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Our #TTRPG wish list: General
1) All forms of conflict use the same core system - magic, hacking, social, physical, psychic, whatever.
2) All forms of conflict are viable as solutions with the proper method and proper circumstances.
1) All forms of conflict use the same core system - magic, hacking, social, physical, psychic, whatever.
2) All forms of conflict are viable as solutions with the proper method and proper circumstances.
3) Baseline = Skilled. You don't start off a noob, just like in most action and heist films the main cast aren't noobs. An option for a noob campaign can be built in, but baseline is 'you know what you're doing and how to do it well'.
(This is a big one.)
(This is a big one.)
4) Different talents, advantages, powers, abilities, all have a different feel, and function differently, while using the same base mechanics. Cleave vs Power Attack. Magic Missile vs Acid Arrow vs Archery.
5) Ranged Attack is an effective, viable method of combat, capable of taking down enemies just as quickly as melee. Stop nerfing ranged combat, please.
6) Deathblow. The means to kill an opponent in a single hit, even if they're unharmed. One hit, one kill is a thing.
6) Deathblow. The means to kill an opponent in a single hit, even if they're unharmed. One hit, one kill is a thing.
7) Minions, hirelings, henchfolk, drones, summons, animal companions. And make them effective. And allow for multiples. Without killing the PC's action economy.
8) Customization where each choice helps to make the character different from other characters - mechanically as well as thematically. A Shadowrun Infiltrator using cybernetics looks and feels different from one using hacking vs one using spells, vs one using conjuring.
9) Every choice when you make your character matters. Skills. Advantages. Gear. Not in 'this is the optimal way to play', but in 'in making your character unique'.
For example, Vampire: The Requiem.
Clan, Covenant, Bloodline, Backgrounds, Disciplines, Virtue, Vice.
For example, Vampire: The Requiem.
Clan, Covenant, Bloodline, Backgrounds, Disciplines, Virtue, Vice.
Each choice says something about the character, who they are, what they can do, their alliances, their personality. Each impacts the character mechanically and thematically.
Culture matters. Belief matters. Location matters. Period of history matters. Technology matters. Magic matters. These should all shape the world and environment in a way that makes sense.
A fantasy world with magic isn't '1400 Europe but you cast spells'. Magic changes everything. The gods exist and grant miracles? That changes everything.
Science fiction with other worlds? Give us bioengineering, cybernetics, cloning, AI, remote drones, smart shells, frames.
Science fiction with other worlds? Give us bioengineering, cybernetics, cloning, AI, remote drones, smart shells, frames.
Show us the world isn't like ours anymore. May never have been. If it's in the game, it has to matter. It has to have an impact. Otherwise, why even use that setting?
Novels and movies can handwave, since the focus might not be on X or Y or Z.
Novels and movies can handwave, since the focus might not be on X or Y or Z.
Roleplaying games don't have that luxury. The characters aren't constrained by a pre-written plot. A Shadowrun novel may deal with deckers and street-samurai, and you won't see a mage. Doesn't mean they don't exist or don't have an impact on the setting as a whole.
But in the roleplaying game, players may decide to have a decker, street-samurai, a shaman, and an adept in the group. That means everything comes into focus and can be relevant to what's going on.
You could be playing a Victorian era game.
That makes cowboys viable.
That makes Aztec warriors viable.
That makes pirates viable.
That makes samurai viable.
A book might not have them, since they're not relevant to the plot. A campaign world doesn't have such hard limits.
That makes cowboys viable.
That makes Aztec warriors viable.
That makes pirates viable.
That makes samurai viable.
A book might not have them, since they're not relevant to the plot. A campaign world doesn't have such hard limits.
Anyway. That's our general thoughts on what we look for in TTRPGs. What do you look for?
