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10,000 SWORDS AGAINST HEAVEN is a Dark Science Fantasy Cultivation TTRPG set in the Thunderbolt Materialist cosmos of THE TRICHILIOCOSM. A southeast asian esoteric marxist-leninist technoccultic tropical gothic science fantasy take on xianxia and spirit cultivation. Play as kung fu commies, daoist grenadiers, buddhist gunwitches, digital devil wizards, all against the heavens.

It is inspired by the likes of EXALTED, MAGE: THE ASCENSION, FADING SUNS, ARTESIA, MYTHRAS, and SYMBAROUM. Games that are more simulationist than not, which preoccupy themselves with building mechanics that simulate the world rather than emulate a genre or a story.

Mechanically, it spirals out of the foundation of EXALTED 1E's Quickstart (d6 dice pool, small core number of traits, a track for power), mixed with GODBOUND's Effort system, ARTESIA/FADING SUNS' large number of Traits and Skills (represented through Traits, Gear, and Licenses) and a simulationist-esque style of play that grows out of OSR/NSR world-first gaming.

Its two main subsystems are SOCIAL PLAY (which is a dance of Leverages and Disposition) and LIQUID STEEL ULTIMAVIOLENCE (which is a dance of interrupts and actions). Both of them I've made effort to integrate into the world rather than be separate minigames that you "load into" when interacting with them.

The game's main aesthetic is something I like to call THUNDERBOLT MATERIALISM. A weird, occult realist esoterick tropical gothic techno-occult vibe that invokes the likes of BOOK OF THE NEW SUN, MARATHON, VAMPIRE HUNTER D, LORD OF LIGHT, BAS-LAG TRILOGY, DISCO ELYSIUM, ARMORED CORE, and GHOST IN THE SHELL.

10k SWORDS eschews narrative-first, story-generating mechanics in favor of a more traditional conceit, where Players play characters that live and breathe in a world, not chained to Narrative Trope, Story Mold, or Dramatic Expectation.

The mechanics themselves are a lot more rules-lite than its forebears, taking a page out of OSR and NSR traditions to aim at the goal of these simulationist games while wielding a different weapon. To come at the same target through a different, player-friendlier means.

So I visited the Aga Khan museum today to take kk their Game On exhibit. One of the activities discussed was falconry. I had a short obsession with the hobby when I was younger and was wondering if anyone knew of a game where being a trained falconer was a player character option.

Hard mode, not a D&D.

So we know this is an extension of the Magic the Gathering "fort nightification". Take an existing property and sell a DnD compatible RPG.

Of the properties MtG did which I know have RPGS

• Walking Dead
• Street Fighter (oldie but goodie)
• Warhammer 40k
• Transformers
• D&D (duh)
• Lord of the Rings
• Doctor Who
• Fallout
• Ghostbusters (Cult classic with fan support)
• Marvel

This isn't to say anything about the quality of any of these existing RPGs. For me I like Fallout 2d20 and most of the Warhammer 40k RPGs. But it feels like we could see a dilution of system variety.

Hasbro used to outsource to Renegade Game Studios for stuff like GI Joe, Transformers, Power Rangers, and My Little Pony RPGs. But now it seems like those Hasbro owned properties will likely be brought back in house.

Additionally we have some classic RPG gems based on existing properties such as Warhammer 40k. On a cultural level, I can't see Games Workshop getting rid of W&G and Imperium Maladictum, but D&D has a HUGE market share. And GW as a business entity knows where the money in RPGs is.

What do you all think?

I've talked to a few game devs in the past and the comparison I've seen is that DnD isn't the same as other TTRPGs because it's more like a lifestyle. But it does concern me as someone who enjoys non-dnd games.

Hi I was looking for some generic system and found Open D6! Google shows those two websites, 'worldpress OpenD6'(with free D6 Engine?) and 'OpenD6 net'. My best guess of why there is two seperate website is because OpenD6 itself is a opensource. Was it a right guess? I wanna start find out how this system works but the very first hardship is to figure out which website to visit lol.

Also, I am not totally new to TTRPGS but very new to generic system like GURPS and OpenD6. I just skimed through GURPS character book & campaign book but it didn't really clicked for me. That's why I looked up OpenD6. Any other suggestions would be totally wellcomed! Thanks :)

Edit: I got lots of great suggestions and looked through each of it. For me, MiniSix and Freform Universal got me interested. Thanks for all your help :)

I'd just like to start out by saying, I like D&D in all its editions, however, there is a universe of other interesting systems and settings that I hate to see ignored. If you wanted to go off the beaten path, how did you convince your group, or start a group, for something else? What was the "red pill" (to use the Matrix movie phrase) that showed RPG enthusiasts alternative products?

I just read the rules for adorablins and I'm unsure about the stuck/snack mechanic.

What i understood is:

When you roll a 7-9 you can use a snack or companion to have a total success. Otherwise you will be stuck. When you're stuck you get a snack and you can use a snack to remove the stuck condition from an attribute.

This means basically whenever you roll below 10 and dont care enough to spend a snack you can just get stuck, take the snack and remove the stuck condition with this snack you just got. So in the end nothing happens but the roll was a miss.

Am I correct? This seems a bit weird to me.

My group and I have run about 20 sessions of Dragonbane, and 20 sessions of DnD5e. I've found that my players enjoy the roleplaying aspect of ttrpgs more than anything else. They love talking to NPCs, they use their backstories to drive the story, find new mysteries and etc. But they don't really enjoy the combat; almost like stopping the game to roll initiative feels like putting a stop in the middle.

I've really only GMed Dragonbane and DnD, so I don't have much experience with other systems, and we've only played for about a year.

I'm looking for a more narrative, character driven game without having to stop the RPing to roll initiative for combat. It can be fantasy, scifi, modern, whatever, my players are down to play anything I want to run.

What are your favorite system(s) for something like this?

Hello friends! I have been reading a couple of books on writing fiction. They have a lot of useful techniques for creating characters, structuring scenes, etc. My question for you is this: What writing techniques do you think translate well into RPGs and which ones do not? For reference, I'm reading 27 Essential Principles of Story by Daniel Joshua Rubin and The Fantasy Fiction Formula by Deborah Chester.

For example, stories often ask dramatic questions that propel the story forward. In Finding Nemo, the Central Dramatic Question is "Will Marlin (the dad) find Nemo?" I think this can work in RPGs to great effect. It even crops up in DM advice in Dungeon World where it literally tells you to ask dramatic questions for your fronts. In writing though, the point is that your scenes should move towards the resolution of this central question. In Curse of Strahd, one could say the central dramatic question is "Will the players escape Barovia?" One word of warning I'd say is that not all adventures in your campaign have to progress this plot forward. You can't control PCs so that they're always pursuing the plot. But it can inform your prep and steer you towards staying on track with a story. Any other ideas on how this best fits into RPGs?

Another example is crafting the hammer drop. In stories, characters start in their comfort zone. We set everything up. Then something crazy happens that propels the main character into the thrust of the story. In Harry Potter, Hagrid shows up and tells him he's a wizard. In Star Wars, Luke meets Obi and his aunt and uncle are killed. In the Hunger Games, Katniss' sister is drafted, forcing Katniss to volunteer as tribute. It drops the hammer and propels the character into the rest of the story. It shakes their world. For RPGs, I think this can work at the outset of a campaign or the start of a new quest. Crafting a good hammer drop to propel the characters forward into the quest can really set the tone and get characters invested. I think DMs naturally do this though.

Some sections that don't seem to translate would be chapters on writing dialogue. Obviously, you can work on how your NPCs talk, but the players carry the dialogue and you the DM aren't writing out responses like in a book or video game.

A section that I couldn't decide on was the chapter about exploring all possible endings. I don't think DMs should EVER decide how a session will end (ie what the answer to the dramatic question is). Never force an outcome. BUT the chapter talks about thinking through all possible endings so that you can pick the best one but not most obvious one. I do think this advice can be used to add some interesting plot twists to your ending. This could become quite exhausting though.

I haven't read the both books entirely yet, but reading them makes me think about my regular DnD game. How do I incorporate writing advice into my prep so that I write more engaging stories.

Edit: Since several people are commenting that TTRPGs are not stories/novels/etc. I do know this. I'm more just enjoying reading and writing for fun and wondering what skills/advice might translate well to DMing.

I like reading people's experiences with new RPGs when I'm deciding whether or not to get into one so I figured I'd do my part in case anyone stumbles upon this and finds it useful.

Games I've ran, pretty much in order:

- Pathfinder 1e: Players had fun, but it was too crunchy for me. Especially as it was my first time GMing and I had decided to start everyone at level 6 (because the 10-session 3.5 game I had played as my introduction to the hobby ended at level 5 and I didn't know any better). We lasted about 6 sessions before I asked to switch to a relatively simpler system that had just been released. Speaking of:

- DnD 5e: if you're on this sub, you already have an opinion. I have played this the most out of any other game - 9 years of more or less weekly games, it changed my life and brought in so many friends and so much joy into my life. Game's ok, probably wouldn't play it again.

- Worlds Without Number: I originally got into this as it promised gameplay that could facilitate the more grounded stories I found myself wanting to tell, but struggling to with my superpowered 5e campaign. I loved how much faster and deadlier combat was, monster stat blocks were so refreshingly streamlined, the spells were cool as hell, and I very much enjoyed looking at all of the character building options. Unfortunately, some of the language of the system didn't super gel with me, feeling more scifi than the fantasy I wanted, and my players commented that they felt a bit too limited in their respective niches (wizard couldn't contribute much in combat if they had already used their one spell for the day, warrior felt they weren't helping anything if nobody needed to get punched). I got to run 5 one shots and would be interested in running more games but wouldn't be too broken up about it if I didn't get a chance to.

- Spire: the City Must Fall: now this was one of my favorite RPG experiences. The book's setting is absolutely dripping in atmosphere and ripe for inspiration, the players always had access to cool and surprising abilities that threw me for a loop in the best way, and I really liked the fallout mechanic even if it could feel a bit clunky sometimes. I ran a 10-session campaign and told, in my opinion, one of the best stories I've ever told in an RPG with my friends.

- Dragonbane: a really solid fantasy RPG that has almost everything I wanted. Action in and out of combat is very snappy and intuitive, monsters are a BLAST to run (and very effective at actually feeling scary to my players when they realized they couldn't parry their attacks), and I absolutely love the progression system for this game. I ran a small 3-session arc to try it out and plan on running the pre-made campaign that came in the box as a longer test to see if it's my fantasy system of choice for my next years-long epic campaign for my old 5e group. My only complaint is that I'd love to see a little more spell variety beyond different ways to deal damage and maybe some extra playable races since my players like playing weird little creatures. Luckily, I've also ran:

- Wildsea: what a crazy game this was. Probably my favorite RPG setting I've ever read (high praise when Spire is in the competition). It also has my favorite health system of any game ever, and was my introduction to forged in the dark-style clocks/tracks, so that was pretty mind blowing for me. My one complaint is unfortunately a fairly big one though: the actual sailing part of the game isn't very interesting, mechanically. Players assign themselves to stations to figure out who rolls what dice, except the dice pool that most of them roll isn't affected by any of their skills or choices. Very strange gap in the rules when there's so much room for character expression in the rest of the game. Still though, the rules for everything else when you're actually at a point of interest are fantastic. I only got to run a single one shot of this but it has me itching for time to run a mid-length campaign.

- Mausritter: definitely the most elegant game I've played. The rules are light but the way they interact just seems to bring out such inspired role playing and inventiveness. The spell rules are especially chef's kiss. On top of that, the adventures included in the base box set and the estate campaign guide are my favorite pre-written adventures I've ever seen. They give just enough detail to give structure and take on the mental load of stuff like flavorful enemy stats and treasure, while still leaving a ton of room for you to fill in yourself and be surprised at the table. I've ran this a few times at conventions and was told by my players that it was their favorite game of the con, and am now running a monthly-ish campaign using the estate book for some friends.

- Eat the Reich: look at the title of this game. This game fucking rips. You should not need any more convincing to go buy this have right now, but just in case you do I'll throw out the events that transpired in a single player's turn around the mid point of the first time I ran this: a vampire commando leapt out of a stolen sports car to surf on its roof after flinging it up a ramp, chucked some grenades at a Nazi witch riding a detached ferris wheel towards the party, pulled out her sniper rifle to shoot the grenades out of midair with one hand while spraying a different group of Nazis off to the side with a machine gun with her other hand. My only advice is to offer up a bonus die to people that can do a tag team move, as otherwise it can feel a bit like people are just waiting their turn to do the next ridiculous thing. Anyways, you get to slaughter a bunch of Nazis, great game. I've run this 4 times now, mostly at conventions, and had literal applause at the end of every game I've ran.

- Mythic Bastionland: a strange, wonderful game that I am currently the most excited for whenever it's time to run my monthly campaign. The rules are so simple and mingle in a way that, after initial campaign setup to make your map, the dice basically run the game for you. A big part of it is my wonderful players, but just 5 sessions into my current campaign we've experienced love, despair, laughs, trauma, bravery, fear, and true heroism. More than any other game I've played, it really feels like the dice are always steering our story in a surprising direction. The game is addicting and feels like we're playing an RPG for the first time again.

- Triangle Agency: this game is hilarious. I posted recently about it but it's the most entertaining RPG book that I've read, and I have definitely stolen the "have other players play the role of each other's important NPCs" for other games since then.

- Blades in the Dark: the game for my current weekly campaign now that I've wrapped up my 5e game after 5 years. It took some getting used to with all of the negotiating pre-and-post roll on position, effect, action type, and resistance. A lot of the structure of this game was unintuitive, but 7 sessions in and something is clicking for all of us and we've found a good rhythm for scores and downtime. Clocks are great and there's a reason it's been stolen for so many systems since then - ticking up a clock is always a fun, easy way to apply consequences if I can't think of anything else in the moment. The loadout system takes the cake for my favorite mechanic in this RPG though - thematic, fun, and simple.

Games I've been a player:

- DnD3.5: my introduction to the hobby. Even though I played 10 sessions and it overwrote my personality every since, I'm not actually sure if I can actually give a good review of this system because I didn't actually know the rules very well. I said what I wanted to do and my friend who did know the rules told me what dice to roll and what numbers to add. Looking back, it probably would have a lot of problems I wouldn't like today: too crunchy, power level is too high, too many niche skills. But it still has a special place in my heart

- DnD5e: I mostly used this as a way to make new friends when I moved and you can definitely have a good time with it! But it's probably the least interesting game system that I've played as a player. I probably had more fun theory crafting my character than actually using my abilities at the table, to be honest.

- Magical Kitties Save the Day: a cute, lightweight game that my partner ran for us as her first foray into GMing. I had a lot of fun using my special kitty power in unexpected and unusual way - I imagine it's actually similar to how my mythic bastionland players feel using their knights' special abilities, but with much less focus on violence, which I appreciate. It's recommended a lot for people trying to bring younger kids into the hobby, which I can totally see, but don't let that fool you into thinking it's only for kids. Our group of adults in their late 20s had a lot of fun!

- Dread: one of the more unique games I've played (you use Jenga blocks instead of dice to resolve actions). It's really cool and creates a lot of tension but a weird pace when we hit the climax since the tower was more stable. I have played in maybe 5 one shots and would happily play again but do definitely prefer dice in my RPGs.

- Alien RPG: I played an extra long session of this at a convention and it was a crazy experience - way more adversarial/backstabby than a typical RPG but it was thematic and I had a good group so we had a good time! I'm not sure anything mechanics-wise stood out to me enough to want to buy a copy for myself, though.

- Dungeon Crawl Classics: I hear a lot about this being a very wacky game with wacky dice but suspect that may be a bit of a gimmick - we mostly used standard dice in the few one shots I played and there was a bit too much pausing to look up table results for my taste, but I did really like the emphasis on looking for creative solutions beyond just whacking stuff. Honestly, I liked the funnel that we played more than the "proper" dungeons we ran through because it amplified this to 11 - the game was at its best when we were figuring out how to make a chicken and a wagon of dirt useful between 20 peasants who would die if a small breeze knocked them over.

- Avatar Legends: my first foray into PbtA games! It definitely took some adjusting shifting from a mindset of how to "win" with creative problem solving into a mindset of what would make for the most interesting story. As a huge fan of both series (and now the movie), I was bound to love this system no matter what but I'm glad the game manages to focus it's mechanics on creating the feeling of the setting and generating the themes you'd find in Avatar media rather than making it a bending/martial art combat simulator. I've only had a chance to play a couple of sessions because scheduling is hard but I'm looking forward to continuing the campaign.

- Die RPG: wasn't sure what to expect because the premise is very meta but I loved the few one shots I got to play at some conventions enough to pick up a copy of the book myself. You definitely need the right crowd for this to be in the right mood because it can be a very heavy game, but it really manages to make each and every action feel so weighty.

- Interns in the Dark: my first time playing a forged in the dark game, and what made me want to get my blades in the dark campaign going. Everything I love about blades in the dark, minus the setting but plus the hilarious playbooks and abilities. Not sure how long I could commit to the joke for an ongoing campaign but it made for a wonderful con experience.

Lastly, some honorable mentions for games I own that I very much want to run or play in within the next year, so I'd love to hear some opinions on:

- Vaesen

- Slugblaster

- Goblin Quest

- The Zone

- Heart: the City Beneath

- Nimble

- Hollows

Is it just in stacks of hand written notes? Do you make meticulous spreadsheets? Use on online like service? I'm curious how people keep everything straight, especially over long campaigns.

I'm not expecting much. But this seems quite an expansion of the line. To actually put out a product not meant to appeal to largest number of people possible. Plus, I'm interested in what they are going to do with Dark Sun. How will they make it rated R in the text itself? Just add naked boobs?