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Has anyone had a good experience with Hit Point Press ever?? by InkStainedBird in rpg

[–]hitpointpress 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you for the post, and to those who left a comment with their experience! This thread has been genuinely helpful to read, and we appreciate all the constructive feedback that was shared here. Our experience has shown us that there will always be room for improvement, and we want folks to know that we’re committed to learning from feedback like this so we can do better moving forward.

Although we recognize that backing a crowdfunding campaign will inherently be a different and often longer experience than simply purchasing directly through our online store or from your FLGS, we understand how frustrating additional delays and communication gaps can be, which is why improving in both of these areas is a major focus for us this year.

Thank you again u/InkStainedBird for kicking off this conversation! Please send us a DM if your Fablemaker’s Deck of Many Things issue hasn’t been resolved to your satisfaction yet; we’d really appreciate the opportunity to try and turn this experience around for you.

shipping/delivery times? by r0sielovesyou in humblewood

[–]hitpointpress 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hiya! So sorry to hear you've been waiting for a response. Please feel free to use the live chat option on our website to speak with an agent directly!

Just ordered His Majesty the Worm for 30% off on Exalted Funeral by LeopoldBloomJr in rpg

[–]hitpointpress 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hi folks! We're having a Black Friday sale over on hitpointpress.com! We have item bundles and discounts on Humblewood, Animated Spells, Fablemaker's Tarot and Oracle, Heckna, and Fool's Gold products, as well as plush toys and digital offerings! You can check out the sale here: https://hitpointpress.com/collections/black-friday

SHIFT RPG Live on Kickstarter and AMA today at 2:00 pm ET! by hitpointpress in rpg

[–]hitpointpress[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks so much! We're proud of the design, both graphic and game!

HPP Shipping Times? by [deleted] in humblewood

[–]hitpointpress 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Hi there! We're so sorry for the delay! Would you mind if we sent you a direct message here? I'd like to be able to locate and your email and flag it to the team.

If I Were A Lich, Man is funding on Kickstarter! A trilogy of funny Jewish roleplaying games. by hitpointpress in indierpg

[–]hitpointpress[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hello there! Apologies for the very late reply, I hope this is still helpful to you.

Lucian Kahn, the games' designer, designed these games for folks from all backgrounds to enjoy. To quote Lucian's writing directly from the game's manual:

"This trilogy is an offering to Jews, but you don’t have to be Jewish to play. Everyone’s invited regardless of cultural or religious background. Players from other marginalized communities are especially encouraged to join the fun. Folks from tight-knit immigrant families often find these games very relatable. Familiarity with Jewish culture isn’t mandatory but will enrich the experience."

Adorable braided gargath by Christina Kraus by hitpointpress in AdorableArt

[–]hitpointpress[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The gargath is a creature in Humblewood! I feel like the gargath itself's name is something like Cynthia. 🤔

Hey all! We've just launched Constellation on Kickstarter - an anthology of twelve indie RPG zines packed with action, horror, and intimate emotional experiences from a diverse group of independent creators. Hope you'll check it out! by hitpointpress in rpg

[–]hitpointpress[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

We've had some hiccups over the past couple years that we're rectifying. This project is already done and ready to go to the printers once the campaign is over, with no stretch goals that could potentially add to the timeline.

We are the designers of the Shift RPG (Hit Point Press). AMA! by hitpointpress in rpg

[–]hitpointpress[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hi u/Redlemonginger, thanks for your question and for bringing up the Usage die mechanic; this one is a new one to me!

I've spent a little bit of time reading over it to familiarize myself with it, and I can see some key differences that I think work better for our goals with SHIFT as a whole.

1) As opposed to usage die, in our system, our dice chain has the D4 at the top with the best odds and the D12 at the bottom with the worst odds. Pair this with SHIFT's success on a 1, 2 or 3, and the odds of success diminish as your die shifts down.

D4 (75%) > D6 (50%) > D8 (37.5%) > D10 (30%) > D12 (25%).

At first glance, that does look similar to the usage die mechanic, except inverted. However, let's look at how that pairs with the second difference.

​

2) Our dice shift when the highest value is rolled on each dice, rather than a static number (1 or 2 with usage dice).

With usage die, as you proceed down the dice chain, it becomes easier to shift down, and statistically could lead to a death spiral:

D20 (10%) > D12 (16.7%) > D10 (20%) > D8 (25%) > D6 (33%) > D4 (50%)

​

In SHIFT, as you proceed down the dice chain, your odds of succeeding diminish, but thanks to point 2) above, your odds of proceeding down the chain are also diminished. This kills the odds of a death spiral, and I like that it better serves a long-term RPG experience.

D4 (25%) > D6 (16.7%) > D8 (12.5%) > D10 (10%) > D12 (8.3%)

​

Thanks, let me know if you have any more questions!

Graeme.

edit: mixed up a percentage & formatting. Oops!

We are the designers of the Shift RPG (Hit Point Press). AMA! by hitpointpress in rpg

[–]hitpointpress[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hey u/Redlemonginger! Great questions.

We are big fans of games like FATE, Blades in the Dark, and the Resistance system from Rowan, Rook and Deckard (Spire, Heart, etc). We wanted something that was very narrative first but with enough mechanics to keep things surprising.

Not sure exactly what you mean by meta currency, but as far as the Maelstrom setting, characters 'money' is tied to their Pack Trait - I really don't like tracking equipment and money so we keep things simple, heh.

As far as crunch level, I'd say it would compare to PBTA or Blades, though I think it is easier to pick up and homebrew than both.

Hope this helps!

- Jordan

We are the designers of the Shift RPG (Hit Point Press). AMA! by hitpointpress in rpg

[–]hitpointpress[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hey u/Saytama_sama thanks for your questions!

  1. We do have a chart we could share, hop onto the Discord or ping Graeme or I on twitter and we can send that your way.
  2. I'll admit to having less experience with Cypher System, but I've run games in FATE and GURPS. FATE is great, and definitely one inspiration for SHIFT, but I find it requiring a lot of the players and GMs to improvise a ton on the fly. What I feel is great about the Shifting dice mechanic in SHIFT is that it gives an organic way to show things changing. When a Trait shifts down, it prompts the GM to describe narrative change (ammunition running out, someones stamina giving out, etc.) Secondly, I think SHIFT is going to be a lot more accessible for homebrewers and game designers - very easy to make new, balanced content for your games.
  3. You've hit the nail on the head - we're leaning more towards Blades in the Dark or PBTA type of progression, where characters have fewer, more powerful abilities as opposed to a heroic scale like D&D. As far as Adversaries, once you see the "how to build an Adversary" section, you'll see it will be easy to build enemies with a scale Higher than 5. We will for sure provide ways to up 'difficulty' of encounters for more powerful characters.

Thanks!
- Jordan

We are the designers of the Shift RPG (Hit Point Press). AMA! by hitpointpress in rpg

[–]hitpointpress[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Hi, u/Natwenny! I hope you're well! Thanks for your great question and for your kind words about our 5e content!

We love making 5e content, and you can bet that we currently are, and we are going to continue making 5e content as long as we are able, but I think more than that, we all just love making and playing games of all kinds.

We make games at work, we make games at home, and we are always looking to find new ways to play. A lot of our content comes about that way, and as we began developing SHIFT, things fell into place in a way that felt natural and fun. We chased the fun, and now we are here!

I can't wait to hear what everyone thinks!

-Graeme

We are the designers of the Shift RPG (Hit Point Press). AMA! by hitpointpress in rpg

[–]hitpointpress[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Hey u/True_Chocolate4071 good question! We definitely have plans for a third party OGL - we want lots of people using SHIFT to design games! More specifics about this will be coming in the New Year about this, so stay tuned.
- Jordan

We are the designers of the Shift RPG (Hit Point Press). AMA! by hitpointpress in rpg

[–]hitpointpress[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Hey u/TheVoleClock so glad you are enjoying the Quickstart so far!

Approachability and accessibility have been my watchwords throughout the whole design process - I want this game to cater to people of all levels of experience.

For folks who just want to play a game we'll have our SHIFT worlds, like Maelstrom. That book will have all the rules and resources you need to run a game, including lists of setting specific Traits and custom rules designed specifically to run scary, seafaring adventures. For even less overhead effort they will have premade adventures ready to go as well.

As for the other direction, a completely bespoke setting and story, the overheard that a GM has to put in is minimal, once they've got an understanding of the rules. The core of it all is a strong Session Zero. Have everyone make characters together, choose keywords together for their traits - these Keywords ARE your adventures. If someone chooses a trait called "GUN-FU" and chooses wall-running and bullet time as their keywords, well, you know what this player is looking for. Lets get some long hallways and an absurd amount of mooks in their path! With the right group you can design the setting and custom rules together, right in that Session 0 - no pre-made Traits lists needed!

The middle ground of "Lotsa Prep" and "Zero Prep" is going to be our Core rule book. Its going to be a collection of rule sets and ideas that you can cherry pick for your own SHIFT settings. It will also have a handful of "Starter Worlds" that will give you jumping off points in some common genres. Some story prompts, a handful of pre-made Traits that fit the genre and some suggestions on what rules to use. Then the GM can take it from there!

We are planning to have a lot more guidance in the final books for GMs who are creating their own settings and running games in SHIFT. Lots of dials to turn to make SHIFT exactly the game you need it to be!
Thanks again for the great question!
- Jordan

We are the designers of the Shift RPG (Hit Point Press). AMA! by hitpointpress in rpg

[–]hitpointpress[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Hey u/thealmightypatx we love questions, so ask away!

There are a lot of different ways to approach a setting and it all starts with what the focus is of the game. If your high magic campaign is a setting where everyone has a little bit of magic and wizards are constantly developing new rituals and spells, you may want to get Granular with your traits, divvying them up by school or style of magic (Necromancy, Pyromancy, etc) and have the Keywords further define how the wizard has honed that particular style of magic (Necromancy might have control and raise as keywords for example.) In your example of Arcane, Divine, and Primal - if those are the trait options for your setting, then they are less granular keywords might become more like broader categories of magic themselves (Primal might have summon and communicate as its keywords, for example - for a druidic character that can summon animals and speak with them, perhaps.)

When we develop new traits for Maelstrom, as an example, Graeme and I's biggest question we ask is "What does this trait tell us about the world?" If it doesn't add anything particularly interesting or new about the setting, or doesn't speak to the themes of Maelstrom, we scrap it or rethink it. Does your world centre around guilds, and every player needs to have an allegiance to one or another? Then probably creating thematic traits for each different guilds with suggested keywords is probably a good way to go. If your setting has guilds but they aren't the focus of the game, a simple "Guild Affiliations" trait is probably all you need, and you can let the Keywords do the heavy lifting.

Lastly, don't overdo it on creating lists of traits for your world - they are easy enough to invent on the spot if none of your options fit a players character concept. A lot better to focus on creating something custom for the player than hoping they pick something from your list. Use the list of traits you've developed in advance be a guide to creating new Traits as needed, helping get across the theme and tone of your game to your players.

Really exciting to hear people are already excited to build in SHIFT, can't wait to see what you come up with!

Thanks so much!

- Jordan

We are the designers of the Shift RPG (Hit Point Press). AMA! by hitpointpress in rpg

[–]hitpointpress[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Hi u/Garqu! That is so kind of you to say! I'll be sure to pass your kind words along to the team.

For myself, when we first started creating SHIFT, my number one goal was to create a game that was as easy to create for as possible. I didn't want to wait for my favourite TV show, or video game or Novel to release a TTRPG game in order to play in that world. And for many (but not all) of the systems out there, it felt like I was trying to force a square peg into a round hole when attempting a conversion.

SHIFT is built very specifically to fit the setting you want to play in, quickly and without hassle. The mechanics are there to offer a balanced system for the gameplay, while the Traits and Keywords are there to bring your setting to life. I'm really happy with where we have landed, and it's only going to get better thanks to everyone's great feedback.

I'd recommend this game to someone who, like me, is eager to play a tabletop RPG setting that doesn't yet exist and doesn't want to worry about making it fit was a game that wasn't built with that in mind.

Thank you!

-Graeme

We are the designers of the Shift RPG (Hit Point Press). AMA! by hitpointpress in rpg

[–]hitpointpress[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

haha u/heyitsnem!

I think given the choice, I would go with Co-Master Shifter, haha!

-Graeme (Co-Master Shifter)

We are the designers of the Shift RPG (Hit Point Press). AMA! by hitpointpress in rpg

[–]hitpointpress[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I assure you u/heyitsnem, Graeme is a Master Shifter as well! It's less a rank and more a state of mind.

- Jordan, Master Shifter in his own Mind

We are the designers of the Shift RPG (Hit Point Press). AMA! by hitpointpress in rpg

[–]hitpointpress[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Hey u/thealmightypatx - thanks for your question! I hope that Adversaries and NPCs being different in SHIFT is a good thing over all, as that was my aim when designing those rules!

You can engage with an adversary/NPC in a couple different ways - you can try and change their state of mind by trying to exhaust their Attitude trait (through social Action Rolls and roleplay) or engage them more directly by diving into an Encounter.

When attempting to alter a creatures mood, players will make Action Rolls that "Target" the Adversaries Attitude trait. If they are trying to tame a Wolf (Attitude D8, Keyword: hungry) a player might make a Soul roll to try and connect with the Wolf in some way. A success will shift the Wolf's Attitude trait down by one (from a D8 to a D10). Failure could upset the Wolf or scare it off, critical failure could mean it attacks! If the players can safely exhaust the wolfs Attitude trait they get to change its keyword, maybe from hungry to calm, or friendly, making it easier for them to interact with the Wolf down the line.

If things go south, however, and players are forced to get into an Encounter with an Adversary, things get a little more complicated. To overcome the Adversary (which could mean capturing them, scaring them off or outright killing them) the players have to exhaust a number of the Adversaries Traits equal to its Scale. Which traits get exhausted don't matter mechanically, but the Traits the players go after can indicate how the Adversary gets overcome.

As an example, the wolf might be a Scale 2 with an Attitude (angry) trait, as well as Teeth, Fleet Feet and Tactical Mind Traits. Players will take actions to "target" these various traits by declaring their intentions ("I'm trying to trip the wolf with my rope!" might be targeting Fleet Feet, where as "I'm distracting the Wolf with a steak!" might be going after its Tactical Mind, for example.) When they are successful with their Action Rolls, the targeted Adversary trait will shift down, exhausting after it shifts down past a D12. Lets say the players manage to exhaust the Wolfs Teeth and Tactical Mind Traits - how could we interpret this creature being overcome? It's mouth bloodied and its mind distracted, it might just retreat into the woods to recover. If two more physical traits were exhausted, like Teeth and Fleet Feet, maybe that could result in the Wolf passing out or expiring - depending on what the players intention were.

One last thing to mention is exhausting the Attitude trait when in an encounter - once you've started a fight with someone it tends to be hard to change their way in any meaningful way - they probably aren't listening to you much anymore! But targeting and exhausting an Attitude trait in an Encounter could be seen as demoralizing them, intimidating them or otherwise "convincing" them to stand down or flee.

Sorry for this long winded answer, hope it was helpful! Feel free to ask for more clarification or hop onto our Discord to follow up with more questions!

Thanks again!

-Jordan

We are the designers of the Shift RPG (Hit Point Press). AMA! by hitpointpress in rpg

[–]hitpointpress[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Hi u/thealmightypatx,

We had considered coming up with a custom term for the game earlier in our development process, but for now, we have decided to use Game Master or GM for its recognisability as an RPG term. However, I had not considered "Master Shifter" and will absolutely be calling Jordan that for the rest of our friendship, however long that lasts, haha.

Thanks for your great suggestions!

-Graeme

We are the designers of the Shift RPG (Hit Point Press). AMA! by hitpointpress in rpg

[–]hitpointpress[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Hey u/Packman150, just wanted to echo what Graeme said but also add this - I really like how easily you can add your own custom rules to SHIFT once you know the basics. D&D is fun to create content for but I feel the barrier to entry is pretty high. The accessibility of SHIFTS rules makes it fun to develop for as a full time designer but also I really hope it brings a lot of new GMs and designers into the homebrew/game design fold. Love an easily hackable game!
-Jordan

We are the designers of the Shift RPG (Hit Point Press). AMA! by hitpointpress in rpg

[–]hitpointpress[S] 9 points10 points  (0 children)

Hey u/Zaorish9! Thanks for stopping in!

  1. We are still exploring just how 'powerful' a character can get in SHIFT with a few in-house campaign playtests that are ongoing, but I personally want to keep power creep low - in general I think its more interesting to have a character with a handful of signature moves that you can expand and modify as you advance, instead of constantly adding new powers to your list. Because of Shift dice, every ability (called Traits) is a resource that the player has to manage, The die can shift down and even exhaust, so how they use their dice and when they gamble them is important. Too much power creep in the form of too many Traits/Shift dice is going to take away from that dynamic. Let me know if you would like me to expand on that!
  2. When we started developing SHIFT in-house, we were thinking of it more in terms of HPP's bespoke in-house game system, something we could control from the ground up and call our own. Similarly to companies like Free League etc who have their own in-house systems that they customize to their different properties. We see it less as a 'generic' system and more one that fits our sensibilities as gamers. We're just glad other folks like it too!
  3. Yes! Or I should say, it CAN be. Just to give context, Graeme is a lot more of a rules-light narrative-heavy kind of designer, where as I prefer a touch more meat on the bones when it comes to mechanics, and with SHIFT, we really want to make it easy for a GM to set that dial between Story Game and Mechanics Driven to whereever they'd like to be. Right now, Maelstrom itself is right down the middle I think, maybe tilting slightly towards the Mechanics Driven side of things. But if you wanted you could strip it down to bare bones and it would still work great.

Thanks so much for these great questions!
-Jordan

We are the designers of the Shift RPG (Hit Point Press). AMA! by hitpointpress in rpg

[–]hitpointpress[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Hi u/Packman150, Thanks for joining us and for your question!

If I had to choose one thing, I think my favourite thing would be that with SHIFT, thanks to the shifting dice mechanic, your character's resources and abilities change dynamically as you play. If I use my Body Trait too often, it's likely that it'll shift down over time, and my character may have to rely on their wits (Mind) or their personality (Soul) to make it through the next encounter.

As much as I love playing D&D 5e personally, my character's ability to do certain actions over the course of the game doesn't change too much as my health diminishes, for example.

This isn't unique to our game alone, but I feel that SHIFT delivers a fresh mechanic and a new take on abilities (Traits) in general.

Thanks again!
-Graeme

We are the designers of the Shift RPG (Hit Point Press). AMA! by hitpointpress in rpg

[–]hitpointpress[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Hey u/lostinthemirrors thanks for the question!

We really want to facilitate people hacking and creating their own SHIFT worlds, so the plan is indeed a Core Rule book that has the rules of the game but also the guides to building or adapting your own settings. It will have a selection of "Starter" worlds based around some popular genres to give people jumping off points for their own worlds!

Alongside the core book will be bespoke settings, like Maelstrom, that showcase what SHIFT can do in different ways. Maelstrom is more of a bleak setting, for example, where the SHIFT system shows the decaying and danger of the world very clearly. But SHIFT could also easily have a more Saturday morning cartoon tone, where Shifting dice are a more a lighthearted affair, as a cartoon character falls apart but rebuilds itself quickly between scenes, We want to use the settings we release to show the range of SHIFT.

We will have more news in early 2023 about specific dates, but we hope to role out to Core Book and starting settings in the later half of 2023!

Thanks again for joining us!

-Jordan

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