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Yeah. They're pretty much just skill challenges, but with an added timer that provides some strategy around attempting to make a check or assist an ally and so you can build character options around it.

Other than intentional design how would one describe designing from a vision and only including mechanics that contribute to the realization of said vision (and that actively contribute to play)? What do you call the process of design that answers these three questions: What is the game about...

So I view success with consequences as very distinct from degrees of success and failure in games like RuneQuest. Sure, in both there is a lack of binary results, but success with consequences is rooted in conflict resolution where we are answering "Do I achieve what I set out to do?" while...

I don't think D&D or Traveller were aimless at all. I do think most 90s era design was. L5R (before 5th edition), Shadowrun, Vampire, Witchcraft, Earthdawn, Cyberpunk, etc. People basically did a bunch of world building (and not even with an eye towards its suitability for gaming) and basically...

When I think about intentional design I think about designers having a clear vision of what they want the game to be about, not just from a setting/fiction perspective but also as a game. Then the proceed from first principles instead of assuming there are things you need to include because they...

Pledged for physical copies of Fabula Ultima Core Rulebook and Bestiary.

@Reynard I do not think a game needs to be structured like X-Com or Final Fantasy Tactics to be tactical. I consider a game tactical if it has a compelling combat system that can be played skillfully, requires coordination and skill at execution time is the determining factor in success. I...

Note that I do not think grids are universal here. Some use square grids (Draw Steel, Cosmere). Some use hex grids (Lancer). Others use zones (Warhammer - The Old World), range bands (L5R) and some even use completely narrative positioning (Fabula Ultima). The other unifying theme for me (on a...

The games I consider modern tactical games share the following characteristics (though some might miss a point or two): What Makes Them Tactical? An emphasis on in the moment execution over character building or logistics. Skill at playing the game is expressed in the moment and the feedback...

For Fabula Ultima in particular it means the game is about heroic fantasy narratives with a strong emphasis on found family and discovering who you are deep down. This is embedded in its Fabula Points reward cycle.

So one of the interesting the form of more moderate crunch games in the last 10 or so years. Games like GURPS, Champions, Shadowrun, Mutants and Masterminds, Pathfinder et al are highly granular games that leave no stone unturned. No detail is too small to consider. Games like Lancer, Draw...

Almost all Powered by the Apocalypse games Almost all Forged in the Dark games The 5th Edition World of Darkness games Almost all 2d20 games from Modiphius (Conan and Infiniti being the exception) Cortex games like Tales of Xadia, Marvel Heroic Roleplay and Smallville The Cinematic Unisystem...

My experience from playing in other GMs games and what I hear from most people in my circles and see online are that most people play in fairly linear games. I also have experienced that a lot of players assume the GM is supposed to provide them with a story/adventure and have trouble coming up...

Draw Steel does. Very detailed project rules and you get followers as you get reputation to help with projects. Pretty easy to make that get attached R&D support as you earn recognition in the company.

Just got done running the Road To Broadhurst. We had a blast. For a game with so many new mechanics we picked up real easy. From a GM's perspective the monsters were a lot of fun and super easy to manage. Malice spends felt really fun and added a lot of dynamism. The Fury moved enemies all over...

I cannot comment on anyone's particular D&D game. It's quite possible to run games in a Narrativist even if they are supported by the game's mechanics. Most of us have done so from time to time, though often with certain features of mechanics kind of getting in the way. I'm mostly just...

What sustaining the momentum of play looks like will vary from game to game. The premise we are exploring will usually involve but might not always center on them or their desires specifically. For instance the conflicts Apocalypse Keys is centered on are mysteries that pit the characters...

I present a dynamic situation where some ball is about to roll down some hill and ask players what their characters are going to do about it. Then together we all see how that situation resolves based on what they do. By no agenda I mean that I don't have any aims for how the situation must...

Yeah. I really appreciate them trying to make the Conditions in the game more interactive which I think should be more fun for both players and GMs. The lose your turn stuff is never really fun and not very tactical either.

Draw Steel - Core Rulebook Set, An extra copy of Heroes, preordered a Vampire class supplement. Backed Cypher System on Backerkit (Player Core, GM Core, Bestiary).