it quite well. It also handles physical conflict rules for a setting where violence can happen, but is not a significant focus of the game, far better than I've seen in any other RPG.
In terms of editing, interesting setting concepts, organization, playability, technical game design, and writing, I don't have any nits to pick. Good work.
It adapts the Apocalypse World rules to a different setting and set of premises. Unlike many "Powered By The Apocalypse" games that do so, I don't feel like it lost anything in the translation; it changed things to fit a different context, and did it quite well. It also handles physical conflict rules for a setting where violence can happen, but is not a significant focus of the game, far better than I've seen in any other RPG.
In terms of editing, interesting setting concepts, organization, playability, technical game design, and writing, I don't have any nits to pick. Good work.
January 1, 2018
I've only played the first edition of this RPG, not this one yet, but I like the look of it. It seems to tighten up the game play a little, and strengthens its support of diversity, both of players and characters.
One thing I particularly like about the rule changes since first edition has to do with how characters gain experience. In first edition, after creating your character, one of the other players and the story guide would each choose a stat for you: using those two stats were how you gained experience. In this version, you mark experience any time you fail a roll. This seems like a small change, but what it does is return agency back to a character's player; they don't have to choose between what others in the game want to see, or how they want to play things themselves, in order for the character to have an opportunity to grow.
One thing I particularly like about the rule changes since first edition has to do with how characters gain experience. In first edition, after creating your character, one of the other players and the story guide would each choose a stat for you: using those two stats were how you gained experience. In this version, you mark experience any time you fail a roll. This seems like a small change, but what it does is return agency back to a character's player; they don't have to choose between what others in the game want to see, or how they want to play things themselves, in order for the character to have an opportunity to grow.
September 3, 2022
A fun, melodramatic game about being teenagers who're also secretly monsters! Rules that are easy to learn, examples that are clear, lots of good support tools to use while playing, needs only 6-sided dice, and contains lots of resources for how to modify the game to suit your table. All in all, recommended!
The one 'downside' is that this book includes no character sheets. Those are all stored on the game's website. Websites don't last forever (not that books do either, but you know what I mean) so check out if this website still is up before you buy this.
The one 'downside' is that this book includes no character sheets. Those are all stored on the game's website. Websites don't last forever (not that books do either, but you know what I mean) so check out if this website still is up before you buy this.
June 25, 2025
O jogo destaca-se pela inclusão da dinâmica queer e convidar os jogadores a explorá-la. Entenda-se que o jogo convida e não obriga. Tal como em qualquer outro jogo narrativo, compete à mesa de jogo decidir se é um elemento que querem incluir na história que querem experienciar.
Está cheio de metáforas quanto à vida de um adolescente, e apesar de levar este período das nossas vidas ao extremo, não deixa de fazer uma boa ponte com a realidade.
Claro que, uma vez mais, cada mesa de jogo sabe o que quer experienciar e onde está disposta a ir.
Está cheio de metáforas quanto à vida de um adolescente, e apesar de levar este período das nossas vidas ao extremo, não deixa de fazer uma boa ponte com a realidade.
Claro que, uma vez mais, cada mesa de jogo sabe o que quer experienciar e onde está disposta a ir.
January 15, 2019
This book is phenomenally well written, but the game is one I cannot recommend. Clearly, I am not the target audience. One of the first things the book tells you about Monsterhearts is that it is deliberately “queer” and designed to challenge “heterosexist” assumptions.
That said, the supplementary chapters on running and hacking this game are top-notch, both thoroughly and clearly written. I understand PbtA games as a whole more thoroughly now, having read it.
That said, the supplementary chapters on running and hacking this game are top-notch, both thoroughly and clearly written. I understand PbtA games as a whole more thoroughly now, having read it.
July 14, 2019
I really like the tone of this! The principles of the game feel like they'll improve my (and my players') role-playing in other games, too. The instructions for the MC are really easy to follow and "asking provocative questions" is a really comfortable way for me to steer the game. Overall, feeling pretty excited (though we're early in our game). I also really appreciate all the thought given to safety tools and other game structures.
September 9, 2017
A solid update from the first edition with a section on playing marginalized characters from people of color, boundaries at the table, and a discussion of including asexuality in the game. The rules have had some minor but useful refinements and the advice for the MC (person running the game) is thorough and good.
October 22, 2017
This looks like a fun RPG and I'm pretty stoked to play it. I would have liked it if there was more in the way of canned settings, or even a canned adventure. The only page summaries of settings were interesting, but I feel like this didn't quite leave me at the point where I'd be ready to run a game.
May 9, 2018
Jaaaa - sådan skal et rollespil skrives! Efter at have læst bogen er jeg SÅ klar på at spille teenage-monstre med skønne/forfærdelige kærlighedsliv, med dertilhørende impulskontrol.
Heldigvis skal jeg snart det.
Heldigvis skal jeg snart det.
Read
July 13, 2022When the German edition of this was kickstarted, I didn't back it because I wasn't sure this game was for me. Recently, I got to play a session of Monsterhearts at a convention and immediately bought the book afterwards. I had a great time rediscovering my teenage edge.
May 14, 2024
really nice instructions to play something different than combat-centered ttrpgs and focus more on the relationships between characters in a queer environment. the only missing star is because the Italian edition wasn't perfectly curated, with a few typos and perplexing translations.
July 5, 2018
Not everyone's cup of tea - a game of teenage soap opera where monsterdom is a literalisation of the turmoil and change of puberty and awakening sexualities - but damn, I can not wait to run some!
April 25, 2020
MH remains one of my favourites TTRPGs ever. I really appreciate the new sections for race and asexuality. Is still super easy to read, and clearly written with a lot of love.
Read
October 22, 2022Un juego en apariencia sencillo pero muy bien pensado. Dedica un tiempo fundamental a hablar de herramientas de seguridad, como tratar las partidas y demás. Por lo demás estoy deseando jugarlo.
November 21, 2022
Very excited to run this at some point.
September 8, 2025
One of those good games I never got to play. And I don't think I want to play. Quirky, I know.
October 14, 2020
This is a really hard book to rate. As a RPG book, it's great for learning how to bring sexuality, identity, and relationships to the table.
However, I found it really hard, for me personally, to make a game centered around it. I wish the rolls were a little more versatile. I wanted to make a mystery/dating sim, but I found that it's only really suited for dating and social interactions, not too much else.
I think this is a really great book that's quick to read and full of interesting ideas, but I wonder how versatile it is within the system it presents.
Still, glad I ran it. Well worth it. I'm excited to what this creator does in the future.
However, I found it really hard, for me personally, to make a game centered around it. I wish the rolls were a little more versatile. I wanted to make a mystery/dating sim, but I found that it's only really suited for dating and social interactions, not too much else.
I think this is a really great book that's quick to read and full of interesting ideas, but I wonder how versatile it is within the system it presents.
Still, glad I ran it. Well worth it. I'm excited to what this creator does in the future.
December 21, 2017
I enjoyed this rule book. I’ve played the first edition, and this new edition looks like it streamlines while maintaining the essence of what makes Monsterhearts special. The only critique I’d make is that the game seemed eager to let me know it is LGBTQ friendly, to the point I found it cloying. I recommend this game if combining high school hormone-fueled drama with supernatural powers sounds like a good time to you.
May 20, 2023
This system fully embraces the improv charm of ttrpg's. I love that it stimulates cinematic storytelling and shows the symbolic meaning behind the monster genre.
Only four stars because it doesn't include all skins and skin sheets. It also limits stories that don't reflect the typical high school culture. Which is fine, because it's part of this systems charm.
Looking forward mcing
Only four stars because it doesn't include all skins and skin sheets. It also limits stories that don't reflect the typical high school culture. Which is fine, because it's part of this systems charm.
Looking forward mcing
Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews