Half Minotaur Farmer

I am back again to talk about initiative, and a little bit more. I made a post before about my development of a tropical fantasy game initially called Tampalasan . In that post, I talked about an initiative mechanic I've developed under a d20-based system internally called GRIP . I was able to playtest it together with the initial version of the game. That was 5 years ago. Playtesting and development of it has been on and off. That game has transformed into something more, like most things we create and cherish, into this current game I am planning to release a public playtest. I initially announced it to be January, but collating different versions and feedback to produce a public playtest was more work than I expected, so it might be February. Or just Q1 2026 to be safe. Let me talk a bit about it. In a land where celestial-eaters have conquered the sky , and gods have stayed in their own dominions, mortals are left to fend against a mythic overworld filled with wonders and horro...

I'm currently running my initial draft for Tampalasan, a tropical fantasy adventure game that has strong influence of Filipino and Southeast Asian concepts, but still has stereotypical fantasy elements. Planning to launch a playable version of it on Session Zero Online, this coming Jan 30 2021 . One of the things I've pondered for a while is its initiative system, which I want to focus more on strategy and less on tactics. Combat options will still be there, but it shouldn't be the main focus of the game, and it shouldn't alienate those who do not delve deep into combat mechanics. I've covered before how an initiative system dictates the type of game your playing , and I still believe that.  Here are some aspects from initiative systems I took inspiration from, and what aspects I don't like about them.  1. Group initiative , where roll against your Speed/Dex stat to go first before the enemies. Used in Into the Odd, Bastionland, and a few other games. Simple and...

I made a twitter post about this, and I decided to blog it as well for posterity. I'll also adjusted some theories and numbers, expound the reasoning behind this hack, and showed what to expect in game play. You can check the original twitter thread here . - - -  So first, I'd like to point out the idea of HP from 4E D&D, seen on page 293 on D&D 4E PHB. HP =/= Life Points. So we're extending the meaning here of HP as stamina and mana as well. It's more than just health points. Hit points help you stay alive and able, and will now fuel your strongest of powers. Now the key change is that you still play 4E DnD as is, except powers with Encounter and Daily keywords now have HP costs , regardless of power type (class, racial, utility, theme, etc), and you are no longer limited by their casting limits . These are some new rules: You can now cast any powers many times, as long as you have enough HP to do so. No limits. Encounter powers costs power le...

Something I have thought of a few months ago, but I keep forgetting to write about. If you want to add a small layer of variance in your d20 initiative system, but still want the predictability of a tracked initiative list, you might be interested in this. - - -   It's another initiative-related post, so have a google image search again. When rolling initiative, create two sets of initiative track for combat, one for odd-numbered rounds and another for even-numbered rounds. For the odd-numbered rounds of combat, add Dexterity modifier to the initiative roll to determine the result. For the even-numbered rounds of combat, add Intelligence modifier to the roll. Note that each combatant still rolls one initiative roll, they just have a different ability modifier for the two tracks of initiative. Any additional modifiers from other sources (features, feats, spells, etc) still apply to all rounds. Why do this?  1. A chance for Int-based characters to act fast, af...

Rolling for initiative is such an iconic part of RPG. Almost every RPG has one, or at least a version of it to know who's acting first in the situation or encounter. With the various initiative systems out there, I think... A quick google search tells you what I'm talking about. Be kind to yourself and do it.  1)...we should scrap it and let fiction decide whose turn is it.  Unlike turn-based video games, we don't need an indicator when a risky encounter is about to happen. The fact that we use a "roll for initiative when we encounter something" system in our games like a Pokemon trainer who just encountered a wild pokemon puts people into the notion that combat has to happen. At the very least, the other side is hostile or not on the same side as the players, so our actions has to become turn-like to facilitate the exchange of blows or actions. But most of the time, the group knows who should really act first due to how the situation played out. Someti...

I’ve made a resolution framework, not a system. It’s not a full system as I won’t prescribe any dice or mechanic, but it will discuss how to frame a player’s intended action and how a GM/Referee should handle it. I could discuss at length why I did this, but the gist of this is most games don't address how difficult or risky an action can be, often relying on the GM or referee. Now this is fine, since most GMs and players know how to discuss and resolve it, but often times they are coming from different perspectives, which creates inconsistency in how to adjust DCs or Target Numbers, or if the situation gives a bonus or advantage to the players' roll.  I can think of two games and one article who best handled and described their resolution framework. There is The Nightmare Underneath ’s training and tools requirement for skills, Blade inthe Dark’s conversational core system , and Chris McDowall’s Information-Choice-Impact Doctrine . I recommend reading at least Chris’ bl...

So a while back I've played a few games of Ironsworn. If you haven't played it, it's a game of quest-driven characters seeing their stories unfold in a perilous land . Nothing grand about the setting, but I did like some of its subsystems and the way it frames usual gaming constants like initiative and supply. But for now I'd like to toy with its momentum subsystem, which is a core part of the game. It gives the play a heroic and dramatic feel: accumulated successes lead to point where you can grab control a crucial moment in your journey. At the same time, continuous failures will make your usual strong moments a bit more risky. It won't make the game swingy, like how usual meta-currency subsystems work. So I tried converting it for d20 games. Usable in D&D 5E, D&D 4E, Knave, or any d20 game that has a roll over DC/TN resolution system. - - - image from Ironsworn book. used without permission Momentum Score Momentum is a mechanic that repres...