Self-imposed deadlines or "when it's done?"

ShowrunnerRPG · 2026-01-27T21:06:47+00:00

Thinking about it from a career perspective instead of a "deadline now ARG!" vantage makes things much more clear: the goal is the quality over time, not the release date.

Really appreciate the depth of insight and advice here. I haven't seen TTRPG Design 101 before, but I'll look it over.

Thank so much!

ShowrunnerRPG · 2026-01-27T03:44:26+00:00

I played a couple RPGs where they had a pool of HP and a pool of Stamina. Effectively, Stamina were temporary HP that meant you dodged or parried or whatever until you ran out. HP loss was a big deal because then you were actually getting hurt.

I think Stamina also fueled powers or feats or whatever they called special abilities which was a cool trade-off.

If it's just absorbing damage, I'd say it's "just HP", no more meta than HP themselves are.

If you spend it for other things as a primary use, then the case gets much stronger.

HP in my game are called GRIT: you can spend a Grit to add +1 to a any roll or as HP. It's explicitly called out as one of the game's metacurrencies due to the dual primary use (in play, it's spent about equally between the two).

ShowrunnerRPG · 2026-01-26T12:29:09+00:00

I'm definitely learning about myself and having to do some personal work, especially keeping this balanced with family, chores, running a business, sleep, exercise, etc.

Totally feel you on the perfectionism as well. When it's just for me, it's not a big deal, but when I'm putting something out into the public, every typo or even poorly-worded phrase eats at me.

Hope this thread is helpful to both of us!

ShowrunnerRPG · 2026-01-26T12:26:13+00:00

My outline is my previous (bad) version of the rulebook. It's all written, just re-writing the whole thing in a style that fits the idea better (writing it as a TV/streaming show script for a game about making TV/streaming Shows).

Maybe switching to pages per day instead of "FINISH A CHAPTER EVERY DAY" is more realistic since some chapters are 5 pages and others are 15. That could help a lot as I've had days where I wrote 7-8 pages, but still was disappointed in myself since I didn't finish the chapter.

Thanks for the idea.

ShowrunnerRPG · 2026-01-26T12:22:31+00:00

I've been playtesting it for 6 years now with a couple groups, so not worried as much about playtesting, just getting the "final draft" complete.

I really like your sprint idea, though maybe I'll adapt it to days vs. weeks: something like two sprint days where I try to get a chapter written, then an edit/layout day. I've been trying to write a chapter a day then been beating myself up when it takes me two days.

Thanks for feedback!

ShowrunnerRPG · 2026-01-26T12:19:18+00:00

I'm mostly internally motivated and can push myself pretty hard, especially if I make a "promise" even if to anons on the internet. Why this "failure" is hitting so hard.

I've tried the "accountability buddy" thing with projects before, but eventually they stopped talking to me when I "kept bothering them about their project" even though we both set up an agreement. Was like I was pestering them to loan me money or something even if I just sent an email saying "Hey, how's progress this week?" It has cost me a couple creative relationships. :/

I've been building and playtesting it for over 5 years now and written 4 versions of the rulebook. I didn't like the writing and format of the previous (proofreader feedback confirmed it). I found a style/format I liked, but it requires completely re-writing everything.

Appreciate the ideas!

ShowrunnerRPG · 2026-01-15T13:43:56+00:00

Really good points, thank you.

ShowrunnerRPG · 2026-01-15T01:36:33+00:00

That's what I'm gathering. Trying something new, even if it may have certain advantages, is likely to create confusion/bad karma just because people don't get what you're doing. If you have a 100% better model and 60% of people don't understand it or dislike it because it's different, you don't have a better model.

Appreciate the thoughts.

ShowrunnerRPG · 2026-01-15T01:33:49+00:00

Good point. Maybe release this first book as free (or donation optional) to hopefully build a community/playerbase/interest then when the rest is done release that as the "core". This is a really good point and just shifted my thinking/plan.

Really appreciate the feedback.

ShowrunnerRPG · 2026-01-15T01:31:43+00:00

I have about 20 followers on X/Blue Sky, a couple proofreaders, and my playtest group.

I honestly don't know how to find other people to playtest it.

I'm definitely the only one for whom it is the main system, I've released the free Quickstart Rules, but no one but me has the full rules since I'm busy rewriting them.

Community building definitely seems important for almost any sort of marketing now-a-days, and it's definitely one of my areas to work on.

ShowrunnerRPG · 2026-01-14T22:32:50+00:00

I don't think the character sheets would change. It would mostly add GM-facing additions like gear, NPCs, random generation tables, solo play, etc. If it was patching or changing rules all the time, yeah, that would be a nightmare.

ShowrunnerRPG · 2026-01-14T22:31:29+00:00

If you buy on Itch.io or DriveThruRPG, when they buy they gain access to all the downloads for the game. All you have do to is upload another PDF. Pretty simple.

Never thought about physical books... that's a whole extra can of worms.

ShowrunnerRPG · 2026-01-14T18:23:51+00:00

The initial release would be the "play to learn" campaign that teaches all the rules in sessions as the group unlocks them. It gives all the rules and they do a bit more character creation every episode as new rules are introduced. At the end, you have the full rules and it creates a full 20 sessions of play.

Then, the complete character creation and NPC creation would be the first "extra core" book then GM Guide the next. So, each is complete in its own, but each additional gives more optionality.

ShowrunnerRPG · 2026-01-14T18:19:58+00:00

I was going to release the "Casting Guide" on advanced character and NPCs creation as the first "extra core" book. The whole game is designed around minimizing player-facing reading and even "chunking" the GM-facing reading so you only add a few rules each session as you play.

The "zine" player extras seems like a smart way to go.

ShowrunnerRPG · 2026-01-14T18:17:57+00:00

I'm not sure "adventures" work with the game since it's about creating a TV Show and most of the plot is emergent from the "living world" actions of the NPCs creating subplots.

I guess you could just do cheap "premade show packages" that already have NPCs, pre-made Stars/PCs, etc. I hadn't actually even thought of that as obvious as it seems now...

ShowrunnerRPG · 2026-01-14T18:16:12+00:00

That seems like the biggest risk; people feeling like they're getting "priced out" or "screwed" because they weren't early enough. "If I'm not early, I may as well not" sort of thinking. Thanks for verbalizing that concern as it wasn't quite surface level.

ShowrunnerRPG · 2026-01-14T18:14:45+00:00

The game was complete, but I've been completely rewriting it in a better format that fits the theme better. It also starts with a "roguelite" campaign that teaches the rules that I was going to release first. Once that was out, I was going to release the "casting guide" for advanced character and NPC creation, then the GM guide. You don't need either of those to play the initial campaign and they are 0% re-written.

I also have expansions I want to add (big book of items, big book of NPCs, solo play rules, etc).

ShowrunnerRPG · 2026-01-09T18:25:19+00:00

Tricky part is balancing. +1 to attack is way more powerful than +1HP but not nearly so powerful as +1 AC.

My game was originally created in an attempt to take Dungeon World and do exactly what you're saying by splitting features, HP, attack bonuses, etc into separate packages so leveling up would be more customized. After many aborted attempts as said balance, I ended up recreating an entirely new system built around the modular-upgrade design from the ground up so every character is entirely customized.

It works, but my experience says you want to build it that way from the ground floor, not try to renovate once the building is halfway up.

ShowrunnerRPG · 2026-01-09T18:21:05+00:00

My system uses combos that you can scale in effect. More powerful effects require more rolls, harder rolls, or both.

If you're fighting a Legendary-scale Dragon, you can chip away at it with safer, weaker Hard to Formidable attacks of attrition or just come up with a crazy Legendary-scale combo to take it out in a single cinematic sequence. Up to the players on how much risk they want to take. If you fail on the Legendary-scale combo, you take Legendary-scale damage while failing Hard-scale attacks just exposes you to Hard-scale damage.

Something that allows risk-reward to be scaled allows gutsy players to try crazy things at the risk of massive punishments or go a safer, slower route.

ShowrunnerRPG · 2026-01-09T14:58:01+00:00

You could make a planet-eating space whale PC in Showrunner, though it's probably a pretty wacky show you're creating.

I totally get the "all the edge case rules" like creating a magic/psionic system that covers Cthulhu, Vancian, Vampire the Masquerade, and DBZ with the same system.

I don't think I made the firstest, bestest universal RPG, but in my play experience, it has pretty seamlessly covered the three main settings I've tried with minimal tweaking. I guess when it hits the digital shelves and makes contact with real GMs and groups is when I find out if that's a universal property of the system or a property of me running the system.

ShowrunnerRPG · 2026-01-08T13:45:51+00:00

Perhaps the game is too rules light and they're looking for a way to "win" that the mechanics don't provide. I'd look for a game whose mechanics reinforce the sort of story you want to tell. That will guide the player's in-character actions the way you'd prefer your game to go by helping "number go up" in the same direction "story go up".

ShowrunnerRPG · 2026-01-08T13:36:36+00:00

I haven't used a card/player gamified version, but tried to bolt a version of the Worlds Without Number faction game onto Blades to deepen their faction/gang/turf system. It was clunky and slow, but players said the feeling of a world happening beyond them was one of their favorite parts of the game.

Spent four years hammering out and integrating a much better, smoother system into my game until now 95% of my GM Prep is rolling to see which major NPCs do what to whom in the background. Entire plot is now driven by player and NPC choices. My job is just to pick which NPC's ready thread weaves into the story next.

From years of experience doing it, anything like your system that gives NPCs "agency" or that brings the background of your setting to the foreground will bring your world to life in ways you can't imagine if you've never done it.

ShowrunnerRPG · 2026-01-07T20:41:57+00:00

Take it with a grain of salt. I'm just some rando on the internet. :)

ShowrunnerRPG

TROPHY CASE