neat20: the "yet another d20system variant" to rule them all

Since 2019 or so I've been toying with a project of an RPG system for medieval fantasy shenanigans ala D&D, but better™. Surely I'm the first with this idea, amirite?

I also wanted to write it in spanish (my native language) for reasons I can't really explain -- most of my creations are written in english. Why? Not sure, maybe because it's the language I'm most used to read RPG stuff in, or because publishing any RPG product in english makes more sense (better reach and demographics I guess?). But once or twice I decide to create something in spanish, perhaps because I'm envisioning the thing being played by my friends and acquaintances (all spanish-first speakers) before strangers from the internet.

Anyway, this was the case for this system that I called "Aventura & Fantasía" (which translates to "Adventure & Fantasy", but the ampersand is a wink-wink because it's not really used in spanish).

FAR GALAXY: Roleplaying in a galaxy far, far away

tl;dr: FAR GALAXY is my take on a homebrew, minimalistic RPG system to play in the Star Wars™ universe.

re.SERIALIZED, or how to add a campaign mode to an RPG designed to be a one-shot game

 In a previous post I wrote about CBR+PNK and some of my ideas for hacks and addons for it. At that time I talked a little bit about a "campaign mode". I also wrote about they totally unnecessary need for a longform mode for a game that is specifically designed to accommodate one-shots. The whole gist of CBR+PNK is, after all, that you are on YOUR LAST RUN.

Having said that, I feel like the game is a very solid framework for Cyberpunk Edgerunners doing missions ala Shadowrun style, and a serialized format works well with that sub-genre.

/NET/RUN : A plugin for CBR+PNK

There is this very neat minimalist RPG called CBR+PNK, which is basically a pamphlet-sized mini-forged in the dark take on the Cyberpunk genre, through the lens of a crew of mercs doing their last run. Yeah, it oozes with coolness, I know. Check it out, it's free now that a new edition was successfully Kickstarted and it's being worked on.

I tried it a few times, and while it's awesome and gets the job done pretty well, it also begs for hacks and addons.

The cover image for /NET/RUN, which, ironically, was created using an AI.

I've been toying with some ideas for a while, and the CBR+PNK products made by Emanoel Melo (the creator of the game) and other third party creators gave me a sort of framework of what's possible for the game. There are some pamphlet-sized adventure modules available, but there's also mini-plugins in the form of futuristic presentation cards. It's like it's whole thing is having small sized feelies or pamphlets to throw on the table for your players to use. The medium also forces the designer(s) to be concise, something that works well because the Cyberpunk genre is full of familiar and shared tropes.

In search of my "Forever Game"

I like to believe that most TTRPGers have a similar desire or wish to find their "Forever Game". I know that I do, even realizing by now that it's probably an exercise in futility.

What's the "Forever Game"? 

It's an utopic, most likely non-existent, ideal RPG, that you can play forever and be content. It doesn't have to be perfect for everyone, nor does it have to be perfect in every regard or aspect; it just needs to be perfect for you (and, ideally, for everyone involved in your game).

In my case, that means many things, but even these constraints change over time. I'll try to enumerate what are the things my "Forever Game" should comply with (as of August 2022 lol):

Generic Fantasy World Map

 

A few months ago, Skerples from coins and scrolls fame wrote a twitter thread sharing several "Generic" Fantasy World maps, full of clichés and classic tropes of kitchen-sink fantasy.

hello world!

Le suilon, friend!

This is my blog, made to dump my thoughts and ideas related to the RPG hobby, and sometimes promote my own creations or products.

I am mostly a GM (sometimes a player), and also an amateur game-designer and hacker. I'm also the proud owner of a small collection of RPG books (not that many, but enough that I won't have enough time in my life to try them all).

I have dozens of unfinished hacks or RPG systems saved within my documents. Some of them have been tested, most haven't. New ideas spring to mind weekly... sometimes daily.

I also enjoy reading other GMs, game designers and overall RPG enthusiasts on their blogs and social media. So this is me joining the scene, finally. 

Thanks for reading my blog!

Namárië!