#Ttrpg design

[legendaryvermin]

So my home ttrpg group is between longform games right now, and I have been planning to bring a bunch of games to them this weekend as options for what we might play next. However, I have been trying to figure out how to talk about the games in a way that doesn't rely as much on me explaining the vibes to them.

I know that people have a bunch of qualitative categories for how they explain games, but I find the idea of saying things like Dark Fantasy OSR, or Lesbian Goofball PBTA less helpful when talking about how games actually play, especially when two games in the same category are like, wildly different in the way they use their frameworks.

So I invented a 6 axis, 1 to 5 star rating scale for TTRPGs that you are free to borrow when talking to groups, or whatever.

TTRPG 5 Star Rating Matrix

Width

What is the scope of this game? Is it narrowly about one thing or does it encompass many types of play? (Credit to friend of the blog @ostermad-blog for this one, they came up with it from my draft)

Weight

How much cognitive load does the player need to bear? Do rules often need to be referenced verbatim? Can those rules fit on a handout?

Wargame

Is the player expected to apply tactical acumen? Is movement tracked tightly or loosely? Does a bad build punish a player?

Writers Room

How much are players expected to make narrative choices and drive the story without the rules scaffolding them? Does this game fall apart without excellent improvisational storytellers?

(Prep)Work

Does this game require a lot of pre-planning by the facilitator? Are there intricate systems to attend to outside of table play? Can I put in the same amount of time as other players and still have everyone leave happy? 

Whimsy

Expected tone of the game. Does this game have difficult thematic elements baked in? Is the core subject or role in the game high or low risk?

Here are some games I know well and how I calibrated them:

I have breakdowns of what each star rating means below the cut if you're curious. Happy Gaming!

Width

⭐ - As written, the game has basically one mode of play, or one thematic core that it meditates on. May have phases, but textural difference is minimal.

⭐⭐ - As written, there are at least two modes of play, but the scope of that play is highly thematically focused or highly dependent on using the game’s own lore. Might have only one kind of character (e.g. Mech Pilot) that it supports. Has limited tools outside of the primary mode of play.

⭐⭐⭐ - Has a variety of modes of play, but may be rigid in their execution. Might encompass multiple kinds of characters (e.g. Doctor, Lawyer, fighter) or character options. The narratives that this game tells within its setting are narrowed, a three word description tells you what kind of stories it can tell with consistency.

⭐⭐⭐⭐ - Loose framework, but with some kind of thematic grounding. Describing the framework in 3 words doesn’t tell you the kind of stories that the game tells (e.g. Dark Fantasy, Star Wars Romp). 

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐- As written, this game is designed in such a way that it doesn’t put specific limits on what sorts of stories that it is meant to tell. It might ask players to define abilities or stats for themselves. The Facilitator is going to pitch a thematic grounding on top of the rules set.

One Star Examples: For the Queen, Dialect, Honey Heist Five Star Examples: Fate Core, Savage Worlds, GURPS

Weight

⭐ - It is reasonable for a player to be able to recite the rules from memory. The game may be prompt based, or driven by a flow of rules that are read aloud as played.

⭐⭐ - Players can hold most of the most important information about the game in their heads, with a page or less of rules reference needed to play smoothly. This reference could all fit neatly on the character sheet if one is present.

⭐⭐⭐ - Everything a player needs to know about the game is visible on less than 3 sheets of reference. Players are more or less expected to know exactly how their own abilities work in precise detail, and are unlikely to make a mistake in executing them.

⭐⭐⭐⭐ - Players make extensive use of multiple reference sheets to keep rules moving smoothly. No external tools are needed, but players memorizing the details of all of their abilities is taxing. 

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐- Players and facilitators will prefer to make extensive use of external tools or reference to keep play moving smoothly. Expecting a player to have the exact details of their abilities memorized is not reasonable.

One Star Examples: For the Queen, Stewpot, Mobile Frame Zero: Firebrands Five Star Examples: Dungeons and Dragons 3-5e, Lancer, Edge of the Empire

Wargame

⭐ - As written, this game does not treat combat as mechanically different from any other aspect of play, or does not include narrative violence at all.

⭐⭐ - While players may engage in combat, it is minimally different from regular play. There may be tools or abilities for players to use to conduct a fight, but the texture of those fights is thematic, not mechanical. Narrative and consequence drive the action, not hit points.

⭐⭐⭐ - As written, combat has its own set of rules. This game may have some elements of buildcrafting, but either it is difficult to build something that doesn’t work, or the player may meaningfully invest in other modes of play and still find a commensurate level of satisfaction. If combat occurs, spacing is kept in mind, but is tracked in relative terms (range bands) or highly simplified (zone based combat).

⭐⭐⭐⭐ - This game has buildcrafting that is somewhat mandatory if players wish to survive a fight, but there is still a meaningful choice in choosing a non-combat role. It may use a grid or a spacing system to help players visualize the combat. Fights are driven by mechanics, not by narrative.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐- To enjoy this game, players must spend time buildcrafting. If a player’s build is suboptimal, there may be significant parts of the intended experience that will either feel tedious, or that the player will not have meaningful access to. This game is played on a grid.

One Star Examples: Wanderhome, Dialect, Belonging Outside Belonging Five Star Examples: Lancer, Dungeons and Dragons 3-5e, Valor

Writers Room

⭐ - Players in this game are not expected to provide much in the way of narrative substance. Story is something that is driven by external input or tools, and players are there to imagine and react. The player need not separate the self from the character they play in any meaningful way.

⭐⭐ - The mechanics of this game drive most of the narrative, or else the narrative is set for the players by an external source or player. Players are encouraged to play optimally rather than dramatically, but do have room for expressing the identity of their character within the game’s mechanical frameworks.

⭐⭐⭐ - While the game does provide strong scaffolding to tell a story, the players present are expected to drive the story within those frameworks. The game’s systems create and resolve conflict on their own, but works best when the players are willing to choose the dramatically interesting option even if it mechanically non-optimal.

⭐⭐⭐⭐ - The game provides some mechanical tools that create and resolve drama, but there is a significant expectation that the players are buying into and driving the game’s thematic concepts. Players are the ones deciding what the scenes should be and when to end them, but mechanics still help determine outcomes.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐- The players are expected to drive the narrative at all times. Tools for deciding what scenes to do and when to end them are limited, optional, or vague. There is no meaningful scaffolding that creates conflict or resolution, it is incumbent on those present to manifest those things.

One Star Examples: Alice is Missing, Ribbon Drive, For the Queen Five Star Examples: Wanderhome, Systemless RP

(Prep)Work

⭐ - Facilitators are not expected to do work outside the time at the table. All rules can be read while the game is played. No memorization is needed.

⭐⭐ - This game expects the facilitator to have read the rules in advance, but the rules are so few that they can be run from a single reference sheet. At times, the facilitator must think about and potentially advance and adjust the narrative of the game behind the scenes. Prep is qualitative; answering questions about where the narrative is going to go, who will be there etc. The game can be run smoothly predominantly as improv.

⭐⭐⭐ - This game expects the facilitator to not only know the rules, but to imagine scenarios where the group must play. However, the scope of the scenario design is limited and qualitative. It takes a bit of pondering and perhaps a sketch and a few words of notes. Alternatively, the facilitator must design simple foes or track a simple background system. The work is trivial, and can be done with a bit of time before session.

⭐⭐⭐⭐ - The facilitator of this game is expected to have run systems between games, or created usable maps or scenarios. Generally, games at this level have some reduced wargaming component. The facilitator might need to engage in enemy design, but the work is limited or imminently reusable. The work is non-trivial, and failing to do it will somewhat impact the quality of play.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐- The facilitator of this game puts in significant time between sessions engaging in game design activities. They are expected to plan narratives, write NPCs, draw maps, run significant background systems, and design enemies and combat encounters. The work is significant outside of play, and failing to do it beforehand will result in a worse table experience.

One Star Examples: For the Queen, Alley-Oop, Lasers and Feelings Five Star Examples: Lancer, D&D 3-5e, Stars Without Number, Edge of the Empire

Whimsy

⭐ - This game’s thematic core is considered dark, taboo, or difficult, and separating the game’s mechanical features from this subject matter is next to impossible. Games with horror elements almost certainly fit within this category. These games encourage extensive pre-play safety talks.

⭐⭐ - This game is designed to look at dark subject matter, but doesn’t expect the player to spend all of their time there. Players explore difficult topics, but may get to choose what topics to explore, or when to explore them. Games with political messaging/commentary tend to fit this category. These games encourage pre-play safety talks.

⭐⭐⭐ - This game may have dark aesthetics, but doesn’t enforce them mechanically. Alternatively, there are mechanics that address difficult topics in broad strokes, but players are given leeway in the rules with how any difficult topics are approached. These games may encourage safety talks. 

⭐⭐⭐⭐ - This game may have the option to explore dark topics, but none of the mechanics are tied to such topics. This game may have violence in its aesthetics, but players may choose to adjust the aesthetics at the table to suit their comfort. These games tend not to talk about safety in their text.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐- This game is designed to focus on thematic material that is considered to be relatively safe. The game is unlikely to tread into violence or trauma without effort.

One Star Examples: Trophy Dark, Dungeon Bitches, Vampire the Masquerade Five Star Examples: Honey Heist, Princess World, Beach Episode

The system here isn't about what's good or bad, to be clear. I think there are good and bad games at every level of these categories, but when I think about what my game group is good at and comfy with, I don't think we go in for things at like the 5 end of the Writers Room scale. It's too much work, and most of them aren't pro improvisers.

Similarly, if we play another game that is a 4 or 5 on the PrepWork category, I don't have time to run it these days. So this helps me make practical choices about our next game.

[xantdee]

For sure going to use some of the early 20 century photos for my weird west ttrpg.

Maybe I'll try doing some really basic artwork myself tho.

Making a TTRPG and can't afford commissions? Try public domain images

Wikimedia project, library of congress, and various other databases have countless photos one can legally use and are meant to be used this way.

This is one image I plan on using (with some alteration) in some Blades in the Dark content I am working on at the moment. I got it off the Library of Congress.

Here's another, one I got from Wikimedia and used in Sixty Years After. Remember to still put attribution of the photographer if that is listed as part of the license. And I beg people to try this before turning to AI

[brandonwritesgames]

If you're not on Bluesky, you may have missed the fact that itch has de-indexed adult and nsfw content en mass, with no warning or statement. This is likely a part of a wider movement by fascists to dictate what art people are, and are not allowed to consume.

If you would like to voice your displeasure, I'd suggest emailing support@itch.io as well as calling your local MasterCard customer service line to complain about them censoring art.

While I do not make adult, nsfw, or porn games, I know people who do, and I am aware of a few people looking at options for legal action against itch and MasterCard.

[herssian]

ttrpg portrait pack #18; includes custom magic item with suggested usage👑

you can grab this and all previous packs for only 1€

[molomoot]

Serving Up Disaster now has 163(!!) followers!

A massive thank you to everyone who has been resharing, following & showing excitement in this project 💕

I'm going live August 1st so can we go for a final push for prelaunch followers?! (Day One is always most important)

[rowansender]

This is will probably not going to help a lot in this context. This still carves out what the right to deny transactions for what is “illegal”. As we’re likely to see a broad pornography ban within the next few years, the issue with steam and itch won’t change much. Said law will also open up interpretation by courts as to what constitutes porn (again) and allow for that grey area to be used as a weapon against whoever they like. Mostly queer and trans people, but also people of color and women.

I’ve seen some people point out that what this will really do is force card companies to work with various things like hate groups that operate within legality above the board and aren’t at risk of legal scrutiny by the current hegemony.

I know this is a bleak take, but it really feels like the writing is on the wall.

[x]

There is a bill right now in the US trying to pass It would make it illegal for any financial service provider to prohibit or inhibit any legal transaction It's called the "Fair Access to Banking Act, H.R.987 in the House, S.410 in the Senate" Call your representatives if you live in the US !!!!

More useful information regarding the whole Steam censorship issue.

[herecomesthementalmeltdown]

life goals

[basilisika]

dull scythe, a panic engine magical girl rpg currently being chewed on between other ongoing projects by me and snow

[quinnydoll]

being a GM is really fun because sometimes you can make your players go through some really traumatic Evangelion bullshit, but other times you can force them to go bowling for no reason

[20clawzstudios]

Alongside the above actions, if you have the time or really want to turn up the heat on these companies, you can put your money where your mouth is and speak to your local regulatory bodies. If you're in the USA, these are the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and The DOJ Antitrust Division/FTC. Note the purpose of calling these bodies isn't necessarily that such efforts will be successful, but that this will cause these payment processing companies to realize that we will be more than simply angry for a while, and will actively encourage our government to investigate them and put them under extra scrutiny. Which is exactly what truly terrifies them as massive corps. These are the sort of actions that could hurt their bottom line overtime. IF YOU HAVE HAD YOUR MONEY HELD BY ITCH.IO, STEAM, OR ANOTHER PLATFORM, OR LOST ACCESS TO GAMES YOU PURCHASED DUE TO THIS, USE THE FTC FRAUD REPORT FORM ASAP. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Phone: 1-855-411-2372 Mail: Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, 1700 G Street NW, Washington, DC 20552 Online complaint submission form DOJ Anti-trust Division Phone: 1-855-411-2372 Mail: Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, 1700 G Street NW, Washington, DC 20552 Federal Trade Commision Phone: 1-877-382-4357 Mail: Federal Trade Commission, Consumer Response Center, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20580 Online report form for fraud (only use if you have lost money in some manner due to this)

Plan of Action and Complaint Template Regarding Adult Content Being Delisted from Itchio

Alright so as y’all may or may not know, credit card companies and other payment facilitators have put pressure on digital storefronts such as Steam and Itch.io to remove “adult content” recently largely due to lobbying by fringe radical organizations. It would be bad enough if it just affected actual porn, but you know to these people “porn” means “anything that even mentions a homosexual.” Several of my team’s projects including mini-expansions to Eureka: Investigative Urban Fantasy “The Fanservice Files” and “The XXX-Files,” as well as team artist @chaospyromancy’s personal side project “A Squad of Drow” have been delisted from itch.io as of last night though they are still available by direct link or from our main account page and you can still pay us for them for now but there is no telling how long they'll actually stay up. Many others have had their projects completely delisted or outright removed, and are having payments withheld from them. If you don't want to see us and other creators pushed under by this crap, you need to do something about it.

People affected by this far outnumber the people who lobbied to make it happen. These organizations are very vocal but also relatively small and very fringe, and since it is a policy decision that was created by complaints it may be able to be destroyed by complaints.

Here are the phone numbers of these companies and an email address I was able to find. We need to blow their phones off the wall and fill their inboxes with customer complaints.

Mastercard (US): 1-800-627-8372 Mastercard (Int.): +1-636-722-7111 Visa (US + Can): 1 800 847 2911 Visa (AUS): 1 800 125 440 PayPal(UK): +44-0203-901-7000

Paypal (US) 1 888 221 1161

For investor relations:

914-249-4565 (Mastercard) 650 432 7644 (visa)

Visa Email Address: askvisa@visa.com

Mastercard Contact Form: https://b2b.mastercard.com/contact-us/

Saying stuff like “sex work is real work” and “this affects black trans women,” while true, is not the kind of thing that is going to tug at the heartstrings of lib-conservative CEOs and board members and their PR teams. They’re mercenary. You need to tell them how this is going to hurt their wallets and make their customers very unhappy.

If feasible, you need to get your moms and dads on this too, and get them to get their friends on it, etc.

40-60-year old middle class white people high credit scores and stuff will have more sway with these corporations than any young adult trans person.

My team has put together a template for your phone calls and emails. Take the template and delete the [bracketed parts] that don’t apply to you.

“My name is [_____], and I’m contacting you about your recent decision to alter your user policies regarding adult content and thereby putting pressure on digital storefronts like itch.io and Steam to hide and remove adult content. By doing so, you're cutting off a significant revenue stream, [and as someone with financial investment in your company, this has me extremely concerned]

[I both buy and sell that blocked content, so this is directly interfering in my finances, and I will seek compensation.]

Products I paid for are no longer available to me, [and people are buying my products without the money going to me because of your interference with the payment processing.]

If you don’t want to lose customers and face potential legal trouble, these policies which pressure itch.io, Steam, and other digital storefronts need to be reversed.

You have changed these policies because of Collective Shout, a radical group from Australia that sent only a mere 1000 calls to destroy a significant revenue stream on your part and to interfere with my finances. This decision literally affects millions of people and millions of dollars, and so I expect a prompt response on reversing these policy changes and removing the pressure on itch.io and Steam to ban adult content on their sites. [As a cardholder, I worry that these new policies are responding to a vocal minority of customers, and I’m left doubting the reliability, versatility, and integrity of your services. I use these services to securely and conveniently make the transactions I see fit, and it’s disappointing to see legitimate, legal transactions be excluded.]

[I am furious that an American company would bend so easily to a lobbying group from a foreign country.]”

There is also a petition you can sign here.

[theinstagrahame]

Also help raise money to fight for trans people, and get some rad games in the process!

[alphaori]

Being into indie ttrpgs on Tumblr is a very funny experience because while you're ambiently considering designing a little game about idk, gremlins growing cabbages or whatever there are people who built this hobby from the ground up with 15 award winning published games and three podcasts and a knighthood from a small European monarchy just doing their thing on the same platform. Imagine this was the case for any other hobby. You go to shoot some hoops behind your house and LeBron James is just there

[anim-ttrpgs]

I still think that whenever people get incredulous when they hear that Eureka has combat rules even though it’s an investigation-based game what they’re imagining is the party is investigating when they suddenly encounter 1D6 mobsters or vampires or something that they have to wordlessly fight for an hour and a half of session time to get EXP then go back to the investigating.

It’s not like this.

[legendaryvermin]

I wanna respond to the following tags because I'm like 50/50 with them.

So yeah, I think we're in some agreement, especially around prep being work, but I want to push back on some things and reframe others because I sincerely don't think "adventure modules" is a panacea or the right approach to every game's prep workload.

To talk quickly about where I'm coming from, I fucking hate prep as a facilitator. I do everything in my power to avoid having to create a bunch of stuff whole cloth in advance of a session. My ideal game requires less than 5 minutes of prep before a game, and everything else can be assembled on the fly. I like world building and drawing maps or imagining what characters are doing off screen, but I have no desire to write a monster stat block.

Adventure modules are a good solution to this for most people. They have interesting situations, a bunch of stock characters, monsters and locations if necessary, and all that good stuff, but here's the thing: if I'm going to run one, I need to read it beforehand to make sure it fits what I'm trying to do. If I have to tweak it, that's also prep. Shit, the process of vetting that it's not triggering to anyone at my table is prep!

Given my ADHD, my tables, and my GM style, they are often worse than looser structures that I randomize myself, and not a good accessibility tool!

I'm glad they mentioned Mothership because I have a really specific bone to pick with the beta of that game. Mothership is famous for the excellent modules it has, no fucking doubt! But you know what the original rule set didn't include? Any fucking advice on creature design! No stat blocks, no "here's how to think about monsters in Mothership" nothing! Every module I bought for Mothership has a different approach, too! They're all interesting, but really unhelpful when dealing with the fact that unless you're idk, trophy dark and include a few dozen really short play sets, I have to meticulously vet the modules to make sure that the horror content doesn't cross anyone's triggers! Which unfortunately, horror is likely to do!!

Having prefab stuff that players can pick up and play around with is a net good, do t get me wrong, but all in one packages don't teach me how to build compelling things in game space in the same way as tables and samples do. And if I'm going to have one or the other, I'm of the opinion that the samples, tables and philosophies better equip people in the community to make 3rd party content (see LANCER) and fill the gap than a single adventure module does.

Ideally, do both, for sure! Adventure modules are great for a lot of systems, but they aren't a magic bullet and they definitely aren't a one size fits all "accessibility tool".

"A ttrpg needs adventure modules for it to take the burden off the GM" is a terrible take.

IMHO a good game comes with sufficient GM-facing tools that you don't need modules. You give them generators for adventure sites, tools to create NPCs and social situations, guides to making maps, random event and encounter tables, and so on. The back half of a good ttrpg book is full of things for the GM to refer to in play to generate ideas on the fly, or between sessions to make the process of pre-planning easy.

Heck, moving outside my normal wheelhouse of osr random tables, this is the entire point of GM Moves in pbta games; they perform the same function in a different framework.

Pre-written adventures are a kludge to fix a game that hasn't put the work into the GM-facing side of the game, leaving a gaping void where their half of the game should go.

[drakeanddice]

Haunted by a fantasy world where "adventurer" is handled in the same way as "assassin" in John Wick. An ifykyk secondary economy running on gold coins where everyone knows each other but no one acknowledges the elephant in the room because we have manners about our weird-ass line of deadly desperate dangerous work.

Rolling into town, looking immaculate. Checking into the Inn. Not an inn, or the coaching house, or the traveler's hostel. The Inn. The one that takes my ridiculous oversized coin and says that my room is ready, and will I need to visit the Smith today? Perhaps a meeting with the Vintner? Shall I send up the Gourmand?

"Good afternoon, Master Whicke," the Smith says, putting aside the barrel scraper he's been working on to flip a switch beside the forge. Racks of tenpenny nails and trowels and hammers fold back to reveal the glittering points and edges of a score of swords and axes and spearpoints lit with the flicker of finely-tuned enchantments. "Shall we tour what's new?"

"What sort of occasion are we hosting, Master Whicke?" The Vintner asks, pocketing the coin with a sigh. "A funeral," you say.

"Ah, well perhaps something light to start, then," she says selecting a straight-walled flask that glitters with contained starlight, proof against the touch of the undead. " And something for remembrance," she plucks a small crock of something evil-smelling and phosphorescent. "And then something to really bring down the house." She gingerly selects a double ampoule of energetic looking jellies.

The Gourmand carefully runs his knife through the salted flank of a cockatrice with a pursing of the lips. "So many neglect trail rations, Master Whicke, and it is their shame. Paired with goldenwheat pancakes and carrion honey, a mouthful of cockatrice--properly seasoned of course--will keep the mummy rot at bay, even post-exposure. I have been given to indicate by the Management that your current escapade may make such information useful to you. I will of course wrap your purchases exceedingly carefully. Rot will be your constant companion in the Black Pyramid."

There's something here.