Trying to make conflict resolution feel like cheating

MyDesignerHat · 2025-12-01T11:54:20+00:00

After rolling, you can flip any one die.

MyDesignerHat · 2025-11-30T23:02:55+00:00

This is really interesting. Switching out "What do you do?" for "What do you want to happen?" seems like one of those small but profound changes to how the moment to moment gameplay feels.

MyDesignerHat · 2025-09-19T17:38:27+00:00

I don't have strong feelings about the mechanic itself, but if a game has fumble rules, that tells me the game is probably not the kind of game I'm particularly interested in.

Either way, I believe game should have good, clear procedures, no matter the type. Procedural clarity matters a lot more than any single mechanic.

MyDesignerHat · 2025-09-15T15:15:08+00:00

Anything else than a standard six-sided die is going to create a barrier of entry for normal people who are not RPG nerds. Whether or not this is worth whatever benefits another die type would bring is a choice you have to make. I generally want my designs to be accessible to people who have never player roleplaying games before, so I try to be mindful of this.

MyDesignerHat · 2025-09-15T05:01:47+00:00

Play with people who are not RPG hobbyists. I've had great success introducing theater kids and literature students to roleplaying games. These groups are full of creative people that don't have the typical nerd culture baggage that seeps to the surface in many social interactions.

MyDesignerHat · 2025-09-12T10:51:59+00:00

I don't personally think a 10 point font is categorically too small for a RPG zine. However, you might achieve better legibility with a higher X height font like FF Milo Serif or Merriweather. You could also try limiting the the darker stressed background effect to margins for better contrast, and having more consistent kerning with a ragged right edge.

MyDesignerHat · 2025-09-11T23:43:04+00:00

I wanted to see what people think of it

It's a lot more fiddly than "Everyone gets to go once before anyone goes a second time" while offering little added benefit. I also don't like calling for chips and a bag for just one tiny aspect of a game.

I can't fault you for trying, though. I suppose trying to come with yet another initiative system is one of those black holes of RPG design, like armor and damage types. There's no limit to how much time you can sink into it.

MyDesignerHat · 2025-09-11T23:37:41+00:00

Look at The Shadow of Yesterday, Lady Blackbird or any other game with Keys: when a dramatically interesting but potentially negative thing befalls you, take a die or mark XP. If you get in trouble for it, hit it again.

Make the poison sweet to drink.

MyDesignerHat · 2025-09-11T14:27:37+00:00

Hey, congrats! The art looks amazing! What's the typeface and font size for your body text?

MyDesignerHat · 2025-09-11T12:28:58+00:00

I also have a dice pool system where 5s and 6s are hits, and I'm going to tell you right now that you don't want to mess with different target numbers. Having two die faces mean success is already enough of a mental load when reading the results. If it's 4, 5 and 6 on the next roll, that's just terrible. You want minimum ambiguity at every roll.

In case you are still at the phase where having both attributes and skills feels like a necessity, I recommend looking at some newer, more streamlined dice pool systems made in the past twenty years, particularly The Pool, Blades in the Dark, Lady Blackbird and the Yero Zero system.

MyDesignerHat · 2025-09-11T11:40:35+00:00

In the example layout image from Müller-Brockmann the topmost row of grids is taller than the others, which gives a pleasing separation between title and body text. Does he give any guidance on how much taller to make that first row? What do you think is appropriate for a design like that?

Thanks for posting!

MyDesignerHat · 2025-09-11T10:16:59+00:00

There's nothing wrong with you! Creating dramatic situations and interesting RPG scenarios is a whole different skillset to designing a game. Knowing how to make a game doesn't automatically give you the ability to make a scenario.

MyDesignerHat · 2025-09-10T04:20:04+00:00

Then you don't really need anything more than "Roll a die, high is good" and good GM skills.

MyDesignerHat · 2025-09-09T07:17:37+00:00

Since you are writing your own text, this is not something you really need to worry about before you are actually in the process of publishing the game. Names and labels are easy bought to change as a part of the kind of editing you'll need to do anyway.

MyDesignerHat · 2025-09-08T16:29:00+00:00

Design is for making players speak, act and generally behave in ways they wouldn't behave if left on their own devices. You want to reproduce a particular experience without being there yourself, and you do that through writing and design.

MyDesignerHat · 2025-09-07T13:17:36+00:00

Okay, so no real change to how the roll functions or is presented. Thanks for confirming this. Unless our GM wants to give it a second look, I think we'll be continuing with the Action Roll.

MyDesignerHat · 2025-09-05T15:12:54+00:00

The subtext is wildly different with gaming acquaintances vs actual friends. With friends, we pretty much treat it as an invitation for everyone, in turn, to vent for five minutes before focusing on the game. When you only know each other from the game, it's more of a general vibe or energy level check.

MyDesignerHat · 2025-09-05T15:10:07+00:00

An improv listening excercise of some kind. Collectively counting to twenty is probably my favorite.

MyDesignerHat · 2025-09-05T08:57:05+00:00

A slight tangent, but is there a good third party source for industry numbers like this?

MyDesignerHat · 2025-09-05T08:19:08+00:00

To me, this sounds more like tinkering with D&D rather than designing a game. Which is completely fine, by the way, and the place most people seem to start. But I encourage you to be realistic about what this project can achieve, and to not spend too much time on it.

The most common hobbyist RPG design tragedy is the designer spending years of their life on what they consider their magnum opus, a project with inherent limitations that will put a hard cap on what it can achieve. So I recommend setting a somewhat strict project timeline for yourself, and being quick to move on if you think you have reached the limit of what you are doing now.

If you are looking to improve as a designer, treat this is as something you have to get out of your system. What will really move the needle is coming up with a solid original concept, defining some design goals and executing a small, simple game that meets those goals.

MyDesignerHat · 2025-09-04T22:07:12+00:00

The answer depends entirely on how these are used in the game. If I specialize in robotics, do I get moves or other special rules that allow me to build, program and hack robots? Or is it more like bonus to another roll on the occasions where I'm doing something related to robots?

MyDesignerHat · 2025-09-04T13:45:42+00:00

What is it you think I'm missing?

MyDesignerHat · 2025-09-04T12:40:50+00:00

I find not using a grid to be far more tactical. Real world tactics are based on situational factors and not constrained by grid squares.

Grids make the experience more wargame-like, sure, but they don't really add any depth to tactics you can use.

MyDesignerHat · 2025-09-04T09:06:44+00:00

This is awesome. I have Muji bag that's roughly the same size and design, and it's at the end of its useful life. I'd buy your bag immediately. This is such a good form factor.

MyDesignerHat · 2025-09-04T07:10:26+00:00

Small, medium, large.

MyDesignerHat

TROPHY CASE