not to say there isnt a place for a ttrpg rulebook thats like... longer than like 25 pages, there are players that want a higher level of depth to gameplay and a multitude of game designer provided options, context, or information (like me), but the grim reality to writing any ttrpg, much less its book ive found, is how to condense that ruleset into 1 page or a 10 minute discussion.
this is the same of like literally any game ever i think. people dont want to read rules, they want to play the game. they want to make their character, they want to start interacting with their other players, etc. what is the lowest range of information delivered that allows someone to pick up your game is i think something that needs to start becoming a part of the discussions of tabletop games, and that goes for both the GM and player side of the table. what is the smallest amount of info that needs to be provided so the GM is not overwhelmed by rules and what is the smallest amount of things a player has to manage to provide structure to their decisions and not offload the entire ruleset onto the GM.
maybe its just my brain, and there's less sale value in saying "this is a rules-dense game and not for beginning ttrpg players" but no one labels and OSR game like that, but we all have the understanding that a lot of OSR games are rules-dense. everyone understands souls-likes to have a higher player skill threshold and are typically harder games and we fully acknowledge that some people cant play them by those qualifications.
this would shove off the table DnD and all its associated materials if it became labeled as "rules-dense" even if people operate their games with that 1 page-type experience, but people are Fussy about "being gatekeeped on playing dnd if they dont read the whole players handbook" type thing so this isnt an easy discussion to have.
how do you make people interested in a game? an elevator pitch, typically. literally. i've worked at game conventions where its my job to do this. ive done it to my friends to make them play the ttrpgs i want to play or games ive written. the 1 minute description then into the 10 minute explanation of everything you need to play. a quickstart guide to reference. the lowest amount of info needed to play, look at the book if any weird thing happens. that one tumblr post about "dont read the rulebook to learn how to play magic. it's just there in case something weird happens" in reference to magic the gathering card game, i believe. having learned how to play mtg since i last saw that post, this is true. i learned how to play magic by someone handing me a deck, giving me the most basic rules needed to understand what i needed to do in less than 5 minutes, and then sitting on my shoulder in case anything weird happened.
what am advocating for in this post? a quickstart or 1 page guide for both GM and player use/reference for every ttrpg but also a wider public understanding on what the skill thresholds of certain games can be and being damn honest about it.
and if it was missed earlier in this post, i am that person that reads the 200 page rulebooks and fully ingests it all but i can fully admit that 95% of these books are context, examples, power/item lists, statblocks, etc. literally non essential information for how mechanically a game works. it all helps inform the mechanics but you dont need a 200 page book when your superpower is on page 60 and your game only needs 2d6 to play otherwise. am i maybe also advocating for a general better way to deliver information about a game's specifics? yeah. im advocating for a lot in this post.
people dont read books, so then design for that. it wont curb the tide of people that get defensive about playing dnd in the year of our lord 2024 with basically a modified 1 page equivalent rulesset but it could make these people's GMs have an easier time.
