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Shadowrun: 3 hours of planning, only for the Street Samurai to go in guns blazing...

I am not sure that this is tied terribly strongly to consumable resources, versus how the actually game engine resolves attempts and actions (but that's another thread).

I don't believe those things are mutually exclusive. You can certainly designs systems where the players have to come up with clever solutions while using what's on their character sheets. And a "GM may I" style system is not better than a "I roll perception" style system if the challenges are...

Yeah, I wanted to distinguish since it can get a little fuzzy with things like hope. here I am talking about power points and spell slots and such.

I think there is a lot of inertia in adventure design -- especially for games that go for that "old school" feel. I love nothing more than an adventure that surprises me with cool ideas and well designed challenges for the players. I haven't run a ton of Dragonbane, so I don't know how good its...

NOTE: this threads is yet another in my "series" to get me thinking about a specific aspect of TTRPG design, as I try and build a conceptual foundation for my own RPG. As it pertains to the subject, the resources I am talking about here are things like spell slots, power points, Hope (not as a...

Even in Dragonbane, if there is no time pressure and no consequence of failure, there is no reason to call for a roll. So include a consequence or throw out the test. Half the time, you can probably throw out the "challenge" entirely because itisn't one -- it is just a speed bump. We aren't...

Mine ended up a casualty of one of my periodic purges. "I am never actually going to play this." Ugh. So dumb.

Interesting. I think Hackmaster 5E Basic was a really good game, but it was too much when the full books came out. That bestiary tho!

One potential solution, if you are looking for such, is to make sure failed skill rolls have real negative consequences commensurate with the benefit of success. The trap goes off or the door is now jammed. The enemy gets a surprise attack. Or whatever. So every roll is a real choice of risk...

So I finally had a chance to write up some potential pre-gens for my bumbling villains con game and want some feedback. I am using the Marvel multiverse RPG and have a friend helping building them at rank 2 or 3 (I have not decided yet). Here they are: Killbot Komando: Formerly just a minion...

Interesting. Some of that art clearly goes back to the 3E era, but I don't recognize anything from the TSR era.

Presumably, these two chefs are of equal skill but different preferences. it is actually a pretty good analogy for GMing: GMs have experience and skill and know what they enjoy and what thewy are good at cooking up, just like Chef's. While I suppose it is legitimate to ask "why" in order to...

I said "need more maps" because the one thing I am always adding to my toolbox are maps for specific encounters when running on Fantasy Grounds. If I am running in person I usually just use dry erase TacTiles and wing it, but on the VTT I like having a pretty map. Usually I head over to...

As I said, sometimes a game is missing a mechanic. Other times, the group has a strong preference. In either case, once a game goes out into the world, it no longer belongs to the designer. It then belongs to the players.

I am a proponent of playing a game as written at least initially. However,not all games have all the subsystems one wants. If I know I want to include domain management in my Shadowdark campaign, there is not a domain management system in that game. I have to bring in one I like. Or, as we see...

RPGs are and have always been rooted in DIY. Game masters are, if not designers, basically modders. It should not come as a surprise that they mix and match subsystems and house rule stuff. And that is the path to "actual design" (whatever that means). Scolding folks for not doing what the...

My problem with the Cosmere RPG is simply that I think Stormlight Archive is a terrible RPG setting. Maybe when the Mistborn RPG comes out I will give it a look.

TIL that New Orleans has a big St Patrick's Day thing. This is our first time here and we chose to come after Mardis Gras to avoid the crowds. Oops.

It is really, really hard to "suck" in Daggerheart. I would suggest players to be proactive and not worry about the possibility of failure. Anything you do moves the game forward.