Monster of the Week The Snoop Class Guide

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The Snoop is one of the additional classes that came after the initial book and was released for Monster of the Week players as free online content. This is an interesting playbook, and one that clearly treads in similar ground to the existing Searcher playbook in MOTW. The Snoop comes in multiple forms and can be the guy with an Internet TV show with 11 devoted fans to a consistent journalist obsessed with Cryptids with a day job where you need to cover the unnatural, the weird, or a cute kitten contest for a human interest piece.

You might belong to a group of monster hunters, or you might have a crew of bystanders and you just happen to bump into the current party quite often. Maybe they love you because you bring evidence they use to solve problems. Maybe they barely tolerate you. The dynamic of the gaming table will help you figure out how to play this playbook in your game, but your mission as a character is clear.

“Cryptids have kept out of sight, but I’m going to find them and record them. The evidence will be incontrovertible, and I’ll be the one who did it. I’m going to be a superstar one day, you mark my words! Hey…did you just feel a chill?”

The Snoop, Monster of the Week, Online Playbook

The Snoop is a class that can be very useful as they tend to be Charming and often Sharp, as well. These are great stats for investigators looking for clues while investigating a mystery, even if it clearly makes them a massive liability in combat…which they’re not prepped for. Maybe the camera will protect them?

Snoops in Monster of the Week
Well we used to have a straight man in the group, then he freaked out while “They Live” is on and well…that was just embarrassing for all of us.

Let’s dive into the Snoop Playbook, see what it brings to the table, and how it might fit into a conventional Monster of the Week game.

What Is the Snoop Class In Monster of the Week RPG?

Along with The Searcher Playbook, the Snoop is a Playbook/class that is all about the investigation of the unnatural, and finding evidence. There might be more of a bend here with the Snoop specifically wanting fame and recognition – not to mention undeniable video evidence, but they are all about the investigation and being around when Weird stuff starts going down.

Your gear is a series of multiple recording devices, detectors, and then you get one subtle weapon which might be a handgun, but it might be a stun gun or a pocket knife/multitool. In other words – you have all the tools for finding evidence in an area but not so much for throwing down in a fight.

Who Is Your Crew?

Your Crew might be the other hunters, and you’re thoroughly part of the group, or you might be a tag-along, or you might have an entourage. The rules work so that if they are not the other hunters then you can have up to three and they are bystanders when it comes to investigating a mystery.

If the other hunters are part of a crew that means they need jobs within the Crew itself which can include: camera man, sound, video editing, researcher, driver, director, producer, bodyguard, etc.

If it makes sense as part of a crew, then feel free to throw in another job that makes sense for this type of setup.

Example Team Concept

You are a small group with a growing YouTube channel all about searching for Cryptids and your team has a Snoop who runs things, an Expert as a researcher, a Mundane to do the random odds and ends (Starbucks, anyone?), and a Divine who acts as bodyguard while hiding their unnatural state to protect the team member who doesn’t realize they have an important prophecy revolving around them.

This is just one example where the Snoop is the center. It’s also possible an existing team of hunters focused on combat welcome the Snoop, hoping that more evidence will encourage funding, support, or getting more capable individuals into the fight against unnatural while the Snoop is also helpful with investigating on-going mysteries that your group can then handle with extreme violence.

What Type of Snoop Will You Be?

There are many different ways to play the Snoop playbook thematically. Because of the starting ratings for this class there are a few things you are likely to have in common. You will be Charming and able to deal with people, and likely Sharp. You are more likely to struggle being Tough or Cool, but everything else is in the playbook and you know how to aid your team.

The Snoop Ratings for MOTW Are

  • +2 Charm & Sharp, 0 Weird, -1 Cool & Tough
  • +2 Charm, +1 Sharp & Weird, 0 Tough, -1 Cool
  • +2 Charm, +1 Sharp & Weird, 0 Cool, -1 Tough
  • +2 Charm, +1 Sharp & Cool, 0 Tough, -1 Weird
  • +2 Charm, +1 Cool & Weird, 0 Sharp, -1 Tough

These are good starting stats for dealing with people and investigating situations or weirdness…but you’re not likely to be too good at taking a punch or wading into a fight. Plan accordingly!

Snoop Playbook Monster of the Week

What Do Snoop Moves Bring To The Table?

The Snoop Playbook in Monster of the Week is all about investigating and finding answers…and chasing celebrity. You have the tools to do some serious supernatural investigation and help point the team in the right direction. You have the power of the press, video and audio recordings, past interviews, and the ability to revisit this information for more clues as a mystery unfolds in front of you.

The various moves available all play in well both in flavor and giving appropriate mechanical buffs to this playbook to allow the player to do all the things you would expect out of a quality Snoop.

Here are all the Snoop moves, with a little bit of analysis on each one and how it could work in a conventional MOTW game.

  • “What Does That Feel Like?” – When you put your camera or microphone right in a person’s face, they break off whatever they are doing. They might go right back to it after they deal with you, but you’ll create enough time for the other hunters to act in the meantime. Sometimes the rest of the team needs a distraction – and you could be that distraction!
  • Minor Celebrity – At the beginning of each mystery, roll +Weird. On a 10+ hold 2 and on a 7-9 hold 1. Spend your hold during the mystery to have someone you meet know of you in a positive light (maybe they read your blog, listen to your podcast, or watch your Internet/TV show, etc). You may end up getting asked for autographs or given “hot leads, etc. Who doesn’t want to be a minor celebrity? And starting out with some help, an alley, or a hot lead can be a great way to start with a slight leg up in the current mystery.
  • We’ll Fix It In Post – You can use anything you could conceivably have recorded as evidence for investigate a mystery, allowing you to check previous interviews, attack sites, and so on from the comfort of your laptop. This is especially great late in a mystery where you might have missed some rolls at earlier sites and now you can go back with new evidence and apply what you’ve learned to see if you can pull even more active clues.
  • Press Accreditation – When you investigate a mystery by talking to witnesses, interviewing locals, or anything else requiring interpersonal skills, roll +Charm instead of +Sharp. This shifts a roll from a potential weakness to a potential strength, depending on your build, and that’s always useful.
  • Truthiness – Whatever you tell a normal person, they’ll accept that you think it’s true. If it’s far out, they might think you’re deluded, but they won’t think you’re lying. A very interesting move that goes on the idea that sometimes it’s better to be thought a fool and dismissed than to be taken seriously when you really don’t want to be…or when you need to warn people off. This is a sneakily versatile little move. Situational, but with interesting applications in several situations.
  • The Mojo Wire – When you spend a while reading all the latest news feeds looking for the weird stuff, take +1 forward. Very useful move for this playbook.
  • Relaxed Producer – You’re employed, with a regular pay check and little or no oversight. As long as you send in a story every few days, no matter how bizarre, you’re set. Every now and again they’ll send you somewhere in particular, and when that happens it usually involves supernatural activity. Unless they need human interest, in which case it will be a kitten show or agricultural fair or something. Fun move, and one that can cause degrees of hilarity – but also provide a steady paycheck which can be huge in certain types of campaigns.
Monster of the Week TTRPG Books
The books have wonderful ink art, and the Tome of Mysteries includes multiple new mysteries as well as four new playbooks to choose from.

Who Should Play The Snoop Class in Monster of the Week?

If you are way more interested in investigation, in finding leads, in playing a type of face than in any type of combat, then The Snoop could be a good playbook for you. This is a class that can be played as a conventional charismatic face, as comic relief, as a useful idiot. There are many different spins that can be put on this playbook based on what type of game or group you want to be.

Less hard nosed than the Gumshoe Playbook, and a bit more out there than the Expert, there’s a lot here to like if you have a certain type of roleplaying in mind.

The Snoop isn’t going to blow you away with originality, but it gives another spin on the character rushing in and investigating mysteries and gives some fun flavor text to bring your own little bubble of chaos with you as you dive into the next mystery.

MOTW The Snoop Class: Final Thoughts

There’s a lot to love about what the Snoop Playbook in Monster of the Week has to offer and every group needs at least one investigator. If that person rolls dice like me, they need two. While the Snoop won’t be preferable to the Expert for many players, for others who like an amateur feeling and a little more “David vs Goliath” feel, this could be a great fit.

There aren’t too many playbooks in Monster of the Week that fill this niche with little combat experience, but if that sounds like your thing then this is a great playbook to fill out that niche.

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