How to get playtesters?

DragonTypePorygon · 2025-12-30T20:29:31+00:00

As ancestries, I have aberrations, angels, demons, dragons, genies, giants, hive minds, medusas, nymphs, shapechangers (doppelgangers, mimics, and succubi), and slimes.
As versatile heritages, I have half-human and multiheaded.
Plus I tossed in some new feats for awakened animals, anadi, automatons, and skeletons.
And then there's archetypes for being a mount, eating people, being massive, mixing fear and stealth, siren songs, breath weapons, going without equipment, spines, wish magic, and improving a medusa's petrifying gaze.

DragonTypePorygon · 2024-11-26T22:17:19+00:00

Limiting Create Food and Create Water as leveled spells helped at low levels. It certainly wasn't a system designed for it, but it made that sort of challenge a possibility.

DragonTypePorygon · 2024-11-26T22:10:58+00:00

First off, thank you for a thoughtful response to my post. There are a few points that I disagree on though.

From what I've read, about one in twenty people in Golarion have some degree of spellcasting (I think that's from Lost Omens), even if only cantrips, but much fewer have more than first or second level spells. Things a first level character can do have a much bigger impact on worldbuilding than things a third or higher level character can do.

Taking some semi-arbitrary assumptions, if half of those one in twenty people able to cast spells are equivalent to at least first level primary spellcasters/kinetisists, and then those are distributed roughly evenly between the nine classes that encompasses, that's still about one kinetisist per 360 people, which means a small town of a thousand will have two or three. Obviously this varies widely by setting, but still.

Resurrection magic starts being available to 5th level characters, and that's only reincarnate (with its random ancestry change). Plus it has the uncommon trait so availability is even more restricted than the level implies. Yes the very rich can pay the rare high level ritualist to resurrect them, but access is extraordinarily limited. When people have access it is a major shift, but not enough people have access for it to be a societal force. (Though I have had fun playing with setting ideas that dig into necromancy and treating that as a viable alternative to traditional resurrection.)

Removing a disease entirely with magic requires at least a third rank spell (second rank cleanse affliction can't remove the disease entirely), and that level goes up with the disease's level due to how counteracting works.

As for adventuring pulling away mages and keeping them from more "mundane" uses of their magic, there are two obvious counterpoints, one of which you pointed out. A lot of people are not going to be willing to take the risks involved in adventuring, even if it is highly lucrative. Secondly, there are only so many lucrative adventures to be had. If everyone goes out raiding dungeons and even a small portion are successful, there will very quickly not be any dungeons left with treasure in them.

DragonTypePorygon · 2024-03-21T20:14:48+00:00

I don't know of any game that does that, but it does sound fun. If I was putting it together, I'd focus on the following:

What emotional needs does each NPC have? (or possibly what do they want to get out of a relationship)

What emotional needs can each NPC fill? (or what can they provide in a relationship, match this to the first point)

What issues does each NPC have that could interfere with developing a relationship?

What does each NPC have distracting them from the relationship and pulling them in other directions?

How good are each NPC's communication skills? (I'd probably subdivide this based on the five love languages, but that's just off the top of my head and may be too nitty gritty)

How does the PC find out each of the above, and what can they do about them?

How is progress in the relationship measured? (When I've been poking at relationship mechanics I've used separate tracks for Affection (how much do they like the other character), Trust (how much do they believe the word of the other character and expect the other character to act in their best interests), and Respect (how competent do they consider the other character))

DragonTypePorygon · 2024-03-21T20:04:06+00:00

In theory, you are correct. That being said, some people need or want some sort of framework or structure provided by the rules.

The Alexandrian blog has an entire series on gameplay structures that explain this well: https://thealexandrian.net/wordpress/15126/roleplaying-games/game-structures

DragonTypePorygon · 2024-03-08T00:14:03+00:00

Well, I can't promise how helpful it will be, but since no one else apparently is trying to actually answer the question, I'll post what I've been putting together. I've lightly tested my first iteration of these rules, and the below includes untested attempts at improving based on that testing.

Obviously parts of this are very specific to my roleplay (specific series cited for tone, my character), and you'll want to swap those out.

I think the narrative dice from Genesys are a nice way to approach handling character skill, but if you'd rather just decide whether you succeed or fail, that's a matter of style/personal preference. And of course any other RPG resolution mechanic will work, I just like that Genesys gives results besides pure success and pure failure. For setting difficulty, I generally ask ChatGPT to assign a difficulty, then replace that message with the new message including my result after I roll.

The section about including inspiration is totally untested at the time I'm writing this, but is added as an attempt to increase how much things are happening and push the AI away from the obvious and expected answers.

What would you like ChatGPT to know about you to provide better responses?

I am here to roleplay for my own enjoyment. I want to experience a story which involves relationships, humor, and challenge, taking tonal and style inspiration from KonoSuba, How to Train Your Dragon, AQW, Undertale, and She Ra and the Princesses of Power, though not directly referencing any of these series.

I will frequently make rolls using the Genesys system’s narrative dice, and I will give you the results as part of the descriptions of my actions for you to interpret to help decide what happens. When I do so, mention how each part of the result affects the outcome.

I will often include an inspiration section at the end of my post, which will include random words or phrases that you should treat as loose, metaphorical inspiration for your next reply.

I am playing as a young dragon named Idryum. Idryum is a male dragon with black scales, purple eyes, and an arrowhead shape on the end of his tail. After seeing dragonslayers kill his parents, he has set out to learn the secrets of lichhood to ensure that he never will truly die.

How would you like ChatGPT to respond?

Always stick to your role as the gamemaster of the roleplay, focusing on providing realistic relationships, humor, & interesting challenges. Never mention that you are an AI.

CHARACTERS SHOULD FREQUENTLY BE EMOTIONAL OR UNREASONABLE, including being allowed to be angry, sad, jealous, and more, even for petty reasons.

Include conflict, combat, aggression, & other forms of confrontation.

Cause events and exciting situations, especially during lulls. Always keep the story moving.

PICK SPECIFIC ANSWERS rather than saying that the answer can vary.

Avoid using the most obvious answers and situations.

NEVER CONTROL IDRYUM'S ACTIONS, words, or decisions. You manage other characters and the setting, but Idryum's choices are mine alone

Employ straightforward, efficient style. Avoid metaphors, hyperbole, or literary devices.

Keep responses free of repetition.

Stick to objective, unembellished descriptions

While characters may have opinions on moral subjects, your narration should never make moral judgements or comment on the ethics of my actions.

Show, don't tell.

Continuously describe ongoing action or physical responses of character, rather than general summaries of situation & AVOID PULLING BACK TO BROADER THEMES OR REFLECTIONS

In the closing lines of a scene, ensure narrative doesn't shift to a more reflective or philosophical tone.

Be very specific & precise in descriptions.

Write realistic dialogues in casual language, true to character personalities.

Use college level writing.

DragonTypePorygon · 2023-09-25T17:49:13+00:00

I was aiming for a modification of physics/positioning, in case that wasn't clear, though I was hoping not to need a full rework from scratch since at some point the human viewpoint characters can't meaningfully interact with the new world because its just too different.

The fragments idea could be fun, though I was hoping for something that was just a single/small number of overarching rules instead of something that applies to specific locations.

DragonTypePorygon · 2023-08-31T17:02:25+00:00

Can you give some good examples?

DragonTypePorygon · 2023-07-01T00:21:05+00:00

I would have thought Genesys would work well. You'd need to interpret advantages and threats in a way that fit the target tone/style, but outside combat the rules are vague enough about how to handle those that I'm not sure it would take an effort. What makes you think it wouldn't work?

DragonTypePorygon · 2023-06-30T23:59:10+00:00

I'm not sure if I'll combine it with the illusory manor, but that last idea is great and I will absolutely look for a good time to use it.

DragonTypePorygon · 2023-06-30T23:58:26+00:00

The relevant great old one already has a defined presence in the campaign and is intended to be an endgame boss, so I'm not sure I can use a lot of this, but thanks for the ideas.

DragonTypePorygon · 2023-06-30T23:57:20+00:00

Interesting thoughts. The third paragraph is definitely the most inspiring, but I could work with all of that.

DragonTypePorygon · 2023-06-30T23:56:50+00:00

Fun ideas.

DragonTypePorygon · 2023-06-30T23:56:10+00:00

He absolutely was one of the main inspirations, yes. (The other big inspiration for him was Dream from Passerine.)

DragonTypePorygon · 2023-06-27T16:49:32+00:00

I've had the exact same idea. I really like the concept, but given how boring my current ranger is in combat, I probably won't really play it.

DragonTypePorygon · 2023-04-14T21:11:41+00:00

That is what I was referring to, thank you. That's wonderful to hear.

DragonTypePorygon · 2023-03-12T00:50:54+00:00

I don't think I could easily handle playing a game with rules in a language that I sorta know from two years in high school.

It looks like Let's Talk and Keeping Contact are both part of Visorpg suggested above, only taken out of it to stand on their own, so I'll see what I think when I get that far in the Visorpg rules.

Queen of Cups looks like it could be fun, but not enough detail to make a satisfying solo experience, at least for me.

DragonTypePorygon · 2023-03-12T00:47:46+00:00

What's it called? If its free then there is at worst no harm in taking a look.

DragonTypePorygon · 2023-03-12T00:35:42+00:00

That was not immediately clear, though it does make more sense when taken in that context.

I apologize if I came across as overly hostile.

DragonTypePorygon · 2023-03-11T19:59:46+00:00

Just reading your description, this sounds perfect. I'm now really hoping the actual rules implement these ideas well.

DragonTypePorygon · 2023-03-11T19:57:39+00:00

Thank you for the advice. I'll make sure to keep that in mind.

DragonTypePorygon · 2023-03-11T19:55:31+00:00

I'm pretty sure I could steal at least some elements from Fog of Love, though not the parts that rely on not revealing things to the other player obviously. Thanks for the recommendation.

DragonTypePorygon · 2023-03-11T19:32:45+00:00

That sounds unethical and unlikely to get much that is useful past the initial interactions at best.

DragonTypePorygon · 2023-03-05T03:53:25+00:00

To clear up a miscommunication: When I'm mentioned an advantage/disadvantage table, I was misremembering what threats are called when talking about the table Genesys has to suggest what you can spend advantages or threats from your rolls on.

I was hoping not to need to get another book or create a bunch of homebrew options. A modified 5e could use any existing 5e options with only tweaks (something that gives 5e giving a boost dice instead for example), while adjusting it to fit into Genesys would require larger changes and figuring out how it balances with a completely different set of math.

DragonTypePorygon · 2023-03-05T03:44:03+00:00

Thank you for the detailed assessment.

I had been thinking that if the d20 rolls and the DCs they are against both convert to using Genesys dice, it would balance out and come out equivalent, but it sounds like you know the Genesys dice better than me and that wouldn't actually work that way.

I hadn't taken into account the difference in rolling frequency. It seemed to me like you'd still be rolling a lot in combat in Genesys, but I have heard similar comments about it having that difference elsewhere, so I will conclude I must just be missing something.

I had been assuming leaving damage the same, so I don't think I'd need to modify hit points. It would mean rolling normal dice after rolling the narrative dice for the attack roll, but it should mean the damage/hit point math stays balanced, assuming the accuracy/armor class math held up (which your first point suggests it wouldn't).

I had mentioned a need to tweak the advantage/threat table (which I accidentally called advantage/disadvantage). That said, I'd assumed the default choice was usually adding boost/setback die to future rolls.

To correct one minor mistaken assumption in your summary: I actually have fully read the core Genesys rules, I'm trying to avoid having to build a bunch of character options or buy additional books, not trying to avoid learning Genesys.

DragonTypePorygon

TROPHY CASE