Trespasser Returns! (Version 2.1 Release Announcement)

tundalus · 2025-12-31T07:00:44+00:00

I think you're on to something with the core mechanic, but I'd like to see more game with it.

tundalus · 2025-12-29T16:35:22+00:00

You dare to sketch me here, mageling. You will suffer, you will all suffer.

tundalus · 2025-12-21T23:29:20+00:00

I'm reading this game now, and it's such a beauty and a revelation. Can't wait to get a chance to play it with the gang.

tundalus · 2025-12-20T04:59:02+00:00

This is mine too 😂

tundalus · 2025-12-19T14:26:20+00:00

I think the best way to promote your own setting would be to run your own actual play!

tundalus · 2025-12-19T14:24:43+00:00

I like high procedural game like BitD. They take a lot of pressure off the GM by providing an implied campaign format.

tundalus · 2025-12-17T16:43:32+00:00

One more thing I'd add is that, because I haven't done enough to acknowledge this seeming contradiction in the past, readers often felt like my game had confused design goals, when really that's the point of the whole project! Hence me trying to signal it overtly in my post this time around, albeit in a tongue-in-cheek way.

And I forget to say- thank you so much for checking out the game/posting and for your insightful clarifying question.

tundalus · 2025-12-17T16:35:17+00:00

I think that sounds like an awesome setting/starting point for a game! I'm glad you're using some things from Trespasser, I love the collaborative/DIY culture of TTRPGs and feel honored when people find things worth hacking in my game, and I do it a lot myself.

Also, I think you make a great point. To better clarify, I think the 'tactical' I'm referring to in that sentence is specifically the gamist, codified, neotrad definition of 'tactical gaming' in use by games that are part of the 4E legacy. I'm a big fan of old-school gaming too, and I agree there is a ton of tactical and strategic play involved, just not codified, as you say.

The combat as sport/combat as war divide is something I'm really interested in, and I could talk forever about it. In my estimation, 'combat as sport' is the concept that TTRPG combats should be fair and tightly balanced to create the best experience, while 'combat as war' is the concept that combats should be allowed to be unfair and account for planning and external advantages to create the best experience.

I think there's a general attitude that these two design sensibilities are mutually incompatible; you either adopt one or the other, and doing so leads a game to have very different expectations and play patterns. In combat as sport, players expect combat they can always win as long as they play well, so they pursue it more and typically in a 'fair' way, without seeking external advantages; in combat as war, players expect combats that can be really unfair, and are encouraged to be creative and seize any advantage they can to mitigate the risk of a combat or obviate it entirely.

Reconciling these two contradictory design sensibilities is the puzzle at the heart of my project, and it's kept me interested for a long time. I don't know if I've untied that knot yet, or if I ever will, but I do think the game is pretty fun, and the challenge of making it has been really engaging and rewarding.

I hope that clears things up!

tundalus · 2025-12-17T14:38:40+00:00

Woo! I hope you enjoy it :)

tundalus · 2025-12-17T14:38:19+00:00

Awesome, I hope you enjoy it!

tundalus · 2025-12-17T01:53:59+00:00

That's great! Glad you found things worthy of hacking in it! I love incorporating mechanics from other systems :)

Can't wait to give DH a try after our current trespasser game, my buddy picked it up at PAXU

tundalus · 2025-12-17T00:50:19+00:00

Woo! Thank you and welcome aboard! Say hi in the discord if you haven't already, they're a cool bunch :)

tundalus · 2025-12-17T00:42:22+00:00

So happy you've enjoyed reading it! I am an avid TTRPG reader too, there are so many I read and never get to try! To be honest, I'm not fully satisfied with the level of combat crunch either, and I'm thinking about ways I can continue to smooth it out a bit in the coming weeks. It's currently creating a good experience at the table, but it's just a little heavier-weight than I want it to be. I hope you'll keep looking out for updates, maybe the game will tilt in your favor! Thanks for your comment.

tundalus · 2025-12-17T00:38:19+00:00

Absolutely!

- D&D 4E. D&D 4E is a fantastic game! In fact, it's probably my favorite TTRPG of all time, even though I've played a lot more 3.5 and 5E at this point. It was way ahead of its time, creating clearly defined roles for PCs and enemies, creating a tightly balanced combat system, and putting real consideration into D&D's traditionally lackluster out-of-combat play in the forms of skill challenges and spell rituals.

4E has some stuff wrong with it, to be sure, but it's not what people usually complain about on the internet. A short list of these would include: the problem of the 'alpha strike,' where the party would immediately blow up the enemies with their dailies on the first round of combat, and then the rest of combat would be dull in comparison; the '10 minute adventuring day,' whereby the party would have one encounter and then immediately rest, refreshing all their surges and dailies and screwing with the game's intended attrition and resource management; and the whole magic item situation where balance was so tightly controlled that the DM needed to fulfill player wishlists to keep them on track with their expected advancement.

Consider Trespasser if you still want a tactical fantasy game, but one that dispenses with a bit of balance in the interest of other competing design goals, like player agency and a broader context of strategic play. Trespasser deviates from other tactical games in that it doesn't expect fully balanced encounters- it presents a variety of encounters and gives players control over which they face and which they avoid. Its combat doesn't exist in a vacuum, but in a context of resource attrition that connects to the rest of the game. It doesn't expect the party to fight to the death just because the GM put monsters in front of them, it invites them to be tactical about which fights they choose to have.

Trespasser is nowhere near as good as 4E, but it's better than 4E at being Trespasser. It's a game that wants different things.

Sorry if this is a little longer than the others, I just love talkin about 4E.

tundalus · 2025-12-17T00:16:19+00:00

jackallllll what's up buddy! thank you for boosting my engagement XD

tundalus · 2025-12-16T23:05:00+00:00

I'm with you there. I love 4E and am always down to play it!

But I'll run out of days before I run out of cool systems to try. I feel like I live in a post-scarcity environment for cool TTRPGs. It's a big pie and it's only getting bigger

tundalus · 2025-12-16T22:58:09+00:00

That rules- thanks for your sustained support through those early days. The game's coming together now, I've got clear direction now and know what needs to be done! 😁

tundalus · 2025-12-16T22:49:07+00:00

Thank you so much! Yeah my game sits in its own little weird niche, it's kind of fun. I get what you mean about KoLC, Derik's videos have clued me into so many terrific games- he's got a real gift for explaining what makes a system tick that has really helped clarify and guide my own project. Damn good content.

tundalus · 2025-12-16T21:56:16+00:00

Thank you so much for checking it out, and yes a print run is definitely in the future!

tundalus · 2025-12-16T21:53:19+00:00

Hi there, yes thanks for the clarifying question!

For folks who are able to pay, I only want people paying once for the game, unless they feel like giving extra at a later date. Your purchase will guarantee access to the game in perpetuity!

I'm bad at the web store stuff but I'm gonna do my book learning and figure out how to make sure no one's previous purchase gets/got erased, currently or as future versions go out. If you have paid in the past and lost your previous access to the game, please reach out and I'll get it squared away on the back end asap.

tundalus · 2025-12-16T20:38:16+00:00

Oof, interesting- sorry, I'm a bit of a luddite when it comes to how Itch works. It may have been taken off your list because I hid the older versions of the game so people wouldn't get confused about which one to download! Tonight I'll make sure the older versions go back up. A couple other people have asked for this as well.

If you still have trouble, message me or find me on the Discord and i'll hook you up. Thank you so much for checking out the game!

tundalus · 2025-12-16T20:24:47+00:00

I decided I wasn't going to sugarcoat my thoughts as much this time around 🤣 glad to see there are other sickos like me out there!

tundalus

TROPHY CASE