Here's the first full week of RPGaDay 2024 posts. All of these were previously posted on Mastodon and the RPG.net forums. Additional commentary exclusive to this blog are in italics.
Day 4: "RPG with great art"
A TTRPG art piece that stands out to me is in Mothership. It's a two page spread. One end illustrates "adjacent" range with a monstrosity grappling with some hapless figures. The other end is "extreme range" and can only be reached with an eagle eye, steady hands, and a smart rifle. All the ranges in between are detailed in similar fashion. It gets the range and distance rules across to players.
The piece I mention is not the greatest in execution, style, or similar terms describing the quality of the art itself. It stands out to me because it plays a part in explaining the range and distance rules in a way that can be immediately grasped by the viewer. Most TTRPG art exists to bring the setting to life. Which is a valid function. But this piece feels like part of the rules.
Day 5: "RPG with great writing"
Ideally, the narrative writing in TTRPGs shows what the player characters do in the game. The technical writing that goes into TTRPG rules explains what the players do with the game. The former generally gets the point across. The latter is where things often fall apart.
A recent game that both conveys the setting and clearly describes the rules is Mothership.
I go into narrative versus technical writing in TTRPG adventure modules here.
I almost went with how the writing in Old School Essentials is so clear and concise for this prompt. However, OSE does assume that the reader already knows what they are getting into.
Day 6: "RPG that is easy to use"
I have a hard time running many TTRPGs due to the number of wheels spinning at any given time. Most flavors of GUMSHOE are manageable. Old School Essentials is a breeze for me to run. Of course, OSE feels like cheating with the decades of D&D under my belt. I'm hoping to find other relatively easy to run games as I get more of my TTRPG collection to the table this year.
The difficulty I have with running complex systems with many things interacting with each other at the same time is exactly that - my issue. However, it does influence my buying decisions and I tend towards the more streamlined end of the TTRPG market.
Day 7: "RPG with good form"
Star Trek Adventures. I own most of the first edition line and there's not been a dud in the bunch. The original core book gets a rebuke for poor organization, but other than that, every book has added to the quality of the game.
I wasn't sure what "good form" was supposed to mean in the context of TTRPGs. From the responses I've seen, I wasn't alone.
Day 8: "An accessory you appreciate"
I'm not gonna name just one. Dice for when success and failure are both interesting outcomes. Fold up dice trays for when the little plastic bastards decide to go for a swan dive off the table. Miniatures for when relative positioning is relevant. Terrain, tiles, and sheets because they look cool on the table with the miniatures, but they aren't strictly necessary.
As much as I enjoy miniature wargames, my use of miniatures and terrain for TTRPGs varies. There are times when they help keep track of things in combat. There are other times when it just takes too much time and space to set up.
Day 9: "An accessory you'd like to see"
More sci-fi terrain NOT covered in skulls and two headed eagles would be great. And more generic sci-fi miniatures, terrain, and maps in general would be nice.
We all know what game setting I'm referencing here, right? Cool.
And - to be fair - I realize that it's hard to make miniatures, terrain, and battle maps that would work for Star Wars, cyberpunk, grimdark, and Star Trek equally well. But a man can dream.
Day 10: "RPG you'd like to see on TV"
RPG to TV adaptation? There's Star Trek, but that's cheating. Maybe Lancer? I'm reading through it and the setting is interesting. Plus there's mecha!
Let's play? Whatever TTRPG I'm trying to get my head around at the moment.
I always have time to watch more Star Trek. And I've long been a giant robot connoisseur.
Day 5: "RPG with great writing"
Ideally, the narrative writing in TTRPGs shows what the player characters do in the game. The technical writing that goes into TTRPG rules explains what the players do with the game. The former generally gets the point across. The latter is where things often fall apart.
A recent game that both conveys the setting and clearly describes the rules is Mothership.
I go into narrative versus technical writing in TTRPG adventure modules here.
I almost went with how the writing in Old School Essentials is so clear and concise for this prompt. However, OSE does assume that the reader already knows what they are getting into.
Day 6: "RPG that is easy to use"
I have a hard time running many TTRPGs due to the number of wheels spinning at any given time. Most flavors of GUMSHOE are manageable. Old School Essentials is a breeze for me to run. Of course, OSE feels like cheating with the decades of D&D under my belt. I'm hoping to find other relatively easy to run games as I get more of my TTRPG collection to the table this year.
The difficulty I have with running complex systems with many things interacting with each other at the same time is exactly that - my issue. However, it does influence my buying decisions and I tend towards the more streamlined end of the TTRPG market.
Day 7: "RPG with good form"
Star Trek Adventures. I own most of the first edition line and there's not been a dud in the bunch. The original core book gets a rebuke for poor organization, but other than that, every book has added to the quality of the game.
I wasn't sure what "good form" was supposed to mean in the context of TTRPGs. From the responses I've seen, I wasn't alone.
Day 8: "An accessory you appreciate"
I'm not gonna name just one. Dice for when success and failure are both interesting outcomes. Fold up dice trays for when the little plastic bastards decide to go for a swan dive off the table. Miniatures for when relative positioning is relevant. Terrain, tiles, and sheets because they look cool on the table with the miniatures, but they aren't strictly necessary.
As much as I enjoy miniature wargames, my use of miniatures and terrain for TTRPGs varies. There are times when they help keep track of things in combat. There are other times when it just takes too much time and space to set up.
Day 9: "An accessory you'd like to see"
More sci-fi terrain NOT covered in skulls and two headed eagles would be great. And more generic sci-fi miniatures, terrain, and maps in general would be nice.
We all know what game setting I'm referencing here, right? Cool.
And - to be fair - I realize that it's hard to make miniatures, terrain, and battle maps that would work for Star Wars, cyberpunk, grimdark, and Star Trek equally well. But a man can dream.
Day 10: "RPG you'd like to see on TV"
RPG to TV adaptation? There's Star Trek, but that's cheating. Maybe Lancer? I'm reading through it and the setting is interesting. Plus there's mecha!
Let's play? Whatever TTRPG I'm trying to get my head around at the moment.
I always have time to watch more Star Trek. And I've long been a giant robot connoisseur.
I don't enjoy watching other people play a TTRPG. I realize this isn't universal. I do find value in let's play videos when learning a new TTRPG. Seeing a game in motion is more informative to me than reading an explanation of how a set of rules is supposed to work.
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