I’ve noticed lately the many of us (me included) use different terms for the characteristics of characters in the games we’re designing. I had a look around, and I can’t find a codified/formalized taxonomy of these different elements of characters. For example, Role-playing Game Design Patterns only includes attributes, skills, and traits. So, in the spirit of […]
Since the release of Forge Engine universal role-playing system in 2018, I’ve been working on a new RPG; Onyx Sky. Onyx Sky is a post-apocalyptic RPG that explores the world after a devastating global war and catastrophic climate change plunge humanity back into the stone age. Onyx Sky takes the underlying principles of Forge Engine […]
Here’s a question I’ve seen a few times; how is Forge Engine different from (or similar to) Savage Worlds? Both are universal systems, that support traditional fantasy and modern games. Forge Engine is similar to Savage Worlds, in that they are both universal systems and use many similar design models. However, in practice Forge Engine is very modular, and allows […]
Welcome to the third in-depth beta feedback and system discussion for Forge Engine. This post contains feedback from RPG.net user Imbrium. In the text below, the text in italics is the comment from the playtester/reader, and the following normally formatted text is my response and discussion. Consistency: You use diamonds with numbers in the middle to […]
Welcome to the second in-depth beta feedback and system discussion for Forge Engine. This post continues feedback from Reddit user htp-di-nsw. In the text below, the text in italics is the comment from the playtester/reader, and the following normally formatted text is my response and discussion. Again this post continues the page-by-page feedback, but we also get […]
This post and the next few blog posts include long and in-depth feedback and discussion from the recent Forge Engine beta playtest and feedback process. In the text below, the text in italics is the comment from the playtester/reader, and the following normally formatted text is my response and discussion. Special thanks to Reddit user htp-di-nsw for […]
Nobody needs another RPG system, so I made one anyway… “Why?” Well you may ask. Some RPGs are written as homage, some to extend a family of games to a new generation, others to solve a specific problem, or to introduce a whole new approach to role playing. My first full RPG – Heroes Against […]
I’m struggling with how to word magic attacks in Forge Engine. Anyone got strong opinions on these variations of the lines beginning ‘Make an arcane attack’: Drop a comment below with your thoughts.
I tend, as a designer, to rush to artwork and layout quite early in the design process. While other designers recommend waiting as late as possible before incorporating these graphical elements, I have not managed to internalise this habit.With The Road to Ruin, I quickly moved from the white index cards to template cards that I wrote […]
Last year I got involved with a local board game design group based out of the Games Laboratory shop here in Melbourne. I’d dabbled with board game design, first with a largely depressing climate change game called Equilibrium. Following that foray, I decided to try another board game.My inspiration this time was from one of […]