I have fallen into a trap.
I have started too many projects.
The bad news is that this is slowing me down. The good news is that I’m going to finish all of them. Eventually.
In no particular order, here they are:
Orbital Vampire City. The “sequel” to Orbital Vampire Tower, this urban campaign setting is an entire city full of vampires, in space. There are over 40 detailed locations so far, various mutant vampires, sad aliens, monstrous aliens, weird aliens, vampire hunters, giant vampire mecha for fighting star dragons, and a star dragon. Probably coming this year.
Rogues of Carcassay. A sprawling, filthy city (sandbox campaign setting) of dungeoneers, alchemists, oracles, mercenaries, horror cults, zealous crusaders, warring wealthy Houses, reclusive Corpse Lords, insane hermits, and all manners of creatures spread across a hundred locations. We played in (and under) Carcassay for months and had countless bizarre plots and discoveries and battles. Maybe coming this year.
Six Essential Classes for 5E. I have designed and am currently testing six simplified classes for 5E. These are the Berserker, Hunter, Mercenary, Necromancer, Priest, and Witch. Each is built around a Core Ability, and all of the rules for each fit onto 2 pages (no spells). The idea behind each one is to give a player a very thematic and unique character that is also very easy to learn and run, with no mechanical decisions to make, just flavor options. For instance, the Berserker is a shapeshifter (you choose the creatures) and the Priest can invoke Plagues (you choose the vermin or material), but at each level, the range or power is clearly stated. Obviously, these classes are not for everyone, just folks who want something simpler to run. Probably coming soon.
The Dungeon Age Roleplaying Game. Yes, the long-rumored gaming system that I keep mentioning may actually come to light! Playtesting with both adults and kids continues to go well. What is it? I mean, basically it is a stripped down version of Dungeon World. No moves, just rolls and player creativity, three stats, and 2d6. It’s not for everyone, but everyone I play it with seems to have a great time. Probably coming this year.
Secrets of the Silt Sea. A seafaring campaign setting with adaptive, evolving island mechanics so that every game’s version of the Silt Sea is unique. A misty world of giant crustaceans and crocodilians. Probably coming later.
Gunwitches and Gilaraptors. A grasslands campaign setting of ruined cities and roving dinosaurs, and undead. Partly inspired by North American cryptids and legends. Probably coming later.
That’s all! Did anything catch your eye? Anything sound good?
I picked up and loved Battle for Carrion Vale via Bryce’s review. It’s a fun book.
Though, as a procedure-loving player/gm, you gave me the biggest ‘ah-ha!’ moment when you gave a rule for what to do when the party travels off-path on a point-crawl. It’s so simple, but I was never able to create such simplicity on my own even after mostly using point-crawls for all my games for a long time now!
I’m excited to see your ‘six essential classes for 5e’, so I hope you finish and release that one.
Thank you for what you’re bringing to the rpg world 🙂
Thanks so much Tyler! I’m actually struggling with those Six Essential Classes right now because, while they are thematic and stylish, the 5E mechanics just seem to turn everything into a slog of HP attrition in combat. Which is not my goal! But I will keep working on it.
Yes, this rings true for me as well. I think this is a feature, not a bug, but it isn’t very fun for dungeon-crawling. The slog makes it so each turn matters much less, which in turn makes it so beginners (both players and GMs) can see how things play out at a slower pace. With character death on the line, I think new players unconsciously appreciate this.
The slog also helps foster a super-hero-like pace of combat, where the villain can taunt the heroes or give a short bit of exposition each turn. I think 5e works well when combat is the primary structure to build around.
That said, I think lots of experienced players and GMs want to do real dungeon-crawls, and 5e fails them there partly because of the slog and the durability of the characters. Other games just do it so much better.
So… don’t force it! Work on whatever project inspires you!