Seven Things about rpgs

There are seven things I thinking about when I'm making an RPG

1. Simple system
 RPGs should not be overly complex to play. Having used systems like d20, I've seen games often bog down into researching rules and such. I like systems to be simple and elegant.

2. Not your first RPG
Making someones first RPG and making an RPG for general consumption are completely different tasks. I'm going to assume most people who take a look at my RPG have seen something more popular (D&D, Pathfinder, Shadowrun ect.) first.

3. Teams, Positions and Players
RPGs are played in groups and the players make up a Team. Like a sport, the team has positions that rely on one another. Making an RPG where you don't have to rely on other players makes it hard for people to shine.

4. Roleplay and Rollplay
Balance tactical combat sections and story development. Different people want different things from games, so try and keep them in balance.

5. Remember the referees
Somebody actually has to run the game you are making. Try and make it easy for them with the stat blocks and rules that don't require excess knowledge of the system.

6. Core is King
I like to run games with the 'core rule-books only' mindset. Supplements and additional rules are nice, but at the end of the day if the core rule-book is lacking nobody is going to stick around for your supplement.

7. Testing and Usability
You need to test that your game is playable. You game exists in the in the minds of players who have never played it before. The only way you know if your game is actually playable is if other people who have never seen it can experience it and play with it.

An rpg at its core

One of the core things to identify in rpgs is the core experience. The core game loop. The 'average session' (which never ever occurs ever, but that's another story).

In Dungeons and Dragons it's... well, meeting some folk in a tavern, go to a dungeon, kill stuff and loot stuff, fight a dragon and plunder its horde, return to town and sell stuff and go back to a tavern.

In Shadowrun its infiltrate a super secret corporate facility, hack the mainframe and steal the super secret data. Then it all goes to hell and blowing peoples heads off with a shot-gun. You parachute off the top of the hi-rise to safety and sell your data, only to realize they will only pay half for it and you guys are as broke as you were before.

In Vampires the Masquerade You characters struggle in the life of 90s punk undead dipping into the seedy culture of the World of Darkness

In Dread you die.

In Moderne Mysticism, you are an investigator charged with keeping the mythical world at bay. You go to a town (or building, or place), talk with the folk, then isolate and remove the mystical threat. You then proceed to tell exactly no one that you were even there.

A First Step in a Long Journey

Welcome,
This is the development blog for "Moderne Mysticism" an independent traditional role-playing game set in the 1930s where you must investigate and process cases of the occult in old America.

So, right now, there isn't much here, but in the coming weeks (weekly or bi-weekly) updates about the progress.

See you in the coming weeks,
~ Moderne Mysticism Blog