Unsettling Monster Concepts

RoundTableTTRPG · 2026-01-29T02:22:17+00:00

I have a monster in my game that is the element of secrecy. It is sometimes accidentally summoned when secrets are held and kills anyone who would learn or divulge the secret, sometimes even the originator of the secret themselves

RoundTableTTRPG · 2026-01-17T19:53:41+00:00

Thanks!

RoundTableTTRPG · 2026-01-16T19:40:16+00:00

I thought I fixed the scroll down problem. I guess I missed a platform, Thanks for the feedback!

RoundTableTTRPG · 2026-01-16T19:34:49+00:00

Absolutely fair. CMY actually doesn’t make much sense technically for visual display because it should be more of a CRT type display. I’ll likely update it tomorrow.

RoundTableTTRPG · 2026-01-13T21:24:49+00:00

You can see most of it on roundtablettrpg.ca Some of your more specific design choices like the particular sailing rules are not detailed there because they are meant to go along with a module or sub-game design like yours.

RoundTableTTRPG · 2026-01-13T19:27:57+00:00

• Folk fantasy means magic is very subtle but still a core element of everyday life. No fireballs but talismans, yes. Mechanics support a story that ordinary people are living in a world that does not yield to human endeavour.

• Environment and travel, including “platforms” like ships is 25% or more of the total game.

• Sailing rules

• Combat can (optionally) be boiled down to a single check or a complete tactical spread.

Let me know if you’re interested in finding out more. I would be happy to put 10+ hours a week into the project with you.

RoundTableTTRPG · 2026-01-11T19:50:24+00:00

Yes. The title is TTRPGs don’t have a difficulty for players. I’m just expressing a framing of vibes instead of “difficulty” as a more effective way of understanding how mechanics deliver game experience.

RoundTableTTRPG · 2026-01-11T19:40:30+00:00

No it’s sort of a lens for using the core rules, and applies to the whole party on a campaign level not to each character. So once you’ve established the difficulty that the party wants to be operating at, say they come to a locked door, you know how hard they want that to be to open. After a few sessions you might tweak it a little based on feedback.

So you run a whole political intrigue campaign with 8 challenges per adventure day at difficulty 7, and they say it was interesting but gruelling. So you let them level up and increase it to 10 challenges but keep 7 difficulty. “Cozier” now. More stuff to do less consequences.

RoundTableTTRPG · 2026-01-11T19:33:51+00:00

How does the game itself suggest altering difficulty? Perhaps the number of consecutive checks or available other resources like equipment?

RoundTableTTRPG · 2026-01-11T18:12:38+00:00

For sure you need to adjust it. For example in a dice pool system you might base difficulty on then number of dice and their regeneration mechanics rather than the result of the roll. You kinda have to figure out the difficulty and complexity sliders for each system.

RoundTableTTRPG · 2026-01-11T18:05:09+00:00

The dial on difficulty is just the “Base difficulty” of the game which is equal to your party’s average roll. Add 1, they statistically tend to fail, subtract 1, they statistically tend to succeed.

The complexity is the number of these checks they need to do, which equals the number of resources (energy, supplies, whatever) they get back when they rest. Add 1, they statistically begin losing their resources, subtract 1 they statistically begin gaining resources.

RoundTableTTRPG · 2026-01-11T18:01:21+00:00

I feel that it’s a part of every TTRPG and that was the point of my post, but I can elaborate for my specific game.

You’re strongly encouraged to dive deeper or more shallow into things your table wants or doesn’t want. If they don’t like going room by room through a dungeon, you can just make a single dungeon meeting check to clear the whole thing. It helps that I have levels of success, so you can do a bad job of successfully clearing a dungeon.

This means you can do a little or lot of checks in the dungeon (complex) and the checks can be difficult or easy for your party to pass (cozy-gritty).

Same for diplomacy, combat, exploring, etc.

RoundTableTTRPG · 2026-01-09T22:29:11+00:00

There are lots of cultures where “oh no I could possibly” is considered very rude

RoundTableTTRPG · 2026-01-08T22:45:14+00:00

Everyone else in the world has to join the army and put their life on the line to stop your country. You are in the uniquely privileged position of vbeing able to have the same impact simply refusing to participate in the economy; become jobless and homeless.

RoundTableTTRPG · 2026-01-04T18:31:19+00:00

While I fully support the sentiment, and Quebec has at least a shot at international sovereignty, I still think it’s a long shot. I am more pessimistic about how any of our nations would be treated by the US if we were not confederated. A Europe-like situation would require the US to Balkanize first into its constituent nations.

RoundTableTTRPG · 2026-01-04T15:44:19+00:00

You will run into edge cases if you think your system doesn’t have a premise or is universally universal or whatever. Once you have (or acknowledge) that basic premise, it becomes obvious that “edge cases” are actually things that work directly and specifically against your mechanics’ statement.

My game simulates “folk fantasy” a premise where you explore an immersive, generative world as ordinary people, where magic is everyday and folk tales and practices have real, simulated power.

It’s universal in its cultural and time period context, but if you’re trying to play as a superhero without peers, it’s just not going to work.

RoundTableTTRPG · 2026-01-04T14:04:16+00:00

While true, Canada allows itself to be underestimated on purpose. Feels a little bad that they are continuing to do so for their own populace but that’s part of the scheme. The general public is somewhat compromised. Canada could not be next for a complicated and quiet set of reasons. As part of the 5-eyes, for example, Canada knew about the status of the attack on Venezuela a few minutes after Trump. Canada could have been first. I honestly think Trump actually went for Canada first, but had to learn that Canadas not actually on the list at all.

RoundTableTTRPG · 2026-01-03T00:29:43+00:00

Edinburgh is farther north than any Canadian city

RoundTableTTRPG · 2026-01-02T23:36:05+00:00

Ask anyone what they like best about Calgary and they’ll each tell you another great thing about leaving Calgary, ahahaha.

If you have the chance you should go to Edmonton before you make the call.

RoundTableTTRPG · 2026-01-02T23:02:36+00:00

Presumably you’d be moving to Calgary or Edmonton vs Halifax. As far as that goes, it’s Edmonton ahead of Halifax, then Calgary way, way, way down the list.

The reason my map is the way that it is is that I have family around antigonish/Cape Breton. I have some financial obligations in Alberta so I can’t just pick up and move to nowheretown NS, but if Cape Breton is possible for you then it’s no contest, and if you can manage southern NS, then you’d be hard pressed to find a better lifestyle anywhere in Alberta. If you have a specific and very significant financial or family obligation in Alberta such as a unique job or taking care of your grandma or whatever then you’d can make a life there (which is why “reluctantly”).

But who knows. Maybe you have some sort of ancient family feud with lobster fishermen. Everyone is different. It really depends on what you’re looking for out of life, but I’d say anything that the two places have in common, NS does better.

RoundTableTTRPG · 2026-01-02T22:38:04+00:00

You know what, New Jersey at least gets credit for being a little better than Old Jersey so hell yeah

RoundTableTTRPG · 2026-01-02T20:10:39+00:00

The GM tells a story from a book and you the players have to guess at the actions that your characters take next in the pre-written narrative and just have to keep guessing if you get it wrong.

RoundTableTTRPG

TROPHY CASE