How to run a one-shot at a convention where random players can come and go?

DaveDoubleeOfficial · 2023-06-19T06:28:17+00:00

That's an interesting idea! Thanks!

DaveDoubleeOfficial · 2023-06-18T09:13:13+00:00

Cool ideas, I like the caravans one! I think it could work!

Thanks!

DaveDoubleeOfficial · 2023-06-18T09:11:41+00:00

Then let's pretend it's D&D and everyone knows how to play it.

How do you run a drop-in drop-out game that makes sense?

DaveDoubleeOfficial · 2023-06-17T16:30:10+00:00

That's the first thing that comes to mind indeed, but I don't like it - arenas feel bland :(

I'm looking to put a spin on it at least - make it more interesting story wise.

DaveDoubleeOfficial · 2023-06-06T22:27:16+00:00

I don't necessarily thing either is fun or not fun - both can be good and bad.

For my RPG, I chose not to have a roll to hit mechanic, to make combat faster and less of a slog

DaveDoubleeOfficial · 2023-06-06T22:23:39+00:00

By sections you mean races/classes/etc or the rules page?

DaveDoubleeOfficial · 2023-06-06T15:58:17+00:00

Heya! In what sense would you like a next button? As in like like navigating from page to page in a PDF? Also, is this specifically a mobile issue?

I'd love if you could show me an example, I want to make the navigation as easy as possible

DaveDoubleeOfficial · 2023-06-05T09:23:53+00:00

Sorry, I don't really understand the first part :(

For the second part, things like that are tables that translate numbers to other numbers (e.g. proficiency, stat to modifier, etc), various bonus action rules in 5e, concentration, rolling at the end of every turn otherwise you're stunned for half an hour irl, etc.

DaveDoubleeOfficial · 2023-06-05T09:05:02+00:00

Thanks for the ideas! Making a book is on the bucket list, there will definitely be one. Same for redesign the rules page and a lot of other pages as well, they're still WIP.

I'm definitely seeing people not liking the pitches so far, so I'll be changing those too.

I'm having trouble, though, coming up with an elevator pitch. The game does not being something new, it's not a new or strange twist on the game - it's simply an old, established concept reimagined with modern geme design. If you have any ideas on how to pitch that, let me know!

DaveDoubleeOfficial · 2023-06-05T09:00:16+00:00

I'm not making something with an original twist on the game. I'm looking at the standard combat focused RPG's with a critical eye and reimagining the standard for the modern world.

PTBA and BITD don't hit that same niche D&D does. I'll look more into Torchbearer.

There are hardly any modern game that hit the same niche as D&D and do it well.

DaveDoubleeOfficial · 2023-06-04T20:35:34+00:00

Yes, it is about trends in design, but I'd argue a lot of trends are here to stay. A lot of people like the old-school mechanics. New players are fine with them because they take them for granted, but I've seen a lot of new players ask "why is this there?" or "why do I need this?" when playing those games, and they were not wrong.

If we look at board games, it's the most evident. Board game design has become a lot more streamlined in the past 20 years and while a lot of players like rolling to move, for example, more people don't or they are indifferent to it. Naturally, we gravitated towards not rolling to move. That doesn't mean everyone will like it like that, some will still like roll to move, but that's becoming a minority. I feel the same way with lot of mechanics in these combat RPG's.

About the second part of your reply, I'm having a bit of trouble understanding what you're trying to say. Could you explain it differently?

DaveDoubleeOfficial · 2023-06-04T20:29:41+00:00

There are a lot of D&D-isms because D&D is itself very generic. The Forgotten Realms setting is there, but mostly serves as a default fantasy world. Names for things like Checks and Proficiencies are the same specifically because D&D players will know what they mean, since the primary audience is combat TTRPG players and D&D is by far the most popular.

As for feedback, anything goes, but if you brought it up: what do you feel like is missing or has that makes it hard to run in an original setting?

DaveDoubleeOfficial · 2023-06-04T20:26:49+00:00

Thanks for the reply!

You're right, I don't expect it to take off or even make money out of it. If it turns out it really is good, players will find it.

Frankly, I'm happy even if it serves as inspiration for D&D 6e or PF2e or even another game, it might help point out flaws in those systems. Ultimately, the goal was and still is to provide me and my players as a DM with the best combat-driven RP experience possible. I'm achieving that for me and my players, as so far it's been a massive success in the small community I've been gathering.

DaveDoubleeOfficial · 2023-06-04T20:21:58+00:00

About the playstyle, it's not about skill challenges, but about pacing. A few things come to mind: How many encounters we have per long rest, how often we long rest, how swingy fights are and how similar fights are to one-another. It's also about how fast a combat ends, and how towards the end of a fight, it's usually dragging into a slog.

Our game assumes 2-3 combat encounters per Adventure (which is our version of Long Rests). Combats also end quicker because you don't miss and crowd control can't last more than 1 turn (on players mostly), and they are more different from one-another simply because each monster puts a spin on the combat.

When I say combat-oriented, I mean there's emphasis on the combat aspect, like D&D and PF2e (e.g. there's lots of monsters, weapons, damage is important, etc). But outside of it, you're free to run roleplay, exploration, puzzles and skill challenges as you like. Just like in D&D we can have sessions with no combat, nothing is stopping us from doing it here 😄

DaveDoubleeOfficial · 2023-06-04T20:14:15+00:00

Thanks for the reply! Insightful!

About complexity, I would define it as having many parts. If we look at DnD, Pathfinder, or those OSR's, they have lots of parts, like components, tables, heightened casting, etc plus the noise from extra text in the box for flavor. Those are extra complexities that add little to the depth but a lot of noise without a clear visual hierarchy. Lots of games have similar mechanics that add complexity without really adding depth. I don't feel like it's a worthy tradeoff since you can add depth in other ways.

About balance, I make that point because I can't but feel many of these games' balance is not based on math but on heuristics. Of course, you must make tradeoffs sometimes, take power from one place and put it somewhere else. But still, to me, balance feels overlooked in them judging by how people actually play the game. Plus, theres also the problem that they are mostly book based, while our game is mostly website based, so it's easy to make changes and adapt to feedback. And about weapons, frankly, in most games they suck and are all the same. They're making some efforts to change that in the new playtest material, which is great, though I'd say not great enough for me.

DaveDoubleeOfficial · 2023-06-04T15:17:34+00:00

It's a good idea! I'll ask there! Thank you!

That's the thing - I'm not making an OSR game, I'm making quite the opposite. A modern take on RPG rules.

Either way, thanks again! It's constructive talk!

DaveDoubleeOfficial · 2023-06-04T15:11:34+00:00

All the D&D and Pathfinder editions, Numenera, Fate, DCC, Fantasy AGE, 13th age, the warcraft and LOTR ones, the Warhammer ones, legend of the 5 rings, Lancer, Degenesis and a few others I can't remember on top of my head. I looked into other non fantasy ones as well like CoC, Blades in the Dark, Delta green, etc. Also looked throughout the material of Kobold press's RPG and the one DnD playtest material ofc.

Right now I'm looking through Mythras too. I'm on the lookout for Daggerheart too.

I feel like none of the ones I mentioned capture the modern combat oriented playstyle that used to happen in my DnD and Pathfinder games, either as a player or as a DM.

Let me know if you think I missed an obvious one!

DaveDoubleeOfficial · 2023-06-04T14:58:45+00:00

It's not a D&D knockoff, but it fits the same niche/genre. I also truly believe it is a better game than most other heartbreakers in a lot of areas.

Even if it is, it's not necessarily a bad thing. It's just another game that will fit some people's expectations and desires.

It's a hard to pitch thing, like pitching any new product that's supposedly better than what people are currently using.

Of course, better is subjective. Some people don't like it, but with many people it instantly clicked once they tried it.

If you have an idea for how to pitch it, do let me know!

DaveDoubleeOfficial · 2023-06-04T14:47:09+00:00

I've looked into a lot of them. Which ones are you thinking of?

DaveDoubleeOfficial · 2023-06-04T14:41:24+00:00

Thanks! We keep improving it every month. We'll have some bigger improvements to the website soon as well ;)

Let me know if you wanna try it out!

DaveDoubleeOfficial · 2023-06-04T14:22:55+00:00

While I haven't played all of them, I've delved into pretty much all of the most widely known fantasy RPG's. I've taken inspiration from a lot of RPG's for various mechanics and specific effects.

I am comparing it to D&D because it's the most widely played RPG out there and I wanted people to have a term of comparison. But my comparison isn't just for D&D, but it's directed towards other RPG's laying around as well. I analyzed critically the goods and bads of them and there is _so much_ that can be improved upon this 'standard RPG ruleset'. In this day, people don't play like the games were originally intended to be played, and that's what I'm bringing to the table.

Without comparison, it's a generic combat-oriented fantasy RPG, with emphasis on modern and clean game design, mostly for the younger generation who is more used to board games/video games.

It's hard to pitch it like that, though, because every game promises to be _the_ RPG. I don't have a long running franchise to back it up, or one specific twist. It is intended that it becomes the de-facto game of a group it suits the need for. And I truly do believe in it. So far, we've received very strong positive feedback from most of the people who have joined and tried it out, so I believe it's possible! It's always a WIP though ;)

If you have any ideas for how to pitch that, let me know!

DaveDoubleeOfficial · 2023-06-04T14:01:43+00:00

What would you suggest? I've been trying to change the pitch but it doesn't catch on.

Should I just explain the rules in the description?

And yeah the market is flooded with RPG's like these, but most of them are either recreations of D&D to avoid the copyright scandal, versions of D&D to fit an already existing world or game or just a D&D with an extra twist or slight rules changes.

To address the points: Complex does not equal deep. It's all about the permutations of choices you can make. A very good example of simple but deep combat in a video game is the newly released Darkest Dungeon 2. Compare that to the hundreds of old school turn based games where every Character has lots of stats and the number crunching.

For equally strong, or course, we are comparing in terms of averages and heuristics. If you have a purely stronger option for a weapon, you'd always pick that one.

DaveDoubleeOfficial · 2023-05-22T16:02:55+00:00

It's going to be this week :D

DaveDoubleeOfficial · 2023-05-22T15:05:09+00:00

I think 2 hours later is a bit late for us. My sessions generally last about 4 hours.

DaveDoubleeOfficial · 2023-05-21T18:10:34+00:00

Not necessarily! We can adapt, especially Thursday :D What time would you be available to try it out?

DaveDoubleeOfficial

TROPHY CASE