Tabletop games are mostly, if not entirely, text based. These games may make use of supplemental materials, like maps or pictures, but rely on written text and spoken descriptions to drive the action of the game. Tabletop RPGs often involve a game leader, frequently called a dungeon master or DM, who designs the scenarios players will deal with and impartially mediates the rules. [1] X Research source [2] X Research source LARP has players imagine the setting as though it were real life. Players then adopt the persona of a character to complete the tasks involved in the game.
In many RPGs, the game begins with players creating a character and using a set number of points to invest in different stats. At the start of a game, you might have each player start with 20 stat points to apply to different stat categories. Some popular RPGs use 10 as the baseline for all stats. A 10 rating represents average human ability in the stat category. So 10 strength would be average human strength, 10 intelligence would yield a character of average intelligence, and so on. Additional stat points are usually given to characters as experience is gained over time, through in-game events, or through battles. Experience is usually given in the form of points, with a certain number of points equaling a “level up,” which indicates a stat increase. Make sure your stats match up with your character description. For example, a character that’s a ranger class will likely be crafty and move silently, so it often has high dexterity. Wizards, on the other hand, rely on their knowledge of magic, so these kinds of characters often have high intelligence. [4] X Research source
The dice roll/stat modifier mechanic is very common for tabletop RPGs. For example, a player might have to climb a rope. This might have a challenge rating of 10 for a roll of a 20-sided die. This means a player will have to roll a 10 or higher to climb the rope. Since climbing involves dexterity, the player might get bonus points added to their rope climbing roll for having high dexterity. Some games use stats as a way of determining point pools which can be “spent” on actions. For example, for each point of strength, a player might get 4 points of health. These generally decrease when damage is taken from enemies or increase when a restorative, like a health potion, is taken by a character. There are other stat-use mechanics you might come up with for your RPG, or you might combine two common mechanics, like the stat-limit and dice roll/stat modifier mechanics. [5] X Research source
Bonuses are usually added to a dice roll to make the outcome of an event more likely. If a warrior needs to roll a 10 or higher on a 20-sided die to accomplish his action, he might get 2 bonus points added to his roll. You can create your own classes for different scenarios in your RPG. Were you playing a futuristic RPG with fantasy elements, you could invent a class like “Technomage” for a class that uses both technology and magic. Some games involve different races which sometimes have special racial attributes. Some common races in RPGs are elves, gnomes, dwarves, humans, orcs, fairies/fey, halflings, and more.
You might base the development of characters around significant events in your RPG. For example, you could award a level up and stat points to player characters following each major battle in your campaign. You might also consider to award stat points to characters after the completion of certain quests or goals.
You can determine order with a roll of a 20-sided die. Have each player roll a die. The highest number will take the first turn, the second highest takes the second turn, and so on. Settle draws with a roll-off. When two or more players roll the same number, have these players roll again amongst themselves. The highest roller in this roll-off will go first, followed by the second highest roller, and so on.
Combat movement is usually turn based, with each player character and non-player character each getting a turn. On that turn, each character can generally move a certain distance and commit an action. Movements and action generally depend on things like character class, equipment weight, and character race. Overworld movement usually is the preferred style for long distances. To represent this, many RPGers use figurines moved across a map or blueprint. This phase usually has players move any distance they desire on a turn by turn basis. Character movement is usually determined with regard to weight and class considerations. For example, a character wearing heavy armor will be more encumbered and move more slowly. Physically weak classes, like clerics, wizards, and priests, usually move slower than physically strong classes, like rangers, fighters, and barbarians.
Awarding too much currency to characters can sometimes result in the game becoming imbalanced. Keep this in mind when conceiving your RPG economy. [11] X Research source Common forms of currency in RPGs includes gold, diamonds, precious minerals, and coinage.
You might consider printing a copy of the main mechanics for each player. This way, players can remind themselves of the rules when necessary.
Magic spells are often the cause of status effects. It may be helpful for you to make a list of spells that affect the physical condition of characters. Poisoned or enchanted weapons are another common route status effects are applied to player characters.
You might establish a baseline for the damage of certain effects. For poison, you might decide that weak poison causes 2 damage per turn, medium poison 5 damage, and strong poison 10 damage. You can also decide damage with a roll of the dice. Using poison as the example again, you might roll a four sided die each turn to determine the amount of damage done by the poison. The duration of a status effect might take the form of a standard limit or it could be decided upon with a roll a die. If poison might last anywhere from 1 to 6 turns, you could roll a 6-sided die to determine the length of this effect. [14] X Research source
To make character death a more serious condition, you might institute a penalty to fallen characters. Characters who have been revived might rise in a weakened state and only be able to move half the distance they would normally.
You could make the creation of these remedies a part of your game play. You can do this by requiring characters to hunt for components for these before brewing them up. Common remedies are oftentimes found in the shops of towns and paid for with some kind of currency found or won during the course of the game.
Conflict can either be active or passive. An example of active conflict could be something like a chancellor trying to overthrow a king, while a passive conflict might be something like a dam weakening over time and threatening a city. [16] X Research source
An overworld map is generally a map that depicts the world at large. This might only include a city and the outlying area, but could also include an entire world or continent. An instance map usually establishes the boundaries of a specific player event, like a battle or a room in which a puzzle must be solved. If you’re not very artistic, try using simple shapes like squares, circles, and triangles to indicate objects and boundaries of a setting.
Lore can also be useful for developing the conflict in your RPG. For example, there might be an uprising creating chaos in a city in your game. You may want to write out notes for the lore in your RPG to help you keep the details straight while role-playing. For common knowledge lore that player characters should know, you might write up a separate sheet containing this information for players. [17] X Research source
This kind of in-game bookkeeping is also a good way of keeping your game realistic. If a character has more items than they should be able to carry, that character might deserve a movement penalty for being encumbered.
