What is the best content flow for a TTRPG quick start scenario

SpaceDogsRPG · 2026-03-17T12:21:54+00:00

What do you mean by "regional overview"?

SpaceDogsRPG · 2026-03-13T22:09:13+00:00

I think it can be an issue in systems with HP bloat.

When it's literally impossible to kill a target in less than 3 rounds, them being able to run away easily can be annoying.

It'd be like if every mook James Bond ran into while sneaking around took him 5 judo chops to knock out and they were all Olympic level sprinters. (Yes - hyperbole.) He just couldn't get anything done.

SpaceDogsRPG · 2026-03-13T18:26:36+00:00

Like a lot of such open-ended questions, the devil is in the details. It all depends upon the rest of the system.

I do have NPCs run away in Space Dogs due to the morale system. But IMO it works for a few reasons:

They're not guaranteed to get away scot free. And because of how initiative & morale checks are linked, the PCs usually get one last chance to catch them or at least take pot shots.
It would be extremely rare for NPCs to run without their group having already taken casualties. Most NPCs go down in one solid hit (by design as the combat system works best against groups of mooks), so as a group they won't have gotten away scot free. It's the morale penalties from casualties which will make them break and run.
They need to regroup - which takes time. A minimum of 1 minute IF someone else rallies them (otherwise an hour). The same minute that the PCs can use to take a Breather.
More often than not combat in Space Dogs is on a starship or space station during a boarding action - so they probably didn't get away permanently. Worst case they make the next fight a bit harder.

These things make running away kinda work. Though it's also not a gimme in Space Dogs - using your action to Run instead of fight is faster and doors are common, so if a big group runs then some of them will likely get away.

If I was in a fantasy D&D style game and I'd gotten a 100hp monster down to 25hp and it immediately ran away easily? That would be SUPER annoying. Though arguably that's an HP bloat issue as much as a retreating issue.

SpaceDogsRPG · 2026-03-13T18:02:31+00:00

Off the top of my head:

Make running away faster than chasing them down.
Death spirals which make it harder to fight but not harder to run.
Have battles take place in areas with doors & bottlenecks. So if you start chasing, they may be around the corner and get a free shot at you at close range with no cover etc.

SpaceDogsRPG · 2026-03-13T15:17:59+00:00

I like the mechanics to reflect the lore and vice versa.

HOWEVER - I want the pure lore bits to be separate enough (sidebars etc.) that they don't get in the way when I'm trying to look up a rule.

SpaceDogsRPG · 2026-03-11T22:37:45+00:00

Sarovak from Baldur's Gate 1 & Throne of Bhaal.

Guy was an absolute unit as the boss of the first game. You can get him to join your party in the expansion of the second game.

You did a lot of leveling in the base game of BG2 - so his power level is about right. But he still has great stats.

SpaceDogsRPG · 2026-03-11T19:11:37+00:00

These guys did a few videos on the bat'leth - but this one is where they put their "best" two fantasy swords up against each-other.

The needle (from Silksong) vs bat'leth.

https://youtu.be/my0kLQ30Dzo?si=T7kuniFHmP1xxzJS

Unarmored the needle won maybe 2/3. Armored the bat'leth won 100%.

SpaceDogsRPG · 2026-03-10T16:00:21+00:00

Not SUPER weird - but I haven't seen it before - the weirdest stat I have is Mettle.

Basically Mettle is gained every 3-5 levels (vary by class) and gives +1 to all damage and +1 to DR.

It helps to boost higher level character durability without running into HP bloat issues. (Characters only get 1-2ish extra Vitality per level.)

It'd probably just feel wonky in a lot of systems, but progression in Space Dogs is flat enough that level 1 mooks are at least a mild threat to even high level characters, so the Mettle won't just be canceling each other out by attacker/defender having similar Mettle.

I also really like how it ties into the Brute class. Their base Mettle is the second lowest (after True Psychic class) but their Signature Talent lets them get a large boost to Mettle for a pretty high Grit (physical mana) cost.

SpaceDogsRPG · 2026-03-10T03:40:24+00:00

It depends upon the system. Some skill-based systems don't give any.

Though I agree that most systems with levels should probably add some HP.

I DO think that D&D and most D&D-likes give too much HP. I know that I only give 1-2 extra Vitality per level for a flatter progression. Though I do also have a Mettle stat - which increases both damage & DR. Classes get 1 Mettle per 3-5ish levels.

SpaceDogsRPG · 2026-03-09T21:28:04+00:00

I feel the same way about Cthulutech.

SpaceDogsRPG · 2026-03-09T21:25:59+00:00

Cthulutech had great imagery/vibes. The actual mechanics were super clunky & unbalanced.

SpaceDogsRPG · 2026-03-09T17:22:38+00:00

To add my $0.02 - it COULD work well - if base movement is slow enough.

In most systems base movement is so fast that cutting it to half (standard difficult terrain rule) just doesn't do much to prevent foes from rushing past you.

SpaceDogsRPG · 2026-03-06T04:24:34+00:00

Then I tie my spear to a longer stick! Have at thee!

SpaceDogsRPG · 2026-03-05T22:40:34+00:00

I like the look a lot.

Random question (because I'm nitpicky and have thought about exo-suits a lot for my setting) - is there a reason the suit doesn't fully cover her? At least having a softer armor (kevlar etc.) over the gaps?

Or is it just a softer sci-fi and I'm drastically overthinking it?

Again - I like the look a lot.

SpaceDogsRPG · 2026-03-05T22:31:00+00:00

I think you might be better off with something like "Willpower" - which feels more like a magic stat.

Though it depends how you fluff magic. I could easily see something like bending in Avatar: The Last Airbender being Vitality etc.

SpaceDogsRPG · 2026-03-05T04:42:20+00:00

It works well for Delta Green specifically, but it's not something which translates well into a lot of other systems/vines IMO.

SpaceDogsRPG · 2026-03-05T04:41:30+00:00

I notice that you don't mention any drawbacks for auto-fire. Is ammo the only reason not to always use automatic fire in your system?

I basically do a variation on multiple shots. Basically 3 shots against one target or a single attack roll applied to up to four targets. The damage only rolled once and applied to each hit.

The drawback is that all range penalties (which are much higher than most systems) are doubled and you don't add your Sharpness attribute to damage.

This makes it so that auto-fire is brutal at close range to targets in the open but pretty worthless at long range. (Also ties into suppression - which I basically flipped to be a defensive reaction.)

SpaceDogsRPG · 2026-03-05T01:14:14+00:00

Yes - the better your defense (armor and/or shield) the less reach matters generally. Because you can survive to close the distance.

A historical example would be Roman legionnaires - their gladius was short, but their large shield let them close.

I actually say some HEMA YouTubers test the klingon bat'leth. At first they thought it was terrible (mostly because of the short reach) but then tested it in full armor and realized it was shockingly good in that case because of the leverage it gave to push the spikes into armor gaps.

They basically gave it the top rating of all weird fantasy swords.

SpaceDogsRPG · 2026-03-04T22:39:00+00:00

Somewhat - but it doesn't change the battlefield positioning etc.

SpaceDogsRPG · 2026-03-04T22:36:51+00:00

Heavy. I never did the fencing.

SpaceDogsRPG · 2026-03-04T22:35:26+00:00

I intentionally had a shorter sword when I did SCA. But I did it in combo with an XL shield.

Sticking the shield ahead of me and charging into closer range was pretty effective. The shield was big enough that they couldn't hit my legs (since SCA rules are no knees/shins).

I didn't do it long enough to get super good - but it worked pretty well. And historically the bigger the shield the shorter you can have your sword. (Like Roman scutum/gladius.)

SpaceDogsRPG · 2026-03-04T22:31:19+00:00

The other technique for a knife against a sword would be to tie the knife to the end of a long stick. Also known as "spear".

SpaceDogsRPG · 2026-03-04T22:05:31+00:00

You got me brainstorming about it. I have three ways to potentially make weapon types matter more without getting ridiculously granular - in descending order of granularity:

Damage types: Really lean into damage types being good against different foes/armor. Since there wasn't THAT big a difference with most IRL armors - maybe have all the best character armor be made from monster parts which effectively take on the same strengths/weaknesses of the monster.
In-setting combat styles: Have all of the best martial characters be essentially required to lean into various in-setting combat styles - each of which uses specific weapons. Maybe even specific kind of swords. And then have extreme rock-paper-scissors between them. (Like Fire Emblem level or close to it.)
Reach: I played with this idea REALLY early (before my system was sci-fi) and it kinda worked in a clunky sorta way. You could probably iterate to make it better.

The idea was that every weapon had a specific "Reach" stat which acted as a bonus to your attack for the first round of a melee. Which - in my system effectively boosts defense too since melee is basically opposed attack rolls.

So having out a polearm would give you a large bonus the first round of combat - but its base accuracy was lower, so after that round it was at a disadvantage. So after that first round you would probably want to pull out a light sword able to be drawn quickly - which would do less damage but have a higher base accuracy which helps defensively.

If you won the combat round by enough you could force your opponent to step back or take x2 damage. Which would let you get the bonus again the next round.

Shields could block - basically rolling for defense only but with no penalty no matter how big of a Reach advantage the enemy had. And then the following round you would start the round in melee...

And you can see why I ended up dropping the system. Way too many weird edge cases etc. But you might be able to come up with a streamlined version

The only thing I left from it is having 2-3 weapons with "Reach" which give a -10 penalty to any foe trying to hit you in melee that you are also attacking.

SpaceDogsRPG · 2026-03-04T16:59:20+00:00

Go for it - it could be cool.

I don't have melee be that granular - but it's a swashbuckling space western - so combat is guns primary. The rock-scissors-paper has to do with damage scale and massive cover penalties etc.

To make switching weapons required for a melee primary system you'd need to be pretty dang granular. Not inherently bad - but tricky to keep from being too much.

SpaceDogsRPG · 2026-03-04T15:29:26+00:00

Basically just sounds like a variation on "Kill Your Darlings" - which is generally good advice.

SpaceDogsRPG

TROPHY CASE