Discover and read the best of Twitter Threads about #TTRPG
Most recents (24)
Easy:
1. These are subjects that require far higher levels of comfort and boundary respect than conventional themes.
2. These subjects attract creepshow MFs that make it ick.
3. There are games that cover it to various degrees but they aren't #DnD so they don't get press. #TTRPG
1. These are subjects that require far higher levels of comfort and boundary respect than conventional themes.
2. These subjects attract creepshow MFs that make it ick.
3. There are games that cover it to various degrees but they aren't #DnD so they don't get press. #TTRPG
If you want to explore romance in games, the first game to come to mind is Blue Rose by @GreenRoninPub. This is some romantic fantasy inspired action built on the AGE system. It's a good game, fun setting, and very LGBTQ+ friendly. blueroserpg.com
The other game I know of, and have gone off about before in a good way, is @bleongambetta's Pasión de las Pasiones, a telenovela based game where it's all drama and all romance all the time. With extra drama. And close ups. And shocked faces. It's great! magpiegames.com/pages/pasion
I think (and write) a lot about writing and how stories are constructed, the underlying narrative architecture which supports storytelling in general.
This is an interesting approach to laying out a dual-axis analysis.
This is an interesting approach to laying out a dual-axis analysis.
It's worth talking about why some things are popular and some things aren't, however. Whether you're talking about a #TTRPG or the short story you're trying to get placed in a magazine.
Firstly, there's a reason that when you try to think of a "Bright" story you can't – it's because they're boring as crap. If you try to read one or try to write one, you'll discover very quickly the reason why.
Story is driven by conflict.
Story is driven by conflict.
Weekend #ttrpg report for 17 June 2023. I ran an online session of my Dungeon Fantasy RPG (powered by #GURPS) game. Started with 3 player who had a cleric, a thief and a custom build that approximates a dual weapon ranger. We're doing Crypt of Krysuvik by @Marshall_SVBLP
1/🧵
1/🧵
@Marshall_SVBLP the adventure is published by @GMingBallistic. The party was in the cave network that makes up Sven's respite. After poking around a bit to finish mapping the complex (curiosity does that) they found the Foul Bat. About that time my grandson asked to play.
#ttrpg #GURPS
2/🧵
#ttrpg #GURPS
2/🧵
@Marshall_SVBLP @GMingBallistic He has a character we made last week for the game on alternate weekends so I dropped that into the VTT (foundry). The bat landed a heavy blow on the second round of combat, nearly driving the ranger to make a consciousness check. Then the thief
#ttrpg #GURPS
2/🧵
#ttrpg #GURPS
2/🧵
How do you incorporate magic & magical elements from historical sources into a #TTRPG - especially when that game is intended to have a pedagogical role?
I'll look at this through the early medieval Lombard laws, which I'm (slowly) adapting into the #LangobardRPG
#MAMG23 1/12
I'll look at this through the early medieval Lombard laws, which I'm (slowly) adapting into the #LangobardRPG
#MAMG23 1/12
Langobard is a #ttrpg where players investigate, resolve, prevent -or commit!- crimes and engage with Lombard socio-legal institutions, as outlined in the Lombard’s first written law-code, the “Edictus Rothari” (which was issued from the palace in Pavia in 643 CE)
#MAMG23 2/12
#MAMG23 2/12
Magical creatures and things appear in 4 (of 388) of Rothari's laws (& 2 of Liutprand).
A sceptic might assume that magic doesn't exist, and its medieval proponents were simply irrational or being manipulative.
So how do we engage with magic in a historical game?
#MAMG23 3/12
A sceptic might assume that magic doesn't exist, and its medieval proponents were simply irrational or being manipulative.
So how do we engage with magic in a historical game?
#MAMG23 3/12
One of my fave tricks to liven up any #TTRPG system is assigning things with "playable adjectives".
So a player doesn't pick up just any fireball spell- they get a (rolls dice) Overzealous Fireball. Or a (rolls dice) Hungry fireball.
So a player doesn't pick up just any fireball spell- they get a (rolls dice) Overzealous Fireball. Or a (rolls dice) Hungry fireball.
So what does that mean? Well, if the player can find a reason or justification that the adjective is in use, then they get a bonus.
They can also use it in a negative way to bank a bonus later.
For example, a "hungry" fireball may make them ravenous when cast, or...
They can also use it in a negative way to bank a bonus later.
For example, a "hungry" fireball may make them ravenous when cast, or...
Or perhaps the hungry fireball immediately uses all fire in the vicinity- so all torches and candles go out when it is cast.
This is on the fly, and encourages players to improvise and be creative. Players who struggle with this can just agree on bonus conditions.
This is on the fly, and encourages players to improvise and be creative. Players who struggle with this can just agree on bonus conditions.
A quick message because I think it's necessary to say. Might be a thread. We'll see.
Creators in the #TTRPG hobby.
Make the games. Stop attacking customers. Stop putting real world politics or identity garbage in those games. Stop fostering division between your audience. You
Creators in the #TTRPG hobby.
Make the games. Stop attacking customers. Stop putting real world politics or identity garbage in those games. Stop fostering division between your audience. You
are to blame for any losses you have. The most successful businesses make good products that people want to purchase. They improve those products and people will buy them again and again depending on some variables but I'll give you a couple of examples.
#TheChroniclesOfAeres is a setting and campaign for #5E and a damn good one. It's full of references to 80s fantasy and pop culture, great interesting takes, does things differently and got me into #5E where I really didn't have an interest at first. In short, worlds opened up.
There's the Scope SRD and Scope Core system build up at the Thought Punks Open Library: bit.ly/OpenPunks
Dropping soon, first game temple: The Yearning!
Gonna talk about an aspect my playtesters have seized onto: The Shattered, one of the main Lineages.
#TTRPG #IndieDev
Dropping soon, first game temple: The Yearning!
Gonna talk about an aspect my playtesters have seized onto: The Shattered, one of the main Lineages.
#TTRPG #IndieDev
There's an obvious parallel. But it's a radically different take. Things are distinctly NOT framed as "madness" and "prank" culture. And all that sprawls from that. And there's a clear reality to their experience, not a subjective claim and random GM roulette as to what's real.
Y'all know I'm not one for contrast marketing or trying to sell my stuff with criticism. But that's what is really drawing the players to it. Even people not playing them commented on it. By far the #1 point that I've gotten in feedback. The contrast is really bright to them.
Common design element for me: no combat, just conflicts & action sequences. Not a lot of difference between a stare down & a gunfight. In many of my games, even the same down to taking stress/harm. It makes even outright fights flow so differently.
#TTRPG #GameDesign #IndieDev
#TTRPG #GameDesign #IndieDev
Openness of action [including combat] as just a zoomed in version of universal mechanics is key. Battles often end with intimidation rather than a killing blow. Even regularly outright interrupted by talking to enemies, distractions, & other "non-combat" actions. It's open play.
I believe a lot of it is more player framing than mechanical. The mechanics guide the framing but its' the framing that does the heavy lifting imo. Intimidating an enemy being as effective as punching them is a rule but it changes player framing. There's also another layer too.
Bit more about The Yearning, the vampire #TTRPG template coming for Scope Core.
The initial template will come with the full details for the 4 most populous Lineages.
And I'll jump into one of the most obvious questions [and common ones received so far]:
How do they compare?
The initial template will come with the full details for the 4 most populous Lineages.
And I'll jump into one of the most obvious questions [and common ones received so far]:
How do they compare?
So let's start with the big 7.
Drop the Warlocks first. 1) No wizard vampires here. 2) Depending on POV, blood magic available to all or all vampiric magic is blood magic here.
It was an easy choice that wasn't even a choice. They just never got an analogue as it built.
Drop the Warlocks first. 1) No wizard vampires here. 2) Depending on POV, blood magic available to all or all vampiric magic is blood magic here.
It was an easy choice that wasn't even a choice. They just never got an analogue as it built.
The closest 1-to-1 is The Shattered for the Seers/Kooks. One major contrast is they're not about insanity and there's no gamified mental illness. They just actually see layers of reality and threads of fate. Also illustrates the overall vamp vibe aimed for with weaknesses.
We got Pinkertons being sent after people for unboxing videos, streaming fandoms going to war, and several instances of massive accounts sending harassment after relative nobodies.
And that was just my glimpse. Please for the love of all things holy tell me indie #TTRPG is OK.
And that was just my glimpse. Please for the love of all things holy tell me indie #TTRPG is OK.
Because I'm seriously afraid to look after the D&D peek.
OK, so people saw the dice pools in Scope, the main stat + skills in Scope SRD, and know there's a vampire game template. And so people have some questions about similarities and differences to the obvious comparison. Let's explore in a thread! 🧵
#TTRPG #IndieGameDev #Vampire
#TTRPG #IndieGameDev #Vampire
Starting off at the top, there is a functional character concept as you would expect in a Cypher or Fate. This is part of the basic Scope SRD.
Also player-facing with a PC-relative scale. No "objective" stats. NPCs instead have modifiers for PC rolls.
Two big differences!
Also player-facing with a PC-relative scale. No "objective" stats. NPCs instead have modifiers for PC rolls.
Two big differences!
Some other concepts & design perspective covered in the Scope SRD, along with the core mechanic and basic character structure. Give it a read if you're into #TTRPG #GameDesign and want a "modernized retro" framework inspired by 80s/90s RPGs. [🧵 continues]
open.thoughtpunks.com/library-text/s…
open.thoughtpunks.com/library-text/s…
imagine those dice pool games from the 80s & 90s.
Now imagine instead of traditional design, they were modern style player-facing.
That's the key "modernized retro" heart of Scope.
DriveThru reference PDFs and a fleshed out core build coming soon!
#TTRPG #IndieDev
Now imagine instead of traditional design, they were modern style player-facing.
That's the key "modernized retro" heart of Scope.
DriveThru reference PDFs and a fleshed out core build coming soon!
#TTRPG #IndieDev
Scope Core has proved especially interesting to some of my readers and testers because while overall it is a much lighter/tighter system than its closest comparison, some aspects are actually more complex. Turned out pleasant surprise, thankfully! Unexpected but cool.
Big classic had trad physical health. Spiritual/mental health offloaded to a fiddly resource/resistance stat.
Scope Core uses 3 distinct health ladders [basically physical, mental, spiritual], each with a penalty track. Down on one track, unable to act *in that category*.
Scope Core uses 3 distinct health ladders [basically physical, mental, spiritual], each with a penalty track. Down on one track, unable to act *in that category*.
It's after midnight, so I've got trashy x-rated movies queued up and I'm charging up with raunchy music.
Speaking of which, should I make it through this tight housing spot, who's interested in a mondo video vibe midnight show channel?
#TTRPG #streaming
Speaking of which, should I make it through this tight housing spot, who's interested in a mondo video vibe midnight show channel?
#TTRPG #streaming
It would be a variety channel with, well, a variety of programming.
The starting programming will focus on:
Surreal, b-movie, and "adult" games.
Occult streamers and discussions.
Room for guests & mini-series in the punk, grime, street, & after-hours sphere.
The starting programming will focus on:
Surreal, b-movie, and "adult" games.
Occult streamers and discussions.
Room for guests & mini-series in the punk, grime, street, & after-hours sphere.
I've just found there are actually web-based streaming options that will work for me. And I feel we could use a little more subculture in our subculture. *I* want to see more content like that. And I find that I may be able to do that in coming months.
1/20 Let’s look at the budget of a TTRPG project and break it down! Hope it’s helpful and you release lots of cool TTRPG stuff! I also hope it helps ensure paying collaborators fairly (or even great)!
#DND #DND5e #TTRPG #Pathfinder #GameBudget #GameDesign #RPG #GameDevelopment
#DND #DND5e #TTRPG #Pathfinder #GameBudget #GameDesign #RPG #GameDevelopment
2/20 Here’s a sample budget, based on the brilliant @jefftidball’s Budget Template v1.1:
• Google Doc: bit.ly/3lIrP3T
• Excel: bit.ly/3Kc2hW8
So start with a title. Easy enough.
Thanks to the late Brian Dalrymple for sharing this so many moons ago.
• Google Doc: bit.ly/3lIrP3T
• Excel: bit.ly/3Kc2hW8
So start with a title. Easy enough.
Thanks to the late Brian Dalrymple for sharing this so many moons ago.
3/20 So first things first—the word count expenses. Unless your project is stock art or maps, this is likely the most important expense. Let’s say you think there will be 800 words per page, without art. Let’s say 10,000 words total. It will then calculate…
Alright, I've been asked to signal boost this situation, so I'm going to do what I can... #ttrpg
There is a C&D that was sent to the legal rep of a Chinese dice maker on behalf of Hasbro/WotC. I've seen the letter, but don't want to put myself at risk sharing it. [1/x]
There is a C&D that was sent to the legal rep of a Chinese dice maker on behalf of Hasbro/WotC. I've seen the letter, but don't want to put myself at risk sharing it. [1/x]
As you can tell, this group is using the words "Mind Flayer" to describe these dice, which we have operated under the assumption is something WotC has the total legal ownership of and we can't touch in any way except under certain licenses.
[3/x]
[3/x]
It's solo RPG writing week this week! I'm working on and off stream on a new #ttrpg based on the #HintsandHijinx system by @PandionGames! MWF, 5PM EST. More info in the replies!
@PandionGames The game I will be working on is heavily inspired by Star Trek. While exploring a distant planet, something weird happens and you have to figure out what is going on. Working title: "Strange Voyages."
My goal is for the game to be replayable and open ended so that you're not just solving the same mystery over and over again. Again, the episodic nature of star Trek is a perfect inspiration for this.
Dear @DnDBeyond,
I've restarted my #DnDBeyond Auto-Subscription.
But I want to add feedback I was unable to give in the survey (it bugged out). This is going to be quite a thread with praise and critique for you and some explanation into why and how and what to expect.
1/20
I've restarted my #DnDBeyond Auto-Subscription.
But I want to add feedback I was unable to give in the survey (it bugged out). This is going to be quite a thread with praise and critique for you and some explanation into why and how and what to expect.
1/20
You yourselves know best the kind of disaster the #OGL 1.1 / 1.2 / 2.0 rollout was. This has cost you A LOT of goodwill with the community and turned swathes of us permanently away from your products.
But you've decided to do better. Thank you for that.
2/20
But you've decided to do better. Thank you for that.
2/20
I'm sure you received lots of feedback and combed through the noise on social media and in your survey. But after not being able to take that survey, I'd like to add my 2 cents and a little extra to the voices, maybe it'll help you make better, yet profitable decisions.
3/20
3/20
Here, here. Rather than debating the OGL 1.0's revokability maybe we should take WotCs hint that they want a bigger slice of the hobby they overwhelmingly dominate and move on to other games and systems. Maybe we should let 1/#dnd #ttrpg #DoneDND
pcgamer.com/dungeons-and-d…
pcgamer.com/dungeons-and-d…
WotC keep all their versions of the OGL and move on to the myriad of other wonderful existing games or those that will rise out of this mess. Maybe it's time to let WotC's hubris dethrone the king. IMO there are too many awesome games to continue allowing D&D to be the hobby's 2/
primary ambassador. For those looking for other games to break the Dragon's stranglehold on the hobby check out my ongoing list of #100ttrpgsIdRatherPlay/3
Let me tell you a story about fighting dragons and how #WotC and @Wizards_DnD don't understand NFTs, or perhaps they do, and wish to keep them all to themselves.
Time to go on an adventure 🧵
Time to go on an adventure 🧵
First a bit of background for those who don't know me. I'm the co-founder and CEO of @Gripnr. We're bringing #TTRPG to the blockchain, starting with our first game world, @The_Glimmering
I've never had more fun building a company, but it's not been without its detractors.
I've never had more fun building a company, but it's not been without its detractors.
After building The Glimmering for nearly 6 months, mostly in private, we got some attention right as we were about to formally announce the project and launch our site, theglimmering.com
Random things I need less of in a #ttrpg I'm hosting:
1/5 A part of play that's an isolated exchange of repetitive rolls where the action is defined in slow motion and even nothing might be happening. Like, what's a combat and why does it have to be like this in every game?
1/5 A part of play that's an isolated exchange of repetitive rolls where the action is defined in slow motion and even nothing might be happening. Like, what's a combat and why does it have to be like this in every game?
2/5 Design challenges that the author has chucked over the fence to the person hosting that #ttrpg by giving advice instead of tools. "Hey, the game has this problem, so don't let it happen, ok?" I'm sorry, who bought for this book? So why am I doing your work for you?
3/5 Weak reading experience. Let's not have another large heavy tome with glossy reflective pages, small thin text, counterproductive illustrations and a page count that's more about fixed printing costs than adding value to the reader hoping to play this #ttrpg
So some people have been having fun embracing an hour of chaos with Anarchy Goat. One thing people keep mentioning is that it vibes like I got the bugs in those Goat & Goose games meshed in. A couple asked for #TTRPG design advice.
Honestly? It's both purposeful AND accidental.
Honestly? It's both purposeful AND accidental.
*For me*, I have a strong sense of "vibes" and aesthetic in the art I enjoy. So for me, it comes down to starting with a strong sense of what genre, themes, and just general aesthetic I'm going for. What is the core concept? How do I initially imagine it playing out?
For this there was a conversation here that spurred me on. Plus I generally like wild chaos games and animal stuff. Like I made an Everyone Is John hack called Just A Normal Human about a horde of critters pretending to be human. So, right in my weird lane [embrace *your* weird].
A propos, London in the plague year is an amazing setting for a #ttrpg, especially horror
I developed a whole World of Darkness setting for it once; ran a ratkin game, but it's also perfect for vampires, mages and wraiths.
I developed a whole World of Darkness setting for it once; ran a ratkin game, but it's also perfect for vampires, mages and wraiths.
You have the plague itself - and the dichotomy/juxtaposition between the mystical/religious and scientific worldviews (neither of which has reliable answers, at this point).
You have huge political tensions: the very recent restoration of the monarchy, landowners vs mercantile wealth, the invasion of Ireland, relations with Scotland, Protestantism Vs Catholicism.
Unpacking a whole lot of data around #dungeonsanddragons
Last week I wasn't expecting to study the implosion of the Dungeons & Dragons brand owned by Wizards of the Coast and Hasbro Gaming.
#Hasbro #wotc #criticalrole #wizardsofthecoast #dnd5e #dnd #ttrpg #pathfinder
Last week I wasn't expecting to study the implosion of the Dungeons & Dragons brand owned by Wizards of the Coast and Hasbro Gaming.
#Hasbro #wotc #criticalrole #wizardsofthecoast #dnd5e #dnd #ttrpg #pathfinder
As a company Wizards of the Coast did over a billion dollars in revenue last year.
After one week of brand damage millions of dollars have been shaved off this revenue and it appears to be getting worse day by day. It will likely evolve into double-digit percentages.
After one week of brand damage millions of dollars have been shaved off this revenue and it appears to be getting worse day by day. It will likely evolve into double-digit percentages.
Just on Youtube there were 500+ videos covering the topic this week. Fan creators and influencers generated over 10M views across hundreds of videos that generated millions of hours of view time and 110K+ comments spreading to every other platform.
WotC's move to end #OpenDnD has created an uproar among fans, and a lot of people are blaming the corporate suits at Hasbro. Here are some thoughts from a former corporate suit, and how I'd try to use business arguments to convince other execs not to "de-authorize" the OGL. 1/🧵
And to be clear, I never worked at Hasbro. But I did work for three of their key competitors: Mattel, Spin Master, and Moose Toys. In fact, my last big career choice was whether to become the President of @bwisegames or pursue a VP-level position at Hasbro. 2/🧵
I'd start by pointing out what's obvious to fans: that making D&D "open source" took it from around 50% market share in the year 2000 to 85% in 2022. In a highly fragmented market, the #OGL incentivized potential competitors to play *with* D&D rather than against Wizards. 3/🧵
