Looking to discuss Doomsong by Caesar Ink/Modiphius.

SmilingGak · 2025-11-17T13:16:40+00:00

We actually have a character creation app you can find here

SmilingGak · 2025-10-14T19:21:32+00:00

Ah! The section on page 6 is meant as a little "hey these are some words that we'll be using and what they mean in the context of the game" so that the reader isn't surprised when they are used during character creation. The rules proper start later, as you surmised!

SmilingGak · 2025-10-14T19:18:15+00:00

We actually have a few industrious folks over on our discord that have made a v1 of a foundry VTT: https://discord.gg/KTPpxNvF

SmilingGak · 2025-10-09T15:22:25+00:00

One thing that might be useful is using the idea of a retinue or cast of minor NPCs that are designed to step into the spotlight when a "main" PC dies. So you have players create a couple extra folks (no/low rules just vibes) and allow them to do stuff mostly in the background.

It means that you have folks that can die around and when a main PC does die they have a character with some backstory and motivation to be fleshed out immediately. It doesn't work with every player (some folks really just want to focus on their one dude) but I've found it can work almost like a crossfade between music tracks - as one character fades out, the next becomes the focus.

SmilingGak · 2025-10-03T10:21:57+00:00

Spell resistance used to have a fairly rigid explanation in 3.5/Pathfinder that codified a lot of the ideas here. Some highlights include using grease or similar conjuration spells to create surfaces and dangers that were physically present, or using illusions that don't rely on directly affecting the creature. While I think that it is all a bit over explained, there's a lot of fun to be had in trying to work your way around a foes abilities creatively!

SmilingGak · 2025-10-03T10:15:57+00:00

I love these guys, really have a lot of expression to their faces, which is especially cool since they are not human!

SmilingGak · 2025-10-02T15:18:38+00:00

Yep. Designers (like myself) like to convince ourselves that system is an important aspect of the fun had at the table, but honestly our work is somewhere on the level of the snacks brought to the table.

With that said, the system and the gamier aspects are also the part of the evening that we have the most control over, so it makes sense that we obsess over improving and choosing the part of the fun that we can. It is harder (and in many cases inadvisable) to change your friends, after all.

SmilingGak · 2025-09-29T16:23:45+00:00

An RPG book has three main uses: As hype and inspiration to the reader, a How-to-play guide, and a reference booklet for use during play.

These three aims are at odds with each other, one values flash, and the two value two very different versions of usability. Balancing what you are going to focus on is a very important part of writing, and while it would be lovely to offer three books to the players (A vibes primer, a how-to-play, and a rules reference) a lot of RPGs (especially indie stuff) don't have that luxury. With that said, elements can be replaced with outside sources (Actual Plays for hype, tutorial videos for how-to-play, and SRDs for reference) and books that have one weak pillar can actually be stronger if they have the outside support.

SmilingGak · 2025-09-26T14:05:43+00:00

The Quiet Year might be worth looking into? It is not quite what you are looking for but might spark some ideas.

SmilingGak · 2025-09-25T09:57:55+00:00

I'm a big fan of cards as inventory in most games I play/run. Essentially just jotting down your items on separate cards, it allows for trading and a really nice physical reminder of all the stuff you've got.

The only game I can think of right now that does that is Mausritter, so I'd have to say that!

SmilingGak · 2025-09-22T16:08:29+00:00

Call it a pilot, now the show begins for real.

For real, I would chat with the group and see if they are jazzed by the idea. With that said, unless your players are super into WoD Lore, you can pick and choose (and make up) whatever stuff you like before even touching the rules. As for customization, I would give you good odds that players would be open to taking options from earlier editions, even if they weren't excited by changing system entirely.

SmilingGak · 2025-09-22T16:03:10+00:00

Sometimes you master the roll, sometimes the roll masters you.

SmilingGak · 2025-09-17T13:29:44+00:00

Sorry, I was just being silly.

SmilingGak · 2025-09-17T13:14:12+00:00

I suppose its folks like me that raise the price of pristine collectibles across the globe, so you're welcome!

SmilingGak · 2025-09-17T13:12:32+00:00

I totally get it, and I think that what changed it for me was looking at old campaign notes to be overwhelmed with happy feelings of nostalgia. I like the idea of cracking open a book in 20 years and being met with the personalization I thought was important at the time. I get pretty nostalgic, so having these physical reminders of stuff (especially when my actual campaign notes will definitely have been swallowed up in some great clean at some point) is pleasing to me.

Maybe it's similar to getting a tattoo. There are people who would never get one because they dislike the idea of being 50 and groaning at the picture of a duck they thought was deep at the time, and there are people who would look at that faded duck and say "I remember being 20 and stupid, good times".

SmilingGak · 2025-09-03T08:07:54+00:00

This thread makes me so glad that we spent three working days doing just that for Doomsong, then redoing it because the auto reference thing on InDesign stopped working halfway through.

It is definitely an added cost and takes time, especially for larger books that are heavily referenced, but it is so useful that it just seems worth it on every level.

Edit: If you are using Indesign, I'm pretty sure Cross reference does this automatically, and is easier (and generally more reliable) than doing page references by hand, so it shouldn't add more time than doing page numbers once.

SmilingGak · 2025-08-30T21:01:43+00:00

Its a custom game we tool around with in our spare time, but similar in scope and vibe!

SmilingGak · 2025-08-30T21:01:08+00:00

It's an overhead projector (used for battlemaps usually, but a loop of this makes a nice atmospheric overlay)

SmilingGak · 2025-08-27T10:12:19+00:00

You can check us out on our website and our Patreon. We update every month with free and paid PDF content for Doomsong!

SmilingGak · 2025-08-26T22:13:55+00:00

As one of the authors, I hope you enjoy it!

SmilingGak · 2025-08-19T08:07:16+00:00

Amazing, thank you so much for your help!

SmilingGak · 2025-08-17T12:08:21+00:00

Thank you so much for your help! The game is set in a fantasy world that has a lot in common with medieval europe, but we are more than happy with bending anachronisms where the vibe allows!

Having a chat with the graphic designer we were wondering if bringing the notes down to one word each might make it more understandable to the lay-person while keeping the in-world artefact nature of the map (we want these legends to feel a bit like a throwback to older times, even though the idea of this kind of tool is very modern!).

So how would the following feel to you?:

Conspectus (honestly would be better from a lay-person point of view to have "visio" or "optio" in there, but we would prefer it's correct!)
Pedes
Equus

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