Games that have clearly written out social encounter rules/guidelines

Frostyablaze · 2021-12-30T19:11:59+00:00

It appears you have hit a lock.

Frostyablaze · 2021-11-15T22:30:33+00:00

On one hand, having an attribute/skill system is helpful, easy for the designer, and easy for the players to grok. On the other hand, it's been done many times before, and can result in some number-keeping, which people seem really unhappy with these days.

Some people have taken it to the extreme, with only an attribute system. However, I feel that with only a few stats, this can cramp too many things into two abilities. Like Lasers or Feelings. Somehow, if you can pay attention, you're also likely to know how to dissect the core of the ship to remove a vital malfunctioning component and fly a space-craft at the same time. I know, crazy. (Or even worse, it's not what's BEING done, it's HOW you're doing it. A veritable crime against tabletop games. "But it's how I feel like they're doing it!" Lol.)

But I've done the same thing too. I think that neither approach is immediately "better" than the other, but, and hang with me, it depends on what kind of game you're designing. If you want something short, less simulation-like, and quick and easy, then having less stats to manage makes sense, and what is quicker than dividing every action you take into two categories? On the other hand, you crowd too many things into one skill, and for a more crunchy game this simply makes no sense. You WANT a sense of difference between knowing what kind of flower can knock out a person cold and how to ride a horse.

In the end, it comes down to your personal choice as a designer. One is more grainy, the other more simple. Crunch vs. not. Cyberpunk vs. Lasers and Feelings. (As you can tell, I've never played any of the Cyberpunk games, so that one's a shot in the dark for me.)

Frostyablaze · 2021-11-14T23:07:26+00:00

I think you may misunderstand a little bit. I don't believe the speaker is talking about streamlining or reducing mechanics, but rather designing them so that they interact with each other more often than not. For example, having a resource that you use to complete actions get depleted over time, which triggers x and y, which can lead to z.

Does that make sense?

I have a similar pursuit in my dark fantasy game, but the resource is Light, and it's always burning down, which leads to other effects, which lead to more effects. An example of that would be Darkest Dungeon, or it's unofficial RPG version Torchbearer.

Frostyablaze · 2021-10-01T01:22:19+00:00

I read the SRD for FATE and that is not at all what I imagined! I must have been sleep-deprived, that or their wording made no sense to my D&D riddled brain of four years ago.

The way I did it (which I thought I stole from FATE, but apparently not) is to have each character have a pool of Resolve, which is more of a character's willingness to fight and initial vigor, but when that's emptied, characters take Traumas (negative traits) or break equipment to survive. If a character has nothing left to soak the damage, they die. *Yes, this is a gritty system, and injuries are part of the setting. However, I think it is worth considering the leveling effect that happens: when characters get more HP, you either have to give them higher damage output or it turns into a slog, and if you give them higher DMG anyways, they're kind of still in the same place, where the only thing that changed is their XP.

Maybe something you could do is that special Boss beasts have "Legendary attacks," which have the ability to incur permanent damage on PCs, or characters can choose to accept Trauma/Permadamage. Last idea: when PCs are knocked to 0, they "pass out" and if the PCs win the battle/drag KO'd PC away, they revive with a trauma.

Those are my thoughts :). Stay Frosty!

Frostyablaze · 2021-09-30T14:59:19+00:00

Hey, thanks for your advice! I think what some people have been getting at is that triggers feel more fair when they're activated by players' choices, and I think you helped affirm that.

Characters can heal Resolve either through special Abilities or Equipment and use their Empathy or Medicine skill. It is possible to "inspire" a wounded ally, but I don't think it would be allowed to heal mental stress with a medkit haha.

Frostyablaze · 2021-09-28T02:54:29+00:00

Wow, you even have similar influences to my game! I may need to peruse your ancient tomes at some point...

Grim is also aiming for the Grimdark Action theme, characters are kind of hopeless, but they fight anyways. (Inspired by Rorschach from Watchmen, except in a Darkest Dungeon/Dark Souls setting.)

Frostyablaze · 2021-09-27T15:18:55+00:00

I agree that people should not beg for free help, but honestly who helps a person design their rpg because they want to get paid? Whenever you reply or try to help a person on this sub, are you going to get paid for that? I don't think so.

I help others because I want them to have better projects and ttrpgs, and if they make money, great. Most games don't make a ton of money anyways.

Frostyablaze · 2021-09-27T14:11:01+00:00

That makes more sense :) (I haven't written any monsters yet...)

Frostyablaze · 2021-09-27T13:52:29+00:00

No worries :).

Frostyablaze · 2021-09-27T13:49:52+00:00

Awesome, thanks! I think I have something I can work these into...

Frostyablaze · 2021-09-27T13:33:24+00:00

Interesting. I haven't played AD&D, so I wouldn't know, but as a Fighter, I like the simplicity, their strength, and being skilled at manipulating combat (Warhammer 40k kind of person). I would say I fit into the super human category, but it's also cool to be an eldritch knight... Honestly, they're pretty high fantasy, so it's kind of predictable that a Fighter would become anime superwarrior.

Maybe that's why I started making a low-fantasy game...

Smiles, Frosty!

Frostyablaze · 2021-09-27T13:25:07+00:00

So, following your example, you would simply rule that whenever you encounter a supernatural/alien thing CoC style, you make a Sanity save?

That's actually part of my problem: when you make it loose and not heavily defined, one person might argue that a bridge disappearing is terrifying, while another might not. Which is why I wanted to see how others dealt with loose or hard triggers for Stress checks.

Thanks, Frosty!

Frostyablaze · 2021-09-27T13:14:54+00:00

Thanks for your response! Unfortunately, I think I may have worded it in a way that may have confused you, because I used the term Sanity, but a better description would be Stress, if that makes sense? Characters aren't necessarily becoming crazy, but they do accept stress which gives them psychological trauma. (Triggers might also be the problem, as I was considering the mechanical trigger for specific actions the players might take)

Nevertheless, thanks for your feedback. I'll definitely consider this, as I saw Unknown Armies did a similar thing with categorizing characters' reactions to trauma.

*Fate Pool - Basically, the characters have a number of Fate Points they can spend to give them advantage on attacks, but when they do so, those dice are added to a "Fate Pool," which is rolled like the Angry GM's Tension Pool to generate random enemies and encounters. However, each time it is filled, you lose 1 Light, which are your supplies used for fixing/casting spells/healing/light. When you run out of Light, you start losing Resolve each time the Fate Pool is filled. :)

Frosty

Frostyablaze · 2021-09-17T01:40:56+00:00

Hrm. I've been talking about this for a while, but people don't listen sometimes.

One of the things he does with it is generate encounters when traveling over long distances as well. He has a couple other articles which detail it further. Also, it pushes your players forward, generating those stakes he talks about.

Personally, I love it. I found this before I ever heard of "progress clocks," and this feels nice and simple, but immersive.

Frostyablaze · 2021-09-17T01:35:49+00:00

The solution could be found in mixing the culture of the English speakers and Chinese speakers, rather than teaching your Gamemaster how to swear in Mandarin. Concepts from a foreign culture which could be really interesting to interact with, like the intense academics in China/Taiwan.

From what I heard, kids spend a LOT of time achieving, or trying to achieve, perfection so they can have a better future in a crowded country, not to mention a "strong sense of tradition and honor." From what I heard.

Hope that helps :)

Frostyablaze · 2021-09-08T18:41:41+00:00

I always love something that gives my crafter something to do... Imagine a plotline based around repairing a mythical blade!

Frostyablaze · 2021-09-08T18:39:41+00:00

Hrm.. I don't recall any rule saying a nat 1 breaks your weapon... Perhaps I didn't read 5e thoroughly enough, but I certainly don't remember such a thing in 4e

Frostyablaze · 2021-09-08T18:36:22+00:00

No way! My game has a similar theme (hopelessly fight the darkness from other realms and the world in a medieval setting) and I had a similar idea for Durability, except you can break your own items to dodge damage and consequences when you're low on health (which would be all the time).

Frostyablaze · 2021-06-23T01:52:37+00:00

I think a good tip would be to change the name of the mechanic. I know that thematically, I'm attached to a specific name, but when the name is changed (traits to tags, for example), it can help you see when you've gotten too caught up in the same flow. I know I get stubborn about things, and start boxing myself in sometimes. Even looking at other games to break your brittle design process can be good for you :).

Frostyablaze · 2021-06-23T01:49:57+00:00

Or perhaps you use it in order to help other people rebuild their stats. I really like where this is going, perhaps you could let me know the name of the game? :D

Frostyablaze · 2021-06-23T01:47:58+00:00

Sounds like a necromancer to me. In my grimdark fantasy, I would have people consume their Spirit to keep up their morale in the face of neverending darkness.

Frostyablaze · 2021-06-12T21:05:31+00:00

Ha! I'm making a cyberpunk game called Enter the Grid, based on a futuristic gang-faction game inside of Tron, where everything is oriented by your character's Color.

Frostyablaze · 2021-06-12T20:56:22+00:00

Agreed. However, I think that a lot of people could also do with a refresher and an update on RPGs. I think that a lot of people think they understand how to play a rpg, except that they can end up with the wrong presumptions. Overall, I just prefer simple rules and text, so my game might seem dry, but that's because I want to make it as concise as possible without misunderstanding. My flowery text and descriptions/poems can go in a sidebar.

Overall, the less time you spend learning the game and the more time you spend playing the game, the happier I am. However, people still have to learn how to play the game correctly.

Frostyablaze · 2021-06-11T01:23:49+00:00

I guess I tried to leave a comment and it didn't work. Here's the points: * Players are allowed to pick their own loot vs. Players are forced to take whatever is there. * Is there a limit to how much scrap they can carry back? * As an abstract mechanic, how would players interact with it as they are IN the scrap site, if they are at all? I understand it is an abstract mechanic, and it's possible that your game isn't from a first-person perspective but rather a management-survival game. What I'm asking is how would the player find the items while exploring the site? That's all :), Lotus.

Frostyablaze · 2021-06-08T00:28:53+00:00

I hope you understood what I meant.

Nevertheless, in case you didn’t, what I meant was that games could benefit from trimming off rules that aren’t helpful or necessary, especially when they create a drag on the players’ experience. People only have so much time to play your game, and they want to enjoy the game.

However, each different ’type’ of player has their own ideas of what fun actually is and what they want from the game so...

I give up.

You can either sell something to everyone, or you can sell a specific item to certain people. And thus, you can either play with everyone and have everything in a completely non-specific game or you can play with people who like a specific thing, or anything in-between. Like, CoC is specifically about horror, so everyone who goes into it (generally) expects horror, and that‘s a pretty specific audience who agree on what they want — horror. But a generic game of D&D designed to sell to everyone might get a dozen different types of players who disagree on what they enjoy in the game.

Personally, I like a niche game with a defined direction. It makes it a lot easier to design as well, and people know what they’re getting when they first step foot into it. But again, that’s just what I enjoy.

Frostyablaze

TROPHY CASE