(Still...) Not Dead Yet!

 I fell off the wagon again...

Life got very interesting for a while, and I didn't have the time I wanted to focus on TTRPG games.

I've made it through and back though, and I have lots of ideas for lots of (hopefully) interesting posts (and even a few ttrpg creations!).

I have definitely come to a point where OSR/NSR-type games that aren't rules-heavy are my thing, I was realizing this as I sat reading "Shadow of The Weird Wizard" From Schwalb Entertainment. I still love Rob's work, he has a very evocative writing style, and creates amazing things.The rules *are* definitely lighter and less complex than many other "crunchy" games, but my brain kept saying "does this really need to be an explicit rule?" while looking at various things.

I'll still recommend the products from Schwalb Entertainment as better options than other famous and well known publishers to people who enjoy more crunch in their games, but my head is most definitely in a space where games like "GLoG", "Into The Odd", "The Black Hack", "Mork Borg", "1pot", and their various hacks suit my tastes so much more.

What is it about these games that tickle my brain? It's the fact that they provide a framework where rolls are focused on making the fiction interesting, they don't "drive" the fiction,  they "flavor" it. They either explicitly or implicitly focus on letting the GM and Players create an interesting story instead of the Players focusing on creating an optimized character sheet, and the GM tracking the things required to "counter" that behavior.

Being in the OSR/NSR-space, they tend to be lower-powered, encouraging Players to employ creativity and "smart" tactics/approaches instead of just brute forcing their way to their objective. Maybe it is because I cut my teeth on games of this nature, or because most rgp-style video games that I've played usually just turn into "get more powerful stats" for defeating higher level foes, that the idea of being creative just appeals more to me as a GM. It also tends to avoid having to make Monsters with ridiculous amounts of HP or other gimmicks to keep them in a fight long enough to have impact on the PCs more than "oh he's a BBEG!"

This leads to another bonus to me as a GM in that it allows mundane things to be very interesting to the  Players, because any advantage is something they'll look into. It creates a more natural framework for this concept (which is what I wanted to blog about in the first place):

All "+" equipment should be unique in the world, not just "stat sticks". They should focus on being interesting to use and not just "more/easier" damage. My general template for translating this is:
A +1 item has a quirk or oddity to it, and occasionally provide a benefit in combat.
A +2 item has a knack, and be useful regularly (but not always) in combat.
A +3 item has a purpose, and will generally be useful any time it has to be used.

I have never liked the idea of equipment making hitting something or dodging something easier, so I tend to avoid letting them effect stats (of course I have exceptions for this when thinking up items, but they tend to be for non-combat uses), I also don't like the idea of them just adding to damage. At +2 or above adding +1 damage (+3, situationally +2) is reasonable.

I like this approach because it allows me to give PCs gear that does improve their capabilities, but still requires them to use their brains. With this approach I tend to make +1 items somewhat common, +2 items rare, and +3 are the things of myths and legends. This leads to an increase in immersion for the Players as they have unique things that they earned through their own sweat, blood, and tears, as well as creating lots of hooks for those that want to seek out the more powerful equipment.

That's all for now, hopefully this is a solid return to blog-space for me and I hope to deep-dive into a lot more things in the near future.