#RPG – Game Design Interview with Richard Pullman

#RPG – Game Design w/ Richard Pullman EPISODE 040

Grim (Actual F*cking Monsters RPG)

It was great to have a chance to nerd out over game design with Richard, and to pimp out my new subscriber-first video series on game design. Join my Patreon or Subscribestar for early access to that.

If you’d like me to come onto a ‘cast, to discuss anything or even to argue with me about my various, supposed ‘horrible’ positions on things, I’m always willing, or willing to host you on my Youtube livestream channel. This is a separate channel to my main one, so please subscribe there too!

In this fantastic episode Richard Pullman and James Desborough — also known as “Grim” — walk through a crazy career, an aimless industry, and the need for bravery in creativity.

Grim has more experience than anyone I know working for big companies, but also a raft of original games and content that push the limits of what you can explore in tabletop RPGs.

Had a lot of fun with this #podcast episode! Managed to get to so many different topics.

Thank you to @Grimachu and let’s all look forward to his #ttrpg #design series and projects. https://anchor.fm/game-design/episodes/Episode-040—Grim-Actual-Fcking-Monsters-RPG-e5ltlv

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Grimdark – Possessed Armour

A suit of animated armour, possessed by an evil ghost. The faint and shadowy form of the wearer can be made out, between the joints and interwoven with the armour itself which takes on a darker hue – like aged iron.

Medium Undead, Lawful Evil

AC 18 (Natural Armour)

HP 33 (6d8+6) [Grimdark HP 8

Heroism (Villainy) 2

Speed 25 ft.

Str 14+2, Dex 11+0, Con -. Int 11+0. Wis 11+0. Cha 11+0.

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Grimdark – Madness

 

As a reminder, back towards the beginning of these articles I talked about creating a ‘sanity’ system of mental stress for adventurers. Here’s a quick recap:

I would also like to bring in a second system for handling mental health, somewhat taken from Call of Cthulhu’s Sanity Points or stress in Darkest Dungeon. Stress will do as a placeholder term, perhaps to be replaced by stoicism or something later. Your Stress would be determined by your class in much the same way as Hit Dice, modified either by Intelligence or Wisdom. You would gain stress from suffering conditions. Off the top of my head:

• Blinded: 1d4
• Taking damage from a critical hit: 1
• Death Saves (Each): 1d4
• Permanent Injury: 1d6
• Charmed: 1d6 when the Charm wears off.
• Deafened: 3
• Frightened: 1d6
• Grappled: 0
• Incapacitated: 2
• Paralysed: 1d6
• Petrified: 1d8
• Poisoned:1d6
• Prone: 0
• Restrained: 0
• Stunned: 1
• (Diseased):1d6…

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#RPG #DND Grimdark – Monsters

Monsters would need to be handled a little differently in the game skeleton and modifications that I have laid out. They need to mirror what we’ve done to player characters in that they need to be more fragile in terms of hit points but still need to have the capacity to do greater harm and to be minor and even major villains – rather than simple ‘mooks’ – without just becoming massive hit-point sinks.

If we look at a standard monster stat sheet, we can see that we don’t really need to change that much. The only real problems that we have exist around Hit Points and Challenge Rating, but this isn’t insoluable.

For Hit Points we can do what we do for player characters, a basis of Hit Die type + Constitution Bonus, with Heroism (Morale) going up by level. However, given that players encounter lots of monsters, the CR determines how many – total – Heroism points they contribute, and their maximum spend. This going into a pool used by the Games Master – with a maximum spend equal to the highest CR in an encounter. This also does a nice job of modelling the role and value of leadership – and of taking out enemy leaders…

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Grimdark – Religion

There isn’t a great deal of mileage in beating about the bush when it comes to religion in a quasi-historical game. If you’re using an analogy to Christianity and everyone knows that it’s Christianity, you may as well not bother calling the pope the hierophant or talking about how your society worships Jeebus. The only reason anyone really draws a veil over the actual state of medieval religion is to spare people’s feelings and to rewrite history in a more tolerant manner.

For once, fuck that.

The advantage of using authentic religions is that everyone has – at least – some idea what they believe, how they venerate, what their prayers and churches are like, what their religious laws are like and so on. Since we’re not using domains, there’s little mechanical need to quantify anything and given – in the real world – how we can see people can twist religion to support all sorts of viewpoints, alignment isn’t terribly relevant either…

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Grimdark – Spellcasting

The magic rules ideas that I presented earlier are a botch-job, trying to merely adapt the existing rules to suit a lower-magic setting. If I proceed to making a bespoke magic interpretation for a Grimdark setting/system I need to go further than that in a number of different ways.

Divine Magic needs to be approached from the most different position. I want the existence of spirits or deities to be more vague, a matter of interpretation and faith, rather than – so explicitly – being a matte of truth. As such, divine magic needs to change the most. A much more restricted approach centred on the psychology of faith makes more sense, with the miraculous being suitably rare – limited to high level persons of faith who are, in essence, saints…

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Grimdark – Feats & Wounds

Feats are both more wide and more powerful in 5^th Edition. In order to compete with Ability increases, they’d have to be. Taking ‘Observant’ as an example, to compare with its 3^rd Edition equivalent – which (Alert) gave you a +2 bonus to Perception checks. By comparison, Observant in fifth edition gives +1 Wisdom or Intelligence, the ability to lip read and a +5 bonus to passive Perception and Investigation rolls. That’s – approximately – three times as powerful as the old feats and something to keep in mind when doing conversions, perhaps by grouping several old-style Feats together.

Given the emphasis on personal skill rather than supernatural capabilities, Feats would have to be heartily extended in any Grimdark setting.

Example: Undead Slayer

• When an undead creature enters a 5′ zone aound you, you may immediately make a melee attack against that creature. You are limited to one of these free attacks per turn.
• You have advantage on Saving Throws against Undead powers, diseases and attacks that require one.
• You do an addition 1d6 damage to Undead enemies.

Death and dying has been simplified in the new edition, and that’s fine as it…

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Grimdark – Gear

For sake of ease most things should remain entirely the same, coinage and so on certainly. The thing, however, that always sticks in my craw about D&D are the armour rules. The way in which heavy armour makes you ‘harder to hit’ never worked for me, and splitting up the different kinds of protection – as was done in 3^rd edition meant there was too much book-keeping.

One way to approach this problem is to make armour do damage reduction, instead of making you harder to hit.

Armour along this line for a more Grimdark game, might look more like…

• Padded: Damage Reduction 1, Disadvantage on Stealth.
• Leather: Damage Reduction 1.
• Studded Leather: Damage Reduction 2.
• Hide: Damage Reduction 2 (Max Dexmod 2)…

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Grimdark – The Witch

Like the Ritualist, the Witch is a ‘secondary class’, one you multi-class into. The old ways have largely fallen beneath the crescent, cross and star but remnants remain in traditions, rhymes, spells and as echoes in the largely spurious grimoires, many of them made up by the deluded or the faithful. Walking that fine line between old religion, devilry and midwifery. One false step, one offhanded blasphemy, one dissatisfied lecher or ‘maid’ and its prison, the stake or the Tyburn Jig.

Both spellcasting sub-classes are placeholders and the same is true of the abilities of the Cleric. I would be likely to alter these and create new, more suitable magic for the setting.

Hit Points
6+Constitution Bonus
Heroism 1d8/Level

Proficiencies Gained
Light Armour, Simple Weapons.

Skills
Arcana, Medicine.

Equipment:
You must acquire the gear you need during play.

Level 1: Witch Magic, The Old Tongue, Aura
Level 2: Bonus Feat, Extra Cantrip
Level 3: –
Level 4: Bonus Feat, Ability Score Improvement
Level 5: – Aura…

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Grimdark – The Ritualist

A ritualist is something you become, rather than start as. The ritualist studies ancient tomes and enters into pacts with demons and spirits, permanently changing themselves in their pursuit of magic and power. You have to multiclass into Ritualist and cannot take it as a starting class. In order to become a ritualist and start your pursuit of power you must have an Intelligence of 13+. Whichever class has the most Hit Points is used as the basis for your health.

Hit Points
5+Constitution Bonus
Heroism 1d8/Level

Proficiencies Gained
Light Armour, Simple Weapons.

Skills
Arcana, Religion.

Equipment:
You must acquire the gear you need during play.

• Level 1: Witch Mark, Ritual Magic, Talisman
• Level 2: Imp
• Level 3: Dark Gift
• Level 4: Ability Score Improvement
• Level 5: Witch Mark…

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