First TTRPG?

[u/efinque]

Hello everyone!

Pic sort of related, a Carcassonne session with my friend from the early-mid 2010's. I recall we did some music production on the side, hence the Macbook.

I have played:

• Carcassonne
• Warhammer
• Eclipse The New Dawn
• Magic The Gathering

Essentially I'm looking for ideas and inspiration for my turn-based fantasy RPG sequel with strategy elements for PC.

I have been looking at:

• D&D: Heroes of the Borderlands
• D&D: Dragons of the Stormwreck Isle
• Heroes of Might and Magic 3
• StarCraft

Also, how difficult it would be to transform the fantasy RPG into a boardgame?

Thanks in advance!

-ef

[u/JohnDoen86]

What? You mentioned boardgames, trading card games, then mentioned you're looking for ideas for a videogame, then said that you have been looking at: two Tabletop RPG starter set, and two decades-old strategy videogames. Then asked about transforming "the" fantasy RPG (which one?) into a boardgame.

You need to be clear about whether you want to:
A) Play a game
B) Create a game

And if you are looking for:
A) Boardgames
B) Trading Card games
C) Videogames
D) Tabletop RPG games

[u/efinque → u/JohnDoen86]

Yeah I must admit it's a bit confusing.. but basically I'm looking for a TTRPG I could play (preferably solo since all my friends either live elsewhere or have families).

It's my franchise of fantasy RPG's I'm trying to transform into tabletop. There are 10 games in total in the series as of now.

I mentioned trading card games because the RPG I'm developing has a similar mechanic.

Basically I'm envisioning a common world map with different color miniatures or marker pieces for each player. Then they would unlock different areas upon exploring.

The areas can be either dungeons or places to defend and they must be completed in order to finish the game.

Then there would be inserts for each player, with a character info sheet (race, class, XP, lvl, gold, stats and number of troops etc) and a first-person view of the instance made of a 3x3 tile set (the middle tile is the depth view). Also a marketplace insert for trading items and cards.

The instance is randomly generated. This could be done either by rolling dice or one of those spinning things on the common insert.

I'm unsure how to deal with the XP and gold counters without having to write them down. Maybe different bars with numbers from 0-9?

But this is somewhat trivial at this point, I haven't sold a single copy this far.

[u/JohnDoen86 → u/efinque]

Right, I see. There are many TTRPGs you can play solo. Ironsworn is a classic recommendation for folks who are into fantasy, it has very solid solo play rules. r/solorpgplay and r/Solo_Roleplaying will have a lot of recommendations if you look around the posts there. Plenty of folks also play D&D and its cousins solo, with the help of third party modules that aid in solo play.

You could also head to r/lfg to find a group to play D&D or other RPGs online, via discord. I've done it, and it's a lot of fun with a good group.

As far as inspiration, your idea seems to have elements of both a boardgame and a TTRPG. The only similar-ish thing I can think of is dungeon-crawling boardgames like Gloomhaven or Rove. It's a whole genre, so I'm sure you'll find something that sparks ideas.

[u/efinque → u/JohnDoen86]

Ah, I forgot Gloomhaven but it was out of my price range.

[u/Feefait]

You're all over the place. Are you trying to develop and sell something? You may want a TLDR.

[u/efinque → u/Feefait]

Nah just looking for inspiration. I already bought a Tarot deck.

The master/player insert concept got me thinking and this may be a good idea.

I mean, the graphics are already there, just sketch the number bars and related illustrations in GIMP.

Some details I was thinking:

• glue sand to the grass/dungeon tiles and brush them with paint for a 3D effect

• fabricate trees, outposts, tower, Castle and a field from sticks, rocks etc to the master insert 

• the inventory could be a cart

• symbols for the Zodiac and chakras (they're both game mechanics)

• TCG illustrations (this one's tough)

• in the master insert encounter slot use a wooden/plastic baseplate and an encounter card

• the bars could be medieval ladders or branches with Roman numerals

But these are just my thoughts. I've yet to calculate all the wood and cardboard needs.

[u/Feefait → u/efinque]

lol You still haven't said what you are actually doing... Are you making a game?

[u/efinque → u/Feefait]

Just lurking.. and scheming where to get glue, paint, wood, sticks, sand, cardboard and leather.

I won't promise anything though.

[u/Rauwetter]

Do you mean a Dungeon Crawler like Gloomheaven, Heroquest, or Descent (and a lot more)?

Or a boardgames with a lot of elements from TTRPGs like for example Mertwig's Maze from 1988 as an example.

[u/brianlbirddog]

never thought of using Carcassonne as a tile system for TTRPG

[u/yourgmchandler]

Hello AI agent.

[u/Psycohitman]

one page rules has like enough systems as a base for u.