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Something Dungeons & Dragons gets right about its worldbuilding is that most of its iconic monsters are both capable of speech and willing to argue about incredibly stupid shit – just A+ understanding of the medium there – which makes it doubly perplexing that the game goes out of its way to specify that skeletons can't talk. Skeletons are, like, the classic monster to engage in ill-advised banter with, and it's preemptively taken off the table. What the fuck.
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Hey folks!! Heartbeat Highschool, our new queer-friendly, solo journaling, 90s anime dating sim TTRPG is LIVE on Kickstarter now!
In Heartbeat Highschool, you play a 17 year old high school senior who has moved to a new American high school in a new town in the late 1990s. You have schoolwork, a part time job with flexible hours, and several dating partners who are vying for your attention. Can you find your one true love and graduate high school before the end of your final year?
Features:
Manage your schoolwork and social life in a unique six-sided dice pool system.
6+ potential dating partners with detailed biographies and ~secrets~
Character design by areyoshi
Beautiful artwork by Demon Dionysus
Full list of holidays & school events (including potentially minigames!)
36+ page staple-bound 8.5" x 5.5" rulebook
100% Human Created Content!
!!! PLEDGE NOW !!!
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Cooking Write-in Skill from Eureka: Investigative Urban Fantasy. This Skill is optional, and if given to your investigator, must be set at a minimum rating of +1.
Cooking (Knowledge) || Cooking is a measure of a character’s knowledge of the culinary arts. Use this Skill when a character needs to prepare a meal of any sort beyond the rudimentary cooking ability that everybody has, such as if impersonating a chef to infiltrate the corrupt mayor’s private party, or to notice when a dish just doesn’t smell or taste quite right, perhaps indicating it’s been poisoned! This Skill may also be used in case the character needs to know anything related to kitchen etiquette or whatever else may fall under the umbrella of culinary knowledge.
#cooking#ttrpgs#ttrpg community#ttrpg tumblr#ttrpg#indie ttrpg#eureka#rpg#eureka: investigative urban fantasy#eureka ttrpg#ttrpg art#cook#chef#urban fantasy#tabletop#rpgs#tabletop rpgs#free rpg#crime rpg#role playing games
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200 Word RPGs 2024
Each November, some people try to write a novel. Others would prefer to do as little writing as possible. For those who wish to challenge their ability to not write, we offer this alternative: producing a complete, playable roleplaying game in two hundred words or fewer.
This is the submission thread for the 2024 event, running from November 1st, 2024 through November 30th, 2024. Submission guidelines can be found in this blog's pinned post, here.
#gaming#tabletop roleplaying#tabletop rpgs#game design#game jam#tumblr 200 word rpgs 2024#tumblr 200 word rpgs#200 word rpgs
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Idea: when fighting a werewolf, cast Invisibility on them!
Possible benefits: if moonlight isn’t shining on them (it would go through without reflecting) they might turn back into a person.
Possible downsides: invisible werewolf.
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I am obsessed with this idea
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I'm bored of elemental giants. Use environmental giants instead.
Environmental Giants all start out the same, but their bodies take up the features of the place they live in. They become a reflection of their domain.
Giant takes up residence in the cliffs of dover? Not a stone giant. No, that's specifically The Giant of Dover. Its body is made of chalk. It can create dust clouds of chalk with its breath, its shoulders are padded with tufts of short grasses and blackberry bushes.
Giant takes up residence in the ruins of a highway during an apocalypse? That's the I-95 Giant. It has rebar spines along its back, skin of pavement and concrete, and wears wrecked cars as armor.
And to make this idea more dynamic, the giant's form changes as the ecosystem changes. A river gets diverted away from a Giant's domain? Then the Giant dries up along with its land. Now the Giant has an incentive to protect its dominion, and a weakness that its enemies can exploit.
#game design#indie rpg#ttrpg#indie games#rpg#rpgs#indie ttrpg#dnd#tabletop rpgs#worldbuilding#writing#magic system
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When I did my big word-vomit about why I bounced off 5e and never returned, I did these diagrams that demonstrated how little choice you actually get with each class at each level.
Now that uni is done for the year, and I start writing about my positive experience in recultivating rpgs at my local club, I thought that it might be interesting to do the big dive into EVERY class and subclass to see how they stack up over the years. Potentially, I could also do the same for the initial rules of 5e24.
Anyone wanna see a big dumb data-set?
(Jokes on you, this dumb idea is in my head and now is probably going to happen anyway, regardless of whether you want to see it or not)
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HEY! YOU THERE! WANT TO PLAY A TABLETOP ADVENTURE WITH A PROFESSIONAL STORYTELLER?
I'M MISTER TORGUE, AND THE NERD WHO HELPS ME LOG INTO THIS ACCOUNT ASKED ME TO DO AN AD FOR HIS SERVICES. I TOLD HIM I WOULD, BUT ONLY IF I GOT TO WRITE IT MYSELF. SO STRAP IN, DUMPSUCKS. IT'S PRODUCT PLACEMENT TIME:
--
DO YOU WANT TO PLAY DUNGEONS & DRAGONS BUT YOU CAN'T FIND SOMEONE TO RUN YOUR GAMES?
ARE YOU FED UP WITH A GAME MASTER WHO WON'T LET YOU STRAIGHT-UP MAKE OUT WITH THE VILLAINS OF THEIR STORY?
DO YOU WANT WANT TO LEARN TABLETOP RPGS BUT EVERYONE WHO TRIES TO EXPLAIN IT USES THINGS LIKE MATH AND SPREADSHEETS AND YOU CAN'T STOP THEM BECAUSE FATAL SUPLEXES ARE ILLEGAL ON YOUR PLANET?
THEN YOU NEED BENCOMPETENCE, PROFESSIONAL STORYTELLER AND GAME MASTER.
BRAOOWWWWW-CHICKABRAOW EXPLOSION NOISE HEREEEEEEEE!
BENCOMPETENCE HAS RUN OVER 100 PROFESSIONAL GAMES OF TABLETOP GAMES, INCLUDING DUNGEONS & DRAGONS, CITY OF MIST AND MORE. HE HAS 100% POSITIVE REVIEWS FROM HIS CLIENTS, WHICH IS PROBABLY MORE THAN 34%.
NOT ONLY DOES BEN OWN A PAIR OF CAT-EAR HEADPHONES, HE EXCELS AT RIPPING YOUR HEART STRAIGHT OUT OF ITS RIBCAGE USING NOTHING BUT COMPELLING, ROMANCEABLE CHARACTERS AND BADASS EPIC ADVENTURES. IN FACT, EVEN HIS VILLAINS ARE SEXY AS F*CK. JUST CHECK OUT THIS VAMPIRE FROM ONE OF HIS CAMPAIGNS:
THIS DEATH DADDY IS ABSOLUTELY ABOUT TO KILL ME AND I DON'T GIVEN EVEN A SINGLE F*CK.
NOT YOUR STYLE? NO PROBLEM, PLAYER, HE ALSO OFFERS TERRIFYING MURDER MOMMIES!

THIS WOMAN COULD DRINK MY BLOOD AND I WOULD SAY "THANK YOU"
OR MAYBE IT'S TIME TO EMBRACE EVERYONE'S TRUE SECRET DESIRE:
BE A MAGICAL GIRL THAT'S BAD AT ROMANCE!!!
BENCOMPETENCE ALSO HAS THIRSTY SWORD LESBIANS, A GAME ABOUT BADASS SWORDFIGHTS AND WARFARE IN THE GREATEST BATTLEFIELD OF ALL: THE HEART
WHEN OH WHEN WILL THESE TWO INCREDIBLE WOMEN ADMIT THEIR FEELINGS FOR ONE ANOTHER!??!!?
OR MAYBE YOU WANT TO KICK ASS, PACIFIST STYLE, IN THE NEW BLUE BOX ADVENTURES?!
TIME TO GO HIGH FIVE A DINOSAUR AND MAKE OUT WITH ALIENS!!!
BENCOMPETENCE'S GAMES ARE INCLUSIVE AF AND BEGINNER-FRIENDLY, BECAUSE GATEKEEPING IS FOR SH*THEELS AND TRASHGUZZLERS. WHETHER YOU'RE BRAND NEW OR HAVE PLAYED A QUILLION SESSIONS, YOU WILL BE RIGHT AT HOME. ALL THAT MATTERS IS THAT YOU GET IN THERE AND KICK THE NARRATIVE'S ASS RIGHT IN ITS D*CK.
HE EVEN HOSTS SEMINARS THAT TEACH YOU TO BE A BETTER ROLEPLAYER OR GAME MASTER!!
HE ALSO ASKED ME TO TELL YOU THAT SESSION 0'S ARE FREE, AND I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT THAT MEANS!
WANT TO JOIN A TABLE? THEN LISTEN UP, F*CKTRUCKS, BECAUSE IT'S LIST TIME:
FIGHT OR MAYBE MAKE OUT WITH HOT EVIL VAMPIRES IN CURSE OF STRAHD (NOW AVAILABLE IN DEATH DADDY AND MURDER MOMMY)
I AM NOW STARING AT THE VAMPIRE AGAIN AND FORGOT THE NEXT BULLET POINT
JOIN THIRSTY SWORD LESBIANS AND BE AS BAD AT ROMANCE AS YOU ARE GOOD AT KICKING ASS
JUMP INTO THE BLUE BOX AND EXPLORE ALL OF TIME AND SPACE
SOMETHING ABOUT LEARNING HOW TO BE A BETTER ROLEPLAYER IN A PERSONALIZED LECTURE
THERE'S A LOT MORE TO SAY, BUT THE NERD WRITING THIS SCRIPT STARTED TALKING ABOUT CHARACTER SHEETS AND SOMETHING CALLED NARRATIVE AGENCY, SO I HAD TO BEAT HIM WITH A FOLDING CHAIR UNTIL HE STOPPED. YOU CAN HELP PAY FOR THE BODYCAST I PUT HIM IN BY SIGNING UP TODAY!
END OF ADVERTISEMENT.
#DND#D&D#CURSE OF STRAHD#DUNGEONS AND DRAGONS#5E#STRAHD#HOT STRAHD#IS STRAHD SINGLE#TTRPG#TABLETOP RPGS#GAMING#GAMES#HOT VAMPIRE DADDIES#WHERE ARE THE HOT VAMPIRE MOMMIES#KABOOM#HELL YEAH#TAGS#LESBIANS#MAGICAL GIRLS#MAGICAL GIRL#GAY DISASTERS#DISASTER LESBIANS#ROMANCE IS HARD#TRIGGER WARNING: EMOTIONAL INTIMACY#DOCTOR WHO#BLUE BOX#VWOORP VWOORP MOTHERF*CKERS
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In the last few days, I've now had two run-ins with people on this site regarding the idea of a TTRPG's mechanics and rules impacting the roleplay aspect of said game. And from what I can tell, these people - and people like them - have the whole concept backwards.
I think people who only ever played D&D and games like it, people who never played a Powered by the Apocalypse or Forged in the Dark system, or any other system with narratively-minded mechanics, are under one false impression:
Mechanics exist to restrict.
Seeing how these people argue, what exactly they say, how they reason why "mechanics shouldn't get in the way of roleplaying," that seems to be their core idea: Rules and mechanics are necessary evils that exist solely to "balance" the game by restricting the things both players and GMs can do. The only reasons why someone would want to use mechanics in their RPG is to keep it from devolving into
"I shot you, you're dead!" "No, I'm wearing bulletproof armor!" "I didn't shoot bullets, I shot a laser!" "Well, the armor's also laserproof!" "Nuh-uh, my lasers are so hot that they melt any armor!" "My armor's a material that can't melt!" And so on. Because we have rules, the players can't just say "we beat this challenge", and neither can the GM say "you haven't beaten this challenge." Because the rules are clear, the rules are obvious, the rules tell you what you can and can't do, and that's it.
So obviously, when the idea of mechanics directly interacting with the roleplay - generally seen as the most free and creative part of a TTRPG - seems at best counterintuitive, at worst absolutely wrong. Hearing this idea, people might be inclined to think of a player saying "I'm gonna do X", just for the evil, restrictive mechanics to come in and say "no, you can't just do X! you first have to roll a Do X check! But you also did Y earlier, so you have to roll the Did Y Penalty Die, and if that one comes up higher than your Do X die, you have to look at this table and roll for your Doing X If You Previously Did Y Penalty! But, if you roll double on that roll..."
But like... that's not how it works. Roleplay-oriented mechanics don't exist to restrict people from roleplaying, they're there to encourage people to roleplay!
Let's go with a really good example for this: The flashback mechanic from Blades in the Dark (and games based on Blades in the Dark).
In BitD, you can declare a flashback to an earlier point in time. Could be five minutes ago, could be fifty years ago, doesn't matter. You declare a flashback, you describe the scene, you take some stress (the equivalent of damage) and now you have some kind of edge in the present, justified by what happened in the flashback. For example, in the Steeplechase campaign of the Adventure Zone podcast, there was a scene where the PCs confronted a character who ended up making a scandalous confession. One of the players declared a flashback, establishing that, just before they walked in, his character had pressed the record button on a portable recording device hidden in his inner coat pocket. Boom, now they have a recording of the confession.
How many times have you done something like this in a D&D game? How many times did your DM let you do this? I think for most players, that number is pretty low. And for two reasons:
The first, admittedly, has to do with restrictions. If you could just declare that your character actually stole the key to the door you're in front of in an off-screen moment earlier, that would be pretty bonkers. Insanely powerful. But, because BitD has specific mechanics built around flashbacks, there are restrictions to it, so it's a viable option without being overpowered.
But secondly, I think the far more prevalent reason as to why players in games without bespoke flashback mechanics don't utilize flashbacks is because they simply don't even think of them as an option. And that's another thing mechanics can do: Tell players what they (or their characters) can do!
Like, it's generally accepted that the players only control what their characters do, and the GM has power over everything else. That's a base assumption, so most players would never think of establishing facts about the larger world, the NPCs, etc. But there are games that have explicit mechanics for that!
Let's take Fabula Ultima as another example: In that game, you can get "Fabula Points" through certain means. They can then spend those points to do a variety of things. What's literally the first thing on the list of things Fabula Points let you do? "Alter the Story - Alter an existing element or add a new element." I've heard people use this to decide that one of the enemies their group was just about to fight was actually their character's relative, which allowed them to resolve the situation peacefully. I again ask: In your average D&D session, how likely is it that a player would just say "that guy is my cousin"? And if they did, how likely is it that the GM accepts that? But thanks to the Fabula Point mechanic making this an explicit option, thanks to rules explicitly saying "players are allowed to do this", it opens up so many possibilities for story developments that simply would not happen if the GM was the only one allowed to do these things.
And it's only possible because the mechanics say it is. Just how your wizard casting fireball is only possible because the mechanics say it is.
#ttrpg#ttrpgs#tabletop rpg#tabletop rpgs#blades in the dark#forged in the dark#bitd#fitd#fabula ultima
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A few readers of the current playtest draft of Eat God asked for clearer guidelines on the scope of Limit Break effects. I've tried to strike a balance between providing solid metrics and maintaining the ever so slightly reader-hostile tone of the existing text; I think I'm at least in the right ballpark with this!
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"FORIVA: The Angel Game," a Eureka: Investigative Urban Fantasy Adventure Module
This previously patreon-exclusive adventure module was just released in beta on itchio!
"FORIVA: The Angel Game" takes place in Shreveport, Louisiana, 1999, as a mysterious condition seems to have taken hold of a growing number of local children and teens, and the word on everyone’s lips is “angel.”
This is a mystery-horror adventure that you can expect to take 2-6 sessions to play through, and, in my opinion, the best piece of fiction I’ve ever written. Also, it was Actual Played by the awesome @tinytablepodcast, here is their linktree and a link to the first episode.
You can download the adventure module here. Payment is optional, but highly appreciated!
Here’s the full adventure hook under the cut.
Somewhere, a mother stares wordlessly at her hospitalized son who doesn’t recognize her, and wonders why this is happening to her family. Somewhere, a private detective smiles as his client offers a generous reward for someone–anyone–to blame for what was done to his children. Somewhere, a young girl tears down the advertisements that were covering up the missing poster of her friend.
The year is 1999, and society is equal parts optimistic and apprehensive about the new millennium. Fears of the Y2K bug are circulating, Bill Clinton is still in office, and the popularity of video arcades is on the decline.
A rash of hospitalizations and disappearances has struck in Shreveport, Louisiana*, with all of the victims so far being teenagers and children. Each case might at first seem unconnected, save for their close proximity in time to one another sending ripples throughout the community. Local news has been covering the story for days now, capitalizing on the fear and uncertainty of concerned parents, something that might seem like a distant problem to each investigator, until it strikes someone they know….
#eureka: investigative urban fantasy#eureka#eureka ttrpg#indie ttrpg#ttrpg#rpg#ttrpg tumblr#ttrpg community#indie ttrpgs#actual play#actual play podcast#ttrpg podcast#ttrpgs#urban fantasy#horror#psychological horror#tabletop rpgs#angel#paranormal#supernatural rpg#supernatural
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Tumblr 200 Word RPGs
This is a sideblog for the informal 200-word RPG jams organised by @prokopetz each November.
Next Event
2025's event will run from from 2025-11-01 through 2025-11-30; a link to the submission thread will be placed here while the event is active.
Past Events
2024 – Tumblr thread | Offsite archive (forthcoming) 2023 – Tumblr thread | Offsite archive 2022 – Tumblr thread | Offsite archive
Submission Guidelines
Each entry should be a complete, playable roleplaying game in two hundred words or fewer. Coming in lower is fine, though you're welcome to try to hit 200 words exactly if you want an extra challenge.
This is an informal game jam; entries are not curated or judged, no eligibility rules are enforced, no winners are chosen, and the organising parties explicitly refuse to define the terms "word" or "RPG". If you wish to participate, you can follow these steps:
Step 1: If you're unfamiliar with 200-word RPGs, read a bunch of previous years' entries (linked above), or browse the 200 Word RPG Challenge archives at https://200wordrpg.github.io/ to get in the proper headspace. (Note: this blog is not affiliated with the 200 Word RPG Challenge; its archives are provided for reference only.)
Step 2: Write your own 200-word RPG. If you're not sure of your word count, you can use the counter at https://200wordrpg.github.io/wordcount to check. If you disagree with how this tool defines "word", feel free to use a different counting method – adherence to the word limit is on the honour system anyway.
Step 3: Reblog the current event's main post (linked above when an event is active) and append your 200-word RPG in the reblog. Please do not submit your entry as a reblog to the post you are reading right now.
Step 4 (optional): If you wish to provide any author's notes on your entry, please place them under a "Read More" break to make it clear which part of the post is the game and which part is commentary.
Step 5 (optional): Indicate in your post whether you're okay with having your 200-word RPG archived off-site for posterity – if you don't say anything one way or the other, we'll assume the answer is "no". Please state this separately from any more general discussion of sharing or remixing permissions; don't make us guess!
Note: In previous years, we'd requested that folks refrain from discussing entries on the submission thread in order to avoid making them hard to find. Since we have a dedicated sideblog this year, that request is not being made this time around.
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Image ID: a picture of Mars and the surrounding space, shot from the surface of the moon Deimos. It has the caption “What a normal day of research on Deimos in the year 3000u. Sure hope nothing straight out of the Twilight Zone happens.” End ID.
There’s an rpg in the works called Far Field, which focuses more on the human-scale adventures of the Lancer setting. It would be an interesting system to explore some of the historical events in that universe that don’t involve mechanized warfare! There’s a lot of them to choose from, but my meme here gave me the idea for a horror campaign about first contact between humans and the multidimensional super-mind MONIST-1.
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Meguey Baker was diagnosed with breast cancer in July 2022. She's been through her first round of surgery and radiation, and is readying herself now for round 2.
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