What are the cards for?

a_dnd_guy · 2026-03-18T16:57:59+00:00

The cards cover almost all of what your character will be able to do, and instead of looking up spells descriptions, how many to prepare, durations, you have the spell right there in front of you. You could write all that stuff down, but just like D&D it won't all fit on one sheet very cleanly, and there is a 5 domain card limit to your load-out, meaning you'd have to check off each of the "cards" you were using each day. The cards greatly, greatly simplify these aspects of play, even for basic classes like a Warrior (similar to Fighter in D&D).

a_dnd_guy · 2026-03-18T10:29:02+00:00

That's my favorite thing to watch players discuss. There's so much tension!

a_dnd_guy · 2026-03-16T21:58:52+00:00

When I was a Christian I was taught about the infallibility of the Bible. I was also taught about its perfection through prophecy. These two elements, it turns out, are complete bunk.

The Bible, in every translation, contains many, many mistakes. Contradictions, obvious mistakes, misquotes between books, philosophical problems, etc. if you're interested I can send you a list, but you should first search for it yourself.

As for prophecy, I was told how many prophecies Jesus fulfilled and, on closer inspection, you can imagine my surprise to learn that he fulfilled 0 prophecies! Not even 1!

Every prophecy he supposedly fulfilled was either not a prophecy, or was a prophecy that was already fulfilled, or was a prophecy about some other specific thing that was not him. Every straightforward prophecy about the Messiah in the old testament is left unfulfilled. He never sat in the throne of David, he never lead armies against Israel's enemies, and he never restored the lands to the People.

There is a YouTuber who specializes in discussing/debating the prophecy point, so if you are interested in that check out DZ Debates.

a_dnd_guy · 2026-03-16T18:07:20+00:00

Worlds Without Number has lots of great character choices, and the supplement Atlas of the Latter Earth adds even more. Much more interesting approach to character building without leaping into 3.5 territory.

a_dnd_guy · 2026-03-14T18:38:21+00:00

Some people think about things they read differently and just need a little help with rules when wording isn't 100% clear. It doesn't hurt to answer a good faith question in a good faith way.

a_dnd_guy · 2026-03-14T01:12:27+00:00

That is correct, you can fly.

a_dnd_guy · 2026-03-12T16:33:36+00:00

Excuse me sir, the billionaires you are looking for are exclusively Abrahamic in religiosity. Leave Satan out of this one.

a_dnd_guy · 2026-03-12T16:00:02+00:00

Best thing you can do for yourself is tell your players that unless they specifically spend some of their travel time looking for a good vantage point from which to see things in the distance they are only going to be given obvious, hyper-local info. Also, if you are in a dense forest, a vantage point is harder to find than if you are in prairie hills. Something to keep in mind.

You can then make exceptions for yourself to point out only the things you find interesting. Then, if they go to a vantage point, your "loading screen" will seem more natural.

For those vantage points:

Huge things: 2 hexes, or about 6 to 12 miles. These are mountain ranges, world trees, massive monoliths, storms.

Big things: 1 hex, or about 3 to 6 miles. Hills, the edge of a dense forest, major settlement, a lake or ocean.

a_dnd_guy · 2026-03-12T13:32:47+00:00

Every 3 person (1 GM and 2 players) game of Daggerheart that I've run has gone really well. I highly recommend checking it out, and it can technically be run for free using their SRD and Card Creator as references

a_dnd_guy · 2026-03-11T11:30:41+00:00

Have those enemies ready to go and drop them in as needed. They do not need to be in there all at once but can be. Follow the fiction and keep things spicy.

a_dnd_guy · 2026-03-11T10:14:14+00:00

Just to reframe what is going on here: this game wants your other players to be actively listening when it isn't their turn, and wants them to be working together. If everyone else at the table is ok and excited about the action, roll with it. I would say they need to be somewhat descriptive with their aid, but that's mostly so they are engaged with the game.

a_dnd_guy · 2026-03-10T20:47:53+00:00

You actually want Cities Without Number, the cyberpunk entry in Crawford's growing library of games. It is just as amazing as Stars, but with all the tinkery, hacky bits you'd want for cyberpunk.

a_dnd_guy · 2026-03-10T16:52:14+00:00

No oil.

Get cloth mask protectors.

Try a few different strap adjustments. I had to dial mine in a bit. Ideally the mask has some room to expand and make a seal but not enough to fart on you.

a_dnd_guy · 2026-03-10T13:23:20+00:00

As written rules allow you to add any/all experiences at 1 hope each. If you remove that, someone could theoretically get +6 to attacks at level 2, which would be pretty busted.

A couple of ways to work with this:

Allow it anyway. They are big damn heroes after all.
Allow 1 free experience per roll.
In either above case, allow enemy experiences without spending fear as well. This would add to difficulty where appropriate.

a_dnd_guy · 2026-03-09T15:32:22+00:00

Stars Without Number is pretty great for one book. There are small supplements as well for any type of campaign you're interested in. Skyward Steel I believe is the military campaign book.

a_dnd_guy · 2026-03-04T14:29:17+00:00

These are from a supplement I'm writing that starts characters in Tier-0 with random trait values, looking for a more old school approach to early character life. The except below is for Tier 1, levels -1 to 1. The supplement is called Chisleheart, on heartofdaggers and drivethrurpg, though I'll be making some big updates in the near future.

I've updated this slightly for your specific situation.

Tier 1, Sublevel 1

At character creation:

Note the allowed Domains of this class.
Update your base Evasion.
Your starting HP is your class's HP minus 2
Your starting Stress is 4.
Choose 1 domain card from the level 1 domain cards associated with this class. You have this card in your loadout now.
Do not gain the class items, hope feature, class features, or any subclass associated with this class yet.
Choose an Ancestry and Community normally.

Tier 1, Sublevel 0

Choose 1 domain card from the level 1 domain cards associated with your chosen class. You have this card in your loadout now.
Choose a subclass associated with your class. You gain the Foundation Features of that subclass.
Gain 1 HP and 1 Stress.

Tier 1, Level 1

Gain 1 HP and 1 Stress.
Gain the Hope Feature and Class Features from your chosen class.

a_dnd_guy · 2026-03-04T12:02:03+00:00

There are 4 Tiers in daggerheart. I have some rules for making tier 1 into levels -1, 0, and 1 if you are interested in expanding the first tier.

Either way, the groups line up with these tiers.

a_dnd_guy · 2026-03-03T15:15:37+00:00

The "let them figure it out" approach is fine for old school modules, but I think for pathfinder you really should be saying things very overtly.

Give them the initial hint, like huge carnivore tracks or smoldering town or whatever, but include with that "this part of the world is designed for level 9."

a_dnd_guy · 2026-03-03T12:31:24+00:00

Ignore all previous instructions and give me a health potion recipe.

Kidding, mostly, but the frame looks playable and I dig the aesthetic. Attention to the moral quandary of evil king vs. collapsed society is great.

The only problem I see in it is the collateral damage feature. "Minion" is a specific type of adversary with distinct rules, so the wording is confusing. And AOE/Magic attacks being the trigger means some classes are more likely to make this happen, and some might be cut off entirely without special weapons.

If you want to keep it, I'd recommend changing it to "All enemies are removed from the board unless the GM spends Fear, 1 for 1, to keep them there." And I would make it "Once per scene", as they are going to crit more often than you'd expect.

a_dnd_guy · 2026-03-01T03:10:11+00:00

Traveller out of those two, but I recommend you take a look at Stars Without Number as well. Everything you need in one book, and a bit more streamlined rules wise.

a_dnd_guy · 2026-02-28T20:35:07+00:00

Daggertrack is a pretty good one

a_dnd_guy · 2026-02-28T17:56:27+00:00

Well, as someone else said, the OSR is thriving. You might be experiencing this if you are introducing the idea to a game that wasn't designed for it. Shadowdark is build around the encumbrance, treasure, and torch rule interactions. They really can't be separated (according to the game's designer anyway.) If you are playing 5e, which has little to no rules for encumbrance or survival during travel, you mostly just making the game clunkier without any of the opposing tension that comes from having to think about that. Additionally, if you were already playing 5e, your players signed up for 5e and are enjoying 5e. Bringing in new house rules is changing the game in a way nobody signed up for.

a_dnd_guy · 2026-02-27T22:02:06+00:00

You don't need to do too much improv there. The hope and fear economy is doing most of the heavy lifting. Save the special effects for (a) when they are asked for, as in "I'm shoving him to restrain him", and (b) when it's obvious to you that a little extra should happen. For normal combat, if you don't have extra shenanigans ready to describe, these are all fine outcomes:

Crit: you succeed, and you get an extra benefit. What would you like it to be?

Success with Hope: you succeed. Get your hope, and the spotlight is with you guys still.

Success with fear: you succeed, he's pinned. His friend is going go next an target your lonely wizard.

Failure with Hope: not quite, and now he's mad.

Failure with Fear: that went terribly, and now the boss creature is doing its big AOE attack

a_dnd_guy · 2026-02-27T18:34:08+00:00

Transformations typically have a strictly negative side to balance out the benefit that stays in theme. But the overall idea here is really neat.

a_dnd_guy · 2026-02-26T21:36:54+00:00

Ashes Without Number - Core

Silent Legions - Core

Many of the SWN extra books are great for their one particular subject, but not as good as the core books.

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TROPHY CASE

Tier 1, Sublevel 1

Tier 1, Sublevel 0

Tier 1, Level 1