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  1. dbm

    Dark Heresy: running a campaign without money

    We played a very successful inquisition based campaign years back - before any of the official 40k RPGs came out. In that campaign we were agents of the inquisition, rather than full-on inquisitors. That was great fun, and put us in a position where we were more like spies and investigators...
  2. dbm

    Dark Heresy: running a campaign without money

    The things you describe kind of combine ‘keeping score’ and ‘player empowerment’ so you just need to think how such things would apply in this context. My immediate thought is rank since the Inquisition is a militaristic / religious organisation. Rank provides privilege, access to resources, it...
  3. dbm

    Best toolbox RPG to start with?

    All the toolbox and genre-flexible systems will do that, with more or less work required. The trick IMO is to know what your default style is and mostly work from that one. For me personally I like action adventure which makes Savage Worlds my start position. You can tune up or down from...
  4. dbm

    What system for...

    GURPS Atomic Horror seems on the money. The genre in general is fairly pulp so I could probably run it with Savage Worlds, personally. Maybe leverage the Horror Companion for some additional focussed advantages or procedures.
  5. dbm

    Best toolbox RPG to start with?

    Looking at the question of ‘what to start with’ specifically, my suggestion would be Savage Worlds: The rule book is easy to get and pretty concise by the standards of flexible systems It can be played in a fairly ’traditional’ way while offering tools for more scene-based resolution of...
  6. dbm

    Best toolbox RPG to start with?

    I love flexible systems. In my mind there are maybe three or four groups. Toolkits are the most involved to get set up, typically they are a collection of rules and mechanics that you can use to build up a game to exactly match your desires. I put Fudge and Cortex Prime in that group...
  7. dbm

    What system for...

    Smallville, Leverage, Marvel Heroic, and Firefly are the big ones made with Cortex+. Unfortunately as they were IP based they are no longer available (not even in PDF). Its big strengths are completely customisable stats and skills (to put the focus on whatever you feel is key to a game...
  8. dbm

    What system for...

    Cortex is similar to Fudge in my opinion - it’s closer to a collection of mechanics and suggestions on how to use them than it is a game you could just sit down and run. It does require a lot more pre-work to get to the table than a genre flexible system such as Savage Worlds but it has some...
  9. dbm

    What system for...

    These are the kinds of ‘problems’ I like, personally. As @Thomas Shey comments there are different flavours and strengths and weaknesses built into flexible systems so the are not equally applicable to all scenarios. So talking about flexible systems and how they may apply to these more niche...
  10. dbm

    What system for...

    Another vote for Cortex Prime, because it has good mechanisms for handling character relationships, including animosity, in a constructive way (as shown in Smallville originally). Alternatively, a system with a strong focus on relationships is Hillfolk by Robin Laws. That focuses on petitioning...
  11. dbm

    What system for...

    That says OpenQuest to me, or a similarly flexible system like Fate.
  12. dbm

    Binary Success vs Multiple Levels of Success

    I didn’t read the linked article in detail, just skimmed it. Nuanced success systems are a good thing, in my opinion, but they can go too far. Genesys actually has three axis of resolution, as there is success / failure, bane / boon, and triumph / despair (might be misremember the names on...
  13. dbm

    How Will The New Tariffs Affect TTRPG Prices?

    As others have commented, pretty much all of Hasbro’s product is produced in China, so they are going to be hit hard by the tariffs even if WotC can avoid most of them with their US printed books.
  14. dbm

    How Will The New Tariffs Affect TTRPG Prices?

    I suspect the biggest risk to WotC at this point is that Hasbro goes down and takes WotC with it.
  15. dbm

    Which RPGs best model real-world skill development?

    Burning Wheel has multiple meta currencies which are used to track the development of characters. One is generated through achieving skills successes, while another is generated by failures. You need both to develop your skills and the intention is to push players to have their characters try...
  16. dbm

    Which RPGs best model real-world skill development?

    GURPS matches that description quite well. The bell curve means the early part of learning tends to be more impactful than later points in a skill (though high levels of skill do help you mitigate penalties), and increases also cost more as you add points of skill. There are techniques which...
  17. dbm

    Desert Island RPGs (or which RPGs would you play for the rest of your life?)

    I like flexible systems so I can cover a wide range of things. For eight books total, I would probably go with: SWADE core Fantasy Companion Sci-fi Companion Horror Companion Super Powers Companion GURPS Characters GURPS Campaigns GURPS Powers With those, Savage Worlds + Companions would cover...
  18. dbm

    How Will The New Tariffs Affect TTRPG Prices?

    While I agree (as a consumer) I would also presume that people will only have so much discretionary spend. So they may choose to back only two projects out of three that they would have otherwise backed. Those third-place choices will start to suffer and we may see more niche products and...
  19. dbm

    How Will The New Tariffs Affect TTRPG Prices?

    I was thinking more along the lines of: if your distribution hub was in the UK (for example) then tariffs would only apply to the rewards destined for the USA. Rewards going to other countries would not be impacted.
  20. dbm

    How Will The New Tariffs Affect TTRPG Prices?

    Is there any benefit in shifting the default distribution hub to somewhere outside the USA? Then product with a final destination other than the US won’t pass through the tariff zone. I recognise this would increase the logistical effort and associated costs but might that at least be economic...
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