Chaosmeister.Games

TTRPG enthusiast from Germany, rolling dice since 1988. As an eternally online player and GM I create games for easy VTT use in various genres.

[thecoppercompendium]

So, you want to make a TTRPG... remastered

A while back I made this post with a tonne of resources for making your own TTRPG. That post has... expanded a little.

So, you want to make a TTRPG?

A compiled list of links to resources useful for creating your own TTRPGs. Based on the lists I posted previously on Tumblr and Bluesky, as

[rpgsandbox]

Outgunned - Cinematic Action RPG

An action-packed cinematic Roleplaying game by the ENNIE award winning authors of Household and Broken Compass.

Outgunned is a cinematic action rpg inspired by the classics of the action and heist genre, from Die Hard to True Lies, passing through James Bond, Atomic Blonde, Kingsman, Ocean’s Eleven, Hot Fuzz, and the latest John Wick. In Outgunned you play as a group of Heroes struggling against a Villain to try and save the day.

Always outnumbered. Always outgunned.

                          Some pages from the Outgunned QuickStart

The Outgunned corebook features the full set of game rules and everything you need to  start your adventure or heist. In the corebook you’ll find Character options, Weapons, Enemies, and Campaign rules. If you also need some premade Shots to top it all off, Project Medusa got you covered!

World of Killers is a John Wick-inspired  supplement that features a new underworld setting, as well as additional rules and a new Role for your Hero: the Hired Gun. In W.o.K. you will also find a full ready-to-play Campaign and 4 premade Heroes.

Outgunned is powered by a set of highly cinematic game mechanics called Director’s Cut. The system uses small pools of six-sided dice to determine the outcome of all tasks that involve a risk or a danger. When rolling dice in Outgunned, your goal isn’t to roll the highest or lowest possible total, but to combine as many equal symbols as you can in pairs, three-of-a-kind, and so on.

You can download a free 70-page QUICKSTART GUIDE today to try out the game before backing the project.

                                     Click HERE for the Quickstart

                                             Johnny’s Hero Sheet

Making your Hero in Outgunned is as quick as it gets! Simply choose a Role and a Trope, and you are ready to go. But don’t worry, there will be plenty of time to further customize your Character during the game, and no option or Feat will be out of reach, no matter your Role.

In Outgunned you’ll find 10 Roles you can choose from when building your Hero:

The Ace: Pilot, Driver, Transporter

The Agent: Police Officer, Firefighter, Undercover Cop

The Brain: Professor, Hacker, Mastermind

The Charmer: Icon, Artist, White Collar

The Commando: Soldier, Mercenary, Survivalist

The Criminal: Thief, Ex-Con, Fixer

The Fighter: Martial Artist, Boxer, Parkourist

The Nobody: Family Person, Clerk, Retiree

The Sleuth: Detective, Bounty Hunter, Journalist

The Spy: Secret Agent, Snitch, Double Agent

Kickstarter campaign ends: Thu, May 25 2023 10:00 PM BST

Website: [Two Little Mice] [facebook] [instagram]

[girlnextvore]

Finished my reference for my Outgunned ttrpg character. Her name is Chrysanthemum aka Ant. She is a get away driver

[rascalnews]

Small tabletop creators already feeling squeezed by the Tariff Era

Scattered information and ever-changing stakes leave creators feeling naked against a coming economic storm.

[ruka-desuu]

What is the limit between "TTRPG" and "Board Game"

Like, nobody would say 'monopoly' counts as a TTRPG, it's ridiculous, but when you start to deconstruct the idea of an RPG to the basic components of "any game in which you roleplay a character" you start to notice things like... "Creating" the character of your roleplay isn't really obligatory, technically you can have a TTRPG where you are handed the role you'll play... "Sandbox" aspect is completely optional too, there isn't really a need for full player autonomy and choice within the gameplay, as long as they are playing the role it's technically a game... "Exploring/Problem solving/Combat" are all optional, a lot of TTRPGs have one or another, sometimes all 3, but in fact they aren't needed... "Progression" is also optional, character growth can be non-existent and you still roleplay... well you technically don't even need 'stats' at all, just a description of said role... "What is a game even?" like, for real... I can't find people agreeing on a definition of the term, for the sake of this experiment I'll say it involves at least SOME input... By all these metrics "town of Salem" is technically a TTRPG... you are handed a role you play (in this case, in secret) you even have full autonomy on how you play the role, a character objective, and freedom to problem solve your way through social deduction!... but it isn't a TTRPG now, is it?... is it?...

[sabrinahawthorne]

1. The Flow of Causality

In a game of Catan, you nominally take the role of settlers competing for limited land & resources on an "undiscovered" landmass. The game simulates trade, the construction of infrastructure, and the tense relationships between factions. But Catan does not care if you invent a history & mythology for the landmass. Catan will not change if you give names to each of your factions, and to your roads and towns. The premise - that of each player representing a group of settlers - exists only to justify the gameplay loop of auctions & token-placing. In other words, the fiction of Catan is caused by its mechanics. You could reskin the whole thing and nothing about the play experience would change.

In a game of The Quiet Year, you take the role of a community of people who have survived some calamity, attempting to survive and thrive in the year before another ill-defined event will once again shake its foundations. The game tells you to care about resources, infrastructure, and the relationships between members of the community. The Quiet Year, explicitly and mechanically, cares a lot about the name, history, and mythology of this community. The game's material mechanisms - those being the drawing of cards, turning of dice, and additions to the communal map - exist only as controlled interruptions to keep the real meat of the game - that being a conversation - on track. You could meaningfully play a game of The Quiet Year without cards, dice, or a map. In other words, the fiction of The Quiet Year is the primary subject of the game, and its mechanics exist only to further inspire the creation of that fiction.

2. Defining Verbs

Watch this video of Brennan Lee Mulligan playing Coup.

Notice that? Notice how he's not allowed to bribe his way out of a bad situation? Why is that?

Part of it is because of The Flow of Causality; he can't to it because the game cares more about its mechanical rules than the logic of the fiction it presents. The rules of the game universe bend to fit the rules of the cards & tokens.

But it's also because The Verbs of Coup are defined positively. To misquote Ian Danskin: In [board games], you can't do anything except that which is expressly allowed by the rules.

Now watch this video of Brennan Lee Mulligan playing D&D.

Notice how he just... sent that guy away in a cloud of bubbles? How he gave Pete a peppermint tooth? How he invented that fucked up Santa cocoon?

You notice how there are no rules, anywhere in any D&D book, that give him permission to do any of that? Of course not, right? He's the GM! He can do whatever he likes!

That's precisely the point. The rules don't give him permission to do any of that stuff. But we know he can, because the rules of D&D are defined negatively. To again misquote Danskin: [in RPGs], you can do anything that isn't expressly disallowed by the rules.

The rules of RPGs exist not to give & withhold permission, but to arbitrate - Brennan can invent as many kinds of Santa cocoons as he wants - but he has to give them stat blocks. He has to use them within the limits of the action economy.

This attitude applies to the other side of the screen, too. Your character can do whatever they like, so long as they do so within the agreed-upon limits of the game's rules, its fiction, and the social boundaries of the other real people at the table with you.

3. TL;DR

In a board game, you engage in an interesting gameplay loop which is painted in the aesthetic of a particular fictional scenario, and the verbs defined by that gameplay loop & its goals hold primacy over the fiction. Verbs are defined positively, meaning that unless the game's mechanics give you explicit permission to do something, that thing is assumed to be disallowed.

In an RPG, you engage in an interesting fictional scenario, bounded by a flexible mechanical framework; the fiction and its logical & dramatc priorities will always take primacy over adherence to the rules. Verbs are defined negatively, meaning that you can do anything you like within that scenario, so long as the game's rules don't explicitly tell you that you can't.

[sabrinahawthorne]

The real trick is when you realize it's not the rules that do the real restricting; it's much more subtle than that. If you've ever read a PbtA title, you've probably read something like this:

That's because the Bakers (who designed Apocalypse World) and the designers who followed after them understand something fundamental about RPGs: They're barely games at all.

I mean, yeah, they are games, if you follow C Thi Nyugen's definition of following a process of overcoming challenges that we made up in pursuit of arbitrary goals. But as many, many people have pointed out, there's no actual win-state in roleplaying. Not in the macro sense at least. Instead, they're games made up entirely of process. And that process exists exclusively within a series of conversations.

A property of this conversational play is that the rules of a game actually exist on two levels. The first is obvious - it's the dice, the numbers, the character sheets. Y'know, the stat blocks. The Capital-R Rules. But there's another layer that sits above all that - the topic.

If the game is, first and foremost, a conversation, then an all-encompassingly important question arises: what, exactly, is the conversation about?

Monsterhearts, for example, is a game about supernatural teen romance. That means that, among other things, it's about vampires and zombies and homework and breakups and prom night. As long as you're somewhere in that territory, you are following the rules of Monsterhearts. If your conversation starts being about, say, laser guns or the wild west or the intricacies of thermonuclear energy infrastructure, then you've meaningfully stopped playing the same game. This is important: you might still be having fun, but you're not playing the same game anymore.

When we take this attitude into the question of restriction in RPGs, I think we come to a conclusion pretty quick: the most restrictive game out there is probably the one that's about the most specific thing. What game can you think of that focuses the conversation on the most narrow slice of hypothetical reality?

personally, I nominate >>at least you're not alone by Red World Press as a contender (and also as a stellar little game that everyone should read regardless).

[chaosmeistergames]

What makes a TTRPG ✨Noblebright✨ for you? Saying it's the opposite of Grimdark isn't really satisfying. What are the cornerstones of a Noblebright Setting/World? What makes Characters Noblebright?? What is your favourite Noblebright RPG? Want to define it better and I don't really have much yet. AFAIK Characters are unlikely to die and can change the world for the better. But are NPC more trustworthy than in other genres? Are monsters different? The adventures? Haven't really thought about it too much so far and Google isn't helpful to give me good leads. I mean 5e is Noblebright? Is it? There must be better representatives of the genre?

[thecoppercompendium]

So, you want to make a TTRPG... remastered

A while back I made this post with a tonne of resources for making your own TTRPG. That post has... expanded a little.

So, you want to make a TTRPG?

A compiled list of links to resources useful for creating your own TTRPGs. Based on the lists I posted previously on Tumblr and Bluesky, as

[chaosmeistergames]

FU Tools

To break the curse of not publishsing anything, I decided to release my collection of housrules for the Freeform Universal RPG by Peril Planet as FU Tools today. Just to get that anxiety off my chest, so I hopefully can get back to work on more substantial stuff. It is free and CC, hope you check it out.

FU Tools by Chaosmeister

Houserules for Freeform Universal

[evlynmoreau-blog]

At last you can all visit the Doodle Land with Tunnel Goon or other whimsical adventure games! https://evlyn.itch.io/doodle-land Hexagnome did wonderful work with the layout, navigation links, everything! I am really happy to finally republish this zine, I hope I will be able to release more of my unfinished old projects next year.

One my goals with Doodle Land is to show that you don't need to use AI to publish a beautiful TTRPG zine, you can do it simply with doodles and a smart layout. 

If you participated to the original google+ jam, direct message me to reserve a contributor print copy.

[chaosmeistergames]

Update Beta 1.15 - Core Resolution Changes - The Flux Engine by Chaosmeister

Hello everyone, After more playtesting, it became clear that while the Lucky/Unlucky system caused some interesting moments, it also bogged

New Update for The Flux Engine! Changed the core resolutin mechanic.

In 1.14:

A Bane (11) was an automatic failure and granted everyone Adrenaline

A Boon (12) was an automatic success with 1 Surge

Both triggered Lucky/Unlucky effects based on even/odd Ability dice results

In 1.15:

A Bane (11) counts as 1 for the roll total, grants Adrenaline, and triggers enemy abilities

A Boon (12) gives automatic success with Surges equal to the Ability dice result

The Lucky/Unlucky system has been removed

More details in the Link above.

[chaosmeistergames]

It was 2019 when Google+ still was a thing and I had just published my first RPG PDF on DTRPG a year earlier.

Unsure of myself I used PWYW. I made a postmortem about my sales showing how much it was not worth it to do it that way. And none other then Kevin Crawford showed up in the comments to share his wisdom with everyone. I copied it and put it into my "RPG Work" folder and had forgotten about it shamefully. Just found it again today and figure it is still worth sharing.

The numbers are likely off these days, but coming from Kevin Crawford this is advise anyone wanting to make a living from TTRPGs should consider. I know I aim to do exactly as he suggest for my first bigger release.

Kevin Crawford: "PWYW is not generally a good idea for most publishers, from what I’ve seen. It has very limited profitability and it seriously decreases downloads because people just don’t want to get involved in the tacit social obligation to judge the product and pay for it if they like it.

In your shoes I would suggest aiming for 32 page products, even if they’re in digest format. At 32+ pages, you can justifiably do a print version, where even at cheap 9.99 print prices you’re going to be getting good profits. A 32 page standard-color small-format product at $9.99 will net you a bit north of $4 for each sale.

Make a few freebie PDF/pay POD products to fatten up your mailing list and cycle it with each new product, mailing your old buyers and pointing to the new release. You could also optionally add a couple pages of bonus content to the POD to give a further prompt to buyers. Eventually, you can start offering for-pay PDFs, but when you do so, I’d recommend a floor price of $4.99. Below that level, buyers tend to unconsciously associate it with shovelware titles or stuff even the author doesn’t think is worth anything.

Getting POD down right does take some practice, and it is a bit more complicated than just doing PDF, but it’s too much of a profit source to neglect on any 32+ page product. I tend to sell about 3:1 PDF:POD ratio, but on a standard 9.99 PDF/19.99 POD softcover supplement I make about 50% more selling paper than I would selling PDF. And as a side note, always make sure to release PDF and POD at the same time; if you stagger the releases, you get the initial wave coming to look at the PDF, but they decide to hold off until the POD is available… and then they never come back. Most publishers have exactly one shot at the front page and can’t afford to waste it."

[rascalnews]

Hello, tumblr!

We’re Rascal, a new, independent, reader-supported, worker-owned outlet for journalism about tabletop roleplaying games and the people who make them.

Rascal was co-founded by Lin Codega, Rowan Zeoli, and Chase Carter and we've picked up Caelyn Ellis and Thomas Manuel along the way. We're writers and critics you might already know from other websites such as Gizmodo, Dicebreaker, Polygon, and elsewhere. We wanted to continue the vital work of investigating this industry while also building space for criticism, culture reporting and lighthearted blogs that wouldn't survive anywhere else.

Check us out at https://www.rascal.news

[skeletonclaw]

Gav’s Tavern Hi, I hope you like this. It is different from what I usually do. Also it was a lot of work.

[chaosmeistergames]

The Flux Engine by Chaosmeister

Where destiny is in constant flux.

The Flux Engine - A New Tabletop RPG in development

At its heart, this system uses a unique d12 Flux Die that transforms ordinary rolls into pivotal moments. While the mechanics are streamlined, they create deep narrative possibilities through meaningful character bonds and a shared home base that grounds your adventures.

The rules are setting-neutral and adaptable, supporting anything from gritty noir investigations to interstellar exploration. Built for experienced players who appreciate novel systems but want room for creative freedom.

Free rules, no rigid settings, just fun mechanics that get out of your way when you need them to, yet provide structure when it matters.

Ready to tell some stories? Have a look and I hope you enjoy what you read so far. I have a lot more to write. Feedback welcome!

[czepeku-deactivated20260523]

Even through the smog of the city, the sunlight just about breaches through.

[chaosmeistergames]

Wow, who says maps can't be art. Amazing.

[chaosmeistergames]

Hello Tumblr, I have been occupied with prepping a Traveller campaign I get to run. Then I was out for weeks due to COVID and still struggle sometimes. So sadly didn't have time to work on my games. But updates are coming!

- The Flux Engine: Update needs some love before I hit the button to get the next beta out.

- Tick 12: Another game based around using a d12. Currently writing "Voyages" A Sci Fantasy Steampunk game.

- 6Q : Working on a setting expansion for a Verdant Apocalypse setting. Still trying to find the perfect format. Have scrapped and rebuilt the thing 4 times now.

[theresattrpgforthat]

How To Find Cool Games: On Itch.io!

As I drift into a reduced posting schedule, I figured I’d give everyone a peek behind the screen for how I cultivate ttrpgs for recommendations! Some of these tips might even help you find your next favourite game.

This is a long read so let's put most of this beast under a read-more. Keep in mind that many of these strategies work best when you're checking itch.io a little bit every week, and when you're engaging with the platform as more than just a store page. There's a lot of features that you can choose to engage with if you want to find the game for you!

browsing physical game recent releases. This helps me see what’s new and happening, and it helps with a number of things. First of all, I get to see new games pretty much every time I browse recent releases. Secondly, I get a good sense of what’s currently popular in the design space. Thanks to my weekly browsing, I recognize Cy_Borg, Shadowdark and Mausritter as games whose content shows up rather regularly - if you see a lot of products attached to one game at once, that’s a good sign that there’s a related game jam going on (in this case, Shadowdark), or that a game is really resonating with its player base.

sorting games into collections. I personally organize by genre, system, player configuration and (in Games That Intrigue Me) games that I’m personally really hyped about. This works for me because of the nature of my work, but a few collections sorted according to level of interest or game style might work better for you.

Depending on the need, I might have a collection that works specifically for the request - Neon Lights & Cyber Nights is perfect for cyberpunk games, but I might also reference this folder for combat, inventory mechanics, resistance themes, or interesting tech rules. LUMEN is great for folks who want fast-paced games, folks who are looking for certain kinds of video games, or folks who want to feel powerful. If you follow other people on Itch, you'll probably also be able to see their collections, which is a great place to browse.

searching game tags. I don’t typically use the regular search feature, although recently the website did update the toggles to restrict your results to physical games, video games, etc. Instead what I usually do is type what I’m looking for into the url: so in this case, [deck-building]. I might use a couple different wordings, such as [deck-builder] and [deckbuilding] (no spaces). You’re not going to find everything that includes the thing you’re looking for, but you’ll definitely find places to start.

Game Jams! I find these either by looking at the “Jams” tab (although you'll have to wade through video games here) or by noticing that a number of games being published recently have the “for the _” jam in the description. Alternatively, I might be reading the page for a game and see the little “Submission” badge in interaction buttons. There’s game jams for specific systems, game jams for various themes, game jams with special restrictions, and game jams that are titled things like “finish your damn game jam.”

Bundles. I typically buy big-ass bundles and then sort through the games in my downtime. These games are sorted into collections for future reference, and if a game really pops out - into the Intrigue Me folder it goes! And the best part is that I already own it, so if I want to learn more, I can just download it and start reading.

following game designers that I like. This way I’ll get notifications if they release a new game, update an old game, rate someone else’s game, or sort games into their own collections. I also get to see what other folks in the space are excited about - on the day I was browsing, Plasmodics by Will Jobst was really hot.

If you follow me on Itch, you’ll get a notification every time I add a game to one of my non-private folders! Also - you can interact with designers on Itch by liking their updates, and even commenting on their posts, which is a great way to get involved in the design community - and also just make a designer’s day!

[chaosmeistergames]

Great post! I feel Itch has great community features that are underutilized in the RPG space. Following each other, seeing what others do or like, comment etc. It can be a web of designers and players and really fun to get involved with.