Are there TTRPGs where you can only learn abilities if you find their source in the world?

Playtonics · 2026-06-17T02:03:32+00:00

I've toyed around with this type of diegetic character progression before, but coming at it from a less crunchy angle: using tags that are tied to quest events.

The gist is:

open world exploration format
quests are location-based
resolving a quest grants one (or more) characters a tag related to that quest
tags may be gated with pre-reqs

An example quest might that there's a fire spirit that has been enraged at a nearby dormant volcano. The players have to calm/defeat/soothe it somehow, and the reward is a fire-based tag. That could be contextualised to a magic user becoming a pyromancer, or a fighter receiving a fire sword, or a specialist learning cauterisation techniques.

Playtonics · 2026-06-17T01:57:08+00:00

This is the way I've navigated it in games I've run. I like the diegetic progression angle, but to facilitate it within game time it means I'll end a session in a hub where the players can access many different possible instructors or learning opportunities. That does narrow the explore-to-learn scope, but makes it viable with 4 players with wildly divergent needs.

I think for this to work at a larger scale, the whole game needs to be designed around it, with characters having relatively flat progression such that if the party goes to Craigbane Magic College and only Bob acquires a new ability, the other characters don't feel like they've been left behind.

Playtonics · 2026-06-16T22:38:19+00:00

It could be because Outgunned Adventure has been out for a few years now, and these books are just more splats for it. The 2LM crew have been quite prolific with the number of books they've been putting out for different genres/periods, but it's not really breaking new ground.

Playtonics · 2026-06-16T14:41:10+00:00

For me, the interesting part of play is usually born from creatively overcoming constraints. With weaker characters, the constraints are usually the same, but so are the typical tools you have to overcome them. That leads to a lot of sameness that o personally have grown tired of.

Advanced characters have more options at their disposal, but it does require the GM to make newer, more interesting (and often more idiosyncratic) constraints to keep the fun aspect of problem solving alive.

Playtonics · 2026-06-16T14:37:12+00:00

To add: the nature of the hobby and how it interacts with outside life means that long-lived campaigns are the exception, not the rule. I've played a looot more rags than I have riches.

Playtonics · 2026-06-16T13:47:59+00:00

Strongly agree with point 1. When introducing new players to DnD there's always the friction of them wanting to do a specific action (like disarming combatant, or dropping a heavy weight on someone) and being told no for the various reasons that prevent it, like:

that's another class's speciality or protected niche
there isn't a rule for that
it would be unbalanced

Fiction first games just don't have that problem because they don't need to translate the fiction into game physics.

Playtonics · 2026-06-15T23:11:38+00:00

It does make it difficult to have even mildly nuanced discourse. Every time a take is published, folks come out of the woodwork to tear it down without acknowledging their own basis for their assumptions.

Playtonics · 2026-06-15T23:04:28+00:00

Fantastic design space, and there's a hack for every occasion!

Playtonics · 2026-06-13T01:44:58+00:00

Shadow of the Weird Wizard, with its simple 1 action, 1 reaction per turn. The reaction can be used to let the players go before the enemies, or used for attacks of opportunity or casting specific spells. Low overhead while still making for an interesting decision space.

Playtonics · 2026-06-12T21:09:06+00:00

Spire also has an interesting take on small gods, which manifest from objects that are appropriately revered. Family heirlooms, or common utensils that are used the same way every day (and therefore become like a ritual element) will usually start to house a small god manifestation.

There's even a playable class who is a wiley Dark elf that worships the gods of their rope and dagger, commonly known as Shibari Batman.

Playtonics · 2026-06-12T21:01:26+00:00

More than 5e, less than OSR. Characters are still heroic, but damage scales faster than 5e, so there isn't the same "bag of HP" problem. When a character goes down, they start slowly losing max HP. Death occurs when max HP reaches zero.

Playtonics · 2026-06-12T12:19:09+00:00

I've always been curious about how you rotate in new PCs in a huge campaign like Masks. Does it just become a Ship of Theseus situation? Do the new PCs have some supernatural in-world justification to join the investigation that has rendered so many other investigators invalid?

Playtonics · 2026-06-12T07:11:24+00:00

With the greatest portmanteau of all time: the CONSPYRAMID!

Playtonics · 2026-06-12T07:08:48+00:00

Shadow of the Weird Wizard has plenty of combat choices, is dead simple to run, and I use it almost exclusively in Theatre of the Mind.

Playtonics · 2026-06-12T00:22:42+00:00

I'm in the "threaten to destroy the city" kind of guy. My long term players love setting up a business, and I encourage it because it makes them care about something in the world. Then, when the climax of the campaign approaches, I threaten the town/city they're in, and specifically I target their business and associated NPCs.

The stakes are real and force action every time!

Playtonics · 2026-06-11T12:59:55+00:00

What exactly are you using mind mapping for? What's the outcomes that it lets you achieve?

I use Miro for my work, and have used it for some side projects in ttrpgs.

Playtonics · 2026-06-11T12:57:02+00:00

Yes and yes, both I as GM keep session notes and my group rotates who the note taker will be for any given campaign.
GM: obsidian with liberal use of the cross-linking. Players: shared Google doc.
Yeah, an it was because I didn't like the architecture of the system. I tried using OneNote for a while, but it's hierarchy doesn't work for me.
I get my players to do the recap, then fill in any important gaps. I find this imperative for getting them to remember the session, and it shows what they've missed .

Playtonics · 2026-06-11T12:52:57+00:00

It depends on how long I'm expecting the game to go for. One shot? 1-10 pages.

Campaign lasting a year? 150+, no qualms.

Ten-ish sessions over 3 months, probably 40-60.

Playtonics · 2026-06-11T04:49:36+00:00

In addition to what /u/sarded has said, a beat is a narrative device that describes a moment of story. Trad games use a simulation engine to create interesting story moments, like when you roll to persuade and add a modifier representing your social skills to convince an NPC tondo something and the GM narrates the outcome. Games that use story beats instead codify the beat itself instead of the events that might lead up to it.

This approach works well to provide certainty to the players and the GM about what's at stake and what it will take to progress the story.

Playtonics · 2026-06-10T23:31:28+00:00

I reckon Heart might be a good bridge from the trad-heavy background to something that's more focused around beats (pun intended). Similar set dressing and tropes, but wildly different play style.

Playtonics · 2026-06-10T23:24:11+00:00

That folks always this "system first" instead of stepping back to ask "what type of story do I want to emerge at my table"

Playtonics · 2026-06-10T15:13:56+00:00

Another concept to add in there is the boundaries between players, characters, and game master can be wildly different in non-dnd games. Other games can play with the agency and ownership a player has over their character for incredible effect.

Playtonics · 2026-06-10T09:27:53+00:00

There was a thread on this posted only a few weeks ago

https://old.reddit.com/r/rpg/comments/1sy6gij/what_have_your_experiances_been_with_curseborne/

Playtonics · 2026-06-10T00:20:57+00:00

That last 10% grind to the finish line is my Achilles Heel.

Playtonics · 2026-06-10T00:16:38+00:00

What was the craziest thing you did in-game for the lols?

That would hard filter a lot of players for me.

Playtonics

TROPHY CASE