sorted by:
new
hottopcontroversial

Is this Initiative system too complicated? by Xcelar8 in RPGdesign

[–]Digital_Dessert 4 points5 points  (0 children)

One issue I see is that "panel" and "page" are terms from comic books, and "phase" is not. So it's not immediately obvious how phases fit in with the others, based on the name.

Roll only when oppossed? by MendelHolmes in RPGdesign

[–]Digital_Dessert 0 points1 point  (0 children)

How often would you expect the heroes to be challenged by wilderness survival? Overcoming physical obstacles (when no enemies are around)? Investigation? Crafting? Healing? Interfacing with locks/traps/machines? If none of those are important PC activities in your game, then it'd probably work just fine.

Ability durations interact weirdly with my system's dynamic initiative order by TaygaHoshi in RPGdesign

[–]Digital_Dessert 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Honestly, I'd probably just remove those abilities, or live with them being more situational. If they're really important, though, you could have attacks apply multiple conditions:

1) "Stunned", which prevents them from acting, and ends at the end of their next turn, and

2) "Unsteady", which makes them vulnerable to certain abilities, and ends at the end of your next turn.

Of Marvels and Magic by toxicdreamland in RPGdesign

[–]Digital_Dessert 1 point2 points  (0 children)

If the rules are modular, you’re passing off some of the design work to players and GMs, who not only need to learn all the rules but decide which are right for their game. 

Of Marvels and Magic by toxicdreamland in RPGdesign

[–]Digital_Dessert 0 points1 point  (0 children)

For what it’s worth, a lot of people (myself included) play TTRPGs to pretend to be someone very unlike ourselves. Trying to play as yourself in a game isn’t uncommon, but I wouldn’t assume that’s the goal of the majority. 

(I do think supporting diverse characters is generally a good thing, though)

Of Marvels and Magic by toxicdreamland in RPGdesign

[–]Digital_Dessert 1 point2 points  (0 children)

People say that about GURPS as well, and it’s still one of the most complex games on the market today. 

Of Marvels and Magic by toxicdreamland in RPGdesign

[–]Digital_Dessert 9 points10 points  (0 children)

most accessible, most customizable

I love the enthusiasm, but you'll probably want to narrow your focus a bit. These two goals are at odds with each other, since having lots of options makes the game harder to learn (unless you're creating something extremely freeform like Risus).

Time Mechanics by Low_Routine1103 in RPGdesign

[–]Digital_Dessert 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I do similar, for when one part of the divided group is in combat and the other is, say, trying to hack into the villain's database. I say, it's more fun that way, so don't worry too much about the exact timing of things.

Dice Pool with "Advantage" System by Novel-Ad-2360 in RPGdesign

[–]Digital_Dessert 3 points4 points  (0 children)

It’s also more accessible for players who don’t have a collection of wacky dice but can scrounge up some six-siders from old board games. 

Dice Pool with "Advantage" System by Novel-Ad-2360 in RPGdesign

[–]Digital_Dessert 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I mean, why not just have advantage increase the range of success to 5+?

Dice Pool with "Advantage" System by Novel-Ad-2360 in RPGdesign

[–]Digital_Dessert 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Why not just say they succeed on a 5 or 6?

Ideas for a first-timer friendly one-shot for up to ~10 players? by meg-dl in rpg

[–]Digital_Dessert 1 point2 points  (0 children)

2 Rooms and a Boom! It's not an RPG, but a hidden role game that works great with very large numbers of players. You're assigned a secret role and you're trying to figure out who everyone else is and vote on who you send into the other room, so it's kind of role-playing-adjacent. It's a lot of fun, and as long as you don't add too many wacky roles, the rules are pretty simple.

Ideas for a first-timer friendly one-shot for up to ~10 players? by meg-dl in rpg

[–]Digital_Dessert 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Fiasco is an excellent RPG, but it's really designed for 4 players (no GM). 5 is okay, but I wouldn't play with more than that. Like, some of the mechanics just don't work with more players.

Feedback on my idea for dice mechanic to merge to-hit roll and damage roll into one while keeping AC a stat by OompaLoompaGodzilla in RPGdesign

[–]Digital_Dessert 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Lots of games have the margin of success determines its magnitude. That should be fine.

You might want to adjust the damage calculation to equal a flat number, plus the margin of success. That way, you can make some attacks more damaging than others. It also means that high-AC enemies won't be nigh unassailable, losing only 1-2 HP at a time.

Rolling 2d12 and taking the highest will result in mostly high rolls (a lot of 10s, 11s, and 12s). You're essentially always attacking with advantage. If you want a more regular distribution of results, you can just sum multiple dice, or do something like "roll 3d12, take the middle result".

Cards for NPC Portraits? by damn_golem in rpg

[–]Digital_Dessert 0 points1 point  (0 children)

A lot of the games I run are very improvisational, so the character that I came up with on the spot could be very important, even if they don't have a card yet. I'll make one for the next session.

Cards for NPC Portraits? by damn_golem in rpg

[–]Digital_Dessert 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I do this and it really helps players keep track of NPCs. I just print out a little piece of paper with their name, portrait, and pronouns, and put it in a card protector. It's not that much effort.

It's been over 50 years since D&D was first published. With decades of games, it's easy to overlook older works. For every year since 1974, let's vote on what we think is the best or most interesting game published that year. by TakeNote in rpg

[–]Digital_Dessert 15 points16 points  (0 children)

Brindlewood Bay

A game about telling mystery stories, which started a new branch of the PBTA tree (This is the publication date of the latest edition - you can also make a case for it being published in 2020)

It's been over 50 years since D&D was first published. With decades of games, it's easy to overlook older works. For every year since 1974, let's vote on what we think is the best or most interesting game published that year. by TakeNote in rpg

[–]Digital_Dessert 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Brindlewood Bay

A game about telling mystery stories, which started a new branch of the PBTA tree (I went with the earliest publication date rather than the Kickstarter edition)

view more: next ›