RPGMemes

I haven't played Thirsty Sword Lesbians but "a selected arrangement of tropes" hits the nail on the head when it comes to Dungeon World and Blades in the Dark. At least The Sprawl (also PbtA) offered multiclass options and enough lateral advancement that playbooks were more a theme than a rigid dichotomy.

Going back to Fate, this system has become my go-to for "I have a story I want to tell with my party and I just want the rules to, basically, function". Great for those games where the storytelling matters and the rules almost don't.

Cypher is another good one if you need linear (or at least, level-like) progression, and an emphasis on finding and using cool loot

I really like Fate and hope to one day find a group that clicks with it. It avoids many of the tropes I'm tired of in D&D.

But in my experience it does need players who are going to do more than phone it in. Passive players can really drag it down. "I dunno I hit him with my sword" kind of works in D&D but not very well in Fate.

Having played Monster of the Week, I think I agree with you about PbtA systems. They're fun, but I tend to get a little bored with them after a few sessions, especially since I like to make characters who don't really fit into any of the playbooks. The best fit of a playbook at character creation rarely has more than a few plays I would want to spend experience points on.

I will say, though, that I like the experience system in PbtA games. It does a good job of helping players feel like they accomplished something each session.