What Is CrossRoad TTRPG?
Short answer: It's my big project I've poured my blood, sweat, and tears into.
Longer answer: It's a homebrew tabletop RPG that I began work on as a result of wanting to make a simple system that people could use to represent the various characters they've played in RP, both gaming and free-form, specifically in the context of old-school dungeon-crawling.
All of them.
Yeah, I know, that's ambitious. So this is where I talk about what the goals of the system are and what I want it to be.
Goal One: Easy basics, but complexity you can opt into.
I, personally, love me some crunchy combat. I love having lots of bits and pieces to fiddle with and tinkering with what a build says about the character. But I also know that not everyone does. So CrossRoad is intended to have a very basic set of core mechanics that will be easy to learn, and let players choose how mechanically complex they want their characters to be.
Goal Two: Make it feel like a classic JRPG.
I have a fondness for turn-based (or mostly turn-based) RPGs. Final Fantasy is probably my favorite series in gaming. I grew up with it, along with other classics like Breath of Fire, Dragon Quest, Legend of Dragoon... they've made a mark on me. Modern ones that hearken back to that era, like Yakuza: Like A Dragon and Etrian Odyssey, have a special place on my gaming shelf. I love the feeling of exploring a dungeon, fighting monsters, and having climactic boss battles while screaming about what's important to you (usually friendship). The mechanics of CrossRoad are intended to make battles snappy and fun, just like sitting down to play those games.
Goal Three: Playable with only a little setup.
Don't get me wrong, I love me some elaborate maps, perfectly-curated mood music, and all-out nerd gatherings. They're just not always viable. CrossRoad is intended to be playable even in just text Discord chat - no need for a VTT.
Goal Four: Characters of all backgrounds.
When telling people about the project, I've used the phrase "Smash Bros but a JRPG" before. And that's not too far off from what I want. I want players to be able to bring in characters from any setting and have them all adhere to the same mechanical skeleton. Keep it balanced and let everyone have fun. In other words, if you can have a dungeon run where Twilight Sparkle, Garrus Vakarian, a Cleric of Bahamut, and Knight Solaire are all part of the same party, fighting Doctor Wily in his newest fortress, I'll have done CrossRoad right.




















