RPG Design Zine Two | Nathan D. Paoletta
Available through heartofthedeernicorn | Free
This November, rather than writing a novel, I've decided to challenge myself with finally writing out my journaling RPG or at least making progress on its creation. (RPGember I guess?) I found Paoletta's take on RPGs as "conversations" and how he summarizes the interaction of elements to be helpful in providing another perspective from which to consider the elements of the game I'm working on.
"Roleplaying is a conversation mediated by system that results in the players saying things they otherwise wouldn't. Now, the result of that conversation, that's often short-handed as the story of the game, or maybe the plot."
Today we've started the Carrion Crown AP! It starts with a funeral so you know it can only get better from there! @artofianblackburn is playing Volkauth, a half-orc paladin/slayer, oathbound to rid the world of the undead.
This year, as an alternative to novel writing, I've decided to use the opportunity to get under the hood of another creative venture: journaling RPGs. Creating a whole game can be quite a lift (no doubt the "ember" will end up stretching into December if not beyond.) But these prompts are just a starting point to be completed at any time in any order - just get writing!
The following prompts are based on Nathan D. Paoletta's RPG Design Zines. Paoletta describes RPGs as a "conversation" occurring amongst players. Below, gameplay and conversation are used interchangeably.
Poletta's Zines are available from Heart of the Deernicorn as free PDFs or $5 physical copies here and here.
RPGember Prompt List:
Why does this game exist? What is your motivation for making it? What struck the "spark" of inspiration? As you work throughout the month, refer back to your "why" as a guideline to help with decisions for play and game design.
What roles exist in this game for participants? Is there one player? Multiple? Does it require a GM? What authority does each role have? What permissions are given to each role and what expectations are set to support movement within the conversation?
What is the structure of the game? What does a "unit" of play look like? How does it start? End? Is there a single unit that lasts the entire game? Multiple units strung together? Looping units? How do players transition from one to the next? Consider drawing the structure of units as a diagram.
Element: Color - What "color" and themes does the game have? Where does it come from - game text, player-generated, real world? What can players build themselves? Give an example of how you would customize "color" if you were to play the game right now.
Element: Setting - How is setting established? Is there a setting embedded in the game text? Created by the GM? The players? What can players decide about the setting? Give an example of what setting you would use if you were to play the game right now.
Element: Character - What do characters do in the game? What stance can players hold as characters (actor, director, writer, procedural)? What tools do characters have to accomplish what they do (stats, a resource that is used up, etc.)? What are you saying about the world in which characters exist with the tools they have and don't have? What differentiates characters? How do characters change the course of play?
Element: Character - Consider the granularity of character creation. At what level of abstraction are characters created? What is the utility of this decision (mechanical, thematic, atmospheric, structural, procedural, etc.)?
Element: Character - Storyboard out what the progression arc would look like for a character from beginning to end of game. What changes are reflected in the tools (stats changes, resource changes)? How much autonomy does each character have in following the story?
Element: Situation - What is the situation occurring within the game? You can think of this as they main point of the game - an adventure through the unknown, a murder mystery, a harangued record keeper updating archives. It is different from a scene which is snapshot within the story. How is the situation established? Is it embedded in the premise? Does the GM create it? Is it established through player collaboration?
Scenes - Scenes can be informal or formal and can act in service of the situation, a character moment, backstory, showing something relevant from a differ time/space within the fiction, giving context to a mechanic, etc. When and how do scenes start? When and how do they end? Who determines start and end? What guidance is required for players to be on the same page for what has been set up in the scene? What impact can scenes have on the situation? What is the relationship between scenes and mechanics?
Antagonism & Challenge - Where do complications arise from in the game? Are they player-controlled elements (protagonist/antagonist interactions, characters interacting with the fictional environment)? Are they system-initiated elements (events triggered by game mechanics)? Is it fictional? Mechanical? What pushes play such that "everyone says things they otherwise wouldn't"?
Open Knowledge vs Useful Secrets - What is known to who? When? Why? How are secrets related to mechanical information handled? Secrets for player-facing fiction (i.e. backstory, notes from the GM)? Secrets for character-facing fiction (i.e. knowledge rolls, obvious lies told by an NPC)?
System: Rules - "...[I]s a thing that the game demands you do, and generally are about how different parts of the game relate to and impact each other, 'When you lie to someone, roll your Subterfuge to see what happens next.'" What are some rules in your game? Give an example of how it would work during gameplay.
System: Mechanics - "...[I]s a specific action that a player performs with a limited spread of results, that then inform where the conversation goes next. 'To make a Subterfuge roll, roll 2d6. If it's under your Subterfuge score, they believe you.'" What are some mechanics in your game? Give an example of how it would work during gameplay.
System: Advice - "...[I]s context for how to get certain results out of game interactions that aren't always going to be relevant or obvious, but that you want to make sure players are aware of. 'Remember how, if you know something that they don't, you get Advantage to social roles? If you want lies to be believed, make sure you have that kind of Advantage (as then you're rolling 1d12 instead of 2d6.'" What is some advice that would be included in the game?
System: Best Practices - "...[A]re instructions getting the most out of the game in certain situations where there may be nuance, incomplete information or lessons learned from experience. "Lie when it's going to help you - if you lie in situations where there's no clear upside, and you blow the roll, they stop trusting you no matter whether it's about the true nature of latest financial quarter or your dinner plans you canceled'" What are areas players may be tripped up and what is best practice for navigating those areas?
System: Social Dynamics - "...[A]re the way s in which conversations are shaped by the relationships of the people at the table...'Lies are always to characters, not to players - to get the most out of Subterfuge, the players need to be clear and say "my character is lying about this," and let the dice tell you where the lie is believed or not...'" What are some guidelines for social dynamics amongst players?
Resolution - How are complications resolved? Fortune (i.e. a dice roll)? Drama (i.e. context of the fictional story)? Karma (i.e. derived from past behaviors or decisions kept track of in the real world)?
Core Cycles are what players do when they play and how it feeds back into itself to keep the conversation going. Multiple cycles can exist connected to each other or nested within a larger cycle. What is a core cycle that exists to drive character change? What mediates how characters change throughout the game?
Core Cycles: What is a core cycles that drives reward distribution? Who gets rewards, for what, and what do rewards allow or encourage to do next?
Core Cycles: What is a core cycle that drives narrative progress? How does the fiction change in response to the conversation? Where does the conversation go? What orients players on where they should go next?
Materials - Based on what you've establish thus far, what materials would be needed for gameplay? What medium does play occur through? Can play be done at a distance (virtually, over the phone, by letter)? Does play have to be sequential? Make a guesstimate at how long a game would take to play through in its entirety.
Endings - What defines the end of the game? Is it a mechanical (a resource running out or gaining access to a resource? Is it a fictional trigger (like achieving an in-character goal or a character death)? Is it a real-world threshold (like a time-limit or using up all of a physical resource)?
Iteration! Now that you've establish some of the basics of your game, it's time to take it out for a roll! Because of the nature of gameplay, this prompt stretches over a few days. You may want to spend a day gathering all your materials into a single draft and reading it aloud to get a sense of the flow, or jump right into gameplay.
Iteration! Make sure to document any questions that arise.
Iteration! If you think of immediate answers, jot them down, but don't get to caught up in figuring out everything right now. This is just a first draft.
Review - Now that you've played your first iteration of the game, it's time to organize and reflect. Organize whatever notes, questions, and answers you documented during your playthrough. It may be helpful to re-write these into a notebook, type them in a new word document, or organize them in sections in a binder.
Review - Relationship Maps (R-Maps) can be used as a visual to document how the initial state of the world changes over time. Draw an R-Map to document the changes which occurred during your game. Some examples are a genogram or structural map. (See pictures at bottom of post for examples.)
Review - Reflect on your experience during gameplay. For this part, refer back to your "why" from the first prompt. Has the "why" changed? If so, how? If not, how well does this iteration tie back to the "why"? Does the "why" give any insight into some of the questions or barriers that arose during gameplay? This is also a moment to check your "spark" - do you still feel motivated to keep creating or has the spark moved elsewhere?
Get some feedback - share your game with a close friend, family member, or community. It can be an overview, some detail you are particularly proud of (or frustrated with), or even an invitation to play!
stumbled upon a new solo rpg that i've decided to try (witch by eliot crow on etsy). using it as a prompt source for my own frankensteined roleplay. Adding some of my mechanics with a bit of property management à la stardew valley, some creeping plants and terrible mist per the recent silent hill: f release, and use of the citadel oracle deck. also have created a few tables of events and people to keep things interesting
Land to rest at fork in road before crossroad. Not far from high street now.
*beep beep* "Huehuehue!"
Odd sound. Look around, jackdaw friend and I see parakeet in tree! Bit outside usual territory, parakeets usually stay in parks.
Parakeet pecking at large rectangle. See humans play with lots of times. Smart-phone they call it.
If so smart, maybe can help us find tiny human?
Ask Parakeet if will lend smartphone?
Him laugh, "Huehuehue!" Hops off smartphone, beckons to use.
Peck. Peck. Pe-
MUSIC!
Parakeet and jackdaw friend startled, fly to next branch. Almost join them.
Feel strangely bold now.
