itch.io

Yep! There's definitely some ways to calibrate the game outside of its current ruleset.

Using different dice materials or dominoes/blocks will affect gameplay. Metal dice feel a little less controllable, but def strike with more force. You could maybe build an advantage/disadvantage mechanic around heavier and lighter dice.

The no-TPK rule is stylistic. It's not essential, although it loosely aligns with swashbuckling fiction.

Goalie rules I hadn't thought about, and might get tricky with metal dice, but could definitely add a level of counterplay to the game.

Glad to hear it!

There is! But it's not in this collection. You're looking for Gods In Decay (https://kumada1.itch.io/gods-in-decay), which will be in vol 2.

Happy to have provided entertainment!

(this thing was the pure crystallization of my suffering reading Descent Into Avernus)

Whoah, thank you! I'm happy if the tech here is useful for other folks.

Attacarat is an expansion to the tabletop Balatro-like Fukuzatsu.

The PDF is 28 pages, with the same acid-dipped distortion style as the core book. Its text is (mostly) clean and readable, but everything around the text is dizzying and chaotic.

The major change Attacarat brings is that it splices in CCG elements. Cards attack and block as in Magic, but use their Fukuzatsu point scores as attack and defense. Unblocked cards generate score.

Notably, cards in Attacarat are destroyed when they are destroyed. This permanently whittles down your deck, and could theoretically lend itself to some survival horror mechanics if used as a minigame in something else.

There *is* the risk of a Yugioh problem in Attacarat, where big number cards constrict the entire game into ways to play and remove big number cards, but there are a lot of ways to change and remove cards in Attacarat, and you just have to get over on a boss monster once to have it permanently removed.

There's also a genuinely cool naming mechanic attached to the Pentacles suit, where you can name your cards for bonuses, giving play a very ad-hoc Yugioh anime feeling, where everything sounds made up on the spot but you can't prove it.

Overall, if you like Fukuzatsu but you feel it didn't go far enough, this is your answer. I think Attacarat actually straightens out the core game in some ways by increasing its complexity, and it starts to scrape at the edges of a really interesting disposable DIY CCG space. I *really* liked it, and if you're into card games and craving novelty you should check it out.

A Simple Book About How To Design a Turn-based RPG is a guide to designing RPGs in the contest of indie video games. It is very focused on what RPGs are and what RPGs have done as opposed to what RPGs could be. That said, this gives it a much more mechanically sure foundation. It is concerned with pragmatism over theory, and it is designed for useability.

The PDF is 43 pages, with simple but clean layout and small but readable text. There are some minor spelling errors, but information flows clearly within sections and the book is divided in a way that keeps everything tightly organized.

Contents-wise, A Simple Book is comprehensive. It is written with an eye towards making things from scratch with the fewest number of development errors, and it introduces and builds on ideas in a way that makes it both technical and easy to read.

A Simple Book's narrative voice is tradesman. It feels like on-the-job training being given by a 50+ year industry professional. It also makes a *lot* of references to existing works, and thus may be uniquely good for long time jrpg fans looking to make the jump into jrpg design.

A Simple Book does internalize some expectations about the genre based on what other RPGs have done, but it also does a good job laying out different approaches to mechanics in published games and in so doing gives you lots of small tools to remix when making your own RPG. 

Overall, I think this is a solid reference guide that may have some broad applications outside of video games. It's readable in a single sitting if you're determined, and its language is easy to follow. Pick it up if you're interested in making your own video game RPG but aren't sure where to start---or if you simply want a lot of recommendations for good classic jrpgs to try out.

Minor Issues:

-Page 18, first paragraph, "abailable"

-Page 23, first paragraph, "The two most common ones negatives that appearn"

-Page 23, third paragraph, "preeptively"

-Page 23, fourth paragraph, "tactucs"

-Page 27, last paragraph, "diesn't"

-Capitalization somewhat inconsistent in headings throughout

-The book sort of just ends without wrapup. This isn't structurally a problem, but felt weird

Thanks!

It's been tough seeing the widespread lack of mobile game elements in TTRPGs, and I figured somebody's gotta do it. Perhaps it should be me.

Oh, that's incredibly rad! I don't think I know many other rpgs that are doing physical sculpture as illustration.

I'm glad you enjoyed it!

I will try to put more links back to my itchio main page in my published stuff. I keep meaning to do this, and I keep forgetting, but today this changes!

"The Grimm's reach has become vast" - Vast Grimm, Page 8

Vast Grimm is a space gothic borglike TTRPG dripping with the customary neon. It feels a *lot* like CyBorg on first impression, right down to some of the art pieces, but I believe it preceded CyBorg by a year or so.

The PDF is 124 pages, with punchy and abstract art that fits the style and subgenre of borglikes. Everything is also formatted in the customary way, and the writing is solid and the subject matter pulpy and grabbing.

Regarding the art, it is not my understanding that any AI was used here---it's more that AI creates pustules and distorted human silhouettes naturally, and Vast Grimm has a lot of vibrant pustules and distorted human silhouettes for genre reasons. Actual human artists (a lot of them) are credited in the opening pages, and a closer read shows a lot of visual affects applied to photos and cgi renders, creating a consistent feeling of collage.

 Lorewise, Vast Grimm takes place in a solar system where flukeworm necromorphs got loose and trashed the place, and the few survivors left are looking for a gate to another reality. The vibe is Aliens and 40k and Death Troopers and maybe a bit of Lost In Space, and it's solidly anchored by the art and text.

Mechanics-wise, Vast Grimm cleaves very close to Mork Borg with its core design. Most elements of Mork are here, and in the same quantities, just with different names and flavors. Artifacts and Tributes (spells) and class powers are unique, but take care to stay loosely inside the same balance meta as Mork. The biggest changes are generally small---things like having to roll for carrying capacity on your backpack. But there's also rules for captaining a starship plus a solid parasitism mechanic---you can host multiple infections and usually this makes you worse, but if you have a toughness build, it might sometimes make you better.

Where Vast Grimm stands apart from its source material is in its clearer tutorialing. This feels like an easier book to pick up, and it does a lot more overt explaining about its game style than Mork core.

Overall, if you like desperate settings, borglikes, osr, and flesh worms, you should give Vast Grimm a look. It's one of the quickest, meatiest ways to get scifi to your gaming table.

No problem! It's a really solid game. Thank you for writing it!

Protect The Child is a Blades In The Dark TTRPG about being powerful and ominous beings engaged in childcare.

The current draft is 68 pages, and represents (as of 7/10/24) an early access version of the game. It is clean and readable---although admittedly very maroon---with no illustrations but with a layout that emphasizes legibility and good organization of information.

As a note, the core premise does have some flexibility to it. The child doesn't have to be an infant and you don't have to be high fantasy creatures---you could be aliens or adventurers or criminals. You could use this to run Bad Batch. However, the story is framed (and titled) in such a way that everything orbits around the child.

Safety tools are provided and are comprehensive. There's layers of pre-screening and fallback points to help keep anyone from having a really bad time, which is good because the premise here can easily veer into a ton of wacky child endangerment.

Gameplay follows the usual Forged In The Dark mechanics pretty closely, and worldbuilding tools are included due to the game's inherent lack of a setting. Where most Forged In The Dark games would have a home base, Protect The Child has a child, and it isn't really something you upgrade so much as a narrative football. Your positioning relative to the child in a scene determines how your moves work---and also affects your overall Trust. 

Playbooks here are all strong and nuanced, with a clearly enfranchised area of competence and then the child as an achilles heel. It's interesting to see a system do this---narratively you can't get away from the child, you need to take care of it, but purely rules-wise it menaces you. Honestly this does a good job depicting how children kinda just intrude and force you to confront your own callousness and fears.

There's also a lot of mechanical attention paid to the child's social/emotional growth, and to the phases of childhood. I don't think I've seen a game dig this precisely and this deep into, like, which emotions become present at different ages. It does a really good job of it, too. The child's mechanical development isn't terribly deep (which is fine! It would be kind of dissonant with the rest of the game's tone if this part was more granular), but the child *is* fundamentally a different character from age bracket to age bracket. This is verisimilitude!

In terms of GMing, the game is structured around runs and rests. Basically, it's Blades' missions. A run occurs when there is a problem to proactively address. A rest occurs after the run. This keeps the system focused on things happening while still giving downtime room to breathe. I think this structure is easy to pick up, but if you've already tried and bounced off of Blades, you might bounce off of this for similar reasons.

Quickstarts are provided, and are quite creative and detailed. They stretch the game's premise in unexpected ways, but never outside of the strengths of the system. They're a really good example of how to write adventures for non-traditional ttrpgs.

Overall, I don't think this is an rpg for me (I don't like children), but I do think it's an extremely well made game that will produce wildly memorable sessions for groups that do run it. The child being both the center of the narrative and also player character kryptonite is *really* interesting, and is design tech that could be used in other genres and systems to aggressively centralize a theme or story element. Want a story about a haunting? I think this would work for that.

If you're on the fence about this game, then I want to stress that, despite it being nearly 70 pages, it's a quick read and you can get the essentials in an hour. I'd absolutely recommend picking it up whether you're a GM, designer, or player.

Minor Issues:

-Page 4, "If you have pips in the related stat, you add those", this isn't clear on first read that it means you add dice, not modifier.

-Page 4--5, the headings using cooking metaphors feels a little weird here, with the subject of the game having just been introduced as being about children. I can't think off the top of my head of child-related metaphors for these headings, but it might be worth switching the headings to those instead.

Ash Vs Evil Dead outside of combat, and then like the Arc System Works version of Ash Vs Evil Dead inside of combat.

Thanks! It's been really fun to develop. Feel free to snag a community copy if you wanna check it out in detail.

That's a lot of games, which is a good problem to have!

+18 Archivist Points!

I look forward to reading the refutation!

(Thank you for the kind words!)

Whoah! A full blog review! By the power invested in my by the Great Library Of Alexandria, I am awarding additional Archivist Points. (Thank you for the fantastic review!)

+38 Archivist Points

No worries! It's a super cool game. Thank you for designing it!

This is a dang good intro guide, and probably the first resource I'd reach for if someone asked me what it is that I write.

The English isn't shaky at all. Everything is clearly explained and the guide mentions a lot of great games by name---as well as going over the basics of how TTRPGs are played and why people play them.

If you're going to be GMing or selling at a con, or if you're a FLGS, or if you just want a good pamphlet at hand, you should pick this up.

As long as you don't look at the straw man side, you are basically Perseus carrying the head of Medusa.

I understand if people have to pass(toral) on this game.

Hayllo.

Good question! When you rest, if you have less than 2 Banishment Film, you refill back to 2 Banishment Film.

Oh, it's the seedy motels that are the place of safety, you just get the membership card because you stay there a lot. I worded that one a little confusingly.

I'm glad you're enjoying it! I wasn't sure people would click with the setting or the premise, so I didn't have plans to expand it, but I'll give it more thought.

I'm also definitely open to folks writing their own material for Strays, and I'm happy to link on the page anything that's published.

They're fine by me! Running into a pack of Sea Hounds would be scary as heck, but this does a great job reinforcing the danger of the ocean. I like it a lot!

Here Be Monsters is a watery creature generator for Mork Borg.

The supplement is a single png file, making it very portable, and the layout is clean and zine-y and flavorful. Some of the text does require zooming in, but it's still clean and easy to read when magnified.

There's solid variety here, and the things the table produces can be scarily strong, making the ocean properly terrifying.

Overall, if you're running some maritime Mork Borg, this is a great resource to have in your back pocket. I recommend picking it up.

Reached out to Adam, Adam verified it's okay!

Oh, you still need the Mork Borg license I think, since it's all under that umbrella. You can also add a line afterward about Fisk Borg.

Something like:

--

MÖRK BORG Third Party License - UGLY FISK is an independent production by ScottishRooster and is not affiliated with Ockult Örtmästare Games or Stockholm Kartell. It is published under the MÖRK BORG Third Party License. MÖRK BORG is copyright Ockult Örtmästare Games and Stockholm Kartell. For further details about the MÖRK BORG Third Party License, see https://morkborg.com/license/

Elements of Fisk Borg (https://kumada1.itch.io/fisk-borg) by Richard Kelly and World Champ Game Co are used with permission.

--

I'll reach out to Adam to verify that this is okay.

Thanks!

Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed Kickwolf!

Feel free to use it!

THAW is an old-school TTRPG system based on the sleepover favorite folk game MASH. MASH, if you haven't played it, is a game about prioritizing picks from different lists---good car, mediocre husband, bad house, that sort of thing.

I'd describe this genre of thing as sleepOSRver.

THAW's PDF is 36 pages, very cleanly laid out, and it has the broad vibe of an activity book.

Character-creation-wise, when you play THAW you play MASH. You write down a bunch of possible traits for your character, than eliminate them one at a time until you're left with a pick from each list. It's not exactly random, but it's complex enough that it'll generate characters that feel both familiar and unexpected.

Mechanics-wise, THAW has some real weight. Each MASH pick gives you passive benefits and different ways to break the game's rules, and these can get pretty creative: pre-mapped dungeons, extra gold for bribes, walkie talkies between dungeon and town.

For rolls, THAW has you pre-generate numbers and then pick from them when faced with checks. When you run through your numbers, you gain a level and then generate a new set.

This approach kind of encourages the GM to slow play the game, making it so that checks only occur when it's really, REALLY important and each check has massive narrative weight. I think for that reason THAW might work especially well for 1 GM, 1 player setups---although you could also cut the other way and play THAW really fast and loose, churning through rolls and advancing all the way to level 10 in a night.

And with all of that said, THAW is a *very* GM friendly game. Test DCs, dungeon maps, these are all generated via the same MASH system, and the book gives good and clear and personable guidance throughout. A total newbie could pick up THAW and be fine. And a veteran could probably use it to slap together dungeons for this or other systems at extremely high speed.

Overall, THAW is a gem. It channels the creativity, improv, and speed of play of OSR into a new and refreshing format. It's a sleepover game. It's DnD. It's a dang good time.

Minor Issues:

-Damage numbers are pretty small, so +d4 HP on a level might make characters pretty unkillable around level 5. This assumption is based on me eyeballing it, so grain of salt, I might be mental-mathing it wrong. A class-based HP cap could change this, with the surplus HP floating into gold points instead.

Thank you!

Last Flight Of The Pandora is a surprising find*. It's a slim black book with gorgeous art, stylish layout, and a fantastic one session campy scifi horror ttrpg.

The book is about eighty pages, but most of that is scenarios, and the game is built to be extremely modular. You can run it a dozen times without it feeling stale.

The core premise is everyone picks a species and a role aboard the ship, and then in classic Space Station 13 fashion everyone tries to do their jobs while things go wrong.

It's a bit Lower Decks and a bit Alien, with some subtle nods to other horror classics like the scuttling prop head from The Thing, and the mechanics are surprisingly robust for how lightweight the whole thing is.

Essentially, you have different dice for different stats, and a 4+ is always a success. Species / crew role can give you advantage on rolls, or modify your stats, or let you do unique actions that range from "breathe vacuum" to "make a good latte". Every game also has the same ship map, with the same spelled out areas, and there's a feeling of boardgame-like familiarity if you play or run it more than once.

What changes between outings aboard the Pandora is what's wrong with the ship. It might be a xenomorph. It might be a rogue AI. It might be an evil floating insomnia baby. The GM decides on the fly moments before the game begins.

This sort of pantsing it is very much in the spirit of the game, and Last Flight is careful to give a lot of support to encourage the GM to wing it. Each adversary comes with its own detailed chart of objectives, ways it escalates, and what it will ultimately do if it isn't stopped. Adversaries aren't declared out loud, either, so the players have to figure out which threat they're dealing with by exploring the map and encountering its manifestations.

For groups that like pulpy scifi games, I think Last Flight is a gem. It doesn't fundamentally redefine the medium, but it's satisfying and very reliable, and a great one-shot to drop into a gap between longer games. I've anything I've said here sounds good, definitely consider picking it up.

*post hoc edit: this sentence makes no sense, but for context I got my copy in a big pile of other games and so I was surprised by it. There. Go now with this knowledge and be free.

Fukuzatsu is a Balatro-inspired tabletop game.

The PDF is 32 pages of bright, burned-out-CRT-television aesthetic. It's very readable, and makes use of great contrast between the text and backgrounds, which has the words swimming up at you through a Hotline Miami haze.

The rules are loosely poker, but with an extra deck and a lot of additional calculation for scoring. Cheating is permitted, with a half chips penalty if caught, and this encourages players to cheat heavily as the game gets more desperate.

Tarot cards have a wide range of effects, and you can deck-build a bit, developing a specific array of cards over multiple games.

Overall, if you're looking for a complex and interesting card game to play physically, this is a good pick. There's a lot of depth to play, but it's also random and zany and the numbers get big. I'd honestly love to see a professional poker player's response to it, but absent that it feels pretty safe to recommend to you.

Minor Issues:

-Page 7, "If a player passes and activation turn" and the

It's a really good game! I hope I put some more eyes on it.

After The Bomb is a Fallout fan rpg that manages to stick the landing more earnestly and effectively than the officially licensed system does. And this is by a mile.

There are two PDFs, for a combined total of about 60 pages, and they feature clean, highly readable layout and some splashes of repurposed pulp art. It's all very zine-y, but in the best possible way.

The core rules are simple. d20 + Stat + Bonus vs TN. Stats are low, and bonuses can be temporarily broken by taking survival damage. HP is at risk from both damage and radiation, and they eat at it from opposite ends of its track. Damage goes away when you get to safety. Radiation doesn't.

There's a crafting system that also uses the game's core currency, simple level ups, detailed gear, and all the Perks you'd expect from a modern Fallout.

World creation is collaborative, which to me fits *really* well with Fallout. Fallout's best maps have always been sort of a gumbo, with tons of ideas tossed in, and building your map this way ensures that every player has at least something they like floating in the broth.

There's a lot of GM support, including a bestiary, roll tables, and just generally good and clear advice about how to use the system. The second PDF is a pre-cooked sandbox campaign.

There's even basebuilding.

This is easily tied for my favorite post-apocalyptic ttrpg (the other contender being No Nut November: Squirrels Of The Post Apocalypse.) It's clear, direct, flavorful. It covers everything you need to start up a game, and a lot of neat additions besides, and still leaves you plenty of room to freewheel. I'm not the world's biggest Fallout fan, but After The Bomb does right by its material, and it's really easy to imagine Fallout stories in ATB's framework. If you clicked on this page and you like ttrpgs, I strongly recommend you give this one a shot.