#indie dice

[kiwd]

El Alma Que Te Trajo 222

#tu me dices guarra. a mi subes y me desgarras. #moodboard #mb #alt #alternative #edgy #kpop aesthetic #artms #heejin #kim lip #choerry #jinsoul #haseul #icons #messy #lq #stuff #art #vintage #carrd #gif #visual archive #y2k institute #photography photoshoot #mv born #blue dark black red #indie dark grunge cottagecore core aesthetic #vintage y2k retro messy archive photography #film polaroid photography photoshoot camera #material

[ladytabletop]

I'm co-hosting a game jam!

What is Dice Exploder? Each week, Sam Dunnewold and a rotating cohost break down one tabletop RPG mechanic as deep as they possibly can.

For the duration of the third season, we're running a game jam inspired by the podcast's premise. You can join the DE Discord , where there's a channel for this game jam, to discuss your submission with other participants and fans of the show.

Explode a game you love (or want to love) and remix, remake, or reinterpret it in part or whole.

Dice Exploder is about zooming in on a part of a game and making it everything. This jam is about taking your favorite part of a game and dragging it to the center of the experience. Want to turn that 400 page tome you can never get anyone to play into a single-page game? Go for it! Is there a combat sim game you're pretty sure is actually about running a coffee shop? Write those rules. Taking a setting apart down to the molecules and rewriting it as barely an echo of the original? Totally fair play.

The jam runs from Feb 1 to Apr 1.

#game jam #ttrpg #indie ttrpg #dice exploder

[dericbindel]

Stephen King Has 10 HP

Hey there! I just published my first game, a silly party game for 3 to 5 players, dedicated to time travel based hit-and-running Stephen King!

Gather up some toy cars and a handful of dice, print off the sheets, and have fun trying to not kill the famous author! Either someone wins, or everyone loses!

Each round takes about a minute, with each match lasting about 2 to 5 minutes. Cars and Dice not provided.

#board games #itch.io #my art #car games #dice game #indie games #indie dev

[unlawfulgames]

Now I’m working on a Goblin Generator zine, someone stop me.

#ttrpg #ttrpg community #indie ttrpg #roleplaying games #ttrpg design #d100 #ttrpg art #goblincore #my art #creative commons #photobash #goblin vibes #unintelligible goblin noises #goblin aesthetic #goblin mode #goblin things #dice goblin #goblin culture #goblin #dont actually stop me #there is nothing you can do about it

[vinophidian]

Collaboration with @tietoonsartblog!

The evil husbands are robbing a bank on a date night, how romantic <3

Thank you for the wonderful art collab, tietoons truly brought my Sketch to life with their wonderful Linework and Colouring! She did such a great job, so make sure to support them and her work!

#the cuphead show #devildice #snake eyes #cuphead #cuphead dont deal with the devil #cuphead devil #cuphead fanart #the devil cuphead #king dice #devil x king dice #art collaboration #art collab #cuphead don't deal with the devil #cuphead bosses #cuphead game #studio mdhr #cartoon #cartoon characters #indie game #vinophidianart

[villainii]

Knucklebones + Lamb

#cult of the lamb #cotl #gamingedit #vgedit #indieedit #cotledit #indie games #miyku #*gfx #gaming #indie treasure chest #really liked the dice game 👌

[coffeeandjournaling]

Project Ecco

A solo roleplaying game by Elliot Davis

Materials

game manual

a planner, new or used

a coin/d2 and d6

materials to destroy your planner

further into play: additional coin and die, standard deck of cards, tarot deck

Premise

A mysterious agency, an even more mysterious entity feeding on time itself and smack-dab in the middle: You. As an extension of the Agency, you are tasked with uncovering the truth about “ECCO”, the Entity of Chronological Consumption and Obfuscation. Navigating the chaos of days flying by with the aid of a simple coin, will you complete your mission to the Agency’s satisfaction straightforwardly or will you travel down a road not yet taken, peeking behind a curtain of lies? Who is really on your side? Or, perhaps more importantly, on whose side are you?

Mechanics

In Project Ecco, you progress through time and the game using a regular planner and a variety of different time travel tools. While you might be tempted to use a brand new, untouched planner for this, a used one will do just fine and might even make the game more personal and varied, since existing notes or special dates can be incorporated into play. Keep in mind that your planner will end up at least partially destroyed by the Entity, then again the level of destruction is completely up to you. Scissors are certainly an option, but a good opaque paint marker achieves the same effect with less confetti.

Your tools of choice are in essence a set of game oracles: prompts decided by dice, playing and tarot cards determine how far back or ahead in your planner you travel and which challenges you encounter along the way. Time travel can be quite random, so don’t be scared when you land on the same day more than once. At least as long as you have your trusty coin, the only thing that will keep you from slipping in-between time and experiencing some truly harrowing events. How you respond to these prompts is up to you. Write, draw, use planner stickers; the only limit is the space your planner gives you for the date you are currently on.

During your travels, you tally up the times you either make it back to the Agency or get uncomfortably close to the Entity. Entity encounters in particular are interesting because they prompt you to destroy random dates in your calendar, possibly forcing you into a timeline divergence later on. Completing six encounters either way triggers the endgame – but not necessarily the end of the journey…

Thoughts and Examples from my Playthrough

I had a lot of trouble trying to summarize the game in the above paragraphs. Project Ecco is a very meaty, complex (but not necessarily complicated) game and is more of a five-course meal than an afternoon snack. Consequently, reading the setup instructions can be a little intimidating for someone who has only started dabbling in solo play. Everything is explained thoroughly without being exhausting, however, and on top of that I found myself really interested to read about the different tools and mechanics. In fact, I had to stop myself from snooping too much so as not to spoil my first playthrough.

Your game can last you several sessions over a couple of days. Don’t worry, though, all the cool time travel tools make for a fresh and exciting experience. Special dates, timeline divergences, personal notes and Agency/Entity encounters also serve to keep you on your toes. Whenever you feel like you have seen it all, a new prompt throws you a curveball, altering your perspective on the world and its inhabitants. It’s also great for replayability purposes, as your first playthrough can influence how you go about the challenges on your second round. I usually don’t care much for replay value (my time is limited and there’s a lot of games to try out), in this case, however, it’s so on theme that it’s almost a crime not to play again.

When you have the general cycle down, the game is a breeze. Have I mentioned that I love the time travel devices? Each and every one is unique in the way it lets you progress. As soon as you pick them up during the game, you can switch freely between them. Either you are very strategic about it to avoid repeat visits to certain dates or you embrace chaos for some interesting results. In the beginning, I dreaded losing my coin and experiencing timeline divergences. The closer I got to the endgame, the more I revelled in the wild and unpredictable element they brought to the game and the story that unfolded.

At this point, it shouldn’t amaze me that much how game designers manage to achieve this impeccable level of worldbuilding with just a bit of flavour text and a handful of prompts. From the agents’ designations being real world dates to the time travel tools with clear retro vibes, Project Ecco lets you dive into an 80s sci-fi flick with you as the protagonist torn between your fragile loyalty to the Agency and the conflicting discoveries you make about the Entity. I suppose if there was one thing you wanted to knock, it could be that this is not a very character-driven game. A lot of journaling games focus on the character you create, often as a stand-in for yourself, dealing with their emotions and feelings as they react to the events thrown at them. This is more of mystery thriller focused on plot than a character exploration game. Character creation is as simple as picking your agent designation and, if you’re using a personal planner and are very meticulous in adding dates specific to your character, weaving in details during the game. That being said, I did manage to spin this into a tragic queer romance…such is the nature of solo roleplaying. Hence, others might disagree on this with me, and that’s totally fine.

My attention span has been wavering lately, so I honestly didn’t expect to stick with this. But everything about Project Ecco drew me in. I love the manual that looks like a genuine little agent handbook and the details of the understated illustrations. A solid white-black-and-red colour scheme is always a classy choice. The prompts are descriptive enough to give you guidance and bits of lore without limiting you to a specific path. It’s simply an overall round and well-thought-out experience through and through. I’m a little peeved I didn’t get the Temporal Spread – Samantha Leigh was a guest writer for this specific time travel tool and I’ve been dying to get into their other games (especially Outliers, which seems to deal with adjacent themes), so I was looking forward to get a peek at their writing here. Alas, my agent just wasn’t destined to have it…perhaps the next one will.

I wonder how well this would hold up with a digital planner. Mostly, I am an analogue player when it comes to journaling games. I like how tactile it is and that you're creating an artifact of play to keep on your shelf, something very unique and often verging on if not being outright artistry. But the analogue format does (perhaps intentionally) limit your word count and thus keeps journaling rather short and to the point. I suppose a digital format would allow for more character development, if that is your goal. It would also extend your playtime – which is already significant as is. Still, certainly an interesting option, especially when you plan on playing more than twice.

This might be your cup of coffee if...

you revel in a good time travel mystery.

you prefer to play longer games with more complex mechanics than the average journaling game.

you enjoy some solid worldbuilding and lore to add onto over time, possibly in multiple playthroughs.

you are not afraid to mess up some prime stationary. Seriously. If you love your planner? Do not use it for this. Bullet journaling queens and kings, beware!

You can get Elliot Davis’ Project Ecco HERE on itch.io or as a physical copy available at the online sources linked in the description of the game. Make sure to check out Cassi Mothwin’s flip through of the game and take in the incredible actual play episode by the My First Dungeon podcast crew that I enjoyed immensely and proves that this game supports a more light-hearted tone, as well. In case you are the creative type, Davis is currently still running a game jam for supplements for and games inspired by Project Ecco on itch.io that lasts until March 1st. Plenty of time left to get your head in the game. :)

#indie ttrpg #solo rpg #review #journal #sci-fi #mystery #dice #tarot #cards #coins #mid #advanced players

[theresattrpgforthat]

I feel like this may have been asked before but: recommendations for a D&D player looking to branch out into other games (no genre preference) but with the caveat that they want to keep using most of their weirdly shaped dice? Systems that utilize just one type of dice (Shadowrun, WoD, etc.) are scary.

THEME: All The Dice

Hello friend! You are somewhat correct in that I've made recommendations similar to this before, so keep an eye on the rec list at the bottom. This is the first time however, that I'm specifically looking for games that use most of the polyhedral dice. I hope you find something that fits your taste in this list!

Shattered: A Grimdark RPG, by Never Dark Enough.

Shattered is a self-contained tabletop RPG that is built on a unique die system providing players with a tangible sense of growth. Inhabit one of eight distinct races and explore the dangerous post-apocalyptic world of Feneryss.

Millennia ago, millions sacrificed themselves in a ritual to the dark god, Ragnarok. The blood rite failed and rebounded on the planet, capsizing entire tectonic plates, replacing once plentiful oceans with molten rock, and calling down catastrophic storms to ravage what remained.

If you want gritty fantasy, steampunk and horror, Shattered might be for you. There’s biological mutations, vampires, gunpowder, sentient fungi… and more! Shattered’s game system is pretty crunch-heavy, giving your player different dice to roll depending on the rating of their character’s skills. There’s also plenty of rules for attacks, reactions, damage reduction, and other conditions that may pop up in combat, such as disease. If you want to pull in a lot of the granularity that existed in D&D, but you also like the idea of rolling multiple dice for any given attack, you might want to check out Shattered.

24XX: The Last Order, by S.A. Young.

After the Fae Courts were ravaged by a primordial evil known as The Dark Well, they went to seek out help from the Realm of Man. Sadly, many centuries have gone by since this many Fae have been in the Realm of Man. Modern and strange, the only ones that can help fight back the evil are fledgling mages. Now Fae and mages join forces to form The Last Order.

24XX games exist on a solid skeleton, even if it’s only a few bare bones. Your players will use d6’s, d4’s, d8’s and occasionally d10’s, while you, the GM, will use a d20 for the random roll tables that exist in pretty much every iteration of this game. I find 24XX games to be quick and easy to teach, as well as either affordable or free. They’re also reminiscent of the OSR style of play, so learning 24XX might be the first step into a much larger world of OSR games. The Last Order focuses on a world of faerie magic, warped by a primordial evil, so if you want to include a familiar feeling of fantasy along with your bundle of polyhedral dice, this game might be worth checking out. (If you want a different genre, just check out the abundance of titles under the 24XX tag on itch.io)

Children of the Apocalypse, by Happy Monster Press.

In the ruins of an ancient city, a band of treasure hunters seeks ancient artifacts to fuel the creations of a powerful Tinker Mage.  Armies trade musket fire across rolling hills as pikemen brace to receive a charge of monstrous shock troops.  An assassin in the service of the Goddess of Death and Disease sets a gunpowder charge beneath the foundations of a rival church.  A wizard faces down a psion in an arcane duel for possession of a trove of ancient texts.  All these adventures and more are daily occurrences in the world of Children of the Apocalypse, a post-apocalyptic fantasy setting for Savage Worlds.

Savage Worlds uses different size dice for different skills, which is why I’ve recommended it as a D&D substitute in the past. But what it also has going for it is a broad community of players and game designers such as Happy Monster Press, with various settings available all for the same rules system. Children of the Apocalypse combines mythology with an apocalypse, with fantastical civilizations rising from the ashes of the old world. The biggest downside to games such as this is that you’ll likely also need the Savage Worlds Adventure Edition in order to play the game.

Old Gods of Appalachia, by Monte Cook Games.

In the mountains of Central Appalachia, blood runs as deep as these hollers and just as dark. Since before our kind wandered into these hills, hearts of unknowable hunger and madness have slumbered beneath them.

These are the oldest mountains in the world. How dare we think we can break the skin of a god and dig out its heart without also calling blood and darkness?

Venture into the dark, eerie past of an alternate Appalachia and enjoy a fluid, story-based roleplaying experience with an intuitive, concept-driven character generation system that gives you limitless options. With loads of lore, dozens of creatures and NPCs, and two complete adventures to launch your campaign, the Old Gods of Appalachia Roleplaying Game has everything you need to experience your own stories of horror, hardship, and heart in this immersive, narrative, and deeply chilling setting.

The Cypher System primarily uses a d20 and d6’s, with d10s and d100s used occasionally. I’ve run games such as Numenera for many a former D&D player, and it was quite easy for folks to put together a character concept, even if the rules were a bit of a shift. Old Gods of Appalachia is one of Monte Cook’s newest games using the Cypher System, and it’s cultivated a great amount of acclaim due to its link to the podcast of the same name. If your group wants to keep rolling a bunch of weird dice and also wants a link to a popular, well-loved piece of media to inspire their stories, them I definitely recommend this game.

I am Furious, by Brabblemark Press.

I Am Furious (Pink) is a dramatic tabletop roleplaying game that takes you through the events of one terrible day and then—reborn with the power of a goddess—retraces your story so you can unleash vengeance or bestow mercy on those who did you wrong.

At its most fantastic, the game may resemble a big-budget superhero franchise, where you transform into a black-winged Fury with a glowing blade and strike down your enemies. However, to reach that peak you start with smaller scenes like escaping a prison, avenging a murder, restoring a lost treasure, or more realistic play exploring the darker sides of your family, romantic, business, or other relationships.

This is a really unique game that I stumbled onto when I was browsing through the latest releases on Itch. It carries many of the same elements of sci-fi and superhero settings, giving your characters impressive powers that are linked to a goddess specifically in a way that allows them to carry out vengeance. It’s designed to tell personal stories, and requires each player to have at least one of each polyhedral dice. The full game is $5 but there is a bare-bones and dyslexic-friendly version that you can download for free if you want a taste before you put your money on it. If you like games of resistance and personal catharsis, you might want to check out I am Furious.

Recs Posts to Check Out

Tactical Combat Games

Fuck Wizards of the Coast

D&D-Level Crunch and Structure

Character Customization

Echoes of D&D

Games I’ve Recommended in the Past

Lex Arcana, by Archeron Games.

Kids on Bikes, by Hunters Entertainment.

Mausritter, by Losing Games

#tabletop games #indie ttrpgs #dnd #game recommendations #asks #polyhedral dice

[shivers-sketches]

Back on my Everhood obsession ;w;

Kofi

#fanart #everhood #green mage #everhood game #everhood green mage #everhood fanart #green mage everhood #green mage fanart #game #indie game #gaming #dice #eye contact #mage #who's the best everhood character and why is it green mage

[cyanomys]

Hey TTRPG Nerds

I’m back on my bullshit again. What are some indie games with unique systems that aren’t D&D, PBTA/FitD, or Fate-based?

How do they use unique mechanics to accomplish cool stuff?

Story games, OSR, you name it — all welcome!

#also like obviously excluding stuff like savage worlds and world of darkness #no Big Game Companies #I wanna see your weird and wonderful #even better if it used a resolution mechanic other than dice #looking at you dread my beloved #ttrpgs #tabletop #ttrpg #indie games #role playing games

[dinoberrypress]

Fae of the Forest Dice Set

The samples finally arrived, so we can reveal the Little Wolves dice! Jam’s designed unique faces for each side of the dice to represent the elements you embody & encounter across your adventures.

These gorgeous dice will be available as add-ons during the crowdfunding campaign, launching May 14th!

Follow us on Backerkit to get a notice when we go live!

bytes.rip/littlewolves

Also, there’s a free demo available now, so you don’t need to wait to explore The Enchanted Forest. Let us know how your first adventure goes! 🐾

bytes.rip/littledemo

#ttrpg #ttrpg design #dice #custom dice #little wolves #wolves #indie ttrpg #roleplaying #crowdfunding

[junkfoodgames]

Getting really close to wrapping up Death Cap Sauté! This will be our biggest ttrpg release yet (almost 30 pages!). Should be able to announce release date soon.

In the meantime, here are some photos from a quick print test.

Death Cap Sauté is a ttrpg and dice game about a cooking competition in the weird post-apocalypse.

It's for 2-5 players and you can play the whole game in about 1-2 hours. Its a pretty silly game, but it's been a lot of fun to make!

#ttrpg #indie ttrpg #itch.io #game design #ttrpg community #ttrpg design #ttrpgs #cooking games #post apocalypse games #dice games

[negativecity]

i couldnt decide which background and stuff i liked more so they're under the cut <3

#idk what to caption this as lol #i spent too long on this just take it get it outa here im done working on it #idk why i made him so babygirl #i mean im not mad abt it #dice mahone lisa rpg #dice mahone #lisa rpg #lisa the joyful #my art #kritaart #digital art #artblr #small artist #indie rpg #digital drawing #digital artist #artists on tumblr

[unlawfulgames]

RELEASE THE GOBLINS!

#ttrpg #ttrpg community #indie ttrpg #roleplaying games #ttrpg design #ttrpg art #d100 #goblincore #my art #ttrpg stuff #goblin community #goblin #unintelligible goblin noises #tabletop #tables #goblin aesthetic #goblin vibes #dice goblin #goblin culture #goblin things #indie games #indie #itch.io #also the secret disgusting habits of elves

[gigantic-spider]

A good friend of mine is about to start a crowdfunding campaign for his TTRPG podcast!

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/sdunnewold/dice-exploder-a-tabletop-rpg-design-podcast

This is an explicitly design-centric podcast that already has 1.5 seasons out FOR FREE (with Season 2 currently in progress)! If you want to check it out , here’s a Spotify link: https://open.spotify.com/show/3CXymFw8y33IVOAmYJ0CY2?si=2sqPSVGpSO6u_nFGb8RVLQ

#dice exploder #ttrpg #ttrpg stuff #indie ttrpg #tabletop role playing game #ttrpg design #tabletop roleplaying #not paid for just a favor #ttrpg podcast #podcast #Spotify

[wildwoodsgames]

Invent your own story of Victorian horror, queer community, and fraught intimacy as you explore the haunted streets of historic London in this diceless GMless game of belonging outside belonging.

Step into the skins of iconic Gothic monsters seen through a queer lens—the eerie Gate, the volatile Beast, the radical Scholar, the tormented Hunter, or the hopeful Ward—to flirt and feud, tremble and embrace, and hurt and heal each other in the alleyways and parlors of Victorian London.

If you’re a fan of classic Victorian Gothic horror, shows like Penny Dreadful and Interview with the Vampire, or narratives of queer monstrosity, intimacy, and community, this game is for you.

#grand guignol rpg #belonging outside belonging #no dice no masters #queer gothic #indie rpgs #ttrpgs #indie ttrpgs