#dice rolls dictate the outcome

[freckled-words]

Lulala for Hire - Ep #1

I harassed my bud @caffeinatedreese to give me some ideas.

So here is some fluff!

Context: Variety is a tiefling bard, and Nyx is tiefling monk, both of which belong to @caffeinatedreese

Lulala was over the moon.

Sure these were simple tasks, but they were hers. Something to show she was capable and could handle herself out in the world, even with her curse.

Walking into town, Lulala had to choose which task to do first. Nyx had asked her to get some vegetables for tonight’s dinner, and Variety needed new strings for his lute. 

(Rolled a d4. 1 or 3, she gets the vegetables first. 2 or 4, she gets the lute strings first.)

The vegetables would make the most sense, with it being so early in the morning, the market would have just received the fresh produce from the farmers.

“Right! To the market!” Is what she would have said, except the effect of the curse was already working, squeezing her throat and muting any words that would try to leave her mouth. 

There were only a couple of people out and about, most of which were shop owners getting ready for the day, but even just one person was enough. 

Lulala sighed, resigned to another day of needing to rely on hand gestures and writing.

~~~~~~~~

(Rolled a d20 to determine if Lulala can find her way to the market.)

Lulala was grateful she’d joined Variety on his last trip to the market, otherwise she’d never have remembered how to get there.

She heard the clamor and bustle before she saw it. 

The center of this city was an open circle, allowing vendors to fill it with their stalls. Had she taken the shape of a bird and flown above it all, she was sure she’d see it as two rings made from multicolored patches.

Despite the sun having barely risen over the horizon, there was already a stream of people. From the lists she could see some of them holding, she had to guess they were representatives from the taverns, inns, and other businesses that offered food. 

When she’d joined Variety, it had been in the afternoon. There had been so many people crammed together, Variety had seen fit to tie some rope around her wrist to make sure she didn’t get trampled. Lulala had appreciated the gesture, right up until she saw a mother and two kids set up in the same fashion. Variety didn’t stop laughing at Lulala’s insulted expression for a solid two minutes.

There was plenty of room this morning, making it easy for her to weave through the legs of all the humans, elves, half-elves, orcs, and half-orcs. She smiled and waved when she caught the eye of a couple halflings. It was always nice to see people of similar height. It made her feel less lonely in a world full of giants.

The produce vendors were blessedly arranged all close together. Unfortunately, they were the busiest vendors. Customers thronged the stalls, some bickered and yelled at each other over who grabbed what first, others were trying to haggle down the price of their purchase. 

Given her height, and inability to talk, Lulala didn’t see any chance of winning that fight. 

(Rolled a d20 for a perception check.)

Walking around the throng of people, Lulala noticed another stall two down from the crowded fruit seller. It stood a little shorter than the others, with a weather worn light blue awning, and just the slightest lean to the left. 

The sign on the front, to her delight, was written in both common and gnomish. It read “Gnome Grown Fruits and Veggies.”

She was smiling as she hurried over to the stall. There wasn’t a single customer to get in her way. 

Two gnome children, an older girl and younger boy, likely siblings from their matching eyes, sat on tall stools behind the counter. Both looked ready to fall back asleep.

Seeing them made Lulala’s heart squeeze with homesickness for her own family. When was the last time she’d sent a letter home?

As she approached, the older girl straightened up with a practiced smile. “Good morning! Can we interest you in some fruits or vegetables?”

Even with the stall being lower down, Lulala couldn’t get a good look at what they had without going on tiptoe. She held up a finger to ask them to wait a moment.

Reaching behind her, she undid the ties that kept her folding step stool attached to her travel pack. 

She could feel the two children’s curious eyes on her, and couldn’t help but feel pride in her family’s work. Unable to resist her old habit of being a showboat, she gave the contraption a flick with her wrist, causing it to unfold and lock into place with a small ‘click.’

“Wow wow!” The little boy was leaning so far forward, the older sister had to grab onto his tunic to keep him from falling off the stool.

“That’s such a handy thing! Where did you get that?” 

Lulala put the stool down and stepped up onto it, putting her on proper eye level with the both of them.

Ever ready, she pulled out the pre-written parchment, “This wonderful contraption was built by my family, The Schweeps. Proud builders and tinkerers of products designed to make cleaning around the home all the easier! They’re always accepting commissions. You can send all questions and orders to Loretta Schweeps.” 

The girl read over the words slowly, while her brother gave Lulala the shrug of a young one that still hadn’t learned to read their letters. When the sister had finished she asked, “Can I keep this, and show it to my mum? I know she’d just love a stool like yours!”

Lulala rolled up the parchment and handed it over with a nod. 

The sister beamed, taking the parchment and tucking it away in her pocket. Gesturing to the trays of produce, she went back to her job, “We have lots of ripe and ready produce today, all of it was grown in our own garden at home.”

Able to see the countertop now, Lulala took a good look. The left hand side was a display of strawberries, tomatoes, and apples. The right hand side had potatoes, carrots, lettuce and green beans. 

From this height, Lulala could see behind the counter. Given that there weren’t any crates or sacks filled with more produce, she got the sense that what they had on the counter was everything they were offering. 

They all looked fully grown and ripe, yet they were somehow smaller in size than the usual produce she’d seen. 

Her confusion must have shown, as the sister hurried to reassure, “I know they’re small, but I promise you they’ll taste just as good, and even better than the normal produce!”

The brother nodded, “Yea! Mama makes the best stuff!”

Lulala waved her hands in reassurance, and pulled out some blank parchment to quickly write down, “I’ll buy everything! How much?”

If Nyx couldn’t use the fruit for anything, she was more than happy to eat it all herself. 

“You mean it?! You’ll buy everything?!” The restrained hope in the girl’s eyes was so clear, even a blind person could have felt it.

Lulala nodded again, and pointed to the question of how much.

It took a minute for her to do the math, and she even had her little brother join in so he could get practice. It was really cute watching him try to count on his fingers.

The total was a lot lower than Lulala had expected, especially since the combined produce was going to fill the entire satchel she’d brought with her. She’d gotten a glimpse of the prices the other vendors were showing for their wares. By her math, they were only charging her for about half the price.

They were clearly proud and confident in their mother’s hard work. Why would they undersell?

(Rolled a d20 for an insight check.)

She couldn’t wrap her head around the reasoning.

That wouldn’t stop her from making it right.

Lulala took out a gold coin and put it on the counter. 

Both of the children were speechless. They probably had never seen a gold coin before.

The sister recovered first, “We don’t really have the coins to break this, is there any chance you have silver?”

Lulala shook her head and wrote down, “I want you to have the whole thing. I’m taking you at your word that these are amazing fruits and vegetables. So they must be worth more, plus a tip for your hard work on the sale. Just make sure you get it straight home to your mother, thieves and crooks can smell gold from miles away.”

By the time the sister finished reading, she was trying not to cry as she nodded her head, “I-I promise. We’ll go straight home.”

The brother reached over and hugged his sister’s arm, “Why you cryin’? Don’t cry!”

As the sister told her brother the good news, after pocketing the gold coin, Lulala packed up all the fruits and vegetables. 

By the time she finished, the kids had collected their things and gotten off the stools. 

She should have expected it, given that she would have done the same thing, but she was taken off guard when they came running around the stall and gave her a hug. The sister was nearly Lulala’s height, and the brother just a bit shorter than that.

She hugged them back, and in gnomish whispered a blessing of protection from her goddess Themis.

As soon as they let go, they were running down the road yelling big thank you’s as they went.

Lulala didn’t think it would be a good idea to carry the easily damaged food around with her to get the lute strings. A check on the sun’s position reassured her that she still had plenty of time to head back to the group, drop off her goods with Nyx, and return to town for Variety’s lute strings.

With such a good start to her day, it was hard not to skip a little on her way. 

[anim-ttrpgs]

Why So Much Combat in an Investigation Game?

Just about every time someone picks up this rulebook, we get asked “There’s more pages dedicated to combat than investigation. If this game is about investigation, why are there so many pages dedicated to combat?”

There are two answers, which are really two explanations of one answer.

The first is verisimilitude. Eureka wants the players to have a very believable and grounded experience with combat in the game, which is not something that most players and Narrators are able to consistently improvise off the top of their heads, so the rulebook provides detailed guidelines for this in the form of its combat rules. Combat in real life is also very dangerous and deadly, and survival of it often has less to do with an individual’s skill at throwing punches and more to do with their preparedness and knowledge to just not get into a disadvantageous position in the first place.

The second reason is Eureka is a game, and it's a game about investigation. Eureka wants the investigators to be investigating, not punching and shooting their way through all their obstacles. To this end, Eureka has to make punching and shooting into something very dangerous to the survival of the investigators, to discourage it as a solution in all but the most desperate circumstances. However, if combat is to be deadly, it also needs to have a lot of depth and strategic possibility, or else it wouldn’t be fun–and as a game, Eureka is meant to be fun. Rolling a couple dice that you and your character have little control over the outcome of, then finding out that they are just dead for a (believable) post-hoc reason, isn’t very satisfying.

Eureka wants the party’s skill in investigation to determine their survival in combat as much as if not more so their Firearm or CQC skills. This is how these two philosophies on combat rules writing come together. The depth and realism of Eureka’s combat rewards preparedness with survival more than it rewards raw stats, and the emphasis on investigation creates preparedness.

It is the investigation that tells the investigators that the building next to the warehouse where the gangsters are hiding out has a fire escape they could use to jump across to the warehouse roof, and from that they can sneak to a loft that will put them directly above the villains—and it is the intricacy and extensiveness of the combat rules that dictate that by being on the loft when they attack, which they got to by investigating, they have a huge advantage, but still no guarantee of survival.

They have the element of surprise which will allow them to attack first and also opportunity to make a Stealth Attack, and then once that is over, they still have cover while the gangsters have none.

The reason Eureka dedicates so many pages to combat despite being an investigation game primarily is to elevate and supplement the investigation gameplay by providing a real sense of danger as well as providing the Narrator a wide range of game mechanic tools to raise the stakes and provide obstacles, and provide the investigators and their players a wide range of game mechanic tools which they can use to cleverly overcome those obstacles.

We have provided a simplified set of “Basic Combat” rules, but these are an optional rule, with the default and intended way to play being to use every mechanic afforded to investigators and NPCs to the fullest degree.

[There is also a secret third reason why Eureka dedicates so many more pages to combat than to investigation, and it's because at the time of writing this, the chapters covering investigation have been copy-edited, while the chapters covering combat have not yet been. The copy-editing process reduced the page count of the investigation sections by about 25%, and will do the same to the combat sections when we get around to it. By the way,(You can also get the latest PDF for FREE for a limited time by joining the A.N.I.M. TTRPG Book Club!]

Elegantly designed and thoroughly playtested, Eureka represents the culmination of three years of near-daily work from our team, as well as a lot of our own money. If you’re just now reading this and learning about Eureka for the first time, you missed the crowdfunding window unfortunately, but our Kickstarter page is still the best place to learn more about what Eureka: Investigative Urban Fantasy actually is, as that is where we have all the fancy art assets, the animated trailer, links to video reviews by podcasts and youtubers, and where we post regular updates on the status of our progress finishing the game and getting it ready for final release.

Beta Copies through the Patreon

If you want more than just status updates, going forward you can download regularly updated playable beta versions of Eureka: Investigative Urban Fantasy and it’s adventure modules by subscribing to our Patreon at the $5 tier or higher. Subscribing to our patreon also grants you access to our patreon discord server where you can talk to us directly and offer valuable feedback on our progress and projects.

The A.N.I.M. TTRPG Book Club

If you would like to meet the A.N.I.M. team and even have a chance to play Eureka with us, you can join the A.N.I.M. TTRPG Book Club discord server. It’s also just a great place to talk and discuss TTRPGs, so there is no schedule obligation, but the main purpose of it is to nominate, vote on, then read, discuss, and play different indie TTRPGs. We put playgroups together based on scheduling compatibility, so it’s all extremely flexible. This is a free discord server, separate from our patreon exclusive one. https://discord.gg/7jdP8FBPes

Other Stuff

We also have a ko-fi and merchandise if you just wanna give us more money for any reason.

We hope to see you there, and that you will help our dreams come true and launch our careers as indie TTRPG developers with a bang by getting us to our base goal and blowing those stretch goals out of the water, and fight back against WotC's monopoly on the entire hobby. Wish us luck.

[prokopetz]

One of the bits of rules tech in Eat God that I'm particularly proud of is how it handles effects that could potentially mess with player agency.

Basically, the rules are never going to unilaterally dictate how your character behaves. The choice always rests with the player. However, if you run into a situation where you're not sure how your character would react, or if you're okay with leaving it to chance, you can make what the rules half-jokingly term a Saving Throw.

To make a Saving Throw, you roll a single die flat against whatever Facet seems most appropriate. Does my character anticipate the obvious consequences of what they're about to do? Roll Ethos. Does my character give in to peer pressure? Roll Pathos. And so forth.

If you succeed, your character does the smart thing. If you fail, your character does the dumb thing. However, it's not just a roleplaying aid because you still get the effects of making a test, too: most importantly, if you fail (and are thus obliged to do the dumb thing), you regain a point of Obstinacy, the game's primary meta currency, just like you would any other failed test.

Thus, it's still 100% optional – you never have to let the dice dictate how your character behaves – but there's a soft incentive to do so because you get more resources that way, and it avoids the sense of arbitrariness that often accompanies "good roleplaying" incentives by a. leaving it in the player's hands when to invoke it, and b. attaching the potential reward to a concrete mechanical outcome.

[legendaryvermin]

Just thought of a silly little BitD hack.

In Blades, other factions are always moving in the background, making plans and executing them. These are represented by John Harper's favorite kind of circle, the Clock, a segmented circle that represents progress.

Traditionally, between sessions the gm rolls some dice for each faction and ends up potentially advancing clocks that come into play next session.

For me, this always felt odd. Because while there is chaos in the city, dumb luck can feel bad narratively, and while it's valuable prep, the outcomes feel like the kind of thing players would be invested in.

So what if we take the dice out of play? Usually the gm in blades rolls dice and ticks 0, 1 or 2 ticks per faction. However, a gm may subtract ticks, advance or freeze clocks based on the outcome of a session.

So what if they did that second part first and then passed the agendas to the players and said "hey, we have x ticks to distribute this session, where should they go?" Sure, the characters wouldn't be deciding this in game, but it means that players get to tell the gm what they want and what they are nervous about. Players who love playing to lose can engage in some self sabotage, or if the group wants a less hectic session they can carefully make sure the board state doesn't change just yet.

You can also hook this into the core loop: maybe you know the factions, but don't know the agenda unless you learned it in the fiction or spent time researching. Now you could tick that clock, but you have no idea what will happen when it rolls over.

Maybe you trade off adding ticks, player, gm, player, gm, so that the group gets slight control, but not complete dictation. Maybe they can earn more shots at choosing what ticks they add if they are a particularly influential or large gang.

[angorwhosebabyisthis]

OKAY. I finally managed to carve down an actually simplified version of the offline pocket edition I made for the excellent RPGSolo system. I definitely have more things in mind to expand on as options for players who want them, and this draft is Rough and near entirely unedited because I pounded it out in like half an hour during a migraine, oops, BUT! It should be fully functional as it is currently, and I hope people enjoy it as much as I have been.

(Also, if you like it I encourage you to go give the creator of the original site some support! This wouldn't exist without his work, and there's all kinds of neat extra tools and in-depth explanations to be found there and on the forums. Go check it out!)

-----

-

To play, you will need a d100 (percentile dice), a d10, and a Likelihood table. One is provided below, but you may substitute your own percentages if you want to tweak your chances.

• A way to record the events of your game and/or to keep track of bonuses and penalties is recommended, but not required.

RPGSolo runs on the Yes, And/No, But system.

• Yes, and...: Not only is the outcome successful, but it's better than you expected; you are even better off than you would have been from achieving what you meant to do. Situations you are observing turn out to have some extra good news involved, or you gain even more thorough insight than you were looking for at first.

• Yes: You achieve your goal.

• Yes, but...: You achieve your goal, but there's a hitch or it comes at a cost.

• No, but: You fail your goal, but not completely. If you are making an observation, the situation isn't great, but there's a silver lining.

• No: You fail your goal.

• No, and...: Not only is the outcome a failure, but it's even worse than you thought, and/or you're worse off than if you had left it alone.

The Likelihood of a given roll dictates how likely you are to receive one of the above six outcomes. Each Likelihood lists the corresponding results on a scale from 1 to 100.

• No matter the Likelihood you are rolling from, there will always be a chance no matter how small to roll each outcome. Almost Impossible has a tiny chance to roll 'Yes, and...' and Sure Thing has a tiny chance to roll 'No, and...'

Optionally: you may add modifiers to increase or decrease your chances in a given scenario. Your character might be a trained fighter; they might have a sprained ankle; they might have found a flashlight; they may have a bad reputation in town which makes interactions with the townsfolk more hostile.

• Each point on a modifier counts for +1 or -1 Likelihood. A +1 turns a 50/50 into a Somewhat Likely, a -3 turns a Likely into a Somewhat Unlikely, and so on.

• Some modifiers make a bigger difference than others. A friendly demeanor might add a +1 bonus to checks involving interactions with the surly townsfolk, where that sprained ankle might be a -3 penalty to attempts to move quickly.

• Optionally: you may also add modifiers to change the outcome of a roll, not the Likelihood; a 'No, but...' becomes a 'Yes, but...' for example. These have a much stronger influence on your game, and you may want to use them sparingly.

• You may assign modifiers to your player characters--or other characters, or locations, or anything else--ahead of time, or you may add or remove modifiers during play as you feel they are appropriate.

At the beginning of each turn, decide what action you want to take, what observations you want to make, or what happens in the world around you.

Roll 1d10 to determine the difficulty of an action.

• 1: Almost Impossible

• 2: Very Unlikely

• 3: Unlikely

• 4: Somewhat Unlikely

• 5: 50/50

• 6: Somewhat Likely

• 7: Likely

• 8: Very Likely

• 9: Sure Thing

• 10: Reroll with +1 bonus (or just reroll, if you'd rather)

Add any appropriate modifiers to determine the Likelihood of the roll.

If you check the Likelihood of a roll and don't like your chances, you can choose not to pursue it.

• If there are any rolls you might want to come back to and try again later, you may want to make a note of it on the side. You might decide to leave a door with an alarm alone until you can find some tools to disarm it with, for example.

If you decide to proceed, roll 1d100 and consult the appropriate Likelihood table.

Add any appropriate outcome modifiers to determine the result.

Decide how to interpret the result.

• In case of wording you're not sure of ('do the guards notice me?' for example), a lower outcome is generally negative. You may want to write out the translated result next to the 'yes, and/no, but' result, for the sake of clarity.

• If you're rolling to decide between multiple options instead of for negative/positive outcomes, you may use your d10 as a yes/no oracle, or use 'yes, and/no, but' to roll for the degree to which the result falls between the presented options.

• Oracle between 2 options:

• 1-5: No/First option

• 6-10: Yes/Second option

• Oracle between 3 options:

• 1-3: No/First Option

• 4-6: Neither/Both/In-Between/Second option

• 7-9: Yes/Third option

• 10: Reroll, or secret fourth option

If you want to make more than one roll to determine what's going on before you continue the narrative, feel free to make as many in a row as you want before you describe what happens.

Optionally: you can use a Do-Over to redo a roll, or directly choose your outcome, if you really don't want to continue with what you got.

• It's recommended that you limit the number of these you have access to, if you want to keep some challenge in your game (5 Do-Overs per scene, for example), but you don't have to. You can do it as many times as you want; it comes down to what's most fun for you.

Write out what happens as a result of the outcome you rolled, until you reach the next point where you want the dice to show you the way.

Happy roleplaying!

-

Likelihood Table

-

Almost Impossible/Sure Thing:

-No, and...: 30% (1-30) [...] 1% (1)

-No: 50% (31-80) [...] 3% (2-4)

-No, but...: 11% (81-91) [...] 5% (5-9)

-Yes, but...: 5% (92-96) [...] 11% (11-19)

-Yes: 3% (97-99) [...] 50% (20-69)

-Yes, and: 1% (100) [...] 30% (70-100)

Very Unlikely/Very Likely:

-No, and...: 20% (1-20) [...] 3% (1-3)

-No: 40% (21-60) [...] 5% (4-8)

-No, but...: 20% (61-80) [...] 12% (9-20)

-Yes, but...: 12% (81-92) [...] 20% (21-40)

-Yes: 5% (93-97) [...] 40% (41-80)

-Yes, and...: 3% (98-100) [...] 20% (81-100)

Unlikely/Likely:

-No, and...: 15% (1-10) [...] 5% (1-5)

-No: 30% (11-50) [...] 10% (6-15)

-No, but...: 20% (51-70) [...] 20% (16-35)

-Yes, but...: 20% (71-85 [...] 20% (36-55)

-Yes: 10% (85-95) [...] 30% (56-85)

-Yes, and...: 5% (96-100) [...] 15% (86-100)

Somewhat Unlikely/Somewhat Likely:

-No, and...: 10% (1-10) [...] 10% (1-10)

-No: 30% (11-40) [...] 20% (11-30)

-No, but...: 20% (41-60) [...] 10% (31-40)

-Yes, but...: 10% (61-70) [...] 20% (41-60)

-Yes: 20% (71-90) [...] 30% (61-90)

-Yes, and...: 10% (91-100) [...] 10% (91-100)

50/50:

No, and...: 10% (1-10)

No: 20% (11-30)

No, but...: 20% (31-50)

Yes, but...: 20% (51-70)

Yes: 20% (71-90)

Yes, and...: 10% (91-100)

[inktog]

YOU ARE A MONSTER, AND TONIGHT IS HALLOWEEN. It's the one night of the year when you can exist in the open—by passing yourself off as a human in a costume.

Players: Create Characters

What monster are you? doppelgänger, Frankenstein’s, ghost, headless rider, incubus/succubus, mummy, pumpkinhead, skeleton, vampire, werewolf, witch, zombie, other. (Start thinking about your supernatural capabilities.)

Choose your number from 2 to 5. A low number means you’re better at TRICK (slinking, skulking, spooking, scaring, killing). A high number means you’re better at TREAT (boldness, bluntness, upfrontness, playing nice, passing as human).

Write down your character’s name, monster type, pronouns (if any), and number on an index card so everyone can see them.

Players: Choose a Scenario

Decide as a group: You’re trying to

thwart an evil plot,

get revenge on someone,

escape from the human world, or

live it up for a night!

How’d you all end up with each other? What do you already know? What’s the plan? And if it’s not already obvious, why do you need to traverse the human world?

Decide for yourself: What’s your personal stake in this?

What does the evil threaten that you care about?

What’d they do to get on your bad side?

What’s waiting for you back home?

What’s one quintessential human experience you can’t wait to try?

Rolling the Dice

When you do something risky, roll 1d6. You roll +1d if you’re using supernatural gifts (a witch’s magic, a werewolf’s teeth and claws, a succubus’ seduction, etc.) and +1d if you’re taking the initiative (being proactive, not just reacting to danger).

If you’re TRICKing (acting in the shadows), you’re trying to roll above your number.

If you’re TREATing (acting in the light), you’re trying to roll below your number.

Each success is a hit.

If you roll 0 hits, something goes wrong. Brace for the worst.

With 1 hit, you barely manage it. The GM will give you an added complication, harm, or cost.

With 2 hits, you do it well. Good job!

With 3+ hits, not only do you do it well, but you also get some extra bonus effect of the GM’s choice.

Rolling your number exactly is TRICK OR TREAT: you gain a special insight into what’s going on. Ask the GM a question and they’ll answer honestly.

Some good questions: What do they know? Who’s behind this? How could I get them to [BLANK]? What should I be on the lookout for? What’s the best way to [BLANK}? What’s really going on here?

(A roll of TRICK OR TREAT counts as a success.)

When you help someone out or act as a group, each person rolls individually. The number of hits equals the number of people who rolled at least one success on their dice.

GM: Run the Game

Set scenes, roleplay as NPCs, give players challenges to overcome, and adjudicate the rules in the service of fun.

Start by giving the players a lead based on the scenario they chose: some immediate task or relevant info to help orient them at the start of play.

Call for rolls when it makes sense. Interpret the results as the dice dictate; don’t pre-plan outcomes. Let no roll go to waste: even failures should push the narrative forward in new and interesting directions.

Before something bad happens to the characters, show signs that it’s about to happen, then ask them what they do. (“The Pumpkin Queen rushes you, her blade crackling with dark magic. What do you do?” “After you reattach your eyeballs, you see a shocked little boy staring at you—he looks like he’s about to scream. What do you do?”)

Ending the Game

Call it a night when you succeed at your goal or reach an appropriate cliffhanger. If you’re playing more than one session, you can increase or decrease your number by 1 in between sessions (min. 2, max. 5).

If you’re discovered as monster, you attract a mob and are defeated (killed, exorcised, captured for government experiments, etc.). You can also be defeated by other monsters. Either way, you can make a new character to keep playing—as long as your friends are still alive.

Credits

Trick or Treat (by Joy Sherwood) is a hack of Lasers and Feelings (by John Harper) under the CC BY 4.0 license. creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0

[archive-of-artprompts]

🍀Lucky day! Send in a number + character to have them drawn/written with that luck trope!🍀

(Tropes from tv tropes 📺)

13 Is Unlucky- The number thirteen associated with bad luck.

Bad Luck Charm - An item is deemed as being unlucky.

Beginner's Luck - The new guy will do better than the experienced guy because of luck.

Born Lucky - Someone is naturally lucky.

Born Unlucky - Someone is naturally unlucky.

Chain Letter - Bad luck is attributed to a chain letter.

Coincidental Dodge - Someone escapes being attacked or killed because they just happened to move out of the way without noticing.

Cosmic Plaything - Someone is so unlucky, it seems like some cosmic force is picking on him.

Dice Roll Death - Bad luck or random chance means you die.

Doom Magnet - Someone has bad luck follow him and those he meets.

Drawing Straws -Picking straws out of a bundle, usually to decide who has to do something.

Fixing the Game - It's not gambling if you cheat.

The Fool - A Too Dumb to Live character whose incredible luck prevents their stupid blunders from actually harming them.

Four-Leaf Clover - Four leaf clovers associated with good luck.

The Gambler - He's got a gambling theme going, and is often very lucky because of it.

Good Luck Charm - An item is deemed as being lucky.

"Good Luck" Gesture - A hand gesture used to gain good luck or avoid bad luck.

Heads or Tails? - Luck dictates what will happen through a flipping a coin.

The Jinx - They're a walking bad luck charm.

Lady Luck - Luck personified.

Lifesaving Misfortune - A case of bad luck preventing someone's possible death.

Lottery of Doom - Where to be lucky is to lose.

Luck Manipulation Mechanic - Game mechanics that let you re-attempt chance based elements to get a better result.

Lucky Rabbit's Foot - Rabbit's feet or rabbits associated with luck.

Lucky Seven - The number 7 is associated with good fortune.

Misfortune Cookie - A fortune cookie fortells doom or bad luck for the person who opens it.

Not My Lucky Day - A would-be lucky character misses the opportunity.

Paranormal Gambling Advantage - "Making your own luck" in games of chance through either paranormally knowing the outcome or affecting it.

Plague of Good Fortune - A character with so much good luck, they consider it a curse.

Professional Gambler - Someone who regularly deals with luck and probabilities.

Russian Roulette - A hard way to test one's luck.

Walking Disaster Area - So unlucky that disasters follow in his wake.

Winds of Destiny, Change! - Changing luck as a superpower.

[ultimavela]

The promised ones – 5. The resolution mechanics.

It's been a long time since the last post, but today I want to talk again about the game I'm working on, The Promised Ones, and how the resolution system will work in it.

But first I have to go back a bit to the setting because my goal is that the system and setting are intertwined and help each other (which I guess is a good goal when designing a game).

As I have already told you, the game is set in a world where a gigantic spire has been discovered.

This spire allowed people to empower matter with magic, which started a war for the control of the spire, which ended with the shattering of it in numerous shards.

Each of these shards, called obelisks, has a great spirit attached to them, and are the epicenter of different aspects of reality, causing reality to change and behave strangely around them.

And this is when the promised ones appeared into the picture because their progenitors took the favor of these great spirits and paid for them by pledging their unborn child. Players will take the role of these children, when they have already reached adolescence or adulthood.

And now let's talk about the resolution system:

The resolution system uses a d6 dice pool system, plus a d8 die, which I call the essence die.

The idea of the system is simple; you choose one of four essences (they work as attributes) to do what you want to do, then you take one d8 (the essence die), plus a number of d6’s (determined by any skill you could use, and by expending a “meta-currency” call Will).

You roll your dice and if on any dice (including the d8) you get a 6+, you succeed. If not, you fail.

But here is where I tried to push setting into the system.

The d8 defines who will narrate the outcome, if your d8 is equal to or higher than your essence score, you, the player, narrate the outcome, but if you roll under your essence score, then the referee, representing the great spirit to whom you belong, narrates the “how”.

So in summary, the basis of the system is: d8 + some d6, get at least one die with a 6+ then you succeed and the d8 defines who tells the “how”.

If you care about statistics, these are the basic statistics for success in this game, depending on the size of the d6 pool:

On top of this, if in the essence die (d8) you get a 1, then you lose a point in that essence (these point can be recovered by expending Will). If you deplete an essence you get a condition, and in any roll invoking that essence you will have to roll 2d8 and choose the worst result (rolling with disadvantage)

Simple enough ¿no?

What I wanted to convey with this system is that the essences of the characters are a measurement of their resilience and of the strength of their connection to the grate spirit to whom they are promised to.

This means that a higher essence score will imply that the great spirit has more influence on “how” the character does things. However, a low essence score makes the character prone to deplete their essence faster, and therefore to roll at a disadvantage.

The resolution system also allows to act together and to act in opposition:

By expending 1 will, two or more players can act together. Here, the dice pool that dictates the outcome is the one with the highest d8.

To act on opposition, two or more players have to roll their dice in secret, then at each “turn”, each one of them reveals their highest hidden die on the table. The referee then reads the dice and uses their values to narrate the struggle of the competition.

Then, players have the opportunity to expend Will to roll extra d6’s and expand their pool of hidden dice.

When one player is out of dice, the opposition roll ends, and the player whose last die on the table is the highest wins the match.

The idea of this system is to remove turns of the equation, to give with each comparison a prompt to the referee to narrate the struggle of the competition and the different sub-actions driving the global scene, and to give to opposition rolls enough flexibility to represent a chase, a cook-off a fight, or any kind of competition.

As you could notice, I have been using repeatedly the word Will, and that's because in this game I want to represent at every important moment (when a roll is required) the struggle between the will of the character to decide how things happen and the will of the great spirit to whom they belong.

So in these crucial moments characters will expend their Will, and use it to either have the upper hand by adding extra d6 to their pool, or to be them who narrate the “how” by increasing the value of the essence-die (1 will → d8 increase in 1).

This is the resolution mechanics of the game, but there is more to the system to tell you about. In the next post, I really want to show you all the updated character sheet, and the different aspects of the setting that are intertwined in it and in the system.

I would like to know what you think in the comments, I am very interested to know your feelings and thoughts on these ideas.

Have a lovely weekend!

[tryst-art-archive]

Poetry Class Final Compilation: "Dungeons and Dragons"

(May 2011; This poem counts by usage of "the.")

When the dice roll across the table,

we consider their numbers gravely.

The numbers they impart dictate the fate

of characters we’ve crafted and considered.

The roll of the dice determined their birth,

their skills and their talents,

but the dice had no role in the development

of personalities and tastes and styles.

The work of creation, the means to determine humanity,

this was our own doing, we who are called players.

The lives of these characters and the decisions in battle,

these moments of action are determined by ourselves –

we are the agents of free will, the determinants of conscience –

but in battle and in moments of happenstance,

the dice, gods of chance, will determine the outcome.

[empressarcana]

This is a copy/paste from my YouTube community page. 💗

💫 💫 💫

I did a small impromptu reading for anyone stumbling upon my community page. Pulling two cards from The Wild Unknown Archetypes deck, I stare into the eye of the Kairos card. I resonated with one of the messages in the guidebook about this card.

"The word "evil" comes from the root "unripe". Consider that everything has a time of ripeness, when it becomes a nourishing fruit, sweet to the lips."

I am feeling a sense of guilt for not having enough time, not knowing when to act, when is the right moment. In alignment to our soul's purpose, we choose when a moment is in divine timing or not. Surely, many of us roll our eyes at the thought of allowing such a thing to dictate when action is meant to take place. With the Kairos card, I feel time, the Universe, unknown force, energy, is always observing from afar, the shadows. This can also be the unripe part of us, unsure when a moment should be seized or not. Do we want to take a bite into the ripe fruit, allowing the juices to flow down the sides of our mouth, enjoying the sweetness of the moment? Or do bite into the unripe, tasting the bitterness, not allowing the fruit to flourish? We always are in control of the final outcome, but the pressure comes from the power of decision.

Pulling another card, the Healer, I feel a conundrum within, wanting to take action, wanting to help someone, yourself. Using the abilities of the Healer, the gift, one wonders how much is too much. Can I use all my energy, my strength to help another? Is it too much? Is my well of love deep enough to give, give, give? All of this comes down to one's inner knowing, intuition, of the right moment. Honestly, hearing this message from my higher self annoys me a little, feeling an inner impatience. Still, the truth of the matter is, we are always healing. The journey to self is eternal. No matter where we go at the end of our lives, whether there is another life or the next, whatever one's belief might be, our soul, I believe is eternal.

The Healer works with the light, bringing Kairos out of the shadows, reassuring them it is okay to take their time. Right now, with the dice I rolled, I am seeing the 10 of cups, 4 of cups reversed, but also the King of Cups reversed. Inside, the desire for completion speaks loudly, wanting to scream it out to the rooftops. Many in the collective might be feeling this desire to expand on relationships, feel the warmth of the sun with a partner, creating a life together, completion. The 4 of cups, in the Rider Waite, is depicted as an individual not noticing the cup being offered to them, simply staring away. With it being reversed, I feel many of you are seeing this chalice, this offering, not rejecting it anymore. You are willing to explore these parts of self, whereas before you didn't believe you were deserving of your own 10 of cups. Now, in the King of Cups reversed, I am, again, seeing the energies of the oracle cards I pulled. Kairos reminds us of divine timing, trusting the process, even when emotions don't feel grounded. The King of Cups is skilled, knows when their emotions are meant to be seen or not, felt or not, but also extending their healing abilities to loved ones.

The Astro dice shows the Sun in Leo 4th house, the house of security, of the home. For now, the remedy of heart is to embrace the things that make you smile. Leo is the heart of the zodiac, showing pride in their work, creativity, too. They want to be seen. Right now, make your home a place you're happy with, a place you can share with self, with another, and create, too. Shine your light, my loves.

Lucy 🦋

[twentyyearstoolate]

= Dragon Slayers =

1 DM, 3+ Players, notecards, d6s

Players: Write on notecards:

Character Name

Description

Three skills (broad like 'Magic' or 'History' or narrow as "German Expressionist Films")

Three weaknesses ('Heights', 'Greed', 'Trigonometry')

Reason for adventuring ('Wealth', 'Fame', 'Crippling Quest Addiction')

DM: Collect the cards, construct a path to Mt. Doom: two challenges per Player, in any order, each relating to one listed weakness. Give each Player someone else's card.

Players other than the challenged can, at any time, choose one skill and roll d6, pooling results and describing how they overcome the challenge. Sums of 3+ succeed. Skills used are struckthrough, and dice return to the DM.

At any time, any player may dramatically espouse their Reason for Adventuring once, strikethrough, and reroll ANY die on table.

When all challenges are completed, the DM rolls 1d6 per player, leaving the dice in place. The sum is the Dragon's strength. All players with skills remaining describe how they're used to defeat the Dragon, then roll. If their sum is greater, the Players win! If players cannot succeed a challenge, or roll lower than the Dragon, the Dragon wins. The group describes the outcome and gives each Player an epilogue.

This is meant to be played as a collaborative storytelling effort with a focus on giving players the chance to give life to characters with traits not dictated by them, in the same vein as Ten Candles, albeit not nearly as involved with a goofy, outlandish bent rather than looming dread and expressions of hope in the face of the inevitable end. I believe the rules slightly favor the players (everyone likes winning, after all) but admittedly I have not playtested this at all, and poor rolls might end up costing players too many resources to win, especially in larger groups. Feel free to modify it for your own purposes if you find this to be the case - perhaps the DM will give bonus dice or rerolls for descriptions and solutions that are particularly entertaining or creative.

When I started writing this game, I had an idea in mind that players, and perhaps the DM, would by some mechanic be able to take excess rolls off of the table when resolving challenges, reserving the number rolled for a challenge down the road - not necessarily the smallest or largest to effect success or failure, but to have a guaranteed result banked. However, it got a little wonky a little too quick to fit it in a 200-word limit with any eloquence and was quickly scrapped. Maybe in another game.

It's perhaps a little basic and cliche, but I hope the clarifying text helps to set the tone of the game. This is meant to be fun and silly - I for one would love to see a game where German Expressionist Film Knowledge ended up being the coup de grâce for a fearsome beast. Enjoy!

(Yes to Archival)

200 Word RPGs 2024

Each November, some people try to write a novel. Others would prefer to do as little writing as possible. For those who wish to challenge their ability to not write, we offer this alternative: producing a complete, playable roleplaying game in two hundred words or fewer.

This is the submission thread for the 2024 event, running from November 1st, 2024 through November 30th, 2024. Submission guidelines can be found in this blog's pinned post, here.

[anim-ttrpgs]

Clearing Up Some Confusion: Eureka: Investigative Urban Fantasy is Not Powered by the Apocalypse

There has been a little confusion cropping up here and there regarding our game Eureka: Investigative Urban Fantasy and its relationship to the Powered by the Apocalypse system, A.K.A. PbtA, which we would like to hopefully clear up in this post.

PbtA is a very popular system for indie RPGs lately, it’s safe to say most of the indie RPGs we see cross our dashboard use it, in fact, and since Eureka: Investigative Urban Fantasy is an indie RPG that also happens to use 2D6+Modifier dice rolls, we can see where this assumption might come from. However, Eureka: Investigative Urban Fantasy is not a PbtA game, nor is it a ‘hack’ of any other game. It is an original from-the-ground-up system that uses 2D6+Modifier because 2D6+Modifier is just a very good way to roll dice. It’s very predictable, and dice results that are randomized yet still predictable are beneficial both for players playing the game and for us designing the game.

Eureka: Investigative Urban Fantasy actually does take inspiration from other games, even PbtA games like Monster of the Week—though in Monster of the Week’s case, that “inspiration” often took the form of doing the opposite of what Monster of the Week does, because we actually found MotW far too restrictive and limiting in its character creation and other elements for the kind of game we wanted to play—but also Call of Cthulhu, Trail of Cthulhu, Gumshoe, Shadowrun, AD&D2e, etc, both in the “do what they do” and “do the opposite of what they do” sense. In fact, if your TTRPG doesn’t take inspiration from a good number of other TTRPGs, that’s probably a pretty bad sign.

Eureka: Investigative Urban Fantasy also takes a great deal of inspiration from non-TTRPG sources, some of which are probably pretty obvious and some of which might surprise you, such as Blood(1997) and Warhammer 40,000(the tabletop wargame specifically, not so much the lore). Other inspirations include but are not limited to: Kolchak: The Nightstalker, The X-Files, XCOM(the reboots, not so much the originals), Columbo, Hardboiled, Dracula, Sherlock Holmes, Scooby-doo, too many horror movies to list, etc.

That got a little off-topic, but this is supposed to be a promotional post for Eureka: Investigative Urban Fantasy as well, after all—plus, I get excited.

Anyway, the point of this post is that the 2D6+Modifier dice system is where the similarities between Eureka: Investigative Urban Fantasy and the PbtA system end.

To elaborate, here are some—but not all—of the biggest differences:

No “Classes” or “Playbooks”

All PCs in Eureka draw from the same list of Skills, and spread their skillpoints around them how they see fit; as well as a collection of 3 gameplay-altering Traits that can be mixed and matched in any way, rather than being a set collection of “moves” or “class features”. This does not mean that all PCs are the same, Traits can make them vary wildly in how they play mechanically.

There are what could be considered two or three “categories” of PC in Eureka: Investigative Urban Fantasy(Mundane, Mage, and Monster), but these are not “classes” or “playbooks” in any way, they mostly determine what lists of Traits the PC gets to draw from, and due to the wildly gameplay-altering nature of these Traits, two Monster PCs in Eureka are likely to be far less similar to each other than two PCs both using The Monstrous playbook in Monster of the Week, and far less similar to each other than two Fighters in D&D.

Making Multiple Rolls per Scene

In PbtA games, it is fairly common for a single dice roll and a single “move” to dictate the outcome of an entire “scene”. In Eureka: Investigative Urban Fantasy, this is not the case. PCs may make multiple rolls of different Skills or multiple subsequent rolls of the same Skill within a single “encounter” or “scene”.

NPCs Make Rolls Too

That brings us to our third big difference for this post, the fact that NPCs also make rolls. In most PbtA games, NPCs do not make rolls, only the PCs do, but in Eureka, that is not the case. NPC stat blocks are not as robust as PC stat blocks, but they do still make rolls in the same manner the PCs do, especially in combat, which brings us to the last point I’m going to make in this post because I’m running out of time.

Deep, Intricate Combat Rules

Eureka: Investigative Urban Fantasy is not a combat-focused game by any means, the party will probably only get into 1-2 skirmishes across an entire mystery, but when those skirmishes do happen, they will be played out using deep, tactical combat rules with multiple types of attacks and combat moves, including mechanical crunch for things like positioning and cover, multiple types of damage, environmental damage and effects, etc.

All of this should be telling you that Eureka: Investigative Urban Fantasy is not only entirely different in its core systems, but also an overall crunchier and less improvisational-ruling system than PbtA, with tons of freedom in its character creation as well as plenty of rules and guidelines to help GMs make fair and realistic resolutions on the fly. That is not to say that Eureka is a complicated TTRPG, nearly everything in the game runs off the same core 2D6 system, making it very easy to learn and memorize—the rules crunch just means that if the outcome or appropriate modifier of a roll is not immediately obvious, you can rest assured that you can find a solid answer or at least a guideline with just a quick flip through the rulebook, either during or after the session, whatever is your preference.

[sunilsingh002]

Unraveling the World of Satta King: A Dive into Live Results

In the labyrinth of gambling and chance, Satta Kingemerges as a prominent player, captivating millions with its allure of quick riches and suspense-filled outcomes. For those entrenched in this world, the pulse quickens with every roll of the dice or flip of the card. And at the heart of it all lie the live results, the real-time updates that dictate fortunes and fuel the fervor of participants.

Understanding Satta King:

Satta King, often referred to simply as "Satta," traces its roots back to the pre-independence era in India when it was known as "Ankada Jugar" or "Matka Gambling." Over the years, it evolved into a full-fledged phenomenon, transcending geographical boundaries and captivating enthusiasts across the globe.

At its core, Satta King revolves around betting on numbers, with participants wagering on their chosen digits across various forms of games and contests. From traditional Matka to modern online platforms, the spectrum of games is vast, each with its own rules and intricacies.

The Thrill of Live Results:

While the anticipation builds during gameplay, it reaches a crescendo during the announcement of live results. This moment is the culmination of hopes, dreams, and calculations, where fortunes hang in the balance, poised to tilt with a single revelation.

For participants, accessing live results is akin to unlocking a treasure trove of information. Every digit unveiled holds the potential to transform a mere wager into a windfall or a loss. It's a rollercoaster ride of emotions, with adrenaline coursing through veins as the countdown to the results begins.

The Role of Technology:

In today's digital age, technology has revolutionized the landscape of Satta King, offering seamless access to live results through various online platforms and mobile applications. These platforms provide real-time updates, ensuring that enthusiasts stay informed and engaged throughout the gaming experience.

From desktops to smartphones, participants can monitor live results from anywhere, anytime, transcending physical boundaries and time constraints. This accessibility has democratized the world of Satta King, inviting a diverse array of players into its fold.

Navigating the Live Results Arena:

As participants immerse themselves in the world of Satta King, navigating the live results arena becomes paramount. Understanding the dynamics of different games, interpreting numerical patterns, and staying updated with the latest trends are essential facets of success in this realm.

Moreover, maintaining a balanced approach towards gameplay is crucial, as the allure of quick riches can often cloud judgment. Responsible gambling practices, coupled with a keen eye for opportunity, form the cornerstone of a sustainable and enjoyable Satta King experience.

The Community Aspect:

Beyond the thrill of live results and the rush of gameplay, Satta King fosters a vibrant community of enthusiasts bound by their passion for chance and probability. Whether through online forums, social media groups, or offline gatherings, participants come together to share insights, strategies, and camaraderie.

This sense of community adds depth to the Satta King experience, transcending the realm of mere gambling to embody a cultural phenomenon. It's a testament to the enduring appeal of human connection, even in the midst of high-stakes gaming.

Conclusion:

In the realm of Satta King, live results serve as the pulse that animates the entire ecosystem, infusing it with excitement, anticipation, and intrigue. From the traditional Matka dens of yesteryears to the digital platforms of today, the allure of real-time updates remains undiminished, captivating participants and spectators alike.

As enthusiasts navigate this world of chance and probability, embracing technology, community, and responsible gaming practices, they embark on a journey fraught with excitement and possibility. And amidst the uncertainty of outcomes, one thing remains certain – the thrill of Satta King live results will continue to captivate hearts and minds for generations to come.

[imsobadatnicknames2]

True, but I will reiterate something I've said a couple times in the past: the way I see it, mechanics in traditional TTRPGs exist to resolve the outcome a situation where the GM can't be expected to constantly provide fair and consistent rulings on the fly. Just like you don't need a roll for morale, you also don't really NEED a roll for anything else in the game, and the GM could decide the outcome of, let's say, attacks through roleplay. But combat in most TTRPGs involves rolling dice to determine whether an attack hits and how much damage it does because, without some mechanic to help him make the decision, the GM would be pretty bad at dictating the outcome of each attack and ensure that they're doing so in a fair way, so we have codified combat mechanics that allow the GM to rely on the dice to make those choices that they wouldn't be good at adjudicating on their own.

Similarly, considering how common the complaint of "combat drags on too damn long" is with modern editions of D&D, I'd argue that the average GM is bad enough at using roleplay to decide when enemies should give up, surrender, and/or flee that it warrants codifying morale into a mechanic so that the GM can rely on the dice to provide a ruling on it.

One of the worst flaws of d20-era (a.k.a. post-3e) D&D is that despite its attempts to codify mechanics for SO MUCH shit that would just be adjudicated on the fly by the GM in previous editions, they lack codified mechanics for enemy morale and I think that’s a big reason why combat encounters tend to become so drawn-out and tedious.

Like, my first edition was 3.5e and I remember the Dungeon Mater’s book had this little section about how most creatures probably wouldn’t fight to the death unless they’re like mindless undead, but it lacked any sort of advice on WHEN it might be appropriate to make creatures surrender, flee, negotiate, etc. I think 5e has a weaksauce attempt at a morale roll using a wisdom saving throw, but it’s presented as an optional rule and most people ignore those. (Also like. Even when people do decide to use it. Using a wisdom saving throw means that creatures with higher wisdom are more likely to stay and fight to the death, which is just stupid)

All pre-3e editions (OD&D, B/X, BECMI, AD&D, etc) had this really simple but cool morale system that’s still used by A LOT of OSR games, where every creature’s stat block had a morale value between 2 and 12, measuring their courage and loyalty. In combat, the GM would test morale for every enemy:

The first time they see a creature on their side die

When 50% of their group has been defeated

(This isn’t in the original D&D morale rules but a lot of OSR games add it too) When their leader is defeated.

The GM would roll 2d6 for every enemy, and if the result was greater than their morale, they’d attempt to flee or surrender. It’s simple, it’s elegant, it takes the guesswork out of when it’s appropriate for monsters to flee, and it provides an easy way to characterize certain enemies as more or less likely to stay and fight to the death. 

[onedemoniclilly]

sometimes when im just aimlessly rolling dice i imagine that im actually dictating the outcomes of a parallel dimension or a future yet to come

[shogikappa]

Ludo - probably the worst board game I've played

My first board games, if you wanted to count broadly, were chess, xiangqi, doushouqi, luzhanqi, Monopoly, Scrabble, Boggle, and Ludo variants. It wasn't until I reached middle school that I started playing various, what I would call then, "big board games", the likes of longer, multiplayer board games like the German-style Puerto Rico or American-style Monsters Menace America.

For a while I had this phase with Ludo variants. In a way I don't think I really liked the games per se, but I was interested in all the cross and circle game variants, including Airplane Chess, Parchisi, Trouble, and Sorry. After discovering Sorry, that would become my preferred cross and circle game, as that patches up a lot of the complaints I have with Ludo, but still a number of annoyances remain.

As a Hong Konger, Airplane chess is our local variant of cross and circle game. Comparing Ludo with it, Ludo already pales in comparison due to the lack of coloured spaces that let you move ahead, making the game even slower. Ludo by comparison is just completely bland, without anything interesting on the board. It also pales in comparison to other ancient race games, like Senet.

My main complaints with Ludo are the following:

A) You need to roll a 6 to enter one of your pawns

That is something I really hated. For the first couple rounds, all of you are going to sit there hoping to roll a 6. And then that one player who does will keep moving their pawn around the board while the rest of you just sit and watch.

This seems to be unnecessarily prolonging the game, requiring a 6 before you can really start to take part in the game. Sorry patches this with a lot of cards that let you enter your pawns.

B) If you get knocked out, you are sent all the way back to start and have to wait for another 6-roll again

No matter how much progress you've made, one KO and you have to hope for a 6 again to enter your pawn back. Chances are by this point you already have one or more other pawns in play, but still, having to start this whole "waiting for a 6" again is just tedious.

C) The player's presence doesn't make much difference

Sometimes I've heard players go like "I need to use the toilet. Please roll the die for me and move on my behalf". I then realize that my presence, or indeed any player's presence is not needed at the board. Anyone could stand in for me, and it wouldn't make a difference. I didn't need to be there. And after 10 years of big board games and indeed 20 years of all board games, I've come to prefer games where my presence does actually make a difference to the game. There are choices to be made and choices that I could make to make the outcome of the game different, ones that, if another player made the choices, things would have been different. Like a game of chess, your choices are yours, and anyone else "standing in" for you would not be the same as you playing the game.

D) It is too luck-based and you don't have many choices on what to do. The die dictates the fate of the game too much

This ties in with my previous point. The die dictates the fate of the game, therefore I'm not even needed at the board. After so many years, I've come to prefer games where I could at least make some choices. With games like Senet, despite them also involving a lot of luck, I feel the presence of the many choices and the few special squares, as well as the Egyptian vibe, keep the game somewhat interesting. In Ludo, you're choosing which of your pawns to move, so there is at least some degree of choice in the game, but it feels very minor compared to the heavy influence of the die. Most of the time you're probably just choosing between 2 pawns, so there isn't much room for options here.

Ludo and its variants are probably going to be forever put inside my shelf, with me only busting out Ludo if I wanted to prevent one of the dice cheaters from always rolling a 6 (one of my friends, yeah). I've played a lot of better games since then, and if I'm going to recommend a good race game today, I'd recommend the digital board game 100% Orange Juice, which adds cards, battle, different objectives (star or wins norma), and branching paths for the player to choose from, into the mix. Players also can stand back on their feet after being KO'd much more easily, getting progressively easier to re-enter the game with each turn. The cards from all players are also randomly shuffled together, so you won't get that TCG problem of the player who has gacha'd that powerful rare card always beating the player who only has the default cards. Compared to Ludo, 100% Orange Juice has just vastly patched all of my problems with it.

Ludo/Airplane chess may have been an early board game for me, but I'm thankful to have encountered a lot of better board games since then.