The RPG Study

The RPG community has, thankfully, had over a month now to move on from the OGL crisis that we faced at the beginning of the year. Wizards of the Coast ended up doing the sensible thing and acted to maintain the integrity of the OGL 1.0a as well as taking the extra step of releasing the 5th Edition SRD 5.1 in to a Creative Commons License.  During the month of January however, there was a lot of focus in the TTRPG community on other games and systems that the GM community specifically was interested in running. A lot of great games were suggested and explored even after the OGL issue was (mostly) resolved. Many of us are still interested in running these other games that we purchased during and after the fiasco, or that we had purchased prior to the start of 2023 and never got a chance to run. Start up Costs There are many challenges a GM faces when trying to play a new system. It can be finding and purchasing necessary game material. It can also be learning and understanding the s...

The Beta documents for Free League Publishing's new fantasy role-playing game Dragonbane, were released several weeks ago and have received steady updates throughout the beta process. Kickstarter backers have been able to play and test the system. Here at the RPG study, we have had the opportunity to playtest these rules, just a little bit, and have some thoughts on some of the content that we've seen so far. A lot of skill(s) Reading through the rules document we got the impression that Dragonbane presents a swingy, but fast resolution mechanic. Nearly every situation encountered in the game is resolved through the skill system. Want to make an attack with your sword? Want to look for traps? That's a skill. Want to see if you remember an interesting bit of lore? That's a skill. What makes the game quick is this resolution mechanic. Dragonbane flips the traditional convention of rolling a D20 on its head, at least compared to a system like 5E. In Dragonbane, 20’s ...

Ticking Clocks One of my favorite things to do in an RPG is give the players a ticking clock. Having them work against some time pressure, whether it is in-game or real-world, or an actual threat or just the perception of one, can help focus a Party's goals and give them a clear direction for their actions. If your Party is anything like the ones I typically run for, it can be hard to get them motivated beyond their character's own interests many times. Even the best adventure hooks can fall flat. Leading a horse to water, and all that. But a restrictive time frame to achieve their goals, or a limited number of days to prevent apocalypse can bring into sharp focus those activities that are most beneficial to the story (and often themselves) and promotes acting on them in the most efficient and expedient means possible.  Heads up, links below are affiliate links. What time is it? When discussing the use of time constraints in our games, it is important to consider which “time” w...

As we continue our look at other RPG systems, we will look at another system originally tied to a licensed IP. In this case we will be looking at the trio of interconnected Star Wars RPG’s; Edge of the Empire, Age of Rebellion, and Force and Destiny. This article assumes some familiarity with the Star Wars IP, either canon or Legends content. For more information check out Wookieepedia . Three games, One system The Fantasy Flight Games (FFG) Star Wars games are an interesting approach to RPG design. We will discuss the actual mechanics in a bit, but first it's worth noting that this system is both one game, and three games. What that statement means is that the underpinnings of each of the three product lines is the same. The mechanical rules of the game for combat, exploration, roleplaying encounters, etc. is fundamentally the same and always resolved the same regardless of which source book(s) you possess. The difference between the three product lines are the themes explored...

Even with all of the uproar about the Open Game License (OGL) now settled, you may still be thinking about trying another system. Fortunately, there are more than a few systems out there that provide free Quickstart guides that provide a taste of a games setting and mechanics as well as pre-generated characters. Unfortunately though, a lot of this material can be a little on the shorter side and isn't always the best indicator of how a game operates over repeat playing, or through the course of a campaign. Now, if you're okay with a little challenge, and willing to get creative, there are a few options out there for taking freely available adventure material and stretching it out into a short sample campaign. Nothing as long as a full length adventure path style campaign, but definitely something longer than a quickstart adventure, and certainly tons of fun. One such opportunity exists with the free content that Green Ronin Publishing has produced for their Dragon AGE (DAGE) R...

Alternative Systems - Dragon AGE In the wake of the OGL controversy that has ripped through the TTRPG community, I felt like it was worth taking the time to discuss some other systems, specifically ones that have no connection to the OGL. Now, this kind of article isn't exactly new, but I think it's helpful for people on the fence to hear as many different perspectives about alternative systems and settings as they can. I believe receiving a diversity of opinions can help you, the reader, make the best decision for you and your game. I know it's been helpful for me to hear about other's experiences with other systems. Each post in this series will take a look at a single system, breaking it down in detail.  Before we get started, please note, many of the links below are affiliate links to DrivethruRPG. If you prefer not to use affiliate links nearly all of the content discussed below can also be found directly at the Green Ronin Store . Dragon AGE The progenitor to t...