itch.io

A much needed facelift for the free 3 player RPG, You Meet in a Coffee Shop, is now available for download! Short description below:

https://klaoed.itch.io/you-meet-in-a-coffee-shop

The system aims to create a fun, immersive space where roleplayers can interact in a unique way. Here, conflict isn't a battle, or a political quarrel. It is a moment of intimacy and reflection, exploring a past relationship with hopes for a potential outcome such as rekindling, closure, or admission. 

2 Players decide their relationship, and any relevant information about it, then create their own characters. Each character comes to the conversation with one desired outcome; something they want out of this session, which remains hidden until the end of play. The third person, The Facilitator creates the world around them, filling the shop with sights, smells and people who will periodically pipe up, intervene or disturb things in some way. 

A small set of moves guide each person through the 10–30 minute session, giving many opportunities for unique roleplaying scenarios. Even experienced roleplayers will feel a sense of unfamiliarity that will hopefully inspire them to bring a little bit of the Coffee Shop into their other games!

Ever wanted some extra practice at stretching that roleplaying muscle for your home/streamed TTRPGs? You Meet In a Coffee Shop is a twist on aclassic first session of RPG campaigns, where adventurers meet for the first time in a tavern, brought together by a single quest, each with their own past and motivations.

In You Meet In a Coffee Shop, the relationship between the players is already established. There is history to be uncovered through roleplay (and roll play), chances for colorful NPC, moments of high tension where a great or terrible roll can change the landscape. It is meant to be a simple, cozy RPG with plenty of space for complex interations and roleplay scenarios.

2 characters who have fallen apart some time in the past both end up in a coffee shop, or a similar establishment, and meet each other while waiting for their orders. Held hostage not by each other, but by their desire to get what they paid for, both parties have an opportunity to hid  the awkward silence in the air and complete a hidden task. During character creation the players decide who they are, what they meant to each other, and then write down a goal they want to accomplish ebfore the session ends. It could be to become friends again, to rekindle a lost flame, or even to simply gain closure. This is accomiplished through roleplay, guided by moves, rolls and intervention from the Facilitator (the GM).

I believe this to be a unique concept, and while it certainly isn't meant for all tables, I hope you'll give it a try if it sounds like your cup of joe!

https://klaoed.itch.io/you-meet-in-a-coffee-shop

I really appreciate this feedback! It was so important for me to sneakily turn something more universal (the general path of a hero's story) into a genuine TTRPG experience. I'm thrilled to hear it was translated into the mechanics of the game.

When I tell you I have NO idea what I’m doing in terms of design, I mean it with my whole heart. But good lord am I grateful for your input. I will make an update to the doc right away! 

I have NEVER before ventured into this realm of self promotion, so I appreciate any and all interactions and advice from this community. Bonds began as a way for me to introduce my girlfriend to TTRPGs. I had collected a handful of systems at the time, but none seemed 'beginner friendly' in the way that I needed - let me explain. (The link is below the text, thank you!)

My girlfriend, like I'm sure many other partners, isn't looking to pick up this as a hobby. Regardless, she sees my passion for this hobby, hears me talk endlessly about big character moments, storylines and fun experiences and genuinely wants to understand what the heck I'm talking about. I wanted to make her feel like even with 0 experience, she was just as capable as anyone to hop into a TTRPG system and help tell a cool story! The hope was that she would 'accidentally' learn what the pillars of TTRPGs are, create a complex character with both resolved and unresolved issues, and a world that existed only at the table with us, something we could talk about for weeks to come. Thus, Bonds was created.

Bonds is meant to tell a classic hero's tale, a young lad leaves their city for the first time and embarks on a great adventure, becoming stronger and wiser with each passing day. Any DM can think up a cool setting/story to give to their player, but with this kind of very personal approach, I wanted to instead give the player the tools and opportunity to have a hand in all parts of the story. Here, the GM is instead referred to as the Weaver; the player provides the material, and the GM uses that material to weave together the story.

It is not flashy, the art and design is self generated from someone very lacking in visual art skills (me!), but I hope that the heart and passion behind the game will translate into your home games.

https://klaoed.itch.io/bonds