#httrpg — Public Fediverse posts
Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #httrpg, aggregated by home.social.
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Thus far, most of my delving into the post-holocaust military-SF designs of 1980s #TTRPG has been pleasant, partly because of the occasional streaks of HTT design, but also my delight at how these genres sheltered several openly-progressive designers writing with humanistic sympathies.
Not gonna lie: I expected the opposite to be the norm, given all the gun-shooty.
It's not! But ... I did finally slam face-first into an example of it tonight. YIKES. 🤮
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Thus far, most of my delving into the post-holocaust military-SF designs of 1980s #TTRPG has been pleasant, partly because of the occasional streaks of HTT design, but also my delight at how these genres sheltered several openly-progressive designers writing with humanistic sympathies.
Not gonna lie: I expected the opposite to be the norm, given all the gun-shooty.
It's not! But ... I did finally slam face-first into an example of it tonight. YIKES. 🤮
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Thus far, most of my delving into the post-holocaust military-SF designs of 1980s #TTRPG has been pleasant, partly because of the occasional streaks of HTT design, but also my delight at how these genres sheltered several openly-progressive designers writing with humanistic sympathies.
Not gonna lie: I expected the opposite to be the norm, given all the gun-shooty.
It's not! But ... I did finally slam face-first into an example of it tonight. YIKES. 🤮
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Thus far, most of my delving into the post-holocaust military-SF designs of 1980s #TTRPG has been pleasant, partly because of the occasional streaks of HTT design, but also my delight at how these genres sheltered several openly-progressive designers writing with humanistic sympathies.
Not gonna lie: I expected the opposite to be the norm, given all the gun-shooty.
It's not! But ... I did finally slam face-first into an example of it tonight. YIKES. 🤮
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Thus far, most of my delving into the post-holocaust military-SF designs of 1980s #TTRPG has been pleasant, partly because of the occasional streaks of HTT design, but also my delight at how these genres sheltered several openly-progressive designers writing with humanistic sympathies.
Not gonna lie: I expected the opposite to be the norm, given all the gun-shooty.
It's not! But ... I did finally slam face-first into an example of it tonight. YIKES. 🤮
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I've GMed Toast of the Town for more than 30 different groups over the years, and it's gone differently - often outrageously so - for every group.
And that's one (basic) yardstick for success in #HTTRPG design, but you don't have to be interested in HTT to enjoy Toast. Plus, it's free. Suitable for any #TTRPG party that's into helping others. Easily adaptable to most worlds and most systems. I've even run it as straight historical with the magic crap removed. 😆
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I've GMed Toast of the Town for more than 30 different groups over the years, and it's gone differently - often outrageously so - for every group.
And that's one (basic) yardstick for success in #HTTRPG design, but you don't have to be interested in HTT to enjoy Toast. Plus, it's free. Suitable for any #TTRPG party that's into helping others. Easily adaptable to most worlds and most systems. I've even run it as straight historical with the magic crap removed. 😆
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I've GMed Toast of the Town for more than 30 different groups over the years, and it's gone differently - often outrageously so - for every group.
And that's one (basic) yardstick for success in #HTTRPG design, but you don't have to be interested in HTT to enjoy Toast. Plus, it's free. Suitable for any #TTRPG party that's into helping others. Easily adaptable to most worlds and most systems. I've even run it as straight historical with the magic crap removed. 😆
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I've GMed Toast of the Town for more than 30 different groups over the years, and it's gone differently - often outrageously so - for every group.
And that's one (basic) yardstick for success in #HTTRPG design, but you don't have to be interested in HTT to enjoy Toast. Plus, it's free. Suitable for any #TTRPG party that's into helping others. Easily adaptable to most worlds and most systems. I've even run it as straight historical with the magic crap removed. 😆
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I've GMed Toast of the Town for more than 30 different groups over the years, and it's gone differently - often outrageously so - for every group.
And that's one (basic) yardstick for success in #HTTRPG design, but you don't have to be interested in HTT to enjoy Toast. Plus, it's free. Suitable for any #TTRPG party that's into helping others. Easily adaptable to most worlds and most systems. I've even run it as straight historical with the magic crap removed. 😆
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For a while I've maintained that I wasn't going to bother with an HTT #AdventureDesign article for the home GM, at least not as part of the first five "Trusty GM" PDFs.
But as I put together the "Museum" PDF (distinct from the "Design" PDF, which will be for sale to professional designers), I find there's actually plenty of room to toss a couple of pages on adventure design that don't break the flow. The Museum PDF (title still uknown) will be a freebie.
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Tonight I'm designing an extended example of a non-heroic HTT campaign structure.
There's nothing intrinsically heroic, nonviolent, or kindhearted about HTT. I _personally_ like designing adventures about helping others because that's what I dig.
But it's come up several times in the workshop that this is a deal-killer for some participants, which: wow, but okay =)
It's just about problem-solving, and gangsters, pirates, mercs and politicians have problems, too. 😅
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A sadder reflection is this: I played through a couple of these. Back in the day. I played a fair bit of T2K when I lived in North Carolina.
And the GM added prescription that isn't in the text. The GM thought it needed more prescription, so he added it.
That's sad to me. Especially since I know of at least one GM who's written online about seeing Toast of the Town that way.
Ah well. Horses, water and drinking, same old song.
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As I work through the process of assembling the timeline of #HTTRPG #adventuredesign from ye olden tymes, it strikes me how few of them I would have personal interest in, since most are military-themed. 🤮
It does make forthcoming conversations feel potentially odd.
"Here's the design form I want you to remember and reconsider! Not that I _recommend_ most of this stuff." 😅
But that'll probably be helpful in the long run, because it helps carve through common modern misconceptions.
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@SJohnRoss every time I read one of these things that are snippets of #HTTRPG, I grow more intrigued. I can see that doing this will undoubtedly make me a better player and GM.
I yearn for a more complete guide.
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@SJohnRoss every time I read one of these things that are snippets of #HTTRPG, I grow more intrigued. I can see that doing this will undoubtedly make me a better player and GM.
I yearn for a more complete guide.
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@SJohnRoss every time I read one of these things that are snippets of #HTTRPG, I grow more intrigued. I can see that doing this will undoubtedly make me a better player and GM.
I yearn for a more complete guide.
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@SJohnRoss every time I read one of these things that are snippets of #HTTRPG, I grow more intrigued. I can see that doing this will undoubtedly make me a better player and GM.
I yearn for a more complete guide.
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@SJohnRoss every time I read one of these things that are snippets of #HTTRPG, I grow more intrigued. I can see that doing this will undoubtedly make me a better player and GM.
I yearn for a more complete guide.
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I'm doing a #HTTRPG design workshop with @SJohnRoss and it is expanding my tools for #ttrpg immensely.
I just watched someone presenting an adventure/campaign outline which I would just have accepted just two weeks back.
Now I'm going "There is no engaging problem to draw the PCs in, just a simple goal the players have to buy into." and "You talk about agency, but you only offer video game choices."
Might still be fun to play. Just talking about how *my* views are changing.
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I'm doing a #HTTRPG design workshop with @SJohnRoss and it is expanding my tools for #ttrpg immensely.
I just watched someone presenting an adventure/campaign outline which I would just have accepted just two weeks back.
Now I'm going "There is no engaging problem to draw the PCs in, just a simple goal the players have to buy into." and "You talk about agency, but you only offer video game choices."
Might still be fun to play. Just talking about how *my* views are changing.
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I'm doing a #HTTRPG design workshop with @SJohnRoss and it is expanding my tools for #ttrpg immensely.
I just watched someone presenting an adventure/campaign outline which I would just have accepted just two weeks back.
Now I'm going "There is no engaging problem to draw the PCs in, just a simple goal the players have to buy into." and "You talk about agency, but you only offer video game choices."
Might still be fun to play. Just talking about how *my* views are changing.
-
I'm doing a #HTTRPG design workshop with @SJohnRoss and it is expanding my tools for #ttrpg immensely.
I just watched someone presenting an adventure/campaign outline which I would just have accepted just two weeks back.
Now I'm going "There is no engaging problem to draw the PCs in, just a simple goal the players have to buy into." and "You talk about agency, but you only offer video game choices."
Might still be fun to play. Just talking about how *my* views are changing.
-
I'm doing a #HTTRPG design workshop with @SJohnRoss and it is expanding my tools for #ttrpg immensely.
I just watched someone presenting an adventure/campaign outline which I would just have accepted just two weeks back.
Now I'm going "There is no engaging problem to draw the PCs in, just a simple goal the players have to buy into." and "You talk about agency, but you only offer video game choices."
Might still be fun to play. Just talking about how *my* views are changing.
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Some ways of trying to describe #HTTRPG to strangers. It's mostly about #AdventureDesign, in a style that existed commercially (on the fringes) from the early 80s until sometime in the mid-to-late 90s, before disappearing from game retail.
I run Discord workshops that teach the basics of designing in this style. Even if you don't have an interest in HTT itself, there's plenty to pilfer for other styles. Just ask! Workshops are free, text-only, and 1-on-1. I'm ghalev on Discord.
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Some ways of trying to describe #HTTRPG to strangers. It's mostly about #AdventureDesign, in a style that existed commercially (on the fringes) from the early 80s until sometime in the mid-to-late 90s, before disappearing from game retail.
I run Discord workshops that teach the basics of designing in this style. Even if you don't have an interest in HTT itself, there's plenty to pilfer for other styles. Just ask! Workshops are free, text-only, and 1-on-1. I'm ghalev on Discord.
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Some ways of trying to describe #HTTRPG to strangers. It's mostly about #AdventureDesign, in a style that existed commercially (on the fringes) from the early 80s until sometime in the mid-to-late 90s, before disappearing from game retail.
I run Discord workshops that teach the basics of designing in this style. Even if you don't have an interest in HTT itself, there's plenty to pilfer for other styles. Just ask! Workshops are free, text-only, and 1-on-1. I'm ghalev on Discord.
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Some ways of trying to describe #HTTRPG to strangers. It's mostly about #AdventureDesign, in a style that existed commercially (on the fringes) from the early 80s until sometime in the mid-to-late 90s, before disappearing from game retail.
I run Discord workshops that teach the basics of designing in this style. Even if you don't have an interest in HTT itself, there's plenty to pilfer for other styles. Just ask! Workshops are free, text-only, and 1-on-1. I'm ghalev on Discord.
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Some ways of trying to describe #HTTRPG to strangers. It's mostly about #AdventureDesign, in a style that existed commercially (on the fringes) from the early 80s until sometime in the mid-to-late 90s, before disappearing from game retail.
I run Discord workshops that teach the basics of designing in this style. Even if you don't have an interest in HTT itself, there's plenty to pilfer for other styles. Just ask! Workshops are free, text-only, and 1-on-1. I'm ghalev on Discord.
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@SJohnRoss My #HTTRPG mis-understanding: Instead of a story to be told, it's a series of problems and the story comes from the actions of the characters. (I think?)
Would it be closer if the death of the bad guy doesn't solve the problem? Like a game of thrones type of situation.
Entities currently fighting for power:
- hungry undead
- a church
- a warmonger
- the corrupt king
- a pirate king with historyAnd it'll have LTT parts but I'm trying to figure this part out.
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@SJohnRoss My #HTTRPG mis-understanding: Instead of a story to be told, it's a series of problems and the story comes from the actions of the characters. (I think?)
Would it be closer if the death of the bad guy doesn't solve the problem? Like a game of thrones type of situation.
Entities currently fighting for power:
- hungry undead
- a church
- a warmonger
- the corrupt king
- a pirate king with historyAnd it'll have LTT parts but I'm trying to figure this part out.
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@SJohnRoss My #HTTRPG mis-understanding: Instead of a story to be told, it's a series of problems and the story comes from the actions of the characters. (I think?)
Would it be closer if the death of the bad guy doesn't solve the problem? Like a game of thrones type of situation.
Entities currently fighting for power:
- hungry undead
- a church
- a warmonger
- the corrupt king
- a pirate king with historyAnd it'll have LTT parts but I'm trying to figure this part out.
-
@SJohnRoss My #HTTRPG mis-understanding: Instead of a story to be told, it's a series of problems and the story comes from the actions of the characters. (I think?)
Would it be closer if the death of the bad guy doesn't solve the problem? Like a game of thrones type of situation.
Entities currently fighting for power:
- hungry undead
- a church
- a warmonger
- the corrupt king
- a pirate king with historyAnd it'll have LTT parts but I'm trying to figure this part out.
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I want to write a #HTTRPG adventure. You seem to be the expert on that subject.
I was thinking of setting it up like Ghost Recon: Wildlands, where as long as all antagonists are connected it doesn't really matter how you go about dispatching them (or whatever the goal is).
Then I'll prep a hex map for the world, put everyone in their places, and let the players loose.
Is that too rigid/linear?
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I want to write a #HTTRPG adventure. You seem to be the expert on that subject.
I was thinking of setting it up like Ghost Recon: Wildlands, where as long as all antagonists are connected it doesn't really matter how you go about dispatching them (or whatever the goal is).
Then I'll prep a hex map for the world, put everyone in their places, and let the players loose.
Is that too rigid/linear?
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I want to write a #HTTRPG adventure. You seem to be the expert on that subject.
I was thinking of setting it up like Ghost Recon: Wildlands, where as long as all antagonists are connected it doesn't really matter how you go about dispatching them (or whatever the goal is).
Then I'll prep a hex map for the world, put everyone in their places, and let the players loose.
Is that too rigid/linear?
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I want to write a #HTTRPG adventure. You seem to be the expert on that subject.
I was thinking of setting it up like Ghost Recon: Wildlands, where as long as all antagonists are connected it doesn't really matter how you go about dispatching them (or whatever the goal is).
Then I'll prep a hex map for the world, put everyone in their places, and let the players loose.
Is that too rigid/linear?
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I'm currently digging through my lengthy conversation with him looking for the right approach and the right tools to go about this, but it was a very long and wordy conversation where we touch on every topic related to RPGs, occasionally getting back on track again. So it's not easy to find.
He can be critical about stuff that doesn't appeal to him, but I did just come across this:
There are a couple of ways I like to do problems but there's no WRONG way. Whatever gets you to one is good. I sometimes start LTT style, with a goal. I often start with a victim (but I run a lot of heroic games). There's no wrong starting place.
So wherever I start is fine, just refine until we get there. Let's give this a try.One hint for how start that he gave was:
pick a problem or a victim or a goal or something like that. Something they'd care about.
Not having started the campaign, it's hard to tell what they care about, but I think part of the campaign, especially the start, is getting to know people, so they'll care about them. People do live in the wilderness. There will be some isolated farms, maybe even a small village, eking out a living under harsh circumstances. These are likely early victims of monsters and banditry.And maybe I'm going to give them some hints for helpful character backgrounds. Like someone's relative disappeared disappeared, and the PC wants to find out what happened. Maybe even save them.
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I'm currently digging through my lengthy conversation with him looking for the right approach and the right tools to go about this, but it was a very long and wordy conversation where we touch on every topic related to RPGs, occasionally getting back on track again. So it's not easy to find.
He can be critical about stuff that doesn't appeal to him, but I did just come across this:
There are a couple of ways I like to do problems but there's no WRONG way. Whatever gets you to one is good. I sometimes start LTT style, with a goal. I often start with a victim (but I run a lot of heroic games). There's no wrong starting place.
So wherever I start is fine, just refine until we get there. Let's give this a try.One hint for how start that he gave was:
pick a problem or a victim or a goal or something like that. Something they'd care about.
Not having started the campaign, it's hard to tell what they care about, but I think part of the campaign, especially the start, is getting to know people, so they'll care about them. People do live in the wilderness. There will be some isolated farms, maybe even a small village, eking out a living under harsh circumstances. These are likely early victims of monsters and banditry.And maybe I'm going to give them some hints for helpful character backgrounds. Like someone's relative disappeared disappeared, and the PC wants to find out what happened. Maybe even save them.
-
I'm currently digging through my lengthy conversation with him looking for the right approach and the right tools to go about this, but it was a very long and wordy conversation where we touch on every topic related to RPGs, occasionally getting back on track again. So it's not easy to find.
He can be critical about stuff that doesn't appeal to him, but I did just come across this:
There are a couple of ways I like to do problems but there's no WRONG way. Whatever gets you to one is good. I sometimes start LTT style, with a goal. I often start with a victim (but I run a lot of heroic games). There's no wrong starting place.
So wherever I start is fine, just refine until we get there. Let's give this a try.One hint for how start that he gave was:
pick a problem or a victim or a goal or something like that. Something they'd care about.
Not having started the campaign, it's hard to tell what they care about, but I think part of the campaign, especially the start, is getting to know people, so they'll care about them. People do live in the wilderness. There will be some isolated farms, maybe even a small village, eking out a living under harsh circumstances. These are likely early victims of monsters and banditry.And maybe I'm going to give them some hints for helpful character backgrounds. Like someone's relative disappeared disappeared, and the PC wants to find out what happened. Maybe even save them.
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Recently I was fortunate to have a super interesting discussion ad-hoc adventure design workshop with S.John Ross, who has some very interesting ideas about adventure design, called High-Trust Trad. Trad meaning non-D&D, non-storygames, which is my sweet spot too (though I'm less purist); high-trust is a bit harder to explain, and I won't be able to do it justice here, but it focuses on the characters and how they approach the problems they encounter, the choices they make, how they interest with the various NPCs, etc. It should be roleplay-heavy, driven by in-game motivation, not by predetermined plot, mechanics or meta-game considerations.
A good HTT adventure is non-presumptive, which means it has no expectations about how the PCs will approach the various aspects of the problem. The adventure is made up of a cluster of problems, and for each problem, it should be trivial to come up with 6 different ways to approach it, and 6 more with a bit of thought. A limited list of options is not good enough.
From how I understand it, an HTT adventure is like a complex machine that's already in motion and will cause suffering unless the PCs can stop it. Which may involve discovering what the problem is in the first place.
S. John Ross's Toast of the Town is a great (and free) one-shot adventure that's a great example of HTT design.
He has a bunch of tools to help him flesh out the problems in his adventures. And he tried to explain them to me, and while I doubt I fully grasp them, I figured I'm going to try to apply them to my campaign ideas. Let's see how far I get.
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Recently I was fortunate to have a super interesting discussion ad-hoc adventure design workshop with S.John Ross, who has some very interesting ideas about adventure design, called High-Trust Trad. Trad meaning non-D&D, non-storygames, which is my sweet spot too (though I'm less purist); high-trust is a bit harder to explain, and I won't be able to do it justice here, but it focuses on the characters and how they approach the problems they encounter, the choices they make, how they interest with the various NPCs, etc. It should be roleplay-heavy, driven by in-game motivation, not by predetermined plot, mechanics or meta-game considerations.
A good HTT adventure is non-presumptive, which means it has no expectations about how the PCs will approach the various aspects of the problem. The adventure is made up of a cluster of problems, and for each problem, it should be trivial to come up with 6 different ways to approach it, and 6 more with a bit of thought. A limited list of options is not good enough.
From how I understand it, an HTT adventure is like a complex machine that's already in motion and will cause suffering unless the PCs can stop it. Which may involve discovering what the problem is in the first place.
S. John Ross's Toast of the Town is a great (and free) one-shot adventure that's a great example of HTT design.
He has a bunch of tools to help him flesh out the problems in his adventures. And he tried to explain them to me, and while I doubt I fully grasp them, I figured I'm going to try to apply them to my campaign ideas. Let's see how far I get.
-
Recently I was fortunate to have a super interesting discussion ad-hoc adventure design workshop with S.John Ross, who has some very interesting ideas about adventure design, called High-Trust Trad. Trad meaning non-D&D, non-storygames, which is my sweet spot too (though I'm less purist); high-trust is a bit harder to explain, and I won't be able to do it justice here, but it focuses on the characters and how they approach the problems they encounter, the choices they make, how they interest with the various NPCs, etc. It should be roleplay-heavy, driven by in-game motivation, not by predetermined plot, mechanics or meta-game considerations.
A good HTT adventure is non-presumptive, which means it has no expectations about how the PCs will approach the various aspects of the problem. The adventure is made up of a cluster of problems, and for each problem, it should be trivial to come up with 6 different ways to approach it, and 6 more with a bit of thought. A limited list of options is not good enough.
From how I understand it, an HTT adventure is like a complex machine that's already in motion and will cause suffering unless the PCs can stop it. Which may involve discovering what the problem is in the first place.
S. John Ross's Toast of the Town is a great (and free) one-shot adventure that's a great example of HTT design.
He has a bunch of tools to help him flesh out the problems in his adventures. And he tried to explain them to me, and while I doubt I fully grasp them, I figured I'm going to try to apply them to my campaign ideas. Let's see how far I get.
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So opponents should not be predefined in an #HTTRPG adventure?
About the "opponents" thing: who says they must be opponents? What if the PCs manage to come to some agreement or even find a common goal?You don't always have to fight. Well, sometimes you do, but it can be more satisfying when that's driven by the motivations of the players and the "opponents", rather than merely prescribed by the scenario design because you must have X number of level Y fights before going up a level.
