The Art and Science of Magic System Design TTRPG Design Discourse: Article 8 of 14 We've examined narrative and tactical design philosophies as abstract principles. Now we apply them to a concrete challenge: magic systems. [...]
Now we're beyond a character's origins and why they are; we're moving into what role they play in a setting or group. This provides both mechanical benefits and guidance in their motivation as an adventurer. [...]
The Evolution of Tactical TTRPG Design TTRPG Design Discourse: Article 7 of 14 After exploring narrative-first and rules-light approaches, we turn to the other side of the design spectrum: tactical complexity. For millions of players, [...]
Many systems have shifted to using Ancestry in place of what used to just be Race. I understand the why, I've decided to use Lineage instead. I'm making a further distinction between Culture and Lineage. [...]
How Minimalism and Rules-Light Design are Defining the Future of TTRPGs TTRPG Design Discourse: Article 6 of 14 We've explored narrative-focused design and its emphasis on story over simulation. A natural companion to this philosophy [...]
A Note: I very much dislike math, calculations and fiddling with averages or ratios. Please forgive any glaring mistakes. In the last post we broke down some fairly basic combat mechanics. Now let's explore the [...]
Narrative-Driven Design in TTRPGs TTRPG Design Discourse: Article 5 of 14 Having explored the narrative versus tactical divide, we now deep-dive into narrative-driven design. These are systems where story isn't just flavor text for mechanics—it's [...]
Conflict is a very broad term for the intersection of opposing goals. Yes, it's often reflected as flashing swords, sizzling spells and plain old kill the opposition. Role-playing games have to emulate the chaos of [...]
Narrative-Driven vs. Tactical TTRPGs TTRPG Design Discourse: Article 4 of 14 In previous articles, we've examined actual play's cultural impact, the centrality of player agency, and cognitive load as a design constraint. Now we address [...]
Continuing with our quest for a crunchy but minimal mechanic system, let's establish the base for a character that will interact with the rules. Character creation is usually a pile of randomly generated or assigned [...]
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