#genesys

[sticksandsharks]

ttrpg blorbos

we're going onto year 2 of this game, playing as a group of peasants who discover magic. shenanigans continue ensuing.

there’s names and some extra character descriptions in the ALT text!

[haveyouplayedthisttrpg]

Have you played GENESYS ?

By Fantasy Flight Games

Universal game system which uses narrative dice, rather than standard rpg dice. Similar to the Star Wars RPG, also created by Fantasy Flight Games, Genesys is the generic version of that system. While the base book can be easily adapted into any setting, there are additional books, Realms of Terrinoth and Android: Shadow of the Beanstalk, which provide additional information for Fantasy and Cyberpunk campaigns respectively. Many tools for the system are easily available online, including character sheets, dice rollers for the narrative dice, and a discord bot which connects to your character sheet/dice rolls and adds everything up for you to generate your result.

[ttrpgcafe]

Heya! TTRPG trick or treat, please! 🎃👻

This one's got a backstory, so stick with me.

When I first got into TTRPGs, I learned about the big 6: D&D, Pathfinder, CoC, Cyberpunk, WoD, and Shadowrun. Of those, I've still, to this day, only played 5, and Shadowrun has remained the odd man out, despite having probably my favorite setting of all of them after Pathfinder. Part of this is its reputation for being a really crunchy game, keeping me from getting players, and part of it was that it's a very crunchy game that explains its rules SO POORLY (in recent editions at least, I'm told 3rd is the best in this department) that I couldn't even really convince my friends to get over the hump because it's hard for ME to grok the rules.

For well over a decade, Shadowrun has been my white whale, always on my shelf, never my table. So I did what any other well meaning TTRPG player does when they have a setting they like but a system for that setting they hate: I looked at every hack on the planet for every other system.

So here's your treat: every Shadowrun hack I've found!

Up first, Runners in the Shadows by Mark Cleveland:

This is a Forged in the Dark hack for the Shadowrun setting that is probably one of the better ones for emulating the "crew going on heists and doing cool shit" vibes that Shadowrun tries really hard to say is its core. I'm a sucker for FitD games in general, I think the system is *so* elegant, and I struggle to find a system more suited for the setting (SR's own rules included) than Blades, so this one has to go at the top.

With that said, there are still plenty more!

I'm going to give 2 PbtA games a shout out here, the first I've played, the second I haven't, but have heard plenty about.

Up first: City of Mist!

"But that's not a shadowrun hack!" I hear you saying behind your screen, and you're almost right, it technically isn't, BUT it's asymptote certainly approaches shadowrun, for my math nerds out there. This is a game about the (literal) power of stories, about struggles against an unseen and unknowable force trying desperately to remove every semblance of magic from your life, and about the yearning to keep your mundane life despite, or maybe in spite of, your magical adventures. City of Mist proper is a fantastic gritty noir urban fantasy game that works wonderfully as the framework for an early 6th world setting with minor tweaks, but it's sequel: Metro Otherscape, leans into the Shadowrun of it all, adding a 3rd axis along which your character can struggle, being "noise". In Otherscape, you're balancing a mundane, magical, technological life, and trying not to let any of those three overwhelm your being. A lot of cyberpunk games try to say that cybernetics reduce your humanity in one way or another, but I think Otherscape does the best job at embodying that balance in a way that isn't deeply ableist in its messaging. It's ALSO the only PbtA game I actually LIKE.

Hot take: I can't stand Moves, they annoy me to no end, and needlessly complicate an otherwise brilliant system. I might make a follow up post if anyone wants to hear my deeply bad take, but for now, just know that I'm a ttrpg heretic, and we can move on.

Otherscape completely does away with moves, and instead just lets the MC and the players decide whatever is most relevant to the action being attempted! It solves almost every problem I've ever had with PbtA games, AND kicks ass as a shadowrun stand-in, so this also deserves a place at or near the top.

Second PbtA game: Shadowrun in The Sprawl. This one is a hack of The Sprawl, a PbtA cyberpunk game in its own right, SRiTS adds the setting and magic of SR to its formula, and that's all I know about either system, due to my aforementioned PbtA-phobia. I've included this one for thoroughness, not because I have any stake in it.

Most of the other hacks I've seen use generic systems like Fate, Savage World, Cypher system, Genesys, and a hero system hack I've heard a bit about but can't find anywhere. All of this is to say that there is a wealth of options for generic systems that try to emulate SR, and most of them are fine. The last game I'm going to talk about though uses its own system, its own setting, and manages to be completely, utterly unique while capturing the vibes of SR so well that I'm still a little in awe at how well it does all of the above. I'm also not 100% certain it's a particularly good game, but the fact that I'm unsure about it should tell you that it's definitely still better than SR proper, because I KNOW that system is bad.

Without further ado: NewEdo

NewEdo is fascinating to me in that it feels like the same jump from Shadowrun that 3rd edition D&D made from 2e, or even the same kind of jump from 3rd to 4th, where you can clearly see the spine of the game it's evolving, but almost every other part of the system has been changed and improved in new, interesting ways that can still be used to tell VERY similar stories, but has its own identity at the same time. I mentioned that City of Mist is Asymptotic to SR earlier, and I stand by that assessment, but I'd say that NewEdo is closer to a parallel line, or a tangent from SR's line, if we're using the same terminology. To get into the nitty gritty, NE uses a system the author describes as "Crunchy lite easily managed", which amounts to a priority system during character creation very similar to the one SR uses, but with each tier you can select having pretty impactful ramifications for your character going forward. The easiest example is the modifications priority, at its top tier, you basically make a mythical creature into robo cop for your character's ancestry, but at its absolute lowest tier, your body actively rejects any and all implants, such that your character will NEVER have implants. On the same note, cyberware is handled REALLY well, with your body only being able to handle so much at a time, but otherwise the only ramification is a "biofeedback" line on your fate card, which I'll get to right now!

Almost every option your character picks gets added to a little personalized random d100 table on your character sheet called the fate card. This includes your character's crit rate, the possibility of a deity intervening on your behalf, or the aforementioned biofeedback line, which briefly fucks you up as you cyberware malfunctions. You get new lines on your fate card through picking certain character options, making impactful decisions during the story, and otherwise fulfilling the express goals of your character. The entire system kind of hinges on the fate card as a mechanic, which is weird, because I don't think I super love it, as it adds additional rolling to an already pretty dice heavy system.

Which brings me to the dice! New edo uses a d10 as its primary die for dice pools when rolling your characteristics like strength, speed, etc, but the rest of the polyhedral family for your skills. (D20 excluded) The skill system is a little funky, but I like it. Basically, each skill has a rank, which indicates how many dice it has, but each rank is assigned a die, each having a different cost associated with it. So my swordsmanship could be rank 4, but what that really means is that I've got 1d6, 2d4, and a d8 that I get to add to my strength rolls every time I attack with a sword. As far as resolution, you total all of your dice together to try and hit a target number. I don't have the table handy, but it's something like 15 for a moderately challenging task, and up to 40 for a nearly impossible task. I dislike addition in this context because math at the table usually slows things down, but it looks like you're probably only rolling 2-5 dice at a time at the beginning, which isn't *that* bad.

You'll notice that the two major mechanics I've mentioned so far have received pretty luke-warm responses from me, and that sounds like I hate the system, but those aren't that makes me like (\love?) this system is the back end, the choices that happen during character creation, and the things that those choices let you do. Every skill is attached to feats that unlock at different skills, magic is a skill, and its feats unlock better relationships with the Kami in your repertoire (magic is up next, I promise) and your class (path, they call it) doubles as a way to tie your character to the world, with each being associated with an in world faction which gives your character an immediate stake in the world and their community. It's a lot, but it all comes together to make something greater than the sum of its parts.

The last thing I want to talk about is the magic system, because I found it deeply interesting, as it's one of the very few skill based magic systems I've interacted with, and one of my favorites on a narrative level. Instead of spells or spell schools, your character instead develops relationships with Kami, and each new "order" or "type" of Kami your character gets access to represents them finding out how to supplicate, make an offering, or otherwise convince a given Kami to do a certain effect. If you have a relationship with the fire Kami (that's plural, not singular), then your character has learned that their local fire Kami really like a certain type of hot bun, so they offer them that hot bun after a scene where they invoked those kami, to maintain their relationship. Mechanically, this works instantaneously, you simply make a roll on your "Shinpi" skill, invoke whatever "rote" you want to use, and the relationship building is left for the GM and player to work out at the table.

(That's the last I have to say on the game itself, but I would ask anyone who has read the game and is more intimately familiar with Japanese culture to tell me if the game feels respectful to that culture, because I truly don't know, and the book doesn't list any sensitivity consultants. The author is Canadian, but spent many years sailing to and from Japan as a professional sailor, so idk. )

I guess the moral to this post, if there is one, is to acknowledge when a system or setting has faults, but learn from them, and don't ignore the good or cool stuff that's there! It might inspire you to make some amazing shit like City of Mist, Metro Otherscape, or New Edo, all of which, their relationship to Shadowrun aside, are fantastic games in their own right! (NewEdo is still up in the air, but it has its teeth in me, and that has to count for something)

That ends my trick or treat, thanks for asking!

[vidityavoleti]

In today's Level Design class I'm talking about Difficulty and I'm very excited to talk about my favorite spell casting system in ttrpgs: The Fantasy Flight Genesys Spell Crafting Tables

I love these things. Is it a little clunky? Sure! But I love a spell casting system that says "sure you CAN try to cast a really power spell you fuckin novice see how that goes" and then after a few levels in you it becomes completely doable and rewarding!

I want to use this as a specific type of Difficulty Scaling outside of just video games, I hope my students like it!

Also fun fact, a long time ago I reformated these into better, printable spell book type pages for my own convenience. If anyone plays Genesys and wants them here you go

[gm-warlic]

Hello friends! It has been a while since I last posted on here. What have I been doing in that time you ask? Well, mostly I have been working on writing & editing a fantasy novel. But more recently, I have started working on something I think my DragonFable friends on here will be interested in.

Here I have the first eight pages of The Land of Rising Evil (DragonFable: The Roleplaying Game). This is a tabletop roleplaying game I have been developing for a while using the Genesys RPG system, bringing the world of Lore (specifically the version from DragonFable) to life in tabletop format.

I have already played one DragonFable campaign with this system, and it was fantastic. As I will be starting another campaign with my friends this summer, I decided to update the rudimentary rulebook I made before into something more official looking that I can share with others. These pictures here show a glimpse at what the book will look like (though I have a long way to go before it is finished).

I also have a couple more example pictures to show what the different sections of “The World of Lore” chapter will look like:

This is a big project, so it will take a while to finish, but I am very excited about it and wanted to share it with all of you. I have already gotten a little help from some of the other wonderful tumblrfable people on here, including @cyraen-ae, who helped me fix up the cover.

I will share other developments along the way, and of course I will share the final pdf with you all when it is done!

[wooftphr]

DNI IF YOU THINK BIRDS ARE LAME. THIS IS A POST FOR BIRD LIKERS ONLY.

JAMES D’AMATO SELL ME THE BIRD RIDING SYSTEM. PLEASE.

[househaunterz-art]

Finch & Eucher + Modern outfits!

This is so so Karina Farek inspired if you can’t tell

If you like my art my comms are open!

Silly little bonus under the cut

[cyberphuck]

Continuing on my quest to learn to draw furries by trying to make a sketch of my TTRPG character Tab that I don't hate. (He has a rune shard embedded in his throat that he uses to breathe fire on people, and a lightning rune that he uses to lightning people. He's stupid powerful but if a mosquito coughs on him it halves his hit points)

[nk-arts]

Emmett's Nightmare

[cyanomys]

I’m struggling so hard with getting my cyberpunk campaign going. It’s a new system to me (Genesys actually) which increases the anxiety level and then there’s something about a more scientifically grounded and modern setting that really makes my black-and-white OCD brain go into overdrive, totally killing my creativity. I want to run this game but I’ve delayed it so much and bad feels and mental health problems are mounting so high. I have admitted defeat so many times before but I just don’t want to this time. I want to win. I want to run the game. I just wish I knew how.

[noblecrumpet-dorkvision]

Dorkvision Announcement

It has been many months since I last streamed the finales of our D&D campaigns. But now: it's time to begin a new chapter.

Rebrand!

I'm rebranding, retiring the Crumpet mascot in favor of my persona, Cass! I've created a PNGtuber of them to add a bit of visual interest to a normally very static TTRPG stream.

New Campaigns!

My initial focus on creating 5e homebrew content is going to take a backseat. Creating for Hasbro given all that has happened just puts a sour taste in my mouth. I was a master of D&D and its systems, but now our playgroup is shifting to both Pathfinder 2e as well as GENESYS! Expect those campaigns to begin soon, on Sundays at 9 PM, as we used to in the past.

Variety Streams!

In addition, I'm going to be streaming occasionally off-schedule doing non-TTRPG things. These might include art, video games, or tabletop games on TabletopSim if I can get the folks together.

New Community!

I'm also combining my community with that of my partner, AllieBriggsArt! We built a new Discord server, the Starlit Archive, for our patrons/subs, but also anyone else that wishes to join. I'm also going to start taking commissions for character art, map art, and 2d game assets. You can find commission forms, a Discord invite, and my other socials over at my linktree. Just be aware I haven't touched my Bluesky yet lol.

---

I'm going to be streaming some video games tonight at 6 PM EST to chill and answer any questions people might have.

Come and join me!

[icgoodfind]

MCU Circuit Design #N32G031C8L7 #IR2104S #INFINEON #GL823 #GENESYS #CHIPS #electronic components #integrated circuit #icgoodfind #IC Skype:sales@icgoodfind.com www.icgoodfind.com

[overlookedfile]

You know you're planning a wild campaign for your players when the first NPCs you generate are:

Elf Fighter (female) Kenku Bard (male) Aasimar Rogue (male) Dragonborn Sorcerer (trans) Elf Barbarian (male) Warforged Warlock (n/a) Tabaxi Paladin (nonbinary) Goliath Cleric (female)

Thank god for FGU's character creation wizard and HeroForge. Lmao

~

Completely unrelated to that, because I can never focus on any one thing, I'm still clawing away at the writer's block for my actual stories. The latest manifestation of that is dicking around with Genesys stats for Viggo.

Skills:

Charm (Pr): 2 Ranks

Coercion (Will): 2 Ranks

Coordination (Ag): 2 Ranks

Knowledge (Dragons) (Int): 3 Ranks

Leadership (Will): 1 Rank

Mechanics (Int): 2 Ranks

Melee (Br): 2 Ranks

Survival (Cun): 3 Ranks

Something tells me that, even though I can never seem to find a group who wants to play Genesys, I'm probably gonna end up creating a whole HtTYD setting for the system anyway. *sigh*

[kathysvart]

I'm working on Animal Catalogue for Genesys based roleplay game created by my partner. Here are a few carnivore beasts:

Btw, this universe is called "Sparkles of the Skies"😍