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theresattrpgforthat · 5 hours ago

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THEME: Complex & Complicated Characters.

Hello friend, I tried to find some games that had pieces about them that required you as a player to think carefully about what you do next; although not everything in this list includes combat, all of them have complex characters whose personal and emotional strengths and weaknesses are integral to the game. I'm hoping there's still something in these games that sticks out to you and piques your interest.

Shirtless on A Rooftop, by JesterWorks.

"In Little Portswell, Crime is in charge. The Police doesn't do anything, as always. Purple suits, the Willow Conglomerate, patrol the streets like they own the place, because they do. A single mother has just had her only son taken from her, you're her last hope. Ready your bat, your well polished shoes, your guns and your sword. Its time to bust heads for a good cause."

SLASH of LIFE is SOAR's narrative engine, using a two step process to determine the success of actions: a d10 attempt roll to see if you even succeed, and a d6 pool success roll to see how well you succeed. Turmoil represents your character's inner struggle between two values they care about, SOAR is as much a journey about bashing heads as it is a journey of discovering on which side of the scale you end up.

Shirtless on A Rooftop feels somewhat similar to Contenders, what with its tactical combat combined with the tension between your characters' positive and negative quirks, encouraging you to lean into the ugly side of your character in order to give them the Spotlight. This is just a Quick-start as it stands, but I think it might have something of what you're looking for.

Nahual, by Clement & Espinoza.

Nahual is a tabletop roleplaying game of Mexican urban fantasy. In Nahual you play as shapeshifting nahuales that hunt angels to make a living. You run a changarro—a business—together and sell the angels you hunt as different types of products. Caught in the middle of an ancient feud, you struggle to find your place in a world of fantastical and overwhelming forces.

This game feels like it comes from the same bones as Apocalypse World, and in fact it cites both Apocalypse World & Urban Shadows as inspirations. Your characters are just as desperate and complicated as many of the examples cited in your post, but just as important as your characters is the business they run. Advancement involves something called traumas: over the course of play, your character gains XP by pursuing dangerous and self-destructive choices, but also gaining more and more powerful transformations.

If you want complex characters forced to make dangerous choices, you probably want Nahual.

The Thunder Perfect Mind, by Tanya Floaker.

You play a Tethered Aeon

As a revenant with powerful supernatural abilities, you will form a Mystery Cult and try to tie up the loose ends left by your tragic death.

This task will become harder and harder as you become embroiled in the deadly politics and occult mysteries of the Archons and the Terrestrial Courts.

Find Truth or be forever Lost.

In The Thunder Perfect Mind, characters are undead revenants attempting to pursue a personal mystery, the answers to which may be satisfying or not. Each character has a resource called Gnosis, which can be spent to state Truths, use a Boon, or to take advantage of the other characters in some way. Characters also have scores tied to Fates, which can be connected to Action, Drama, or Occult Investigation: one of these Fates is more likely to give your character the truth, one is less likely, and a third is destined to propel your character towards tragedy.

I think this game has the unique balance between personal strengths and weaknesses that you may like, as well as the choices that you'll have to make to answer the questions that keep your character restless. Your Boons and Banes are narratively decided, but when they are used and how you draw them up in various scenes is the bulk of the strategy used in the game.

Right now The Thunder Perfect Mind is still in early access, but I think it's still worth checking out.

Oceania 2084, by Jocher Symbolic Systems.

War is Peace. Freedom is Slavery. Ignorance is Strength. Oceania 2084 plunges you into a haunting dystopian world shaped by Orwell's prophetic vision. In this dark future, where truth bends and reality shifts, players become the hidden flames of resistance against an all-seeing regime.

This asymmetric, adversarial role-playing game blends narrative-first storytelling with rogue-like elements, crafted for 3-8 players. Every session weaves a tale of defiance against overwhelming odds, where the smallest acts of rebellion can spark revolutionary change. At its core, Oceania 2084 explores the power of human connection and hope in a world designed to crush both. Players navigate a web of social relationships, survival challenges, and moral choices as they fight to maintain their humanity under the watchful eye of Big Brother. Victory isn't measured in conquests, but in moments of truth shared between companions and the courage to resist despite the cost.

Oceania 2084 appears to prioritize finding out details about your character as you play, rather than coming up with all of them ahead of time. This feels like the kind of emergent play you're looking for, and the fact that your character has to include trusted Family and Friends during character creation tells me that their relationships in this game are going to matter. Storytelling is collaborative, including communal location-building expectations, as well as the onus of complications being placed upon the player - especially the Big Brother player, the closest in all of the roles to a GM.

You can check out the free version of Oceania 2084 here.

Jigsaw Heroine, by Momaotes.

The Heroine is bound and broken. Uncover her past and rebuild her sense of self, trust, and hope by working together as a team and weaving narratives through prompts generated by card and dice.

JIGSAW HEROINE is recommended for 2 to 3 players. To play this game, all you need are slips of paper, writing implements, a standard deck of playing cards, and a six-sided die (or digital equivalents for these). Unlike other tabletop RPGs, JIGSAW HEROINE can be played without a Game Master.

Like Contenders and Atlas:Reckoning, Jigsaw Heroine uses cards. Like Kagematsu, this game focuses on the story of a series of characters told by the entire table, without a specific role for a game master. Like many of the games you described, the journey is focused mostly on the decisions of one character, and the emotional journey she follows.

The first phase of the game focuses on creating memories, many of which will be daunting and difficult for the Heroine. The second phase introduces obstacles such as paranoia and despair to the heroine, with the card suits building up these obstacles, and then collaborative scene-building reducing those obstacles and generating new memories. The final phase of the game addresses the results of the heroine's actions and the outcome of her endeavors: will she overcome her psychological barriers, or fall victim to them? The game is meant to be played as a one-shot, but if you like, you can play the game as series, picking up details from a game where the heroine didn't quite succeed, and attempting to inch her closer to healing.

Also for your consideration...

Check out my Story-Forward, Character Deep Recommendations.

You might also like my Character Customization Recommendation Post.

His Red Hand, by Carrie Imago.

Doll.Bod, by Curatrix-Ribston.

PSI*RUN, by Meguey & Vincent Baker.

If you like what I do and want to leave a tip, you can check out my Ko-Fi!

Looking for ttrpg suggestions: character focused and with a bit of crunch!

Hi tumblr! I want to try to crowdsource, like opening my mind to the psychic maelstrom.

The kind of stories I like most are character focused, where they face hard choices that challenge their beliefs and values, and where they have to learn from their mistakes and the consequences of their actions. Bonus points if friendship is important!

I also like crunchy games with combat, I like finding combos and feeling smart about the use of my skills, as well as cooperating with my teammates.

On the "role-playing side", I like game systems that help the players (and DM) set up a stage loaded with potentials, and give inputs about what could happen next.

Games i like are:

Dogs in the Vineyard: I love the way building the town gives the GM a tense situation with NPCs that have clear agendas, the conflict resolution mechanic gives hard choices to the players, and the experience mechanic really gives a sense of how the characters grow based on their choices and the consequences of those choices (writing this now I see how DitV actually hits all the sweet spots for me)

In Contenders I like how it has an internal economy of currencies, and the state of each currency guides the kind of scene you want to play

Kagematsu is very simple but incredibly elegant in its design, I especially like the mechanic of the acts of desperation, and how they interact with how you earn love

Apocalypse World is character focused, it doesn't have a party but follows a cast of character with intertwined stories

Atlas:Reckoning never saw the light of day, but I liked how it was the right amount of crunchy, how the "drift" mechanic helped explore the pilots' backsyory and deeper layers, and how the out-of-combat scenes were structured in a similar way to Contenders

I've been ootl of recent ttrpg games in the last years (mainly because I don't have a stable playing group anymore). So here I am, asking for suggestions to all tumblr ttrpg connoisseurs out there.

Thanks!

#characters #tabletop games #indie ttrpgs #game recommendations #dnd #asks #indie ttrpg

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