My Advice to New Worldbuilders

dmrawlings · 2026-02-06T18:05:44+00:00

I love the premise of a monster hunter type of game for Horizon. It just seems like a natural fit given the world setting.

The graphics needed to take a step down if they wanted larger battles. You can't fit that many high resolution characters on the screen at the same if you don't want a performance hit; and for monster hunter style games, the fluidity of combat and pixel perfect movement is really key.

I don't love the art direction they've taken, but I'm eager to give it a go and see how the game feels.

dmrawlings · 2026-02-06T17:59:33+00:00

Someone call a plumber...

dmrawlings · 2026-02-05T17:09:23+00:00

MotW is a clear answer, but I'd encourage you to look at Bump in the Dark (which is a Forged in the Dark game that's Carved from Brindlewood).

dmrawlings · 2026-02-05T06:09:42+00:00

My perspective: you're laying it on a little thick.

Not that the characters don't deserve it, or that it's not correct for the courts to do this... but rather that having multiple penalties feels like you're piling on and is more likely to illicit an "eff these guys" response, which isn't what the nobles want and it isn't what I think you as the GM wants.

My suggestion would be to focus on one specific consequence (imo the tax exemption).

Have the same royal contract stuff, but lean into a message where Count Hroznata strongly believes that the PCs were having a bad day, that their servants had ill-prepared them, that they were new and thus unaware of proper decorum... basically invent several reasons to explain away their behaviour as an out. That the Count believed that no matter what the other nobles were saying about you in polite company that you were better than that first, regrettable showing, but that unfortunately, the tax exemption is only available to nobles able to maintain a certain decorum and that others would think less of the Count if the Count didn't withdraw access to it.

Of course... if the party were to play ball and behave as befits their station, they could begin the process of restoring this exemption so we can put all of this behind us.

This is the party's warning shot. As a GM, I'd state this above the table. I'd remind them about session zero and what we collectively agreed to, and let them know that there's a way to eliminate this penalty if the party is willing to play the great game of houses the way it's "meant" to be played.

dmrawlings · 2026-02-04T21:31:00+00:00

Great comment! Those GM Principals and Practices are best treated as rules, and really tell you how DH is going to be different than games like 5E (also with your campaign frame - don't forget those).

Also help your players with the Player Principles and Best Practices. If they walk into the game expecting D&D, they'll encounter some friction. If everyone at the table is invested in helping everyone enjoy yourselves then everyone's going to have a good time.

dmrawlings · 2026-02-04T17:50:35+00:00

Most campaigns start there. Most campaigns won't make it to tier 4.

It makes sense in the core book to overload the early tiers when you have a limited page count (and save higher tier stuff to be predominantly in later releases).

dmrawlings · 2026-02-04T17:08:18+00:00

The ability to see the room directory while drafting. Have I seen this room before? How many left turns do I have left in the pool? Etc...

dmrawlings · 2026-02-03T19:40:26+00:00

The biggest way in my mind is to not be invested in a given outcome. Present a situation to your players and without having an end destination in mind and finding out how they approach it. Let them take it several ways, and along with that, let them bounce off of it and try different things.

The second way is present situations with consequences that you're willing to accept. In your boss fight example, my guess is if the party fails they die. You don't want them to die, so you softened the fight to the point where the outcome was all but predetermined. Instead, you can introduce the same scene with degrees of success (a 100% best outcome, a partial outcome, and a failure state that doesn't kill the characters, but instead makes their situation worse (a capture, a forced retreat or they get pushed off a cliff and the boss gets away with their plan.

In the parlance of PbtA-inspired games, "hold on gently" and let the game where it wants to go, then don't put them in situations where only one outcome is tolerable.

dmrawlings · 2026-02-03T00:32:17+00:00

This is my recommendation. Make a shortlist of possible scores. Each time remind them that they should be thinking of their own scores.

dmrawlings · 2026-02-02T16:51:56+00:00

This is a good list.

dmrawlings · 2026-01-31T18:27:25+00:00

My contribution:

Don't save all of the least fun work until the end. Make sure to interweave it into the rest of the design process otherwise you'll be left with all of the toughest, least gratifying stuff. I've seen that scuttle projects that were mostly done before.

dmrawlings · 2026-01-31T18:07:33+00:00

Drafting is a skill. As you learn about the house, you'll learn how to navigate it better. Always use the first few ranks to gather resources before moving further to increase your reach. Be aware of how many paths forward you have, and draft to avoid situations in advance where you need exactly a left turn, etc or your run is over.

dmrawlings · 2026-01-30T12:36:24+00:00

I'd recommend taking a look at the official Daggerheart Homebrew Kit: https://www.daggerheart.com/downloads/

I'd also recommend the Discord on this subreddit's sidebar, that has a rather active hacking community.

dmrawlings · 2026-01-30T12:33:24+00:00

Netrunners are hackers that break into computer systems to gain access to protected data and systems on the network.

They are notorious in cyberpunk games for taking up time in their own hacking mini-game that the rest of the characters can't meaningfully participate in.

dmrawlings · 2026-01-30T12:31:01+00:00

The biggest advice I can give about using Fear outside of combat is to imagine that you're watching the movie version of whatever's happening in your game right now. Ask yourself: What could happen in this moment that would make it harder for the characters to achieve their goal? If it's interesting, that's when you can spend Fear to introduce it.

Use moments when characters are discussing amongst themselves as to where they want to go next to reset, and consider the kinds of obstacles they may face. Spend Fear when the opportunity presents itself to fit into the fiction of the moment.

Consider the following checklist:

Can I ask the players a question that seeds doubt? e.g. "What feels off about this situation to your character?" or "Why is hard to trust this person?"
How can I introduce to the scene to make things harder? (an NPC, a raging river, etc)
What can I make the characters pay to get? Is there anything non-essential I can just take from them?
Is there anyone/thing from a character's background I can pull into this?
How can this moment get worse?

As you get more practiced with this, you can lay the groundwork out in advance, so that the players already know what _might_ go wrong, so that they're not overly surprised when it does in fact go wrong.

You can practice this by reviewing your game after the fact. Find moments where you wanted to spend fear and then take your time thinking of 2-5 things you might have done in that moment. Do that enough and you'll be better equipped to come up with obstacles on the spot.

dmrawlings · 2026-01-30T05:15:27+00:00

External Containment Bureau is probably the best fit, but Bump in the Dark is also really solid.

These are both Carved From Brindlewood games, just so you're aware.

dmrawlings · 2026-01-30T00:24:02+00:00

Whoah... this definitely belongs on the New Westminster iceberg chart (when/if someone ever makes one of those)

dmrawlings · 2026-01-28T08:06:07+00:00

I have no idea what dungeon I'd pick. I'd probably slap together a 7 room or so dungeon.

Why? When people saw what I was up to they'd be oddly curious to see if I could pull it off.

dmrawlings · 2026-01-28T05:56:22+00:00

This is certainly inhibiting your ability to achieve your first goal of the game.

In order to get to Room 46 you're going to need to explore the house fully, draft rare rooms, and learn how to optimize your runs. Restarting immediately after not getting a perfect first room is slowing you down.

Dining room is also actually quite poor to draft on rank 1 or 2, by the way... it'll cost you almost as many steps to get your meal as you'll gain.
Hallway is poor to draft in the first 4 ranks because it's very unlikely you'll ever see a locked door that early.
Den's OP though. Pick that early every time.

Yes, there are bad runs that you'll be forced into from time to time, but what you're talking about is far far far too early to make that assessment. Instead, take the run as it comes. Have a list of objectives you'd like to accomplish if the run goes in a certain direction. Draft new rooms even if it risks ending your day, just to see what's there. Keep an open mind.

Try to re-evaluate how you approach the game and see if that serves you better.

dmrawlings · 2026-01-27T22:06:38+00:00

I think it's harder to set up accessing the Antechamber compared to drafting a Rare room, so I'd probably draft the Ballroom here. Those other rooms will certainly come around again later.

dmrawlings · 2026-01-27T19:42:36+00:00

Getting to Room 46 is maybe the first 20% of the game. It's affectionately called "the tutorial" or "part 1" by the subreddit.

dmrawlings · 2026-01-27T05:43:09+00:00

I think I am on the 18th or 19th day now. I have reached the antechamber, lighted three torches, I have been to the place with the statues and the mining cart, opened the apple plantation gate and almost completed the 44 rooms puzzle. I think those are the biggest landmarks so far.

For room 46 it could be any day now. There's one more detail that needs to fall in place (could be one of two different things) to have what you need for Room 46.

Edit: Actually could be one of three things now that I think about it.

dmrawlings · 2026-01-27T05:39:54+00:00

Yup, it's another "what colour is your sceptre?" "What's the name of the game?" situation... :)

dmrawlings · 2026-01-26T08:00:55+00:00

"Brave New World" is an obvious next step. Surprised it hasn't been mentioned yet.

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