What Do You Think Of As "Modern TTRPG Mechanics"?

[zakael19]

On the other hand you have a lot of expertise with RPG stuff - and I'm guessing from your username that you're in your late 40s. You've sunk a lot of time into one and not the other. I do not believe this to be the case on the generation that was able to make their own worlds in Minecraft and Roblox who if anything start with more expertise making video games. I don't consider it an invalid style but one that is fading out for very good reason.

You know most of those swathes of interesting little indie TTRPGs on Itch are Gen Z or younger millennials right? A majority of FITD games come from folks who could be (or are) in the digital game industry, and skew younger.

There’s overlap! It’s different creative outlets.

 

[Fenris-77]

You know most of those swathes of interesting little indie TTRPGs on Itch are Gen Z or younger millennials right? A majority of FITD games come from folks who could be (or are) in the digital game industry, and skew younger.

There’s overlap! It’s different creative outlets.

The indie scene has crazy design energy and I can tell you that they are all waaaay younger than me. I've asked.

 

[Fenris-77]

A group I'm currently playing with, awesome folks, were positively shocked after a year when relative ages came up and they realized I was like 20 years older than everyone else.

 

[Neonchameleon]

You know most of those swathes of interesting little indie TTRPGs on Itch are Gen Z or younger millennials right? A majority of FITD games come from folks who could be (or are) in the digital game industry, and skew younger.

There’s overlap! It’s different creative outlets.

Key word "Little". Not "huge sim setting". Computers (certainly pre-Chat GPT) can not do the tighter conversational games adapting to PC actions. What they can do is the giant old school systems and worlds that are all mapped out in detail.

I'm saying that it's a specific style that's fading because computers do it better - and other games that do things computers don't do so well are getting the focus.

 

[Mournblade94]

For me, and as others have noted, "modern" might broadly equate to what is now called narrativist. Player ability to change the setting, player permission required to kill a character, granular resolution skipped in favour of getting to the next scene, that sort of thing.

One element not yet touched on, though: I see meta-currencies as a very modern-leaning mechanic even though there's been examples around since forever.

And yes it matters: while there's a very few modern mechanics I'll endorse (e.g. degrees of success-failure rather than pure binary), on the whole I'd prefer to avoid them as and when possible.

Meta currencies are definitely modern. I use inspiration as hero points. But I dont like to use meta currency that flows from player to player.

Narrative I would say is definitely modern. I pretty much avoid games with those. Im really good at figuring out encounter results quantitative at a glance and narrative mechanics are more qualitative and I cant do that. I like to know the odds for tactical play.

 

[Thomas Shey]

Something that exists in the real world is always more relevant when you're talking about real people.

And as I noted, both the components I was talking about do exist in the real world The fact I did not, off the top of my head, have one that has both that came immediately to mind seems an odd reason to dismiss the whole discussion.

 

[Umbran]

Meta currencies are definitely modern.

Are we sure?

TSR's Marvel Super Heroes (aka "FASERIP") used a meta-currency called "Karma", and it was published in 1984. Shadowrun's "Karma Pool" mechanic came out in 1989.

In a 50-year history, something that started in the first ten years doesn't seem terribly "modern".

 

[Micah Sweet]

Are we sure?

TSR's Marvel Super Heroes (aka "FASERIP") used a meta-currency called "Karma", and it was published in 1984. Shadowrun's "Karma Pool" mechanic came out in 1989.

In a 50-year history, something that started in the first ten years doesn't seem terribly "modern".

I do think supers games are perhaps a special case though. IME they're almost impossible to play like the source material without genre mechanics and meta currency. I don't think stuff like that made a big splash in otherwise traditional games that weren't supers until much later.

Edit: ok, I'll give you Shadowrun. Never played or run it so have very little knowledge you can't crib off the back cover of a sourcebook from the 90s.

 

[Micah Sweet]

And as I noted, both the components I was talking about do exist in the real world The fact I did not, off the top of my head, have one that has both that came immediately to mind seems an odd reason to dismiss the whole discussion.

You're welcome to feel that way, but if you aren't willing to find a single example that meets your specifications, I just have a hard time taking your claim seriously. The burden of proof is on you I think. A poster a few pages back gave a good example with their wandering monster rolls scenario (I was just able to come up with an answer for it).

 

[Mournblade94]

Are we sure?

TSR's Marvel Super Heroes (aka "FASERIP") used a meta-currency called "Karma", and it was published in 1984. Shadowrun's "Karma Pool" mechanic came out in 1989.

In a 50-year history, something that started in the first ten years doesn't seem terribly "modern".

Could you transfer that between players? Oh wait sorry you COULD. I remember the pools now. Right.