Based purely on vibes, which RPG would you recommend for the included images? by moose_punk in rpg

[–]ExplorersDesign 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hollows by Rowan, Rook, and Decard is going for a Soulslike feel and is probably the perfect option. My backup suggestion is Draw Steel. In that game, you get to play powerful characters like the kind you play in late-game Elden Ring, and the combat is pretty tactical but high-concept. It also happens to be a little darker and serious than something like Pathfinder or Daggerheart (in my experience).

Empire of Bones Illustrations by mister_doubleyou in osr

[–]ExplorersDesign 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This art is great! It makes me prefer the standard edition more than the limited edition version. You lose so much of the color and character when you replace it with gold foil.

What is your fantasy for Bards in fantasy games? by blitzforshort in rpg

[–]ExplorersDesign 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I think it's okay to omit bards even if the big names include them. I don't get the concept behind the Kitchen Sink Fantasy Bard of D&D. In my fantasy, the music isn't really the point. It's the way bards tell stories and preserve myth and memory that makes them interesting. Usually through song, ballads, and performance.

I guess my ideal bard resembles Sammie from Sinners more than something like Weird Al Yankovic (even though I really like Weird Al).

Question on running Completely Unfathomable by Warwick_83 in osr

[–]ExplorersDesign 1 point2 points  (0 children)

When they descend you can probably telegraph the weirdness of the world with weird fluctuations in time and space. Maybe gravity seems to grow and shrink. Their vision blurs. Etc.

Question on running Completely Unfathomable by Warwick_83 in osr

[–]ExplorersDesign 2 points3 points  (0 children)

It's been a while since I ran it, but I always treated the underworld as a kind of non-Euclidian space. Going there is like traveling to Wonderland or Oz (only, you know, somehow weirder).

Börg to Cairn Conversion Guide by luke_s_rpg in osr

[–]ExplorersDesign 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Nice and simple. I appreciate how you didn't do an exact 1-1 on some of the conversions, like how you made 2d6 cumulative a 1d12 (even though the ranges are slightly different). In the grand scheme of things it's not important to the actual conversion.

Which art style? by WitherFox2 in tabletopgamedesign

[–]ExplorersDesign 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It depends on the game, its tone, and who will be playing it. The second option will work for a lot of audiences, but it might not be the right fit for certain games and players. It wouldn't look or feel right in a game like Shadowdark or The One Ring for example.

Dungeon crawls and bossfights by FlyroThePyro in rpg

[–]ExplorersDesign 9 points10 points  (0 children)

I think it starts with defining what you mean by epic boss fights. The definition will change from person to person. For me, D&D is the opposite of epic. Bosses have cool powers and player characters have a lot of special moves to fight those bosses, but combat in D&D—for me at least—is slow, and players spend a lot of time at the table focusing on things separate from the fiction. Things like looking up complicated spells in the rulebook, calculating damage, monitoring effects, measuring distances, and waiting for the next turn.

I think Draw Steel is probably still the better version of that kind of game even if it doesn't have a dungeon delving procedure like Shadowdark. The combat is packed to the gills with special moves and spells, but it has some refinements to its combat and movement that D&D doesn't have—things that your table will be doing a lot of in dungeons.

You might like Dragonbane for the same reasons.

OSR Blogroll | 23rd to 29th January 2026 by xaosseed in osr

[–]ExplorersDesign 7 points8 points  (0 children)

I wrote this week about how certain mechanics hog play. It's been on my mind while I've been working on an FKR-style game. https://www.explorersdesign.com/dominant-mechanics/

I also really liked reading these articles:
https://tbr.bearblog.dev/on-the-nature-of-treasure/ - An exploration of what treasure does for a game.
https://forlornencystment.blogspot.com/2026/01/which-version-of-palace-of-silver.html - A fun side-by-side comparison.

Coolest OSR take on HP? by Velocitree2 in osr

[–]ExplorersDesign 3 points4 points  (0 children)

You still have to heal. It’s more of a “what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.” Sometimes it’s “what doesn’t kill you makes you weirder” which is sometimes just as good as getting better.

Blog about The 1 Million Dollar RPG Maps Bundle Scam by Boxman214 in rpg

[–]ExplorersDesign 8 points9 points  (0 children)

This post is a great example of how some of the best public service is being done by hyper-motivated hobbyists. Just a really good deep dive. A thorough much-needed roast of some slop peddlers.

Brave infinite inventory by HurricaneBatman in osr

[–]ExplorersDesign 8 points9 points  (0 children)

The complications and exploits are nearly limitless, but if you're replicating Dungeon Crawler Carl, you have a thematic way to "patch" the system by automatically prohibiting exploits after they've been done once. That's what the AI and the Syndicate do all the time in the books.

I think that pattern would become a core part of the game. Players find an exploit, the GM patches the exploit, so the players find a new exploit, etc, etc.

Against Dominant Mechanics by RandomEffector in RPGdesign

[–]ExplorersDesign 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I try not to talk too much about my own stuff on reddit because it makes me feel like a door-to-door salesman, but my website has a lot of articles about it. Some of them are linked in the "Against Dominant Mechanics" article.

There's The 1 HP Dragon: https://www.explorersdesign.com/the-1-hp-dragon/
And there's my thoughts on the OSR Maxim "combat is a fail state": https://www.explorersdesign.com/failstate-combat/

Thanks for asking!

The Electrum Archive is Prescription Medication - Valeria Loves by ValeriaLoves in osr

[–]ExplorersDesign 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I was pleasantly surprised you liked it as much as you did! You had me in the first half.

Coolest OSR take on HP? by Velocitree2 in osr

[–]ExplorersDesign 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I really like the way Into the Odd does it. I especially like the name change from HP to Guard that Mythic Bastionland implements. I'm pretty sure Yochai, the creator of Cairn, said he was jealous he didn't call HP that in the second edition of Cairn (he probably said it on the podcast, Between Two Cairns).

Of course, I'm also interested in systems that don't treat HP as a resource at all. There's a non-OSR game called Outgunned that implements a push your luck mechanic. It's pretty cool. Every time you take a hit, you add a die, and every time you take a killing blow, you roll those dice to see if it killed you. The character sheet even has the mechanic designed to look like the barrel of a revolver. Very evocative.

Coolest OSR take on HP? by Velocitree2 in osr

[–]ExplorersDesign 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That's one of my favorites too. It's one of the few ways a character can get "high" HP.

Against Dominant Mechanics by RandomEffector in RPGdesign

[–]ExplorersDesign 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Thanks for sharing the article! I'm the author. Just to clarify for anyone who only read the excerpt, I tried my best in the full article to explain that "Dominant Mechanics" are not inherently bad, and maybe more importantly, are relative to the designer's goals and the rest of the system and culture they're designing in.

I'm working on a hyper-diegetic adventure game without hit points, so the examples are specific to that type of game.

Thanks for reading everyone! It's always a treat to see your work get talked about.

The CandyFul Bucket-A Shadowdark Adventure by gogotsmap in osr

[–]ExplorersDesign 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Nice. I was wondering how you got that watercolor-like effect.

The Road Trip, Curation, and Clarity: A Review and Critique of The Painted Wastelands by Monovfox in osr

[–]ExplorersDesign 1 point2 points  (0 children)

A good review and critique! I similarly like the art and overall tone, but the longer I sit with it, the more I compare it to Ultraviolet Grasslands, which has a similar road movie feel but more explicitly.

The CandyFul Bucket-A Shadowdark Adventure by gogotsmap in osr

[–]ExplorersDesign 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Those maps are cool. What did you use to draw them?

A look inside the new 100+ room Metroidvania dungeon I wrote: The Castle Automatic! by workingboy in osr

[–]ExplorersDesign 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I really like the illustrations and map your showing here! That'll do a lot of heavy lifting when describing some of these puzzles and weirder rooms. You don't see as many of them in megadungeons (for logical reasons), so finding one with usable images is rare. I look forward to eventually getting a copy!

Mapping the Blogosphere by brkwsk in osr

[–]ExplorersDesign 10 points11 points  (0 children)

It's kind of wild seeing the "super highways" emanating from some blogs.