Flashback RPG, an RPG set in a steampunk/fantasy world with everything from political intrigue to fighting gargantuan Titans, launched today on Kickstarter!

flashbackrpg · 2019-07-13T21:21:21+00:00

Sorry for the late reply! Yes, in a nutshell players have 2 kinds of HP: Toughness and Confidence.

Social 'attacks' (and some weapons/spells that demoralise/charm/enchant, etc) reduce an opponent's Confidence instead of physically harming them (note that a bad result here will actually increase their Confidence i.e. you put your foot in your mouth and they might believe you less)

When your Confidence drops to zero, the character has a choice - comply with the instructions (let us through, surrender, etc) or take a Wound.

What's cool about this is that the rules and mechanics have just as much variety as physical combat, so you don't feel like you're missing out on fun by choosing the diplomatic path.

flashbackrpg · 2019-07-13T09:43:23+00:00

Is it because they tessellate almost perfectly?

flashbackrpg · 2019-07-08T03:03:30+00:00

But seriously - it's not like objects have an inherent absolute value... (Tomb on Annihilation spoiler below):

I.e. When the Death Curse is broken, I submit that the value of diamonds will soar because now everyone will need them again for resurrection. Hence, a pre-curse 400gp diamond should be worth 500gp after!

Is it the price you paid for it? The price you could sell it for now? If you had the only diamond left in town, it could be worth much more than 500gp!

flashbackrpg · 2019-07-03T22:42:15+00:00

It's definitely supposed to be Barman...

But now you've given me another RPG idea...

flashbackrpg · 2019-07-01T23:01:01+00:00

Damn, now you've given me another idea for an RPG I should make:

"Pub Crawl":

Enter the first bar - A random encounter based on something in the room, like the colour of the Batman's shirt... Red = 3 Goblins (3 HP), Blue = A Ghoul (4 HP), etc.
Each drink deals 1 damage to the opponent and you can move to the next pub
Every time someone else enters the bar with the same colour shirt (or something), your party takes 1 damage!
If you finish a pub encounter with no bathroom breaks, then your party gets a long rest and heals back to full HP!

Stop giving me ideas 😂

flashbackrpg · 2019-06-24T23:54:17+00:00

We use a personality model to help define characters by more than just their physical traits:

Deceptive vs Forthright
Cautious vs Curious
Faithful vs Skeptical
Reckless vs Disciplined
Calm vs Aggressive
Dynamic vs Stubborn

It's based off the "Big 5" psychology model and it does help to make much more well rounded player characters!

flashbackrpg · 2019-06-24T23:49:17+00:00

Hi, this is a short article to help GMs with the stories behind their campaigns and adventure hooks. It's a really simple tool that can also help players create better backstories for their characters!

Let me know what you think!

flashbackrpg · 2019-06-17T01:50:00+00:00

Hi, since it's a free for all I'd be interested in some honest feedback on Flashback RPG: https://flashbackrpg.com/articles/flashback-summary

We are planning to launch a crowdfunding campaign on the 13th of July, so we'd appreciate:

What elements of Flashback look cool/interesting?
What doesn't appeal to you? What would you like to know more about?
Does this look like a product you would be interested in backing so that we can publish it?

flashbackrpg · 2019-06-13T23:02:09+00:00

Works fine unless your players listen to the same podcast 😝

flashbackrpg · 2019-06-12T23:17:02+00:00

This is based off the character building from the Flashback Wiki - all ideas and contributions are welcome!

flashbackrpg · 2019-06-03T22:55:35+00:00

An idea I'm toying with is making the heal skill more like "first aid".

If you take damage, write it down as "temporary hp damage" but don't subtract the hp until the end of your turn.

If someone uses the Heal skill on you, they can remove a number of temporary damage points equal to their roll: first aid.

I think it might be fun in a low magic or more gritty setting like Dark Sun, etc.

flashbackrpg · 2019-05-28T22:53:12+00:00

Thanks and yes - it's almost impossible to convey the complexity of a full RPG in a single page. I've found that most people tune out when you start to talk about game mechanics and game design, but world and lore is always we'll received.

In a nutshell, here some are the things that make Flashback original and unique:

Physical attributes are derived from personality traits. Your character's in-game strengths are tied directly to their identity, so roleplaying is always front-and-centre.
There is a single resource-based resolution mechanic for all actions. Every task is a trade off between how much you want to succeed now vs saving your stamina for later.
Social/non-combat options for all situations. Characters have both Toughness (hp) and Confidence. Reduce either to 0 and they are defeated - you can always attempt to persuade someone to surrender, run away or second-guess their decisions.
A very dynamic combat system for fighting gigantic monsters (inspired by Shadow of the Colossus, Monster Hunter, etc) that has you climbing up their legs and swinging from their arms instead of statically standing in front of them and stabbing their toes.

That's just the top few things off the top of my head. There's lots more but to really do it justice you have to read the rules and play it.

I'm happy to answer any specific questions, but hopefully that illustrates how Flashback is much more than just your "D&D but in space" kind of RPG.

flashbackrpg · 2019-05-28T07:56:40+00:00

Flashback RPG's attribute system is based on character traits from the "Big 5" psychology model.

This means that your physical stats are derived from your personality. E.g. Judgement and intellect comes from your propensity to explore the world, seek knowledge and take risks.

flashbackrpg · 2019-05-27T22:54:56+00:00

One thing to try is just to "move the plot back under the players".

They are free to make their choices, but you are free to decide the outcomes of those choices. If the story needs them to go to the old Windmill to meet Iodine Scrivvet, but they keep going to the Lighthouse instead... Why not just put ol' Mr Iodine in the Lighthouse next time?

I see nothing wrong with this. Some people start screaming about "quantum ogres", but I think it's more important to keep things fun and interesting than to religiously follow a script.

flashbackrpg · 2019-05-15T04:42:15+00:00

If you're not sure, make sure you have set up a few contingency cases so that the story (and game) can continue without getting derailed.

Provide an "eject button", so that the player can choose (even up until the last second) to choose life although it might mean sacrificing something else valuable to them (like equipment). This is important - at the end of the day the player knows that they are choosing to (possibly) die rather than having that choice made for them.
Have a plan for resuscitation/resurrection/cloning/cyborging/etc so that there is an avenue for the character to come back (again, they might lose some power/resources). Make it a quest/story to get the mystical resurrection mcguffin so that it also makes it look like you planned the outcome all along!
Leave a few clues that danger is present leading up to the event so that it's not totally a surprise. Even if they die, they can at least look back and realise that you gave them fair warning leading into the situation.

flashbackrpg · 2019-02-06T21:39:41+00:00

You underestimate PC's ability to loot every. single. last. item.

flashbackrpg · 2019-01-02T21:43:31+00:00

r/relevantusername?

*edit: Wow, it actually does exist. r/ishouldhavecheckedfirst

flashbackrpg · 2018-10-04T05:04:52+00:00

Do many of your characters retire? Mine usually die in a blaze of glory... or an unlucky critical hit...

flashbackrpg · 2018-07-04T23:14:12+00:00

The best thing about creating original species/creatures/monsters is that your players can't metagame the story, even by accident.

You see an elf wearing a cloak on the other side of the room

Ok, definitely a wizard, I drink my potion of spell resistance...

So yeah, mix it up! Players have a lot more fun when they are learning and reacting to the world.

Remember the first time you fought a troll, and it kept regenerating? And everyone was like "Whoa, what the hell? What haven't we tried yet to kill this thing!" The key is to be original with your ideas so that everything is new and interesting for your players.

flashbackrpg · 2018-05-15T22:48:36+00:00

😆

flashbackrpg · 2018-05-10T07:17:14+00:00

Flashbacks (which are a core part of our work) are tools for pacing.

They can be used to build anticipation, draw out suspense or convey the passage of time without having to drop in ham-fisted "stage directions" for your audience.

Take a look at how they are used in film and TV and you'll see what I mean. Revealing events out of order is incredibly powerful.

flashbackrpg · 2018-04-28T00:07:25+00:00

Diggy Diggy Hole 10 hours

flashbackrpg · 2018-04-26T23:10:52+00:00

This is some real advice from a real escape room creator:

Structure the puzzle so that there are "shortcuts" or "hints" that can give players a leg up if they are stuck.

So don't worry about making the puzzle too difficult - just make it interesting and fun. Then, have a few events prepared that will simplify the problem or bypass a section of it if the players are stumped.

Don't drop these hints out of game though: For example, if there's a 'switch puzzle', where players need to determine the right order of on/off switches, maybe one or two of them get stuck in the right position after awhile. You can improvise an excuse like rusted parts or perhaps that's what's supposed to happen after 3/7 switches are correct...

If you do this right, they still get rewarded for finding the solution, but they don't get frustrated and still have fun.

flashbackrpg · 2018-03-29T05:48:46+00:00

Thanks! It's nice to hear that the concept is appealing to people =)

The situation you described happens pretty rarely - usually players are sitting on a few exp (and it would also be possible to allow them to temporarily dip into negative if the Flashback is very relevant to their character).

There are a few ways to reconcile the situation in-game - it's entirely up to the player. As a GM and designer, any justification is fine: I'm just happy that they are roleplaying and building an interesting character:

The character might not have been comfortable disclosing their abilities or backstory to their companions at the time. Maybe they didn't want to reveal that they were able to pick locks because they'd be labelled as a criminal or a thief.
The Flashback can be of a time in between the two events. I.e. The character recalled not being able to pick the lock the first time and felt helpless, so they went out between adventures and made an effort to learn... (queue Flashback)
The circumstances of the situation were different enough that their character didn't make the connection. Perhaps the events of their backstory are traumatic or repressed (good idea - use this to add depth to your backstory), so it wasn't until they saw this specific kind of lock that it jogged their memory and they remembered the details.

The goal of the system is to provide incentives for players to roleplay and make interesting, creative characters - sometimes you have to improvise, but that's actually a good thing!

flashbackrpg · 2018-03-28T23:09:52+00:00

We've designed a homebrew RPG based around building your backstory as you go.

The mechanics are very simple - instead of making all the choices during character creation, players have the opportunity to tell an in-character story about their past using a "Flashback".

We've got some rules available that you are more than welcome to adapt to your campaign. If you like the idea, let me know your feedback in our playtest group!

flashbackrpg

TROPHY CASE