luuma-makes-games

[luuma-makes-games]

On the Four Table Legs of Traveller, Leg 1: Mortgages

Mongoose Traveller’s starship mortgage-payment-system is the most brilliant game mechanic I’ve ever encountered, as a DM. It’s also the first rule I’d ignore if I wasn’t consciously trying to play the game exactly how it’s described in the book.

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[luuma-makes-games]

An important rule of thumb I like to use for virtually every RPG is "failing forward". All that "failing forward" says is that checks only happen if - success is interesting - failure is interesting - there's a risk of failure The most common set of checks that don't work for this in DnD are info gathering checks like perception, arcana, nature, and so on. You're like "I search for clues", you roll a check, and roll low, and any DM reading the rules in full and following them in detail would say "ok you don't see anything. anyone else wanna do something". A check happens where there is virtually zero consequence of failing it. Like, why did the game zoom in and leave that up to chance? Why did it focus on me not seeing something? That's what failing forward avoids. And it's good.

[luuma-makes-games]

A one-page Pokémon-inspired RPG I put together in a flurry of inspiration recently. The core idea is that each of your "skills" is a Pokémon, and the more you use that skill, the more that partner levels up!

[luuma-makes-games]

Here is the result of a small challenge on instagram; I asked people to give me an animal and an action and I had to represent it in 12 frames maximum

[luuma-makes-games]

*struggles while writing* i suck and writing is hard

*remembers some ppl use ai* i am a creative force. i am uncorrupted by theft and indolence. i am on a journey to excellence. it is my duty to keep taking joy in creating.

[luuma-makes-games]

I sooo rarely finish a draft. But! Been working on this for a whole year now and I need some eyes on it, I think.

It’s a roleplaying game full of a bunch of my favourite things — mutant ninjas, cyborgs, rogue AIs, giant monsters, mad scientists, cyberpunk dystopias and anti-capitalist action.

Would love feedback, whether you’re a longtime DM/GM, a regular ttrpg player, ttrpg curious, just a fan of the ninja turtles, or have some quibbles with the grammar or presentation.

[luuma-makes-games]

"Good Morning, Rose"

My short story for the wlw anthology GLIMM*R!

[luuma-makes-games]

One of the key advantages of the TTRPG genre over a digital RPG is that its character creator's versatility is literally infinite. This is exploited brilliantly in PBTA games. It is exploited extremely badly in the more traditional old school stuff like pathfinder, 5e, and so on. What do I mean by this? If I want to make a blind wizard in MASKS or PBTA or (i think) blades, that choice has as much or as little impact on the story as I want it to have. If I want to make a blind character in pf2e or 5e, it is a massive pain-in-the-neck bookkeeping headache. Technically prevents me from ever casting certain spells ("creature you can see"), it gives some kind of penalty on all attacks, it means certain positive traits like night-vision have no meaningful effect, yadda yadda yadda. In order to make the character function in the game, you essentially first have to define how they work around this (are you homebrewing everything? are they able-sighted in all but name?) and then you have to get GM approval, or homebrew. Telling a story about blind characters is not harder than telling a story about able sighted characters. Ideally the same should be true of storytelling games. If you're making a TTRPG, consider: Should walking speed be a mechanic? Why? Should loss of sight be a condition? Why? Does dual wielding, or two-handed weaponry offer a benefit? Why? Are there penalties for losing a limb? Why? This was the first mistake I made when making Accursed Teens, and it took a while to fix. If you directly reward able-bodiedness in the mechanics of the game, the result is able-bodied characters. You don't have to do this. Sometimes it is totally unnecessary to the tone of the game.

[luuma-makes-games]

No more fumbling around in your pack for a tape measure! No more broken thermometers! No more visits to the local tinker for recalibration! Save time AND money with this simple cantrip TODAY!

[luuma-makes-games]

colors

[luuma-makes-games]

This is one of the many, many magical effects from Accursed Teens that didn't make the cut, but is still funny enough to adapt elsewhere. Here is Slipup as a spell for DnD (or pathfinder, etc). Foes better watch the direction of their steps! Art Link

[luuma-makes-games]

Check out the Moment of Truth mechanic from Masks, it's very much like this! Moment of Truth is somthing you can unlock in the progression system, and it can only really be obtained once (or twice if you "switch playbooks"). In Masks, that's done because the arcs can be based round individual PCs, so having everyone unlock it simultaneously might not make sense.

Your Moment

So a mechanic I'm toying with right now is the Your Moment mechanic. I've had the idea for this mechanic since the very beginning of development but I'm thinking of changing it up a bit.

Originally, it was pretty simple. Once per campaign or story arc (depending on the GM or table's preference) you can choose to succeed on something in the best possible way. Fate itself changes to make this outcome possible. For example, if you choose Your Moment to be attacking a nemesis, you can kill them even if they have more health than you can deal in one hit. Alternatively, you can revive a dead ally even if you don't have the proper spells or convince a monarch to change allegiances in a war.

It's a very powerful mechanic that allows the character/player to permanently change the trajectory of the story in the most favorable - if unpredictable - way.

My new version of this mechanic involves something called your Core which is represented by Love, Hate, Hope, and Faith. When you create your character, choose one of the 4 to be your Core. This influences how you rp your character. However, your Core is not immutable and it may change when you take Your Moment, same as above. Depending on the circumstances of Your Moment, your Core will change appropriately. If you kill a nemesis, your Core may change to Hate. If you rally allies during a darkest hour, your Core may change to Hope. etc. etc. Your character will be permanently changed by this moment from then on. However, the methods of gaining Your Moment are different.

In Tales from the Aether, there are Fate Die and Inspiration Surges that you unlock by failing. Fate Die are dice that you add to D20 checks and you gain one every 5 failed non combat rolls (you always start session with 1). Inspiration surges are surges of magical or martial prowess that can turn a losing battle into a win. You gain an Inspiration surge every 10 failed combat rolls.

You gain Your Moment when you use 10 Fate Dice/Inspiration Surges. Based on play testing, this would mean roughly every 3-6 sessions depending on your luck (worse luck is better). In theory, this means you'd probably get one towards the climax of a short campaign or arc - which is the perfect time for a character to have a climactic moment that defines their character. There would be places to keep track of this on your character sheet.

My main concern is that this is just too many things to remember/keep track of. Fate Die and Inspiration Surges are separated by in and out of combat usage but Your Moment can have progress towards unlocking it during any stage of the game.

I am not yet at the stage of play testing where we are running full campaigns (Soon hopefully soon) so I don't have a full grasp of whether or not this is actually too unwieldy or if its just my doubts creeping in. What are your thoughts?

[luuma-makes-games]

honorable mention:

it cracks me up how often the Curse of Strahd module read-aloud flavor text describes the environment as sad:

the wind is bummed out. the torches are bummed out. the dirt is sad that it's dirt. like listen I know it's a realm of eternal despair but I feel like they could have hit the thesaurus a little harder on this one

though shoutout to the flavor text of Wachterhaus, which may actually have diagnosable clinical depression:

[luuma-makes-games]

MÖRK BORG Masterlist

All our episodes of our first campaign: MÖRK BORG

And if you don't like Spotify, here is our linktree with links of where else to listen!

[luuma-makes-games]

hello again!

Accursed Teens is easily my least successful project and it's currently making me the most happy. I'm on the second proper rewrite from playtesting my own TTRPG and I cannot stress enough: If you've written any ttrpg content ever, don't just chuck it online, show it off to your pals and actually take it for a spin! tinker! chat! enjoy it! You've baked the cake - go eat!

It's also super interesting. I didn't realise how heavily you have to guard the tone of the game! Also was really pleasantly surprised at how much a special mechanic can alter a character's behavior. And oh shit the "combat" "system" was a total shot in the dark, and kind of paid off! You don't have to aim to be an online cake salesperson to bake a cake. You can crochet just for yourself, or write fanfic just for your friends. Make art for you - it's always art.

[luuma-makes-games]

PSYCHODUNGEON is less than 400 quid away from the first stretch goal (at 2.8k). I'll expand the game with four new Dungeon Textures including ones themed around Gender Dysphoria and Medical Trauma. This loathsome creation here will be one of the monsters in the Medical Texture.

There's like 14 days to get this goal and there's loads more exciting ones after that. A scenario dungeon would be up next, as well down as expanding the playbook offerings down the line.

I'm so relieved to have the game funded; with everyones help we could make it even bigger and bursting with weird shit. Also the more of a success this is the more I can try and keep living as a game designer.

PSYCHODUNGEON (TTRPG) by Rat Wave Game House — Kickstarter

[luuma-makes-games]

Hi!! Just a quick message to tell you that I absolutely love your homebrew D&D stuff and that I've taken the liberty to include (while crediting you and linking your blog) your Horrible Goose as an invocation in one of my one-shots that one player won at a fair. I gave her complete control over it and she's having a blast role-playing that little chaotic evil gremlin during combat. I'm afraid it's about to become a permanent member of the party with the lifelong goal of asserting dominance over every animal it sees (I can't wait until they meet the dragon I have in store for them)

Thank you so much for all these precious resources you create and share on your blog!! It truly is a goldmine for me as a novice DM and gives me so many ideas

Anon this makes my heart very full, thank you so much for taking the goose for a spin! May it successfully steal a ridiculous quantity of goods