Skelpie Limmer's RPG Blog

I like to make RPGs. Here are some thoughts about 'em.

[skelpie-limmer]

The Aesthetic of Numbers

For the first time perhaps ever, I read a youtube comment that made me think. It was one a pathfinder 2e stream, and the commenter lamented about 5e players balking at both Pathfinder 2e (as it is more tactically demanding and crunchier), but also at the lightweight "narrativist" games such as your PbtAs, FATEs and the like.

The commenter posited that there's a certain appeal to numbers and strategy, as if mechanics and crunch legitimise a game -- but there's also the obvious opposite of turning players off. Players want a game with lots of numbers and mechanics (unlike narrativist games), but don't want it to be mechanically demanding or restrictive (unlike PF2e). And so, 5e.

In addition to this, I've been a bit shocked at how much "false maths" are in games. In Pathfinder 2e, monsters progress pretty much inline with PCs, gaining to-hit bonuses as players gain armour class bonuses, etc. Completely artificial increases like the weapon runes which give +1 bonuses to hit were added because players felt they were missing (and of course, the monster's AC was just dialed up to match that progression). Even in lighter weight games, such as Apocalypse Keys, I was a bit shocked to learn how little the token economy changes the rolls -- the difference between +1, +2 and +3 is actually very slim.

Ultimately the numbers themselves mean very little as they're deliberately kept in a very tight check, but there's an aesthetic to numbers that matters to gamers. I'm sure it's good game design, but it just seems dishonest and condescending. It does break my heart a little as someone who does not care to design for the aesthetics of numbers.

[skelpie-limmer]

YSoG - Insight, Beliefs, Bonds.

So lately I've been I've been tinkering with YSoG's supplementary mechanics.

Insight, I think, is pretty much exactly where I want it to be -- there is no fat to cut. You're encouraged to ask questions about your surroundings, and if the answer gives your character concern, you mark an insight. There's an implied sense that you're adapting to hostile environments, and an expression of your character in how that concern manifests. Then, through your insight into hostile surroundings and knowledge of threats, you spend your insight to gain an edge. Gain insight, spend insight. Simple loop, works thematically, lovely stuff.

Beliefs & Bonds get a bit more complicated... Bonds do nothing by themself, and really just act to refresh Beliefs. Bonds almost act like an intermediary currency and I worry it might feel completely useless... Why not just do X to gain Beliefs directly? How valuable is a bond? How does the maths feel during play?

I could certainly cut down the system and remove the Bond currency and allow players to gain Beliefs through other means (maybe by taking 1d on a roll). However, I currently have three narrative targets I want to hit, but without adding additional mechanics, it's hard to implement these into the game loop.

Meaningful conversations: Gain bonds.

Nice Downtime Moments: Spend bonds to gain beliefs.

Expressing your values: Spend beliefs.

Bonds as +1d

This is the approach that a lot of PbtA games take, and I don't really resonate with it. I think it's quite dull from the perspective of a heroic fantasy, as you're all meant to be on the same team (unlike Monsterhearts and etc, where inter-party relationships are more complicated). I think there is a merit to affirming how an action resonates with your values as a person, and so Beliefs seems a stronger fit for +1d.

Bonds as Social Currency

Maybe Insight does too much, as it pretty much takes care of everything you might need in an adventure. Thematically, it does make more sense that as you befriend your companions, maybe that also implies you're able to meet people or make a good impression -- allowing it to act as a kind of "social insight" -- though it still doesn't make complete sense...

I'll have to see how I feel about it. Maybe it's not an issue and I'm just overly precious about the few mechanics I do have.

[skelpie-limmer]

Your Source of Greatness - Character Creation: Group project or Lonely fun?

So I played a one-shot of Pathfinder 2e the other day, and ironically the majority of my enjoyment around the event was sitting at home, by myself, and thinking up a character. It's very compelling to check out the options and to come up with builds. Crunchy games in particular seem to incentivise (or even require) a lot of this kind of "lonely fun", since it's a great way to learn the rules. It's really enjoyable as a player, but I think I hate it as a GM?

Specifically, there's three different ways of making characters I've experienced, and only one of them I like.

1. "Lonely Fun" character creation. As described in my experience with PF2e, having players build characters in isolation leads to a crapshoot of uncoordinated characters. Since I like heavy roleplay and deep relationships between PCs, it then falls on the GM (me) to try build the connective tissue between characters.

2. "Classroom" character creation. Probably even worse than the lonely fun (since the lonely fun creation is still, in fact, fun) is having players sit at the table in complete silence for hours while they fill out their character sheet. From the GM perspective, it's boring as fuck to wait for people to fill in the sheets. It also can lead to pretty 2-dimensional characters, since players are spending much less time than the lonely fun approach.

3. "Group Project" character creation. This involves consistent talking between players at the table, and has steps during character creation that requires input from other players. It's the PbtA approach where players are collaborating to build their story together. This is the best approach to character creation in my opinion. For games that've done it well, there's the common PbtA bond mechanics, and Ironsworn's approach to worldbuilding (both already implemented in YSoG). Masks: A New Generation has a mechanic that details what happened when the heroes first came together, but I wanted to see if there was something deeper and more fundamental to the character.

Something Deeper and More Fundamental to The Character

From playtesting Your Source of Greatness (YSOG), I've noticed that coming up with an interesting background is a bit tricky. Given its OSR influence, a really obvious solution is to given nested tables that have potential background options (I'm pretty sure every OSR game has them).

However, what if instead of rolling, you asked everyone around the table which'd be the most interesting option, considered their opinions, and then decided. For the extra nerdy among you, this approach was inspired by Wicked Ones' Compel mechanic.

I'm hoping to be able to get into properly playtesting YSoG soon (especially once my weekends free up a bit more than they currently are). I do feel a bit nervous to do so, since the game is intentionally a blank slate.

[skelpie-limmer]

The Blades Hack - Dark Deals

Dark Deals are one of the mechanics that feels like it'd be hard to go back to BitD with -- kind of like how, in playing other games, I end up missing flashbacks.

The way Dark Deals work is when the GM gives you a consequence, you can suggest your own, and if the GM finds it more interesting / impactful, then that replaces the original consequence (and cannot be resisted).

This kind of collaborative consequence-building is super inline with BitD's ethos. I actually had the idea after reading about a about a newbie GM who didn't feel comfortable with improvising consequences. Having a mechanic to allow players to do it felt like a no-brainer, especially since BitD's existing "incentivised masochism" mechanic in devil's bargains, to me, has some issues I don't love (DB negotiations can take ages, and +1d is quite minor).

One more interesting element of Dark Deals is that taking a trauma is always accepted. I often found that in BitD, there's not much of a threat of death. In TBH, the threat is significantly more present, but the PCs are also given some tools to deal with it. Taking a trauma for a dark deal can literally save your life, but since the max number of traumas have been brought down, it's something you can do twice.

So far it's one of the mechanics that's been a good success. It gives players more authorial control and allows for more collaborative storytelling.

[skelpie-limmer]

Your Source of Greatness - Concept Art #1

I'm trying to find the visual identity for my FitD fantasy game. I love this kind of "modern retro" aesthetic, though I'm unsure if it properly captures the game's tone. Looks cool tho