!game_design@diyrpg.org
The Community for creating rules, mechanics, and systems, and everything else related to making RPGs that doesn't fit in any of the other DIYRPG Communities.
!game_design
@diyrpg.orgI‘d love to see a combination of osr style adventure gaming (AC, classes, levels, the whole deal) and a solid life path mechanic. How could that be achieved and game-mechanized? I own a supplement for the (IMO under appreciated) osr-y 5e hack Five Torches Deep. It works, but takes a pretty abstract approach. I think, a life path system could do magic for establishing a certain milieu for an osr campaign. Instead of dumping lore on the players („3000 years ago…that’s why all knights of the order of blabla..“), the setting would be established via A) the life path „mini game“ during character creation an B) through the exploration pillar of the game. What do you think?
It's probably not controversial to say that the Dungeons & Dragons game from 1974 was the most important and influential game in the whole genealogy of all RPGs. Every game that followed was either an attempt to make a game that improves on D&D or make a game that is different from D&D. They were either a direct response to D&D, or expanded on a game system that was.
The real question is, what other games can be considered hugely influential on how people design game systems today?
Personally, I've been bouncing between several projects like a mink on methamphetamine:
This is also besides thinking hard about trying to break out of my comfort zone and write a novel. Two possibilities there....
Needless to say, I'm not actually making much progress on finishing anything.
I am a sucker for holiday -themed one shots, but I find myself without anything for labor day.
Joking with my local game group, I suggested we play as goblins, trying to unionize the mine.
But I have no idea what to use for the core mechanics of a game where the goals are not acquisition and conquest.
All I've got so far is a note to maybe repurpose BitD's gang rules for our union. But even that seems like phase two. I want to start at the start; how do you get a bunch of worn out and frightened goblins to act in their collective interest? How do you make an interesting and fun game out of it? How do you keep players coming back when private security hobgoblins are threatening their PC's family?
And this has started a big discussion in my group about the role of race and racism in our games. My thought was to use a full d&d race pallette, then reveal that the races are biologically the same, and the racial attributes are just common cultural prejudice. We all liked the idea for about a minute before it felt too real. And while I trust my players, I fear that some people would get really into it in a way that reveals too much about the player's character (and not just the players's character, if you follow). But if we're not leaning into the fantasy racism, what does the fantasy genre really bring to the table? The only answers we came up with are escapism and union-busting mind flayers.
And, of course, I have (history) books full of horrible things to throw at the PCs.
But the truth is I have never even questioned that all the rpgs I play are about taking stuff and doing violence, and I don't know how to support gameplay where those things are tangential to the characters' goals.
And what goals? My inclination is to let the players set them, but can the same set of rules support both "The Revolution" and "nights and weekends off" as victory conditions?
https://playfulvoid.game.blog/2023/09/02/moralising-and-manipulation-in-tabletop-roleplaying-games/
My hill to die on this week, is just we need to stop moralising the type of games people play. This overly long post is a summary of the ideas I’ve spoken of the last day or so on the topic. Bits h…
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