We are two poorstudents who make TTRPGs in our spare time. By we, it's Cohan and Garrett. We are PhD students working in STEM who also get excited about RPG mechanics, roleplaying interesting relationships with our friends and exploring around strange worlds.

We try to make games that let players tell interesting stories with their friends. We encourage players to look up from the table and towards each other. We mainly work in the forged in the dark space are influence by all kinds narrative RPGs. We have previously worked on subconscious_Routine is a one page microRPG. It won best RPG under 5 pages in the Applied Hope Jam. You play robots trying to fight their programming and discover free will in this post-post apocalyptic setting. The entire game is above but you can get a FREE fillable PDF and print version here

We recently released Sockgoblins, a dungeon crawl in a goblin-sized trench coat. You play as a crew of Sockgoblins tasked with finding socks to fill the Queen’s Sock Tithe. You can learn the rules over lunch and be playing that night. Sockgoblins is also available in PDF and printable form here

If you are interested in what we are doing, design insight/discussion and tabletop-related stuffs you can give us a follow or find anything we have done and will do in the future at poorstudents.itch.io - C

Didn't do any nanoing yesterday. I hanged out with my wife instead. 😀

Today I looked over more upgrades from Blades in the Dark and other forged in the dark games aaaaaand they are all pretty similar. The thing that really is meh to me is that special crew upgrades are very similar between each crew, some harnessing, Elite XXXX cohort, and some kind of +1 stress or trauma mostly. (I think the crews that only get +1 stress vs an extra trauma got the short stick btw.)

So I'm wondering now are people cool with this kind of choices for upgrades? Should I just make a giant list of upgrades and no special crew upgrades?

I'm surprised that upgrades are harder process for me compared to special abilities. I'm guessing it is due to my dissatisfaction with the selections that have proceeded.

I could take the easy path and just do what everyone else did. But, I'm not sure yet. For the sake of time I may just do so initially and come back around to it... Play testing should help with that decision making.

I'm apparently a TTRPG designer (??) who lives on Deathspiral Terf Island (also known as the UK), and I'm currently currently working on As the Sun Forever Sets, a Forged in the Dark horror survival game about ordinary Victorian era people surviving the collapse of the British Empire under the weight of an invasion from Mars.

I also made GHOULBOYS, a Belonging Outside Belonging-y one-shot game for 3 players about fucking around in haunted houses, trying to work out if ghosts are real, and having fun with your friends.

You can find these things and any future things here: https://rileydaniels.itch.io/

What's up, this website seems nice.

No day 5, 6, or 7 for me. I spent it with family and friends instead which doesn't happen enough~

Today though I was back at it with 0 words written! I did research for upgrades and took notes in my noodling document instead. And I must say upgrades are not that inspiring. I guess that is why when a crew levels up they can get two upgrades. Also there just doesn't seem to be that many upgrades to consider. There is a general section that is the lions share of choices for all crews and then each crew has at most a handful of upgrades.

Hopefully tomorrow I can finish up the research and noodling.

One of the things I'm most likely going to drop that reduces upgrade options is engagement type. Going into "traditional dungeons" there is usually only one way of getting into it. So instead I've changed engagements to be prep and research that the guild does prior. Every player does one thing prior to heading out that may influence the engagement roll or helps them prepare. I really like giving every player one activity prior as well to give ample opportunity to flashback during the adventure and be like "Remember when I was talking to the druid's at the circle? Well...."

It is true that this does slow down the time game compared to BitD. However, it is pretty cut and dry of knowing once everyone is done it is time to describe how the guild makes their way to the place of interest and then roll engagement.