Hi David, I love Hogwarts RPG and would like to write a setting for another school in the wizarding world based on it / making use of the rules. Would it be ok with you, if I adapt your rules accordingly or maybe I can even treat it as a Hogwarts RPG hack of sorts? Let me know, what you think. Thanks!
Hey there, glad you like the game! All of the original (non-Harry Potter) content in the game is released under a CC Sharealike license. That means you're free to hack, modify, or reuse the game text & rules as you'd like, as long as you provide credit and release under the same license. No permission needed
In short, go for it. Excited to see what you make!
Hi David. I really like this game. I would like to translate it into Czech. It is possible to get the source files somewhere? I would really appreciate it as I am not a graphic designer.
Hi, I think it's possible to edit David's PDF files directly. With the right software. I can help you with that. I'm a bit of a graphic designer. I accidentally discovered this site a few days ago and a Czech translation would also be appreciated.
Anyway, feel free to write me if David doesn't send you the source files.
I haven't playtested it solo myself, but I know folks have done it successfully
Hogwarts is Powered by the Apocalypse, so anything that adapts PbtA games for solo-play should work. (The game is most heavily based on Monster of the Week, Masks, and Dungeon World, so look for tools for playing those solo)
Hello there! We translated this Hogwarts RPG system into Ukrainian. Could you also share it on the game's page? We would greatly appreciate that! Looking forward to your reply :)
Hello, can I also have one of your translations? Unfortunately it's unknown when author adds your link here. Would be great to play it with my team members on weekends)
Are you going to add things published or released in recent times, such as Hogwarts Legacy, in future updates of the role-playing game? The concept of Ancient magic, for example, I think is very interesting for a role-playing game.
I don't have any plans to update the game with material outside the original books & films, but the game is flexible enough for anyone to create their own add-ons!
The next (and likely final) addition to Hogwarts will be the Monster of the Week hack, to allow for games set outside the school with characters who aren't students
I hope the option to play in the wizarding world will be available soon, especially after watching the Fantastic Beasts movies. It would be an interesting option for players to continue their adventures after finishing school or fight as adults against the wizards of Grindelwald or Voldemort.
I just downloaded this and gave it a read through, and felt that maybe there should be some tangible bonus (Like advantages/disadvantages from other systems) for having low/high Traits. This would explain how one could play a character like Hermione Granger who could cast Reparo (A 2nd year spell in this system) on the train before she took any classes.
IE: For each + in the Magic Trait you can learn/cast spells of a higher year then your current. Or something like that. Or for Intellect get a +1 on rolls on your "Topic of Expertise", gain 1 topic of expertise for each positive number in the Intellect Trait.
Just a thought, other then that amazing work. Thank you so much. I'll be hopefully playtesting this system with some friends from a Play-by-Post HP Universe RPG I play in.
The main bonus of a higher trait is being better at associated moves. Things are deliberately minimal/abstract to not overload players. (So, for example, Hermione casting a higher year spell would fall under the more abstracted Luck mechanic)
Of course, you're more than welcome to hack the game & add more complex mechanics. I'd love to hear how it goes! My only recommendation is to see how it plays as-written, so you can get a sense of what actually works & doesn't work for your group
That sounds like a good plan Sir, and was what I was already planning to do. I just know my players, and we are kinda fond of more complex systems but also Love the Harry Potter Universe. Which is why this change came to mind. But I understand the minimalist approach. Thanks for all your hard work on this and your other RPGs.
Hi there, may I please translate this into German? I have already started to do so for my players and am roughly halfway through, but I thought it might be of interest for others as well.
Hi! Yes, you're more than welcome to translate, no permission needed. However, note that there are a few German translations in progress – you may want to wait on those to finish before starting your own
Hi, ich spreche jetzt stellvertretend für die zwei anderen aus dem Team der 3W6 Podcast Community.
Wir sind mit der Übersetzung (inkl. Lektorat) fertig, der gesamte Text ist genderneutral (die Gründe sind offensichtlich), wir haben die Regeln an ein-zwei Stellen verständlicher formuliert, haben einen Beitrag zu Safety Tools (direkt zur Nutzung am Tisch oder Online) verfasst und einen Charakter Keeper, es fehlt nur noch das Layout.
Danke für deine Antwort! Es freut mich sehr, dass ihr die Übersetzung bereits abgeschlossen habt - gibt es das Rollenspiel schon irgendwo als Fliesstext zum Download? Leider kenne ich mich mit Layouts nur mässig aus, weswegen ich euch dort wohl nicht unterstützen kann, tut mir leid.
Hi, ich klinke mich hier mal mit dem Angebot ein, das Layout zu übernehmen, falls ihr noch niemanden dafür habt. Kontaktiert mich einfach, wenn ihr Unterstützung gebrauchen könnt :)
Hi! I love this game so much! Could I translate it into Polish? (And maybe also include some scenarios that I wrote for one-shots?) I already translated some things for my players, to make playing easier for them.
Też jestem ciekaw czy udało się skończyć tłumaczenie. Szukam settingu dla grupy 9-11 latków i polecono mi właśnie Hogwart. Daj znać tutaj albo na maila :)
Hej :) Mam już tłumaczenia karty postaci -- kompletuje teraz zaklęcia i resztę tekstu. Myślę jeszcze nad tym jaki layout pdfu zrobić, żeby to wszystko wyglądało ładnie i zgrabnie :D Myślę, że można spodziewać się tłumaczenia i karty postaci do wypełnienia w PDF w połowie marca <3
Stavo curiosando riguardo qualche gdr di harry potter, solo per sapere se ne esistesse uno, poi ho trovato voi.
Avete fatto qualcosa di davvero troppo bello e molto professionale a livello grafico, parlo per la traduzione in Italiano, bellissimo, spero di giocarlo presto.
Se avete un lino dove poter supportare vi chiedo di scrivermelo perché sarei contento di farlo.
This is just the PbtA game I was looking for to introduce my daughter and her friends to TTRPGs. Thanks for making it. Totally free? Do you have a BuyMeACoffee account? I'm happy to support.
Thank you Mori! You and the rest of the French translation team did a fantastic job on this and the final version looks lovely. I've added a link to the game info above
Thanks so much for the kind words! I couldn't have done it without looking at a lot of other, excellent games. Glad to hear your 1st session went so well :)
Either make them roll for it, or explain why it wouldn't work at all
The general rule is roll when the outcome is in doubt. This means players don't need to roll when there's no chance a spell would fail, but it also means they can't roll if there's no chance it would succeed. No regular student is fast or powerful enough to cast a counterspell against Voldemort, for example. There's simply no scenario where that could succeed
If you can't think of any reason the spell would fail (which would trigger a roll) or simply not work, you should let the players cast it successfully
Other things to think about: What are the results of using the counterspell? What new problems does it create? What new mysteries does it uncover? How does it spark the next step in the adventure? And, when saying something won't work & players can't roll for it, always make sure you offer an alternative. Players can't counterspell Voldemort, but maybe they could evade or trick him instead
Thank you! What confuses me is that the Spells & Conditions block says:
A healing spell can clear the Injured, Hexed, or Unconscious Conditions, if the spell’s effect would heal the cause of the Condition.
Does that mean, that you don't need to pick or buy for xp points any healing spell, since even if you do, it has requirements to work, while 1st year Finite spell can fix any of the 7 years spells without these requirements?
Hm. I'm not sure I understand your question – Finite Incantatem is a Defence spell, not a Healing spell. And Healing spells are not required to clear Conditions, they just have the ability to do so, if successfully cast
Finite Incantatem would only be able to clear a Condition caused by another spell, while Healing spells can clear Conditions caused in other ways (cuts, broken bones, etc)
I would follow how its depicted in the books & movies – sometimes the spell you're trying to end is too powerful, sometimes the caster isn't skilled enough, sometimes a more specific counter-spell is called for: https://harrypotter.fandom.com/wiki/General_Counter-Spell
My two sons and their friend (and his dad) are really enjoying playing this game! Thank you so much for it.
I hope you don’t mind me asking, but I’m curious about the tool you used for laying it out. Would you recommend Affinity Publisher for a zine or a PbtA hack like this?
I laid this out in Illustrator, which I absolutely do not recommend. I've switched to InDesign for subsequent games. I haven't used Affinity, so I can't speak to that as a layout tool, but I believe it's somewhat similar to InDesign
Hi! I have a question about Conditions: a few times across the rules, there's mentions of Comforting or Supporting to remove Conditions. I thought it would be a move (like in Masks: A New Generation), but there's no mention of it like that. Should it just be like, comforting or supporting in fiction?
Technically comforting & supporting is a move, yes. However, I opted not to list it with the other moves because you never roll for it. (Unlike the Masks version, there’s no uncertainty about the outcome.)
So “comforting & supporting someone” is the fictional trigger, and the outcome is always that they clear a Condition.
Hi I'm new to PBTA and this game, could you help me, please? How I make damage if some monster, or thug attack player characters, or how I should resolve if player character wish to attack some best? knife or other weapon damage, and so on?
Hi there! This game doesn’t have damage, as fights aren’t the focus of gameplay.
If a monster attacks the characters, they’ll most likely make the move Stand in the Face of Danger. If they attack a monster, they’ll probably do it with magic rather than a knife, so they’ll roll the move Cast a Spell.
If the roll goes poorly for the character, they’ll take a Condition (like becoming Scared or Injured) or other Serious Consequence. If it goes well, the GM determines if the monster is hurt, scared off, affected by a spell, calls for help, or comes around for another attack.
Think about what would happen in the situation, not about damage or hit points.
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Hi David,
I love Hogwarts RPG and would like to write a setting for another school in the wizarding world based on it / making use of the rules. Would it be ok with you, if I adapt your rules accordingly or maybe I can even treat it as a Hogwarts RPG hack of sorts? Let me know, what you think. Thanks!
Hey there, glad you like the game! All of the original (non-Harry Potter) content in the game is released under a CC Sharealike license. That means you're free to hack, modify, or reuse the game text & rules as you'd like, as long as you provide credit and release under the same license. No permission needed
In short, go for it. Excited to see what you make!
Awesome, thanks! I'll make sure to give credit where it is due.
Hi David. I really like this game. I would like to translate it into Czech. It is possible to get the source files somewhere? I would really appreciate it as I am not a graphic designer.
Hi, I think it's possible to edit David's PDF files directly. With the right software. I can help you with that. I'm a bit of a graphic designer. I accidentally discovered this site a few days ago and a Czech translation would also be appreciated.
Anyway, feel free to write me if David doesn't send you the source files.
Jsem z Čech mimochodem. :-)
Hi, I would appreciate any help with this. Please, write to me karel.kosnar@gmail.com thanks
Hi there! Thanks so much – it would be very cool to have a Czech translation
Please email me at david at davidbrunellbrutman.com and I'll send you the source files
what’s the best way to solo this? Any recommendation for oracles or systems?
I haven't playtested it solo myself, but I know folks have done it successfully
Hogwarts is Powered by the Apocalypse, so anything that adapts PbtA games for solo-play should work. (The game is most heavily based on Monster of the Week, Masks, and Dungeon World, so look for tools for playing those solo)
Here's one I found from a quick Reddit search that looks interesting: https://www.reddit.com/r/PBtA/comments/ka3n1u/the_tattva_oracle_a_simple_way_to_play_pbta_solo/
Hope that helps some!
Hello there!
We translated this Hogwarts RPG system into Ukrainian.
Could you also share it on the game's page? We would greatly appreciate that!
Looking forward to your reply :)
Hi! could u possibly send the translation to me? I really wanna play it with some friends :) snakedinara@gmail.com
Sure thing, please, enjoy the game!
The link was sent to your email :)
Hello, can I also have one of your translations? Unfortunately it's unknown when author adds your link here. Would be great to play it with my team members on weekends)
ivan.bereziy@icloud.com
Hi, I have this system Hogwart RPG translated into Polish, could you share it?
dałabys radę podrzucić tłumaczenie na maila? sarsanteris@gmail.com będę bardzo wdzięczny
Poszło
też mógłbym się uśmiechnąć akurat dziś mam sesje z córką :)
braxios@wp.pl
Poszło też
Mam Piękne dzięki:D
Hej! Chętnie bym pograł z Twoją wersją, można prosić o wysłanie :)
Hej. Jest to na moim profilu tutaj, ale bez problemu tez podeślę
Dziękuję, doszło!
Też mógłbym prosić o to tłumaczenie?
Jeśli to niebyłby problem to tu jest mój mail: fionkalittle@gmail.com
pewnie, poszło
Super
Bardzo dziękuję
Mogę poprosić na maila?
mikaruk@gmail.com
Tak, poszło
Thanks for working on that! Please send me the doc or a link at david@davidbrunellbrutman.com and I'll add it to the game page
Sent it! Thanks for the answer.
Are you going to add things published or released in recent times, such as Hogwarts Legacy, in future updates of the role-playing game? The concept of Ancient magic, for example, I think is very interesting for a role-playing game.
I don't have any plans to update the game with material outside the original books & films, but the game is flexible enough for anyone to create their own add-ons!
The next (and likely final) addition to Hogwarts will be the Monster of the Week hack, to allow for games set outside the school with characters who aren't students
I hope the option to play in the wizarding world will be available soon, especially after watching the Fantastic Beasts movies. It would be an interesting option for players to continue their adventures after finishing school or fight as adults against the wizards of Grindelwald or Voldemort.
That’s exactly the idea, yes!
A good adaptation of the Wizarding World into a PbtA game.
I just downloaded this and gave it a read through, and felt that maybe there should be some tangible bonus (Like advantages/disadvantages from other systems) for having low/high Traits. This would explain how one could play a character like Hermione Granger who could cast Reparo (A 2nd year spell in this system) on the train before she took any classes.
IE: For each + in the Magic Trait you can learn/cast spells of a higher year then your current. Or something like that. Or for Intellect get a +1 on rolls on your "Topic of Expertise", gain 1 topic of expertise for each positive number in the Intellect Trait.
Just a thought, other then that amazing work. Thank you so much. I'll be hopefully playtesting this system with some friends from a Play-by-Post HP Universe RPG I play in.
Thanks! Glad you liked the game
The main bonus of a higher trait is being better at associated moves. Things are deliberately minimal/abstract to not overload players. (So, for example, Hermione casting a higher year spell would fall under the more abstracted Luck mechanic)
Of course, you're more than welcome to hack the game & add more complex mechanics. I'd love to hear how it goes! My only recommendation is to see how it plays as-written, so you can get a sense of what actually works & doesn't work for your group
That sounds like a good plan Sir, and was what I was already planning to do. I just know my players, and we are kinda fond of more complex systems but also Love the Harry Potter Universe. Which is why this change came to mind. But I understand the minimalist approach. Thanks for all your hard work on this and your other RPGs.
I'm sorry I discovered too late here on itch.io there was already an Italian version of this great work! My bad Kioki! And thanks David &Co!
I've done an alternative low-profile Italian version, you can find here:
https://mathujoke.itch.io/hogwarts-gdr
Very cool! I'll add it above as well
Hey,
we have made a full-on german translation with the layout beeing done by us! 😊
https://pen-and-paper.info/systeme/hogwarts-rpg/
Translation has been done by me Neuromancer | Michael & Layout by Red | Theresia.
Also we've done a podcast episode on that matter at our "Quickstart" format:
https://open.spotify.com/episode/6DUDIMMRXphUs6yROghWQs?si=R-sxvmmzQ2e03jQJbLWQm...
Also we had a live actual play campaign with the system too:
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL8KE53eqC0Kqhh9bHoeTIt2jlTSkqu-4G
Would be awesome and glad if you would add us to the translationslist. 😊
Thank you for doing such a great work with the Hogwarts RPG!
Best o' wishes,
Neuromancer & the pnp.info-Team 👋
Fantastic! Thanks so much for working on this. Awesome that you did the podcast & actual-play, too! I'll add a link
Hi there! I can’t seem to to find the narrator sheet.
Hi George – the Narrator Reference and Notes sheets are pages 7-8 in the full game PDF
Hi there, may I please translate this into German? I have already started to do so for my players and am roughly halfway through, but I thought it might be of interest for others as well.
Hi! Yes, you're more than welcome to translate, no permission needed. However, note that there are a few German translations in progress – you may want to wait on those to finish before starting your own
Thanks a lot! Oh what a pity, I have already translated 9 out of 16 pages - do you know who's translating it currently? Maybe we could team up.
Hi, ich spreche jetzt stellvertretend für die zwei anderen aus dem Team der 3W6 Podcast Community.
Wir sind mit der Übersetzung (inkl. Lektorat) fertig, der gesamte Text ist genderneutral (die Gründe sind offensichtlich), wir haben die Regeln an ein-zwei Stellen verständlicher formuliert, haben einen Beitrag zu Safety Tools (direkt zur Nutzung am Tisch oder Online) verfasst und einen Charakter Keeper, es fehlt nur noch das Layout.
Hi unique_uu
Danke für deine Antwort! Es freut mich sehr, dass ihr die Übersetzung bereits abgeschlossen habt - gibt es das Rollenspiel schon irgendwo als Fliesstext zum Download? Leider kenne ich mich mit Layouts nur mässig aus, weswegen ich euch dort wohl nicht unterstützen kann, tut mir leid.
Nochmals, vielen herzlichen Dank!
Hi, ich klinke mich hier mal mit dem Angebot ein, das Layout zu übernehmen, falls ihr noch niemanden dafür habt. Kontaktiert mich einfach, wenn ihr Unterstützung gebrauchen könnt :)
There's also an already existing translation on pen-and-paper.info/systeme/hogwarts-rpg (kind of a second iteration by now, if I"m not mistaken)
Hi! I love this game so much! Could I translate it into Polish? (And maybe also include some scenarios that I wrote for one-shots?) I already translated some things for my players, to make playing easier for them.
Thanks! Go for it, and feel free to get in touch if you have any questions or need any resources
Thank you! <3
Cześć, czy zrobiłeś już tłumaczenie ? chciałbym skorzystać z córką :D
Wystarczy mi karta postaci cała :D z systemem sobie poradzę :D
Też jestem ciekaw czy udało się skończyć tłumaczenie. Szukam settingu dla grupy 9-11 latków i polecono mi właśnie Hogwart. Daj znać tutaj albo na maila :)
Pozdrawiam
Hej :) Mam już tłumaczenia karty postaci -- kompletuje teraz zaklęcia i resztę tekstu. Myślę jeszcze nad tym jaki layout pdfu zrobić, żeby to wszystko wyglądało ładnie i zgrabnie :D Myślę, że można spodziewać się tłumaczenia i karty postaci do wypełnienia w PDF w połowie marca <3
Hej, jak tam sytuacja z polski tłumaczeniem? Bo widzę, ze to wiadomość sprzed 100 dni:)
Pozdrawiam.
Stavo curiosando riguardo qualche gdr di harry potter, solo per sapere se ne esistesse uno, poi ho trovato voi.
Avete fatto qualcosa di davvero troppo bello e molto professionale a livello grafico, parlo per la traduzione in Italiano, bellissimo, spero di giocarlo presto.
Se avete un lino dove poter supportare vi chiedo di scrivermelo perché sarei contento di farlo.
Grazie ancora
This is just the PbtA game I was looking for to introduce my daughter and her friends to TTRPGs. Thanks for making it. Totally free? Do you have a BuyMeACoffee account? I'm happy to support.
Not only totally free, but deliberately impossible to pay for! I hope your daughter & her friends have a wonderful time :)
They loved it! cheers!
Hi David,
I'm glad to announce you that we have a french version of your game !
Here's a link to the itch page, I hope you like it and that it's okay for you to publish it: https://mori-drak.itch.io/hogwarts-le-jdr
The pdfs are quite "heavy" because it is the high quality export. But we will be able to publish light versions soon, probably after the holidays. :)
Thank you so much for your trust.
Thank you Mori! You and the rest of the French translation team did a fantastic job on this and the final version looks lovely. I've added a link to the game info above
Thank you David, we're glad you like it! :)
everyone is super excited to be able to play it as soon as possible!
I'll probably try and play an online session very soon on Discord.^_^
You can easily recognise this a very good game just looking at the influences. We just finished playing our first session.
This is a crazy good game for both fans and non fans. Very well designed, the game flows like only good PbtA games do.
Thanks a lot for bringing this to the ttrpg community :)
Kind regards
Edoardo
Thanks so much for the kind words! I couldn't have done it without looking at a lot of other, excellent games. Glad to hear your 1st session went so well :)
How to deal with players tending to fix any curse/spell effect with Finite Intantatem counterspell?
Either make them roll for it, or explain why it wouldn't work at all
The general rule is roll when the outcome is in doubt. This means players don't need to roll when there's no chance a spell would fail, but it also means they can't roll if there's no chance it would succeed. No regular student is fast or powerful enough to cast a counterspell against Voldemort, for example. There's simply no scenario where that could succeed
If you can't think of any reason the spell would fail (which would trigger a roll) or simply not work, you should let the players cast it successfully
Other things to think about: What are the results of using the counterspell? What new problems does it create? What new mysteries does it uncover? How does it spark the next step in the adventure? And, when saying something won't work & players can't roll for it, always make sure you offer an alternative. Players can't counterspell Voldemort, but maybe they could evade or trick him instead
Thank you! What confuses me is that the Spells & Conditions block says:
A healing spell can clear the Injured, Hexed, or Unconscious Conditions, if the spell’s effect would heal the cause of the Condition.
Does that mean, that you don't need to pick or buy for xp points any healing spell, since even if you do, it has requirements to work, while 1st year Finite spell can fix any of the 7 years spells without these requirements?
Hm. I'm not sure I understand your question – Finite Incantatem is a Defence spell, not a Healing spell. And Healing spells are not required to clear Conditions, they just have the ability to do so, if successfully cast
Finite Incantatem would only be able to clear a Condition caused by another spell, while Healing spells can clear Conditions caused in other ways (cuts, broken bones, etc)
Does that help at all?
I take your answers as ruling to refer to, so it definitely helps.
The problem with the spell, I think, is the tendency to use it as "Dispel Magic", to end any spells' effect at any time : )
I would follow how its depicted in the books & movies – sometimes the spell you're trying to end is too powerful, sometimes the caster isn't skilled enough, sometimes a more specific counter-spell is called for: https://harrypotter.fandom.com/wiki/General_Counter-Spell
My two sons and their friend (and his dad) are really enjoying playing this game! Thank you so much for it.
I hope you don’t mind me asking, but I’m curious about the tool you used for laying it out. Would you recommend Affinity Publisher for a zine or a PbtA hack like this?
I laid this out in Illustrator, which I absolutely do not recommend. I've switched to InDesign for subsequent games. I haven't used Affinity, so I can't speak to that as a layout tool, but I believe it's somewhat similar to InDesign
Glad you and your sons are enjoying the game!
Thank you!
And we’re enjoying it immensely. Thanks again for all the hard work. :)
Hi! I have a question about Conditions: a few times across the rules, there's mentions of Comforting or Supporting to remove Conditions. I thought it would be a move (like in Masks: A New Generation), but there's no mention of it like that. Should it just be like, comforting or supporting in fiction?
Technically comforting & supporting is a move, yes. However, I opted not to list it with the other moves because you never roll for it. (Unlike the Masks version, there’s no uncertainty about the outcome.)
So “comforting & supporting someone” is the fictional trigger, and the outcome is always that they clear a Condition.
Thank you so much for your answer! Makes a lot of sense.
Hi I'm new to PBTA and this game, could you help me, please?
How I make damage if some monster, or thug attack player characters, or how I should resolve if player character wish to attack some best? knife or other weapon damage, and so on?
Hi there! This game doesn’t have damage, as fights aren’t the focus of gameplay.
If a monster attacks the characters, they’ll most likely make the move Stand in the Face of Danger. If they attack a monster, they’ll probably do it with magic rather than a knife, so they’ll roll the move Cast a Spell.
If the roll goes poorly for the character, they’ll take a Condition (like becoming Scared or Injured) or other Serious Consequence. If it goes well, the GM determines if the monster is hurt, scared off, affected by a spell, calls for help, or comes around for another attack.
Think about what would happen in the situation, not about damage or hit points.