Making My Own TTRPG | Part 1

[@noreaelvago4972]

I've been creating my own ttrpgs from some time. My philosophy is "keep it simple and stick to a feeling". I find that having a lot of mechanics only slows the game down and the way I create the mechanics is thinking on how they feel during play. Im sure I'm gonna love this new project of yours.

[@itisALWAYSR.A.]

Absolutely this: one of the reasons I dislike DnD is because of decades of bloat. I'd rather just not deal with that nonsense. Give me basically any of the other 90% of titles on the market which are smaller and cleaner. I'm there to hang with friends and make memories, not do accountancy.

[@mapcrow]

Thank you so much! Yeah, keep only the things that support the play you want to see! Jettison anything else! Examine your assumptions, and iterate! Cheers!

[@amermaidofunusualsize860]

I agree, rules heavy games can be very problematic, and for me, I think that's unfortunate. In my opinion, greater complexity has the potential to create more depth. The problem is, even for a computer game, it's hard for a player to keep track, and interact with all those systems. And if it's on a ttg, fergeda boud'it

[@chxrish72]

yeah my friends and i never played dnd cause it was too limiting for the characters we wanted to make and worlds we wanted to explore. so always made custom ones but always made it too complicated so anyone could be anything, i’m learning to keep it really simple cause fun comes first,

[@noreaelvago4972]

@@chxrish72 yep, went through that, I created a full array of options for character creation, classless (so everything had to work independently) and then it was so confusing I decided to throw it all away and simplify it all.

[@PaladinHD]

As someone who is currently making his own tttrpg I find the design process of other creators very interesting.

[@danieladamczyk4024]

So how is doing?

[@VirusVisal]

I love the tiny paper dudes on the tiny dungeon map haha, excellent process

[@ruolbu]

Haven't watched your vids recently because I kinda fell off the RPG hobby recently, but that title man, you got me hooked. Excited to see what this is going to be.

[@mapcrow]

I do the same thing with videos and interest I follow too! It comes in phases, I'll take a break, then get back to it! Haha. I'm happy this one caught your eye! Thanks for watching and commenting!

[@Archongamer]

@@mapcrow​​what is that in your pencil? I have an autistic son and we have tried different pencil grips to help him but nothing works. What you are using looks like it would be good.

[@haydendely5247]

This way of explaining his thought process and set of steps has firmly placed this channel in the top 3 of most helpful and actually useful channels for designing fantasy scenarios or monsters for ttrpgs. Keep it up!

[@Chaoclypse]

I am beyond excited for this. You were part of the reason I got into TTRPGs in the first place, and I found solo play to be extremely fulfilling and have been hacking together my own custom set of solo rules as well, based off Mork Borg. It's a welcome change of pace from traditional game design, I find, because YOU'RE the primary customer, so it really allows you to do some introspection and realize what you find important about play. However, combat has been a sticking point for me insofar as how to make it fun while still keeping theatre of the mind style play. I have, as you have pointed out in the video, tried more wargamey stuff like Forbidden Psalms and Four Against Darkness, but it's mostly a space constraint. I'm excited to pick up any possible ideas and lessons from your videos!

[@King_of_Sofa]

I'm still in the early stages of painting up a miniature collection and dreaming up the ideas of making a custom TTRPG. This was a very helping video in getting my thinking juices flowing. Nice work, and thank you!

[@noxiousbones]

I love how every TTRPG GM gets to this point! I’m very excited to see what you develop. (Im working on my own too!)

[@droidblasta6130]

My favourite creator and favourite type of video to watch! Let’s go!!!!

[@dgg1224]

I loved seeing miscast making arcana ugly and I think this will be great as well

[@mapcrow]

Yeah! Miscast is a real inspiration for me! I think I'll probably focus a bit more on the technical aspects than the studio journal style tends to use.

[@Miscast]

@@mapcrow

[@mapcrow]

@@Miscast Thanks for popping by! Cheers!

[@Miscast]

@@mapcrow following along, can't wait for the next!

[@bolicob]

More of this please. This is very motivating for my own project and I am curious about how you tackle later stages of the design process

[@snevkreb14]

I'm currently working on my first serious attempt at making my own TTRPG. The main difference between what I did in previous tries and this time, is that I now started conceptual instead of mechanic. I really like a win some/lose some tradeoff, so this translates to many aspects of the game so far. I like the idea of many socio-political factions, so this became a main feature of character creation. It's an awesome process!

[@AdrilesSTUDIO]

It looks amazing and I can't wait to see future videos on that topic :D

[@mapcrow]

Heck yeah! More on the way!

[@AdrilesSTUDIO]

@@mapcrow Yeaaah ! I have to say that I admire your work a lot ! You inspire me and thanks to you i draw more than ever and have a lot of fun preparing RPG sessions with my friends. So thanks for everything and love from France !

[@theastralwanderer]

Loving the focused approach here. I've been making my own RPGs ever since I started playing them, so this is really cool to see!

[@panicpillow6097]

Always super interesting to see how different folks approach making stuff. Your process is very different from my own, but that makes it especially fascinating. I hope you'll make more videos on this subject!

[@garrido_heron]

Super nice that the algorithm sends your channel. Its exactly what I needed as I am almost in the same boat as you. Creating a solo dungeon crawler. Thank you!

[@o_frost_420_oxd4]

I'm working on my own ttrpg as well, it's awesome to see how much ours differ. I love that we seek different goals with our RPGs. Keep going, I know its alot of work

[@TheDragonQueensLair]

That's really fun. It's always interesting to see what can possibly come out of people's thought processes.

[@janehorner2]

really interested in your design process! and the visual layout for your play-testing is very satisfying. I'll be follow this series with great interest!

[@Moookar]

Ohh super interesting! I’m definitely interested in more videos like this

[@mapcrow]

I'm so glad! More to come!

[@MrRomanGuy]

Thank you for explaining your design process. Very helpful. I especially like how rather than starting with mechanics you begin with the experience you want the player to have. From there you are inductively trying to determine the mechanics best suited for that.

[@Fantasyscaping]

This is awesome! We build all kinds of TTRPG's and love seeing how others in the community manifest their creativity!

[@danieladamczyk4024]

This have "Fine im gona do it myself" energy. As fan of tactical games im eager to see what you gona cook.

[@mapcrow]

Haha! I'm just curious about how hard it would be to do it myself, and I think it'd be fun to share the experience too! But yeah, their might be some "Fine im gona do it myself" mixed in! haha

[@Fewkulele]

I love the videos where you talk about game design or mechanics!

[@moltenlord2053]

Made my own Fallout TTRPG. For anyone just getting started, just keep at it. It takes time, and a lot of playtests to iron out problems, but you can do it!

[@thiccler1127]

I have begun designing my own TTRPG not long ago, and I LOVE these sorts of videos! Let us see more please!

[@aidenb1304]

I love everything about this, from the way you talk through your process to the wonderful little creature designs.

[@cluelesswanderer]

This method of design is inspired! I had heard of the idea of “verbs” in game design before but I’ve never seen it explained in such an easy to understand way. I feel like I can actually apply this method to my own designs now.

[@Toddalotapodamus]

I've been doing all the number crunching and explanation first for my game. So far, I'm liking where it's headed, but I definitely need to do some play testing before getting too far in. Thanks for the video.

[@myanther8439]

Love this channel so much! Honestly never gets enough views.

[@3nertia]

I'm trying to design a ttrpg which would be a mash-up of Ironsworn, Xenoshyft, and Starship Troopers and this video has been enlightening; thank you!

[@erinweatherly6539]

Watching your channel is really relaxing. Inspiring for certain. But relaxing is really the best adjective

[@harperreese264]

i also love tunnel goons and i'm glad you showcased it in the video! wonderful little game and so inspiring when i want to make tiny rpgs.

[@myiscoh]

SO excited for this series omg

[@pattheturtler6763]

I look forward to seeing more of this!

[@mapcrow]

Heck yeah! More on the way! Cheers!!

[@joshbingham212]

Love the central verb idea! I’m hungry for more videos like this!

[@jonmeech8748]

Really enjoyed the video. I have been writing short simple miniatures games on and off for years and thoroughly enjoy the experiance. I love seeing how other people approach this. I probably dont use verbs to design with, but I do ask 'what am I tring to achieve' and then work mechanisms to encourage that. I have subscribed to your channel and look forward to Part 2

[@mapcrow]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@himesightcreativestudios3490]

I enjoyed watching this because of your logical approach to creating this. Very fascinating.

[@formosaetc.8024]

Pretty interesting video, I'll be looking forward to the rest of the series

[@ThePixelPear]

I've just started my dive into solo TTRPG's because I have no one else to play with so this series greatly interests me. I look forward to more on this

[@andrewweber6672]

That isometric game board blew my mind! This is very cool.

[@scp-09698]

I love you creative people. Seriously.

[@IronShepherd5771]

Just found your channel. This process reminds me so much of ICRPG but with your own tactical spin on it (Move and no CHA). Appreciate your explanations and great ideas for how to play test efficiently.

[@mirhayasu7135]

That is soooo cool and interesting to follow your designing process. Also, it's very inspiring and I look forward seeing your next steps!

[@yo5tan]

Watching your process for tackling iterative game design has really inspired me, I think I'm gonna go make my own now!

[@dragonwyng2801]

I adore your visual sketches

[@mapcrow]

Thank you! This is just how I think things through! Sometimes its easier for me to sketch than to write things out!

[@cosmoapeters]

I love the presentation of your thought process, this is really exciting and evocative

[@janthummler3548]

I'd love to follow in this design journey! Thanks for your content

[@eastoforion]

love this! can't wait to see the rest of it come together :)

[@NeflewitzInc]

Looks like a promising start.

[@StuckInTheWells]

thick pencil

[@pibbles_]

This was wonderful, I can't wait to see more

[@oldmanofthemountains3388]

I enjoyed this video so much! I love seeing the process of game design!

[@Rodrigo-fj7zj]

Would Love to see more of this, mainly how to determine board size, miniature size, how The ai would work etc

[@callummunro5311]

Would love to see this hope we get more

[@teacupbishop]

I really like seeing the process and how you organize things, this felt rly insightful ^_^

[@ivanhagstrom5601]

This sounds like a lot of fun! Looking forward to see more of it.

[@ShadowEclipex]

Well this came out with perfect timing for me. I am working on a TTRPG myself and going to be doing the first playtest tomorrow. XD

[@Vanerrad]

At the beginning of the video the first three lines drawn got my super excited. "Mountains! I love mountains!" But then they turned into grids and I was instantly embarrassed.

[@mestrepanda]

That's an interesting approach of just playing the game to try it out, even if there's barely a game to begin with. I've been trying to design some games for a while and not being very successful at that. I wonder if this process is more fitting for my style, I'll try.

[@areynor]

Hey! this was amazing, I Hope to see more about this project soon

[@SevenStarsandSevenStones]

This was super exciting, and very interesting to watch! I am looking forward to part 2, and seeing how verb-based gaming gets fleshed out. But one question. Will we be seeing you ... on the Old Roads?

[@thehubbleton]

5E is functioning as a good base for what I'm concocting. Just had to lop off all of it's many appendages and poke a hole in its swim bladder.

[@woody4779]

This was super fun, and a cool project I'll be sure to follow :)

[@R2-DPOO]

Really elegant. Love it

[@liamfitzgerald1400]

This was pretty fascinating, actually

[@mapcrow]

Thank you!! I was hoping folks would find this helpful, or at least interesting!! Cheers!

[@wesselvanweezep3719]

Today I decided to make my own ttrpg even though having no experience with this game genre… but I only see this as a good thing cause it will allow me to be creative and don’t (unintentionally) copy work from others… while I’ll be thinking about my own project, following yours will help to understand the genre better… good luck 🤞

[@danteangelo2128]

I would definitely love to see more of this

[@alabamatechwriter6959]

Well done! Good food for thought.

[@aaronsmith5055]

Tunnel Goons might be fun to play, I've never done it... But looking at the booklet has inspired me to home brew more than any single other thing.

[@Trashloot]

I would really like another episode of this. :D

[@mapcrow]

Good new! There is a new episode dropping today!!

[@shadowhenge7118]

I got lore up the wazoo as a writer, but wotc, paizo, etc have such draconian rules about compatibility that ive gone the same route as you.

[@ethanbotterill2743]

This is awesome, would love to see more!

[@nascromt]

This was really inspiring, I really liked the health = speed idea. I know it means a bit of a feedback loop though, as if you wearily press on while injured, you are more and more likely to fail. So stopping and healing, if in the game, would lead to an optimal style of heal before leaving a room to reset the next encounter start initiative. 🤔 but heal was not one of your verbs, so what can a high fight/low sneak character do when they have low health, and need to explore a new room? What can they do tactically to avoid a the next room they enter being an unavoidable a death sentence ? Complicated stuff! I'm interested to see where this goes!

[@dinklewinkal465]

You should add traps and change for traps

[@ThePareidolian]

YES more of this. I love it!

[@pedroemo5477]

i want to make my owm ttrpg, and play testing without it having been entire done is a great idea! The name of my game is Hordes n Knights (for now), its a mix of Zombicide and (of course) Dungeons and dragons, i want to add a lot of customization, and of course, a lot of killing! You could say that its a hack n slash rpg

[@travisj8091]

Look at the Game" 3:16 " it's a small TTRPG with hords. For some inspiration

[@maximillianhallett3055]

I feel like it might be a little repetitive to have the first roll failed always result in being rushed. It might be a little early to think of this too, but an unsolicited solution could be simple monster AI. Since position is important, sight is too. The enemies are looking in specific directions when placed. Have them turn one facing a turn. Each failed stealth roll turns the monster faster by 1 facing. When the enemies spot the player combat begins.

[@mapcrow]

I really like facing as a tactical aspect, but it’s not well supported in the virtual table tops that I’ve been looking at. Also, I think I’d rather tinker with balance a bit more before inventing a whole new sub system for the game. Still, you have a good solution, and after more testing, it may even turn out to be the best one!

[@maximillianhallett3055]

@@mapcrow That’s a shame those technical limitations are there, but I’m really looking forward to watching this series unfold. Quality content right here.

[@LoneKuroRaifu]

That pencil got that GYATT

[@kgoblin5084]

suggestion for minimizing the math with positional bonuses: use an advantage/disadvantage mechanic. Basically just add a new die to the pool for every level of positional bonus for the player or the monster, with the 2 cancelling out, & then pick the best/worst 2 dice (depending on who has the edge). That way you're only counting positional bonuses on each side, vs. adding modifiers, & with your current list you don't have to add/subtract beyond 5 (conveniently the same number of fingers on each hand :) ). You might also want to consider changing the monster order of initiative to be based on HP, since it implicitly limits tactical depth... essentially the biggest baddest monster is also the fastest, & you lose the capability to accurately represent big, slow, but tough meat shields ala trolls or ogres. On the other hand, what you have is simple & straightforward, so you do you.

[@plaidpvcpipe3792]

Will there be rules for what monsters do?

[@seanfsmith]

Dude this is amazing! :D

[@TableTopic]

This is top tier content.

[@Gorlokki]

I love this video and it inspires me a lot

[@BlindTitan]

I think every dm should try and make their own ttrpg

[@thesuperjacobshow8151]

I'm still working on my TTRPG system. It is designed for kids as young as 3. My 8 year old is excited to try being the game master soon.

[@EuseyNH]

I’m trying to create my own style of a DnD style game. I have the story and the mechanics mapped out pretty decent but my problem is adapting my story to this game. I myself have never played a TTRPG or DnD style game. I don’t even know how the game works I created mechanics and abilities based off the dice given. Once I’m done I honestly believe it’ll be a masterpiece.

[@mapcrow]

Hell yeah!!

[@TheIoPC]

Might I suggest an Attack, Acquire, and Assess for those desirous of alliteration memory tools? 😜👍 ~ Adam

[@karlo-lol5935]

when will part 2 release?

[@mapcrow]

I think in early November. I've had to focus on a ton of other stuff for midterms in the classes I'm teaching, so after I finish up with the Monsters for October, I can take a look at what the game needs next!

[@jimjones7980]

More of this!

[@Miscast]

Let's goooooo

[@chron874]

You should take a look at Vagabonds of Dyfed.

[@nickhoward7419]

Do you think we could get some PDFs of the other documents that you have in your DM Go Bag video? The legal/illegal magic sheet looks incredibly interesting and would be really helpful to a lot of people. A video about how to use Google slides to make maps would be very helpful also, I think I speak for a lot of people when I say that Google slides isn't the most easy to understand program lol Anyways thank you so much for the channel and your videos they have helped so much!

[@lostinlymbo13]

I freaked out when Goemon music came on. Uhh Any chance you want to talk about that? I'd be in the audience lol

[@stochasticagency]

Ironsworn?

[@onepiece666]

Love how I know so much about games and RPGs , yet I have never heard of TTRPG. What does the TT stands for? Besides that obviously haha

[@mapcrow]

Tabletop Roleplaying Game. The indie community has had to delineate itself from video game development for a few reasons. For instance, many use Itch.io to sell their ttrpgs, which also has video game rpgs, that just use that tag.

[@TheDarkSaplings]

Can you make a part 2 of this?

[@mapcrow]

It's on the way! It'll happen in November!

[@TheDarkSaplings]

@@mapcrow Nice 👍😃

[@eonhet7826]

Got a big enough grip there, Ricky?

[@mapcrow]

It is to reduce the pain in my drawing hand.

[@eonhet7826]

@@mapcrow I'm just playin bud, it's from a show called trailer park boys

[@Big_Dai]

Hey Kyle, have you ever considered making a Board Game?

[@nurax7180]

Please more 🙏