I had the plan of having a mechanic where players can have unique and powerful abilities that trigger getting knocked out. If they get knocked out again, they are killed. This gives the game an epic anime feel with characters getting beaten down into the dirt and then standing up, screaming and fighting even stronger. But during my play test, gamers started to game the mechanic. When they really needed their ability, they would purposelessly knock themselves out, to trigger the ability. This didn't give me the epic feeling I was looking for. Possible Solutions, -Benefit: The ability only trig ..read more

Why (or how) did you pick the core resolution mechanic of your game(s)? Do you like the feel? The probabilities? Is your game based on another and you're simply using the predecessor's mechanic? Is it based on accessibility? Obviously, this assumes that your game has something that could be described as a core resolution mechanic. If yours does not, why did you decide against it? Not asking for advice here. Just looking to see what your thoughts are and start a discussion. submitted by /u/Boxman214 [visit reddit] [comments ..read more

Hello everyone! I'm once again requesting your opinion on a mechanic. I managed to trim down quite a lot of my system to make it more streamlined, and I'm confident enough to try a second playtest with friends, but there is one piece of the puzzle that is missing for this "alpha" version. I came up with a potential solution, but I'm curious about your insight on this. I'm designing a game set in a medieval low-fantasy setting where players are adventurers exploring a decaying and dying world in an attempt to find artifacts or treasures left behind by technologically advanced dragon from space ..read more

I’m currently working on a fairly crunchy game that combines hard sci-fi with optional magic. Obviously a role playing game really needs classes, or else it’s not really a role playing game. The whole point is to give every character their moment in the spotlight where they help the group move forward. This requires that characters all be better at something than everyone else in the party, which is to say that all party members should have different abilities. Up until recently, most character abilities in my system were tracked as binary skills that a character either had or didn’t have. XP ..read more

I want to use Google Sheets for a character sheet and play sheet for my TTRPG. In said sheet 'Playsheet' are different sub sheets with different parts of information for the game. In the sub sheet 'Character Sheet' players can fill out their character. Now to my problem. I got a Dropdown menu in which players can choose their 'Tome' they wanna use by name of the tomes. In another sub sheet I put all the 'Tomes' which are multiple different blocks of tables and information. I want to use a function or a script to be able to click on the Dropdown menu and for example choose 'Tome of Medicine' a ..read more

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1dsAQRkdNzJutHmgB_HRI1z14OkFM0wIGGmIH6Gqzvvs/edit?usp=sharing Looking at it cold, what is one thing you like? What are any number of things you don't like? I've been through a grip of art school critiques and a mess of creative writing workshops, so don't hold back. Many darlings have been killed already. The final version will have actual art, so understand the lame sword is just a placeholder... submitted by /u/Dumeghal [visit reddit] [comments ..read more

I know the question is kinda silly, but hear me out. It’s no secret that the TTRPG community is male dominated, so how would you feel if a system had explicitly female-gendered terms for the GM for thematic reasons? Something like “The Mother” or “Lady Justice”. Would that make you uncomfortable in any way? Do you find it ok if it has a lore reason behind it? This isn’t a Gotcha question of any kind btw, I genuinely want to know if such a design decision would affect the likelihood of people picking up a game. submitted by /u/LightSpeedStrike [visit reddit] [comments ..read more

There are RPGs that reward cautious planning, tactical play, or both. What are some RPGs that do the opposite: specifically rewarding impulsive, spur-of-the-moment, yet bold and decisive action? submitted by /u/EarthSeraphEdna [visit reddit] [comments ..read more

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/19-zix_INXL8UrIG3y22YMtbsmix6t1qsO0rE-YFZOUs/edit?usp=sharing System is generic with a base 2d10 only resolution with a pf2e-like success mechanic. Stats are similar to dcc and the one ring rpg. Stress and Strain are replacements for wounds and shock. Bas def and spe def are basic and special defence ala pokemon. Career and archetypes are like background class. talents are similar to the ability system from quest. omens are based off the lucky sign from dcc. physical traits are stuff like movement and senses. Stance is something like alignment but more i ..read more

So I was trying to come up with a magic system that is free form, but somewhat balanced and still open to doing (nearly) inconceivable feats. I had a playing card and charts based system that was a mess. Then I remembered a reddit comment about a system that pools together communal combat? action? etc? tokens that anyone can use which is discarded at the end of combat thus incentivizing it's use. This seems like it could potentially solve my magic balance with sword swinging. Can you guys give me a recommendation for that system or similar? submitted by /u/oWatchdog [visit reddit] [comments ..read more