A new Microscope for you

[Ben Robbins]

Wow, I haven't posted here in a whiiiiiile…

So recently we've been playing the new version of Microscope to re-imagine what D&D worlds would be like -- how the ordinary assumptions that feel baked in could be taken in much more interesting directions. It's a project we started with In This World, taking D&D ideas like classes and dungeons and seeing how they could be different, and then we used those starting points to dig deeper in Microscope and make an actual world.

It's been a ton of fun, and I know a lot of groups use Microscope to build settings for other games, so I thought folks here might be interested in trying out the new version of Microscope: Chronicle. It's a public playtest, which means you can download it right now and take it for spin.

The main difference from original Microscope is that you make the history of a single thing -- like a sword, a city, or a pantheon -- and you tell its story by introducing characters and seeing how it impacts their lives. I think that makes it even more suited for things like exploring particular aspects of other settings. Normally I do closed playtests, but I feel that, in the year 2025, people need a little more fun in their lives, so I have opened it up to everyone.

I'm happy to answer any questions. And yep, I'm the same Ben Robbins who made West Marches.

 

[Elvish Lore]

This is terrific... thanks so much for sharing. And yea, we're totally going to try this out and I'm going to send feedback.

I'm here in Seattle and we miss you, btw...

 

[Saracenus]

Thank you for doing this open play test

 

[Kobold Stew]

Thanks for sharing. I quite liked the original Microscope.

 

[hirou]

I was just telling about Microscope to a new group last week, and now I have a new playtest to share with them! I've used the original system for pokemon deep lore, crossover between Star Trek and Oz, generic "star frontier" settings, Zeitgeist campaign background, all sort of things, honest thank you for your work.

 

[Eyes of Nine]

And yep, I'm the same Ben Robbins who made West Marches.

Fair and true, although in some circles, "I'm the same Ben Robbins who made Microscope/Kingdom" may swing more weight

 

[Ben Robbins]

I'm here in Seattle and we miss you, btw...

Thanks! I miss all the great gamers in Seattle too!

Thanks for sharing. I quite liked the original Microscope.

One of my motivations for making this new version of Chronicle was to use it as a test bed, to experiment with improvements to original Microscope. Particularly scenes and legacies, but all sorts of details as well. I'm really happy with the results so far.