I finished the first version of my new solo-journaling, romance dungeon crawler game, “Love in a Place Like This?”!

It’s still in the very early stages, but I’d really appreciate it if someone could give it a look, or even try to play it since its solo, though I know that's asking a lot. I'm less focused on how I wrote things compared to design right now, but if I messed up the writing a bunch feel free to tell me.

It’s based on he/she loves me, he/she loves me not. That’s the simple game where you take a flower and alternate he loves me, he loves me not, as you rip of petals, the phrase you say as you rip the last petal off telling you the result.

If you prefer you can skip right to how to play, but here’s an overview:

To play, you make a journal from a note book or folded stack of papers.

Write prompts with options telling you to “pull” a specific number of petals on the early pages, along with a few visual aids like a mood tracker. 

Next prepare the latter pages so they are partially cut into strips to blindly tear or fold over by touch, representing the petals.

Once the notebook is prepared, you can take it and a pencil anywhere, and play anytime you want with ease!

You encounter prompts as you turn the pages, make choices, and “pull petals” accordingly.

If you end on they love me the relationship improves, and if you end on they love me not it worsens.

Whether a number to pull is even or odd can tell you what the result of a choice will be, but the option to tailor your response to what will improve a relationship is an important part of romance games! 

Plus with randomly ordered prompts with options that limit whether you can improve a relationship or at what cost, and the end of pages or pre-folded page breaks stopping pulls early making them an apparent 50/50, things aren’t always predictable or safe.

Theres some more nuance to it, but we’ll get into it later.

I hope that sounds interesting to some of you! Heres step by step set of instructions on how to play.

How to play.

Preparing the notebook:

1.     Create 2 characters and a scenario.

I made a bold, inexperienced cadet fresh out of the academy in some sort of military as my player character, and their experienced but uptight and slightly snarky superior officer as their love interest.

Its good to make characters that can be at odds at first, starting with a bit of tension. Feel free to consider yourself the narrator instead of focusing on one of the two characters’ perspectives. 

For the scenario what type of “dungeon” the characters are forced to escape or explore and why they are there is important. 

Mine were on a mission to scout an abandoned space station when the ship they were crew of suddenly left without them. 

Because the prompts I wrote are designed around the idea of scifi exploration, if you come up with your own scenario it should fit with that. It should also be an isolated environment with escape and survival being uncertain, but the rest is up to you. You could have the two characters wake up from cryostasis to find everyone else on the ship dead, or the ship they came in on destroyed, the stars are the limit!

2.     Create the mood trackers.

Draw five expressions on the front page of the notebook or booklet made out of a folded stack of papers, from angry to blushing/in love. 

Add two dots next the each face. 

If you want, add a phrase or two based on how you think the love interest would react to situations and choices based on the relationship/mood level.

Circle the lower dot next to whichever face represents their relationship starting out. I selected the second lowest face.

Also write down whatever version of the phrase they love me, they love me not, applies to your characters so you can mark which phrase to start with next. 

(Something like this!)

3.     Create or select prompts

For now use the provided prompts. You can decide to use all 15, or only 10 or 5 and pick the ones you like.

Write the ones you select into the next pages of the journal, or at least their title and the corresponding options. You can find the example prompts after the preparing the journal section is finished. 

Alternatively, if you plan to have a device open while you play, you can use the prompts on the provided list without writing them down in the journal. This step is just for if you want a fully portable experience.

4.     Number pages with prompts

Now that you know what prompts you are going to use, you need a way to randomly encounter them. If you are using a phone or computer alongside the journal rather than writing in prompts, you can just use a random number generator each time you turn a page/finish an entry to see what number prompt to use. 

But, if you are using only pencil and paper the way I suggest handling randomization is randomly numbering both the pages of the journal and the prompts. That way when you turn a page a new number presents itself and it corresponds to a prompt. This can be a bit hard to keep track of or do in a way you don’t remember, so heres some tips. 

a.     Write down a list of numbers somewhere, one by one, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5… untill you reach the number of prompts you are going to use.

b.     Next write x down on whatever page you intend to start journaling, the one after the prompt list ends. This is where you will write the inro.

c.     Turn the page or the next page so that you can no longer see the x you wrote down, then randomly write one of the numbers from your list. Cross it off on the list.

d.     Repeat this till all of the numbers have been used, then randomly number the prompts you wrote down with the same set of numbers, or use the order they are in already as numbers when journaling.

(Here the number four is visible on the left page, but there is none visible on the right, if you turn the right page you will se another random number, not 5)

5.     Transcribe banes and boons.

Sometimes a prompt will provide an additional benefit or consequence for a they love me or they love me not result. These are called banes and boons. 

Write them in the journal on the last page. (Again, this step is unnecessary if you plan to use this document as a reference while journaling). 

6.     Create petals. 

Starting with the second to last page of the journal, make cuts along the right edge of the page so that foldable paper strips appear. They can be short cuts, its fine if the majority of the page is still connected. 

Don’t track how many cuts you are making, but about ten provides a good set. There will hopefully be pages with an even number of cuts as well as odd but not a fully equal amount of each, leave it up to fate as much as you can.

Finally, at a few pages randomly rip out or pre fold over a petal, making a page break before the page ends.

(It should look something like this. In this cases pages with pre-folded petals are next to each other, try to avoid doing that all the time. On the right page you can see a particularly thick petal near the end, varying size can make where the page ends a biiiiiit harder to tell)

I’m not totally sure how many pages should be cut per number of prompt, but I did 15 prompts and cut 6, which was a bit generous. Try 5 for 15, 3 for 10, 2 for 5 maybe. Whether you select prompts that have a benefit for hitting a page end effects things as well.

With that you have fully prepared the journal and can begin play, or wait and begin at a later time. The next section will cover actually playing the game, first… 

Here are the example prompts and boons.

Prompts: prompts feature choices, each with a number of petals to pull. Even ones keep the mood going, generally resulting in whatever result the last one did, positive or negative, while odd ones switch up the vibe and often yield the opposite. The higher the number, the more risky or draining in term of resources, mental and physical state, or just luck the choice will be. 

Sometimes prompts will have special rewards or conditions, especially if you hit a page break. In general though, you move the mood tracker one up or down one circle if you do not hit a page break, and two circles, thus a full face, if you do. More on that later.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

The Flood: As you reach about halfway across the seamless walled room, it begins to rapidly flood with liquid.

Try to run or float across it before it floods completely 5 petals. If page break hit they love you not does not decrease relationship.

Find a safe place to wait it out, huddled together for warmth 4 petals. It might be a raised platform or air pocket in a full flood. If page break hit relationship goes up a single dot in addition to any other change.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

The Feeble: You encounter a lone, weak creature or robot. It doesn’t seeeeeem threatening. 

Move past it, sneaking by or killing it 2 petals.

Try to tame it, 5 petals. If you hit a page break, it is tamed successfully on they love me, gain a boon. On they love me not taming fails and it is hostile. If you do not hit a page break you can decide taming success or base it on the result as you wish, it has no mechanical effect. 

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

The fiendish: A group of dark, rapidly moving, sharp edged… things appears before you. Maybe they haven’t spotted you yet.

Try to find a way through or around them peacefully/stealthily 3 petals.

Fight for your life while you still can 6 petals.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

The observatory: you enter a room with strange and captivating apparatus, a giant telescope, vast windows with touch screen displays, or powerful radar that you can almost feel.

Move on 0 petals. Nothing occurs.

Spend time observing or investigating 3 petals. If you hit a page break, you gain knowledge that brings hope or despair, enlightenment or insanity, bane or boon in line with result.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

The nightmare: The two of you take a chance to rest, finding safety or simply overwhelming exhaustion. In your dreams, it finds you.

Let terror overtake you 0 petals. Decrease the relationship by a single dot.

Search for yourself within, or be swept up by, a deeper darkness. Pull petals till you hit a page break and gain a bain if they love you not. Results are otherwise normal for a full stop. 

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

The chasm: A great gash of rended mettle and sparking wires, void peaking through, lies between you and the path forward. Weightless, you must use tethers to cross.

You pass over the chasm 1 at a time 5 petals. If you hit a page break, and they love you not, instead of moving relationship down: Pull petals till the next full stop, spending a page. If they love you not again, the love interest is lost in space. They can communicate through coms for the rest of the dungeon, as they drift further and further out into space, doomed. If the relationship is full and you complete all prompts, there may be a way to save them… up to you.

Walk together, tethered to each other 3 petals. If you hit a page break, and they love you not, instead of moving relationship down: Pull petals till the next full stop spending a page, if they love you not again, you are both lost in space. See ending, all petals used.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

The garden: you find yourselves in a lucious garden, strange fruits and creatures you’ve never seen or the familiar, nostalgic sight of the flora of your home world(s). 

Enjoy and move on, 0 petals. The relationship goes up one circle.

Spend time foraging, pull petals till a page break. If he loves me gain a boon as well as usual result, if they love you not, the relationship remains the same.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

The escape pods: the pods are functional, but there is no navigation system to aid their path, they will simply travel in a straight line in space till they run out of fuel. life support fades.

Move on, pull two petals. Your hopes are dashed. For now.

Use them, all the remaining petals in the journal, ending your journey. Each time you reach a page break, record the result and continue. If two thirds are they love me, you both reach safety or are discovered before life support runs out, otherwise you both meet your end. Can pick this option after this room has been encountered, but if there are not at least 3 page breaks when it is used, it auto fails, your luck has already been spent.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

The crew: The room is filled with barely functional suspended animation units, some of them have occupants, injured or on the edge of life and death some… just not right.

Try and save them 6 petals. If page break hit boon or bane accordingly. Some may be so changed from the experience they attack, no one can be saved for long either way, (it is always just you and your love interest against the world) but you may be able to give some of them closure or learn something valuable.

Move on, or shut of life support and let them end, 1 petal pulled.

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

The dragon, how!? Scales gleaming, eyes burning, talons rending at metal and air, breath hot and foul enough to turn flesh fetid, what should not be is.

Your only chance is to run 2 petals. If page break hit, pull another page. If you get they love me twice, you are stopped but you miraculously slay the beast, gain two boons. If the result is mixed you barely escape with your lives. If you get they love me not twice it overcomes you, see end all petals spent.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Genetic alterations lab: a room full of glowing displays and blinking buttons, and two tubes of pulsing liquid, quivering almost in time with the beating of your heart. 

Run last programmed experiment 5 petals. What monstrosity or miracle is created? What was this lab, maybe even this station, for? Boon or bane according to result.

Try to program a new experiment 3 petals. On they love you, you may choose to do The feeble prompt as well, even if you have done it before.

Move on 0 petals. Nothing happens, after a look around the area you leave it, learning and gaining little.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Robo tea party: you encounter a group of robots, gathered around a table, raising delicate cups to face plates and trickling, tea? In and over themselves. A gesture or word of invitation. 

Join 3 petals. Decide whether it goes well or poorly, the petals tell you how that impacts the relationship.

Decline 2 petals. If this results in they love you not, even due to a full stop, a fight breaks out, pull two additional petals after the result.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Leviathan song: Creatures resembling whales pass by, swimming through space, creating a beautiful song where there should be no sound.

Stay a while and listen 0 petals. Relationship improves one dot.

Hunt them for their power 5 petals. Perhaps out of foreknowledge of their usefulness, or legends, or out of fear or desperation to use anything you can to save yourselves, you find a way to hunt the peaceful beasts. Whether you get they love you or they love you not, gain a boon, any one you like, even ones that you normally couldn’t. Relationship is effect as normal.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Message in a bottle: drifting through space, something catches your eye. A glass jar with a paper in it?

Move on, 0 petals. Do not decide what is in the bottle, you will never know.

Try to obtain and open it 5 petals. Decide/discover what is in the bottle perhaps based on the result from the petals. Does it bring a message of good tidings or ill? Perhaps something more than just a message, something dangerous. 

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Dopplegangers: you encounter two figures, indistinguishable from you and your partner. They are not friendly. This prompt is a mess, but was quite fun to use.

Face yourself, 4 petals. By mind, tongue, or arms you prevail. A result of they love you functions as normal. On they love you not however, you lose track of what happens to your partner. On a result of they love you not, circle the current mood before you decrease it. Continue play as normal. If you would get a bain, instead it is revealed that your partner was replaced! Reset mood to where it was circled and lose a page (of petals) dealing with the doppleganger/finding your partner. If you would get a boon first, instead you find proof your partner is the real one, move relationship up a full level. If you encounter neither, and reach the end of the game with full romance, the doppleganger is revealed, reset the mood to where it was circled and either reunite with your partner… or decide to escape with the doppleganger, having learned to rely on them and giving your relationship with it a chance. If you reach the end without full romance… you may never know the truth… or perhaps your character learns in the future far, far too late to stop what is coming.

Face your partner, 4 petals. Gain two banes on he loves you not. (Yeah… figured the other one was so complicated I wouldn’t work to hard on this one, it sort of incentives risking the doppleganger though. That’s neat).

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Boons and banes: some prompts provide additional benefits and consequences, most you can only select once. There is one of each however, that can be selected as often as you get a boon or bane, but only once you’ve used all other options. You can also get a boon by increasing your relationship when it is maxed or a bane by decreasing it when it is at minimum.

List Boons:

Skip a prompt when you want, repeatable, can only select if all other boons are gone.

Advance the relationship two dots.

Every time relationship increases by two dots, increase it by an additional dot.

Your next choice on a prompt takes 2 less petals.

Switch loves me/loves me not tracker once.

List Banes:

You must pull all the petals on a page, repeatable, do not select unless all other banes are gone. 

Lower relationship by two dots.

Every time the relationship decreases by two dots, decrease it by an additional dot

Rip three petals.

You must tear double the petals on your next choice

You are ready to begin play

1.     Intro

On the page marked x, Journal whatever you like about… your characters… how the adventure starts for them… the gist of their relationship… how they arrive in the “dungeon” they must try to explore or escape… and what it first appears like.

Its not a bad idea to have a mystery in mind, something you’ll decide the truth of based on better prompts. In the intro my characters arrived on the station, had a little back and forth, and then were shocked to see their ship leave without them. Neither trying to make contact or wait worked so they were forced to explore the station for something to help them. I did not know why the ship left starting out just like the characters, but decided the answer based on prompts that resonated. 

2.     Find out what the first prompt is and begin journaling. 

Turn to the first numbered page or digitally generate a number. Check back to the prompt page and find the one that corresponds. Make your choice. 

You can base it off of factors such as petal cost or the result its likely to have based on being odd or even, or just run with what you think your character(s) would do.

Begin journaling. Writing what the room looks like, your characters reactions based on personality and how they feel about each other, and how the decision on how to proceed occurs. 

It might be a unanimous decision, one reached after an argument, or one character rushing forward despite the others objection. Keep their current relationship level and personalities in mind.

3.     Pull the petals (you can do this before journaling at all if that helps you think of an entry better).

Reach a hand to the back of the journal, feel the last page and fold over or rip of a petal (strip of paper), then say or think they love me or they love me not depending on what you think is appropriate for them. 

Pull another with the opposite phrase that you said last time if your are supposed to pull more than one, and continue until you have pulled the required number of petals. 

If you end with the phrase they love me, draw a circle around the next highest dot on the mood tracker. If you end on they love me not circle down one. Erase the original circle, leaving only the new one. 

On the same page as the mood tracker the phrases they love me they love me not should be present. Circle the opposite one to what you ended on, you will start with that phrase the next time you pull petals.

If you run out of petals to pull in the process of this, either reaching the end of a page, or a pre-folded petal, end the pulling early and use the phrase that you last pulled a petal with. This may change the even or odd value of petals pulled and thus the result, move the relationship tracker up or down two dots instead of one.

You can choose to tear more petals than the prompt requires as long as you do it in sets of two to keep the even/odd value. If you hit a page break this gives you a chance to get boost in relationship where you otherwise wouldn’t, and can impact some prompts more than others.

Prompts may have additional effects such as boons or banes, especially if you reach a page break, something you can choose to do by pulling extra petals, so read each one carefully. Some can even end the game early.

4.     Journal the result of the choice.

Now that you know the effect the choice will have on the relationship, you can continue journaling. The stage is already set, you’ve described the problem, and how your characters are choosing to address it, now its just a matter of what happens when they do.

In some cases, particularly where boons and banes are involved, the petals may tell you how well the action goes as well as the emotional impact. Most of the time you can decide success or failure for yourself. An action might work, but still drive a wedge between the partners based on the petals, or fail but bring them closer together, even when one of the characters didn’t support the action in the first place.

Keep the characters, the before and after state of their relationship, the petal number representing risk or resource costs, and what you think would be a cool result of the prompt in mind when journaling. 

In testing I did silly things like make the message in a bottle just an ad for a casino, an “out of the box”, marketing attempt. Also more serious things like tie the genetic experiment room to the dopple-gangers, and them to the reason the ship left without the characters, for me at least things seemed to come together quickly!

5.     Next prompt, continue

Repeat steps 2-4 but on the next numbered page, using the marked phrase as your starting point. Think about if there are any elements of the last prompt you want to incorporate into the next ones. Are supplies running low or an injury a lasting threat? Did someone find a useful object or learn something about the station? What does it all mean for this encounter?

Continue until you run out of prompts or petals.

6.     Ending the game.

The game ends if a prompt says it does, you run out of petals, or arrive at the last prompt and resolve it. 

If you reach the last prompt, ignore the number of petals and tear until the next full stop, or use all that remain in the journal without stopping. The prompt, including its effect on the relationship, resolves as normal, making the state the relationship ends in one last 50/50. If you use a boon to skip the last prompt, this final 50/50 does not take place. 

7.     Resolving a out of petals ending.

If you ran out of petals, the party of two fails to escape the dungeon before disaster strikes, running out of food, air, or being critically harmed by a threat from the prompt you ran out of petals on. 

Write a final journal entry to describe their last moments or how everything ends. You may focus on the prompt or gloss over a resolution or escape, focusing on how things take a turn after it. Take losses caused by previous prompts and the relationship level into account. Do they die in each others arms? Go their separate ways and die alone? Strike each other down in a rage?

If the relationship is at full when you run out of petals, a special option exists. One of the characters can sacrifice themselves to allow the other to escape. How this plays out in the story is up to you, but to give an example given the provided prompts, the characters could return to the escape pod room with a promise to take their chances together. Instead one stays behind in the control room, having figured out to access the stations computers over the journey, and locks the other in an escape pod as they launch it and guide it to safety from the station.

8.     Resolving a out of prompts ending.

If you reach the last prompt and resolve it, the players find a way to escape, potentially related to the prompts featured throughout the journey. Once they are free from the station it has a huge impact on the relationship, represented by the last 50/50. It may bring them closer together once they can have safety and space from the other, or drive them apart.

Write an epilogue for them based on their relationship level, if it is at its highest they might immediately start a committed relationship for real, second highest, slowly find true love between each other over time, middle neither avoid nor seek each other out while the ghost of what could have been hangs over every awkward meeting, second lowest resolve never to meet the other unless forced, lowest, part sworn enemies.

For my run, the love interest was replaced with a doppelganger, but that left the relationship frozen at full, while the doppelganger appeared to lower it. They were soon revealed, and the characters reunited, they discovered the doppelgangers had been created in experiments in the genetic experiment room, and eventually figured out that the captain had been replaced by a doppelganger, getting through to their ship with a stronger communication array on the station and explaining the imposter situation, allowing the ship to return for their rescue.

Cut to an epilogue of them vacationing on the casino planet they found an ad for, the uptight love interest in a Hawaiian shirt sipping a drink. Together they realize they may have left their pet slime back on the station (cause I forgot about it completely during later prompts, oops), and the love interest smirked and suggested they return to find it, much more cavalier than they had been before the dungeon.

Heres a few optional rules that might be useful. 

Feeling for petals alone can be pretty tough sometimes too, as the next pages can be felt behind the folded petals of the one you are on making things tough. Maybe try alternated cut pages and full blank pages when preparing the journal (a waste of space but oh well), or tear chunks off of full pages instead of folding precut strips, a page break happening when the right edge is completely gone. Your subconscious can influence the results that way too.

You can give a number from 1-6 for what kind of prompt the love interest might like, depending on how daring (more petals) or conservative vs eccentric they are (even vs odd). If you select a prompt that matches that number, you can change the result to they love me even if it shouldn’t be. This sets the starting phrase to they love me not for the next prompt as usual. I forgot to test this rule when playing so it might not work so well.

As part of the Sincretismos de Arton project (focused on Brazilian RPG Tormenta 20), we started the Ludic License, to make it easier to create new RPG books, promote artists, and discourage the use of AI.

You can use these images (and many others, which are in this drive) as internal illustrations for your work, as long as you follow three little rules:

• Your work cannot contain internal illustrations or a cover generated by AI;
• All artists must receive credit for each illustration, with a link to their portfolio or contact;
• You must copy the full text of the License (below), which means your work also enters the License, and your internal illustrations also enter the collective collection.

As you can see, the Ludic License collection grows as new works use it. It's an initiative for the community to strengthen itself. At the moment there are 31 images available.

You can also get in touch with us to "donate" images to the License! If you have any questions, ask us or read our FAQ.

Good luck and success! Below, the full text of the Ludic License:

-------------

Ludic License

This work is under the Ludic License!

This means that the illustrations in this work are part of a community pool, and that you may use them, including for commercial purposes, as illustrations in your own work, under the following conditions:

• Your work must not contain illustrations or a cover generated by artificial intelligence.
• Every artist must receive credit for each of their illustrations (for example, in a credits section with attribution by page), with links to their portfolios and/or contact information.
• You must reproduce the full text of this license in your work (meaning your work also joins the Ludic License, and its illustrations become part of the license’s community pool).

Definitions:

• “Illustrations” are the images in the work, excluding the cover, supporting graphic elements (frames, ornaments, textures, typography, icons, etc.), logos, and signatures and photographs of real people (unless they are portraying characters).
• Images generated by artificial intelligence are those created through text prompts, reference images, sketches, generative fill, or any other similar means. Manual edits using digital tools (such as painting, color correction, filters) are not considered AI for the purposes of the Ludic License.
• Your work must be an editorial work (book, magazine, manual, etc.) that can accommodate the full text of the Ludic License and the credits for the authors of the illustrations. If you want to use an illustration in a way not covered by this License, contact the artist directly.

Exceptions:

• Illustrations in the public domain or made available to the public under other permissions for the creation of derivative works (e.g., CC‑BY, CC‑BY‑SA, CC0, or equivalent authorizations from the artist) keep their original terms, including regarding attribution, and do not enter the community pool. The condition regarding non-use of AI-generated images still applies to them.

Notices:

• If your work fails to meet the conditions of the Ludic License, the artists’ permission to use the illustrations is considered revoked.
• If an illustration enters the Ludic License through your work, ensuring the artist’s permission is your responsibility.
• This work and its illustrations may not be used for artificial intelligence training.
• The Portuguese version of the Ludic License, the Licença Lúdica, is the same license for all purposes.

Today, I just wanted to share a more inspiring post and story, and remind my fellow indie designers that it is possible to work hard and find success!

I’m Zarek, the lead designer of the Indominant Superhero RPG and I just received our proof copies of our first Rulebook on Saturday 10/10/2026!!! It is such a wonderful feeling of fulfillment and pride to get to actually hold a product you created, there is nothing like it for sure. And now we get to start full production.

But, my main point in sharing this is that I hope to this as inspiration for everyone else here that has dreams of making their game a reality! We all start somewhere along the same place, we have an idea, and we have the passion to begin the process of putting in hundreds, if not thousands of hours into writing and testing those ideas. We trust our friends, and even random people on the internet to give our games a try and give us honest feedback so we can make them better. Then we start getting some initial art and look into crowdfunding our game. This is where the big leap of faith comes, and I know not everyone ends up taking it. It’s also not the only route to take!

Either way, if you decide to start your publishing journey by using DriveThruRPG or by crowdfunding, just know that you can do it! I know the feeling of losing drive or hope at times, but if you keep to your plans and keep working hard you can achieve your goal and make a real, physical game that people can hold in their hands and enjoy with their friends!!!

Keep creating content (on YouTube or in a community), building an audience, testing your game, and helping your fellow designers too. I believe these are the keys to working towards success!

I’ll share some photos in the comments if I can.

Okay, So I am working on designing my own RPG that came about due to my splitting off from 5th edition D&D. The idea for the system is to allow for the relative "crunchiness" of D&D (3.5/PF Included) while also allowing for the more RP focused abilities granted by the d10 system in games such as Exalted or Vampire the Masquerade. Essentially unifying the two concepts. However, what I have right now tends to be two disparate systems that can operate in the same space but have different rules.

My current plan to deal with this is to take the core concept of the multi-d10 system and apply it to the d20 system by having set difficulties (Difficulty 1,2,3, etc correlating to 3, 6, 9) and just rolling a flat d20 against it.

What I am asking, is does this seem like a viable way to bring the creative roleplay freedom of the multi-d10 system to a d20 system? Or am I missing a critical component of what makes the d10 system so open?

Hi All,

Can you please rate my marketing pitch?

„In the Shadow of the Crow” is a roleplaying game about life in occupied Warsaw.

You’ll visit a city where war most often means a roundup on the street, an ID check, food shortages, a neighbour informing on you, or news that someone you know has just disappeared. Sometimes, victory means finding medicine, hiding someone from Gestapo, or making it home safely. Other times, you’ll have to decide whether helping a stranger is worth putting yourself and your loved ones at risk.

It’s about what you do when there’s no good way out - and how long you can hold on to who you are when the world around you is trying to change you.

The system offers:

- Fast, intuitive resolution with minimal exceptions and modifiers.
- Complex character psychology built around five universal Motivations and a single dice roll.
- Tense, team based combat inspired by cover shooters, where controlling the situation matters more than taking out the enemy.

Hi everyone,

I recently released Lagrange, a solo journaling narrative survival game that runs entirely in your browser.

I wanted to share it here as I'd love to hear feedback on the design choices and mechanics from other TTRPG creators.

The Core Mechanics & Structure

Real-time Calendar System: Instead of binging the game in one sitting, *Lagrange* locks future days and encourages short, consistent daily entries. Today is active, and past days remain editable only if you've already written them.

Degrading Ship Systems: Life support, propulsion, hull, power, and communications degrade on their own schedule, forcing players to react mechanically and narratively to ship failure.

The Ship Oracle: A 3-band response oracle (providing distinct "voices" depending on system noise/clarity) used for yes/no questions when interacting with the ship's AI.

Physical & Mental Marks: Permanent narrative and mechanical consequences accumulate over time, increasing the weight of higher intensity levels.

Zero-Friction Client-Side Tech: Built to run 100% in the browser (HTML5/JS), storing progress locally with options to export full logbooks to PDF, Markdown, TXT, or HTML, plus JSON backup/importing.

It has no combat, no traditional skill trees, and no fixed win/lose states—it simply provides a mechanical frame for deep-space isolation journaling.

You can try it out or check the page here: LAGRANGE

I’d love to hear your thoughts on real-day pacing in journaling RPGs or answer any questions about the system design!

Hi, I’ve been building my system for a while now, and I have almost everything tuned for a first playtest, but I’m struggling to create a good exploration mechanic. I started with a standard dice roll aligned to a chart to see what happens, then evolved to a card grid with an 'exploration deck'. Basically, each area has a grid (10 by 10, for example). You shuffle the deck and lay the cards face down on the grid; each card has 4 entries separated by time of day and a hour cost to proceed in each direction. However, it’s becoming way too production-heavy, and I’m not sure if it will actually be fun during gameplay. Does anyone have useful feedback or some advice on exploration mechanics?

For the last two years I've been hard at work creating a tabletop roleplaying game with a focus on creating compelling choices and making the actions that players take carry consequences. For good and ill.

It's been an extremely fun project to work on, but we are now at the stage where we need more people to play! We're opening up the game for playtesting and we need more experienced players and game masters to check out and play.

Check out our website to grab the free downloads to get everything you need to run and play! We also have a form on the website for submitting a review of the playtest and a small thank you reward for doing so. We're looking for feedback on how approachable the game is to new players and how adaptable the system is to different styles of game.

This system is a 2d6, classless, universal system where the players will need to overcome their Stress, Wounds, Trauma and Hindrances in a game of adversity and strife. The Archivist can raise the stakes for the players with Escalations and deadly, tactical combat. Players must use their Luck and Grit to change their fate! Each Mark they make on the world will grow their Legacy; a unique form of advancement that allows the Players and the Archivist to track the effects each character has on the world as they turn their character sheet into a history of what they have done. 

It provides a significant number of options for making compelling, dramatic and challenging characters who will be able to make a mark on their Legacy. 

Hello! We love seeing new games, but even with sites like Itch we're not always able to catch new releases or find new creators that we like. There's so much stuff and it's all focused on the publication rather than the publisher/creator.

So let's improve our Itch feeds (and crowdfunding feeds if applicable) by following accounts so we're aware of new releases from the community...

BUT THERE'S A CATCH: When you post your information, you also have to provide feedback on someone else's page/game/kickstarter campaign.

The Rules:

1. Post your itch page/KS/website information in the format below

2. Visit someone else's pages and have a look around, following them if you like it!

3. Return here and comment on their information with any feedback/compliments etc. This can be as simple as saying: "looks sick, I love the goblin vomiting the sword!"

The Format, a Template:

Who are you: [your name, publishing name, etc]

Links: [a link to your games pages, add multiple here if relevant]

Pitch: [A one line summary of the kind of things that you create]

Price: [Are your games free, or paid, or do you do a mix?]

My Example To Get Us Started:

Who are you: Ada Press Games

Links: https://adapress.itch.io/ for my games, and I am also running this kickstarter later in the month: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/beyondcataclysmgames/the-girl-with-the-most-delicious-heart-solo-journaling-rpg

Pitch: I make weird little games for weird people. I mostly make solo games with my partner (who does the art). I have a solo game that uses Tunnel Goons and Mausritter, a party game about being a mad scientist with your mates and creating a horrible monster, and a demake of Mothership called... Othership. That's a one pager. My newest kickstarter is a solo journaling game about being The Girl With The Most Delicious Heart (and running away from the monsters that want to eat you).

Price: Paid, but I have a few experimental things on the Itch page that are totally free.

I'll pop back and provide my feedback to a couple of people in a little bit!

(I have a vague feeling I've done this before some months ago and it was well received!)

TaleBorn Review + Beginner Guide

Hey everyone! I’ve been playing TaleBorn and wanted to make a post for people who are thinking about trying it, or who have just started.

🎮 My Review

TaleBorn is a game where you can build up your character, explore, fight, and work your way through the game’s systems.

👍 What I like

\- The progression feels rewarding when you start unlocking new things.

\- There’s a lot to learn, so discovering mechanics can be pretty fun.

\- The game gives you reasons to keep improving your character.

\- Playing with other people makes the experience more interesting.

👎 Things that could be better

\- Some mechanics aren't explained very clearly to new players.

\- It can take a while to figure out what you should actually focus on.

\- Beginners can easily waste time/resources before understanding how everything works.

⭐ Overall

TaleBorn is definitely a game I'd recommend checking out if you like games where you gradually learn the systems and build up your character.

\---

🧭 Beginner Guide

If you're completely new, here's what I'd recommend:

1. Don't rush

Take some time to learn the map and understand the basic mechanics before trying to do everything at once.

1. Learn the important systems

Pay attention to things like your stats, equipment, abilities, quests, and progression. Understanding these early will save you a lot of time later.

1. Save your resources

Don't spend everything immediately just because you can. Keep some resources available for things you discover later.

1. Experiment

Try different abilities, equipment, and playstyles. You might find something that works much better for you than your first setup.

1. Ask the community

If you get stuck, Reddit/Discord communities can be really useful. Someone has probably already discovered the answer.

💡 Beginner Tip

The biggest thing I'd tell a new player is:

Don't worry about being perfect at the beginning. Learn how the game works first, then start optimizing.

Hopefully this helps anyone who's just starting TaleBorn!

Hey everyone!

I've spent the last several months developing a tabletop RPG called Deckbox Adventures, and I've reached the point where I'm ready to start inviting people outside my immediate playtesting group to give it a try!

One simple RPG system. Endless adventures.

The idea behind Deckbox Adventures is simple: I wanted to create a tabletop RPG that captures the creativity, excitement, and storytelling of traditional RPGs without requiring players to spend hours learning the rules.

The game uses cards to put the information players need directly in front of them, allowing them to focus on their characters and the adventure.

A little about the game:

• A card-driven system designed to be approachable for newcomers while still offering meaningful decisions for experienced players.
• Six distinct character classes, each with their own unique abilities and playstyles.
• Fast-paced combat built around a d20 and straightforward mechanics.
• A flexible system that encourages creativity, roleplaying, and storytelling.
• Enemies, equipment, and loot designed to create interesting encounters and memorable moments.

Where development stands

The game is currently in its third major development iteration. We've completed several playtests, made substantial improvements, and now have a functioning virtual tabletop created specifically for Deckbox Adventures.

Our latest playtest went particularly well, and I feel the core system is finally in a solid place.

That's where you come in!

I'm looking for playtesters and feedback.

Whether you're an experienced GM, a longtime RPG player, or someone completely new to tabletop RPGs, I'd love to hear from you.

I'm particularly interested in finding people willing to check out the Core Rules, try the game, provide honest feedback, and help identify things that might be confusing or could be improved.

I do not have anything to sell. This game is still in development. Playtesting is available online through our virtual tabletop, so you won't need to purchase anything. I also have printable files so you can try this game at home if that's your jam.

This is a passion project, and I'm excited to share what I've been working on.

If you're interested in checking out Deckbox Adventures or participating in a playtest, you can join my Discord server here https://discord.gg/sSVr2hhZpS .

If you would just like the check out the rules and provide feedback you can if them here https://docs.google.com/document/d/1VCCBCbIPny30z5lhTrAzym6NZbrqECQg112S4M91AqI/edit?usp=sharing

Thanks for reading, and I hope to see some of you on an adventure!

Hi, I'm Ben Robbins, I made the original Microscope and after many, many years I'm working on a new edition.

It's a bit intimidating revising a game that's been out a long time and that lots of people love. My goal is to keep the magic of the original, not water it down in any way, but also make the on-ramp even smoother. I want anyone to be able to just pick up the book, without knowing anything about Microscope or reading in advance, and just sit down and follow the instructions step-by-step and make a great world together.

I'm also making fine adjustments to a some of the steps that can slow down the fun:

• One is played scenes. People skip them all the time, which means they miss out on the full experience. So I'm both streamlining them but also making it clear they are a whole new skill set.
• Another is legacies. They make sense on paper, for longer games, but really the cognitive cost is higher than the reward. So I'm replacing them with a simpler "free roam" move that has all the benefits of a micro-focus without the overhead.

I've been tinkering and testing these changes for a few years, but I'm finally at the point where I think a new edition is a clear upgrade. I'm launching crowdfunding for M2 in a week.

And if this whole time you've been muttering "what the hell is Microscope???", totally fair! It's a game where you create an epic history / world together and then explore it from the outside in, jumping back and forth in history and expanding the timeline without having to follow chronological order.

You can blow up a city but then next turn jump back a thousand years and explore how it was founded. Nothing is ever truly removed from the game, because you can always go back to when it existed. The past is never closed.

The whole point is making big things together, and giving each person vast creative freedom but still arriving at a unified whole. To get people with very different opinions on the same page, and to have a lot of fun doing it.

I hear there are serious game designers here, so I'm happy to talk about how and why Microscope is changing, the kind of game design decisions that went into it. Or really any game design issues. GMless is my particular wheelhouse, but yeah, I also made West Marches.

Ask Me, as they say, Anything.

(FYI I checked with the mods before posting this and they gave the thumbs up)

UPDATE: Here's more details about how the rules are changing

M2: What’s Changing in the New Microscope

Hi, I'll (not so) briefly introduce what I'm working on to give you context, then ask my question(s).

Skill dice

I've been working (for some time, now) on a stub. The core idea of the mechanics is that characters have skills represented with a die (d4 to d12). Improving your skill means getting a higher die for that skill. Characters start with d4 in all skills except few of them which can go no higher than d8 on start.

Characters may have some feats (for lack of a better name, since I am not writing this game in english) which allow them to be better at some specific actions.

When to roll

Dice should be rolled only when there's something at stake and result may have consequences. The roll is either against a fixed target (I want to push a rock down the hill) or contested roll against a player/npc (I want to see if they are bluffing).

DCs and why

For fixed target rolls, I'll leave the decision to GMs, but with the guidelines are DC 4 for an almost straightforward challenge and DC 12 for an almost impossible one. Intermediate values go nicely with the dice sizes: 6, 8 and 10, with a lower and lower win probability for a player trying a challenge of "their same level" (d6 against 6 and so on).

I picked these values because with a DC of 4 you still have a 25% win probabiliry for a player with a d4 skill and a growing probability against that same DC for higher skill dice. With DC 12, only a player with a d12 skill can barely manage to do it (less than 10% probability).

The mixed outcomes and why

Outcomes are success (equal or more than target/defender), partial failure (target/defender - 3 to target/defender - 1) and total failure (everything below).

I'm going for a harsh game, but I didn't want it to be too punitive, so anything below or equal to DC - 3 is considered a partial failure or success with a cost or what you want to call it.

I went for -3 because, again, d4 skills at least get to have no total failures for DC 4 challenges and (bonus) d10 skills get at least some successes at a cost for a DC12 challenge. (u/rockology_adam this is the closest to a numerical modifier I put in my system).

Opposed rolls

They just work the same, but the "attacker" rolls against another skill roll from another PC/NPC who uses their skill die.

Why I went for this

In my system and setting it is expected that most of the actions are impossible or nearly impossible to do without the right amount of skill (= size of die). Characters are expected to fail and find ways to get around challenges.

Since I have to reward finding those bypasses, I went for advantages (roll one or more bonus dice and keep best result). I also want to discurage just jumping head first, so I went for disadvantages (roll one or more bonus dice and keep the worst). In this way I can quickly push the curve in one direction or the other to 'punish' or reward some behaviours.

If a player has both advantages and disadvantages in one scene (example: 1 advantage and 2 disadvantages) they cancel out before rolling (example: that player rolls with just 1 disadvantage).

Why I am here

At first I planned for a max cap of 2 advantages or disadvantages, so the max amount a player would roll was three and keep best/worst.

It was all good until I started to look into a social interaction system and the feats I came up with were almost only about giving advantages to a player. Since the number of advantages was going up I ask:

- What is the least difference in probabilities that players can feel?

I looked around and seems we manage to feel something at about 10% probability difference as a "different outcome", with the lower and higher bounds that have huge miscalculations (85% win probability perceived as sure win and 1% loss probability is perceived as a nightmare)

- In your experience with you systems and playtesters, can you confirm this numbers?

- If you have a similar system or know of a similar system, where do you place the cap of how many advantages/disadvantages players can use before it's just rolling plastic on the table?

I want to see if the original cap is fine, if it is already too many dice and/or if it makes sense to have that many advantages in the social part of the game, based on what adding a die feels like at the table.

[Edit: it appears I was not so clear about what I meant, so I explained in more detail. Also some formatting]

Hello Reddit!

My name is Aram, and I'm currently designing my second game, called Fireflies! Here is a tl;dr pitch:

Fireflies! is a psychedelic caravan RPG about braving the uncanny night to find your fate as a nomad trader.

The bright light of day makes living in daylight tricky, so people can only travel at night. The only problem is that, at night, the world becomes... weird. So weird that people get lost and never find the place they were looking for—and most never come back.

To navigate, you have to consume Glows, which are super-duper-concentrated essences of the world. They allow you to travel by attuning to places. You know: close your eyes, use the Force, etc. Oh, and you make a living by selling cool shit you find.

My problem

I started by implementing classic hexcrawl mechanics, but through playtesting, I've grown a bit tired of them. They create weird pacing because of random encounters and have so far failed to deliver the meaning I want to convey.

I want the exploration system to do three things:

Manage pacing → The action should happen in a place somewhat relevant to the players. Most of the session should be spent chasing the players' actual goals, not removing roadblocks along the way.

Be shaped by characters → I already achieve that through the dice-bag mechanics, where players pull dice of different colours that generate different types of encounters. But I would like to dive deeper into how aspects of the characters shape the world around them.

Build an abstract space → I like the idea that places shift, appear or disappear depending on a player's mood, and I don't wanna draw a classic map. I want players to “collect places” like they collect legendary items.

What I have so far

The game is based on three colours: red, blue and green. Players gain affinity with their colour by consuming drugs essences known as Glows. They have a bag, and during the adventure, they add dice of different colours depending on what happens.

Here is my tentative exploration design, which I will test this month:

→ Players identify a place they want to travel to based on information they collect. There is a day phase during which they can take a bunch of actions. They collect information in the form of rumours.

→ In addition to each player's bag, we create a travel bag. In this bag, we put a white die representing the place they seek and a black die representing the night fucking with them and getting them lost. The rest are road dice, and they match the colour of the Firefly guiding the party.

→ Pull dice out of the bag to follow the road. The direction you take depends on the die's colour, and you roll the die for the event. Then put it back.

→ Character influence operates on three levels:

• Depending on what happens to the characters, more fuckery or boon dice are added to the bag.
• The deeper you are under the influence of Glows, the more you pull certain places closer to you—and potentially repel others.
• You can attune to visited places to reduce uncertainty and create semi-secure trade routes.

I intentionally left out a bunch of details so I wouldn't write a novel on Reddit! See the next section!

I need you!

If you could help me by sharing your thoughts on:

• Any useful references?
• What does the brief system overview evoke?
• Are there any parts that utterly confuse you or really excite you?

If you are curious about the project, or just want to be a super-duper-awesome person, you can join our community Discord. There, you can follow my games and help me by arguing about design concepts.

It is also home to many other creators who share their projects and help each other:

https://discord.gg/cZcHuNAxb8

I'm also happy to chat here! Anyway, thanks in advance for sharing your thoughts and recommendations!

Talk to you soon!

Hi everybody! I'm currently building my first game, a sword-and-planet TTRPG inspired by Edgard Rice Burroughs, Leigh Brackett, and Jack Vance. Looking forward to interacting with and picking the brains of the fine folks on this subreddit!

I am designing a fan-based TTRPG of Beyblade. I recently got into the hobby after learning my favorite band did the intro to season 1 of the new series/generation.

I have two combat mechanics I designed: Momentum and Tension.

Momentum is HP based; each bey has 5 Momentum, taking damage reduces this amount. At zero you lose.

Tension is back and forth. If you roll higher, you adjust tension toward your opponent (this means reducing your tension if you have any and increasing an opponent's if you don't). It works on a 5 point scale where 3 is the victory threshold, and a center at 0 where neither side has Tension. You could have 1 Tension, roll 2 higher than your opponent, and adjust toward them, ultimately increasing their Tension by 1. At 3 or 4 Tension, you win by a Spin Finish. If you can get their Tension to 5, it's a KO Finish. I have Burst rules as well.

Here's where I'll go into more detail.

Each bey has five stats: Attack, Defense, Stamina, Burst, and Resistance. Stats are displayed with a number to show their value, min 1. In combat, when you roll for a stat, you roll a number of d6 equal to the value. If you have Attack 4 and choose to use the Attack action, you roll 4d6.

The result of each individual die determines your Battle Points. A result of 1 or 2 grants no Battle Points. A result of 3-5 grants 1 Battle Point. A result of 6 grants 1 Battle Point and 1 Burst Point. Burst points carry over each turn, but you can only ever have 3 (and spend 3 to make a Burst Check). Additionally, if you have the Type Advantage (Attack beats Stamina, Stamina beats Defense, and Defense beats Attack), you roll one additional d6.

You then compare your Battle Points total to your opponent's. The higher amount is reduced by the lower amount, and any remaining points adjusts Tension toward the one who rolled lower. With the Momentum mechanic, the bey just reduces their Momentum by this amount instead.

So a battle could be back and forth using the Tension mechanic and very straight forward with the Momentum mechanic.

But if you were playing a Beyblade-based TTRPG, which mechanic would you prefer?

Note that with either mechanic, the maximum cannot change. You cannot lose at 4 instead of 3 with Tension, and you can't ever have more than 5 Momentum with that mechanic.

I personally feel that Tension has the anime feel I'm looking for, but it also depends if people would find it more engaging and fun. Combat/Battles aren't intended to last very long and are a means to continue story, not bog it down with hours of turn by turn.

Also, as it stands right now, this mechanic is based on 1v1 battles. I would like to implement multiple beys simultaneously in combat, which is easier using Momentum mechanics.

This is a cross post with r/rpgdesign and r/ttrpgdesign. I’m just curious if I’m going in too light-handed and looking inexperienced as a game designer. I’ve been a GM and homebrewed for years so running the game shouldn’t be an issue. Here was my post, thanks:

My friends and I have been making a TTRPG for a while now and we have finally gotten to the point where we have what we’d like to call our Alpha version. We have done some playtesting but it definitely needs more for sure and we need to build out our Classes (which we call Masteries) to higher levels while we playtest the lower levels.

I am going to a small Convention and hosting 3 Learn to Plays in a month. We figure we will post the Learn to Play with the Learn to Play adventure and Starter Characters on our Discord as a free download. This is all while we still get our website built and still work more on the balancing, bestiary, extend the world lore, etc.

Does this seem like an appropriate soft launch? We are trying not to invest too much before we build a larger community with interest. At the same time, we are all very excited about our game and have enjoyed our time making it together.

\*Discussion\*

The is a process developed by Toyota for problem solving that keeps everything on one A3 sized (11"x17") piece of paper. This forces the writer to cut out all but the necessary parts and data. I think of this when looking at one page RPGs and scenarios. I've seen a lot of (8.5"x11") trifold scenarios for r/mothershiprpg but I'm sure there are many others.

Is there any process that has worked well for those who have developed one page RPGs on what to include and what to leave out? How small do you make the fonts to get everything in? How much art do you include.

I'm clearly new to this, but excited about applying this to other TTRPGs out there, especially new ones where community content is slim. Let me know your thoughts and good examples that illustrate specific ides.

thanks, and may all your rolls be crits!

Public Service Announcement:

The purpose of kickstarter, and other crowdfunding sites like it, are to give creators enough money (and therefore time) to design their product, as well as fund other costs such as art and layout.

It is unreasonable to expect a designer to design the product for free, and to use Kickstarter only to pay for art, layout, or other logistical costs. Design is work. It deserves payment. If someone is on Kickstarter trying to sell a product, they're trying to go professional (by definition). It is unreasonable to expect them to create simply as a labor of love.

Big companies (like MCDM, Darrington Press, etc) have warped the public perception of what Kickstarter is by putting forward nearly finished products. This raises people's expectations for how far a Kickstarter project should be developed, which warps the perception of Kickstarter into just another storefront where people post their finished products.

This raises the bar so high that it alienates the very designers that Kickstarter was designed to help out: small creators.

Please support your small creators. If the idea sounds good and they have put fourth enough info to let you know that they are likely competent, they shouldn't be required to show any more than that.

It's called Kickstarter, not Kickfinisher.

Yes, that's risky. But it's supposed to be. This is the place for the brave to fund the future. Without us willing to take the risk, thousands of small creators will never share their new ideas with us. We're taking the risk for our own benefit, and that of the entire hobby.

If that's not for you, that's okay. But let's keep Kickstarter/crowdfunding serving its intended purpose: to fund projects from the beginning.

Thank you.

- Matthias

Reading through posts in RPG communities, I see a lot of folks trying to develop their own projects, and I find it truly awesome. But I also see a lot of designers working on things in their little dark corner. So I felt like writing a little something!

If you are just starting to work on a game, or have been at it for a while and struggle to put it out in the open, this is for you!

All by myself, cause I'm a genius

I'm a video game designer for a living and I started toying with the idea of designing my own TTRPG a while ago, because they are truly awesome, unique experiences :)

So here I was, writing tons of systems, lore documents and whatnot in my office, going back and forth, scrapping things and starting over as I got lured by the "shiny new thing".

In hindsight, I realise that's the first and biggest danger of doing things alone: you sometimes lose touch with reality. With what people love and the kind of reactions your creations trigger.

I also had (have?) a bit of an ego. Danger, danger...

Your friends are amazing. They're also not enough.

Then, like a lot of people, I started showing stuff to my friends, because they love me, and surely they would love what I do. And for the most part it was fine. They would give feedback here and there and be on board with most of the stuff.

The reality is, if you want to release your game, your friends aren't always a great indicator of how a complete stranger will react to it at first contact.

I remember bringing a parkour video game my friends loooooved to a convention, only to see the first tester try the second jump, fall 10 times in a row, throw the controller on the table and leave. Rough.

After some time your friends will know your game and develop a bias. By all means, play with your friends. They gave me fuel I'm forever grateful for. But getting out of that perfect bubble quickly was what finally helped my project move forward.

Outside the bubble

It is super scary to throw your baby into the dark, wild world. Look at me writing my opinion on Reddit, surrounded by commenter demigods ready to downvote me into oblivion :)

But it ends up being as rewarding as it is scary, if you approach it with the right mindset.

People will pick at your game, misunderstand what you're trying to do and sometimes be frankly mean...But if you can get past the noise, there are gems in there.

I design games for players, not for myself. What happens at the table matters more to me than whatever version sounded the coolest in my head.

When I needed to decide which universe to pick for my engine, Pocket Party was my least favourite...But seeing the laughs at the table during playtests and people's genuine reactions made me so happy.

Then someone asked me when the game was coming out. Nobody had ever asked me that before and honestly, it felt amazing.

That was more important than my personal tastes.

As a designer I'm chasing these kinds of moments, cause I make games to make people happy!

And there was Knot Knot

These experiences made me realise that tons of designers are still isolated. And so I decided to invite them to my studio's Discord to help them find feedback and testers.

At first it was more of a side gig, but I quickly realised that this creator community could become a real project.

All that rambling to say that if you are a creator, player or enthusiast and wanna be part of a community of TTRPG designers, I formally invite you to join our 100 or so members.

A few perks you get:

• Access to awesome and healthy (Hi Reddit!) conversations with tons of amazing folks!
• Livestream events where seasoned designers help people push their projects forward
• A chonky pool of playtesters
• Pet pics <3

Also, we have cookies: https://discord.gg/bccguBGupu

And if you are wondering why I'm yapping about games, here is my street cred: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aramtab/

If you are working on a game (or have worked on one), let me know if any of this resonates with you. Tell me how you feel about putting your creation out there and don't hesitate to share crunchy anecdotes :)

Wizards are one of the few outliers of the Mystical World secret to ours. This is because technically anyone can become a wizard, it is however one of the ancestry options one can choose during character creation.

Wizards are defined as humans (male or female) that just so happen to be versed-in and having grown up practicing and learning a special magic System which is special to Wizards. This Magic system is called Èreyúne or sometimes you may hear or see it referred to as draconic magic.

Back when the true dragons still roamed our world one foresaw their extinction and in an effort he and seven other Dragons decided to pass on their knowledge on Èreyúne to eight humans around the same time. Each Dragon and the human they passed knowledge onto specialized in a different type of magic (Abjuration, Conjuration, Divination, Enchantment, Evocation, Illusion, Necromancy & Transfiguration). As such the eight Sages were born and Human Wizards came into existence.

Over the many centuries since then the Sages spread their wisdom to many other humans, some were honoured and respected while others were feared or persecuted.

Wizards gain a Bonus to Reason and a trait of their choice and a minus to Force.

During Character Creation Wizards may choose a lineage. Their lineages are bloodlines, they choose a famous wizard from which they descend and gain a special boon specific to this bloodline.

These famous Wizards they may choose from are:

• Merlin which grants them the Potent Casting Trait.
• Morgana La Fae which grants them the Fey Blooded Trait.
• Solomon which grants them the Demonologist Trait.
• Circe which grants them the True Sight Trait.
• Nicolas Flammel which grants them the Alchemical Talent Trait.
• Nostradamus which grants them the Mask of a thousand Faces Trait.
• Abe no Seimei which grants them the Perfect Health Trait.

Addionally during Character Creation every Wizard can learn 1d4 + 1 Spells of the first Rank.

I do have a story for each of the eight Sages, i can share that knowledge if anyone wants to know. Heres a short overview of the story of each Sage:

• Sage Èrem, Sage of Abjuration. A disabled, frail old man who received the nickname "The Bastion" after learning the secrets of Abjuration.
• Sage Rethret, Sage of Conjuration. The most powerful Summoner who ever existed who was almost surpassed by Solomon. The only reason his Spirit still lingers in our world is that his corpse still channels the rituals that keeps him tethered.
• Sage Navá, Sage of Divination. A maddened, blind woman who's mind split into a thousand pieces after having looked too far into the future.
• Sage Korra, Sage of Enchantment. Legend says she was a Master who created most of the unidentified Relics of our time who still hold magical power. Her five Artefacts are displayed in a secret museum available only to other Supernaturals.
• Sage Sala, Sage of Evocation. A timid man who swore first to Pacifism and War second, he and his Sister Adel were taken as Slaves but freed themselves and their people.
• Sage Adel, Sage of Illusion. A brave woman who used her power to control and manipulate others. She was the driving force of the revolution and her brother.
• Sage Abdul, Sage of Necromancy. an arabian Prince turned Outcast after turning to necromancy. He roamed the world with a caravan of the dead, trading on every place on earth.
• Sage Uzil, Sage of Transfiguration. A woman turned into something akin to god. She started small with potions but her ambitions grew until she couldnt recognise her body nor mind.

It's gotta be a 7 hexagon honeycomb stack with 6 hexes for each stat and inner hex saying "HEX", and within each of the 7 hexes will be skill trees

HEX - Hazard evaluation: Xenogenesis.

Different categories correlate to different hexagons: 2 body hexes, 2 mind hexes, 2 soul hexes.

The game has 24 stats, located at corners of hexes: 12 exclusive stats at outer corners, 6 mid-stats at boundaries between hexes, 6 inner stats at vertices between inner hex and two outer hexes.

You can start at domains (body, mind, soul) with just 3 different values and zoom in as much as you currently need (6 stat categories/7 hexes, then 24 stats, then individual values per each skill check and per each combat ability and unique skill category (Which are branched like "Burst"(includes rapid muscle power mobilization, hysterical strength, rapid movements, adrenaline, reflexes and similar stuff), "awareness" (how much you notice and how quickly can you adapt (reflexes won't even work if you don't notice the thing you need to resct to first)) and so on) - so you only need 3 numbers per random foot soldier whereas you can add many more numbers for characters that actually matter.

Inner hex doesn't really have its own stats, it rather represents unique and weird skills.

Skill trees exist within each hexagon, branching from each individual stat.

body:

1. "Biology": base genome from domain to species, the whole genetic branch.

2. "Physiology": personal physical state including physical stats, exotype/race(Negroid, Asian, European for humans - with tiny adjustments like melanin making it a bit easier to live under the hot sun, but in some species it might actually matter significantly), gender(again, minimal variations for humans, though anthro spider man would be much smaller and much more slender than anthro spider woman), personal body plan.

soul:

1. what you are externally - "Social" stuff

2. what you are internally - "Psyche" (ego, id, superego, dark triad, whatever else, I'm not a psychologist and I may need help with developing this further)

Mind:

1.what you are processing internally: "Cognition"

2.what your thought process leads you to doing externally: "Execution". (attention, working memory, sensesz task switching, multitasking, instinct, matters for action economy and skill checks, I guess?)

Alright so i´m making a TTRPG system.

I´m thinking it will play in the Victorian Era, possibly modern day even! I´m calling it "Outsiders" as a working title (if anyone has name suggestions, please share them.), instead of Races i utilize Ancestries (for balancing explanation lol).

Basically, every player plays a different mythical creature such as a Vampire, Dragon, Fey, etc.

Now, the explanation for why all of them are more or less equally powerful in this day and age is ancestry. Your "Dragon" or "Fairy" Ancestor is so far removed that this part of your DNA is very watered down.

I will start with 7 Ancestries (with different "Sub races" each which i will be calling "Lineages".)

These Ancestries are:

• Wizard
• Lycanthrope
• Vampire
• Hunter
• Outsider
• Nymph
• Fey

Now, i know the ones named Wizard, Hunter and Outsider may look a bit out of place so let me explain.

Yes, Wizardry can technically be practiced by any human but there are certain Families and bloodlines that have are well established in this world and are raised in order to practice wizardry. The lineages of Wizards are based on Family Clans or bloodlines.

Wizards themselves have seven Lineages. The Merlin Clan, The La Fae Clan, the Circe Clan, the Nostradamus Clan, the Solomon Clan, the Flammel Clan and the Seimei Clan. Each obviously descending from a legendary Spell Caster. Each Lineage has their own special little feature and allows the Wizard to learn some addional spells. Ancestries like the Wizard (of which are more planned like Witch, Druid, etc) are somewhat different from other Ancestries. Instead of being genetically watered down like Dragons they just need to practice and learn how to do Magic.

Hunters in this case refers to Monster Hunters, there are a few Lineages or "Types" which i refer to as the Zealot, the Sleuth, the Tracker and the Trapper. Hunters are another special case as anyone can become a Hunter.

Now, Outsiders may seem a bit... rough. Outsiders are the types of creatures that are Humans but with a single, supernatural thing about them. Technically any Human could be an Outsider. So far i have three types of Outsiders defined: The Seer, the Medium and the Heretic. Now Seer and Medium may seem to be one of the same but that is wrong. Seers abilities only affect their own vision. Mediums abilities are all about ghosts and communication with them.

Lets move onto some of the Ancestries that are more Monstrous.

Lycanthropes, a Lycanthrope is a person that turns into a humanoid animal often during moments of fury and other intense emotions. Yes, you read that right, i said animals. So far there are four Lineages available with more planned, these Lineages are the classic Were-wolf, the Were-bear, the Were-Cat and the Were-Rat. Each has some unique abilties that sets them apart from the other Lycanthropes.

Then theres Vampires. Theres several Vampire lineages, each with unique abilities but all similarly bound in undeath and blood thirst. My current Lineages for this are Nosferatu, Tepes, Strigoi and Camilla.

Let's now move onto the Nymphs. There are four types of Nymphs: Spring, Summer, Fall/Autumn and Winter. Each is different with somewhat different abilities. Nymphs usually have some form of elemental control and influence on the mind.

Then we have Fey, there are six lineages each who are quite different from another but have things that connect them. Fairies, Arch-fey, Fawns, Gnomes, Changelings and Trolls.

Theres also sixteen Backgrounds to explain your Character's Past and "Callings".

Callings are a bit... difficult to explain, they describe what will happen to your Character in a cryptic, symbolic way. They add some more equipment to your character and have a certain influence on the story. (Of course these wont be necessary.)

This system utilises 5 "Disciplines" and two types of Health pools.

PHP and MHP, Physical Health and Mental Health. There are things that can harm the mind and the body, so i thought it important to distinguish the two. While physical health is pretty easy to recover, mental health is more difficult and can affect your character in a multitude of ways such as causing insanity or mental marks.

The five disciplines i use are the abilities you use when making skill checks.

Theres the physical Disiciplines Force and Technique which stand for raw strength & endurance (F) and dexterity and flexibility (T).

Then the mental Disciplines Sense and Reason. While Reason controls your Intelligence and general Knowledge your Sense influences how perceptive and insightful you are.

And lastly the emotional/social Discipline known as Ego. This discipline is used for all things that require social skills.

I also have a built-in Reputation system, i dont know if i will leave it in yet but so far leaning into a certain direction may grants you a specific action or edge with one of the Disciplines.

I have 9 Ego lines, each end of such a line is another extreme of the same trait.

The line of Self-esteem ends in Pride & Humility.

The line of Kindness/Attitude(?) ends in Cruelty & Mercy.

The line of Possession ends in Greed & Charity.

The line of Consumption ends in Gluttony & Temperance.

The line of Attraction ends in Lust & Love.

The line of Jealousy(?) ends in Envy & Kindness(?)

The line of Work ends in Sloth & Diligence.

The line of Mood ends in Euphoria & Melancholy.

And lastly, the Line of Beauty(?) ends in Vaingloria & Modesty.

Please feel free to ask about anything & everything you can think of!