Moving forward with mechanic designs

Hey folks (this will be a long post, sorry!),

After having this TTRPG in my head and poked around on numerous documents in a variety of ways, I've gotten it somewhat written out all thanks to the Minimalist TTRPG Jam #3. However, because I didn't manage my time correctly... I made this submission within the course of a few weeks. So there are plenty of missing pieces and areas that need to be expanded on.

And this is what the devpost is all about, listing out the direction forward UN-EARTH is going to take, and potentially seeding the ideas of future games using the same mechanic style with variations. I'll also attach a small brief description of the genre and vibe goal for UN-EARTH, because it's completely missing from the document, and hopefully it should make my design choices more apparent why I may be wanting this.

UN-EARTH is an cosmic horror investigative game where the characters (called investigators) uncover the creeping horrors that is infesting the natural world, and changing them. Think Blights from Dungeons and Dragons, Old Gods of Appalachia by set more modern (2020's), Shub-niggurath from everybody's favourite lovecraftian writer, H.P. Lovecraft. Investigators aren't helpless against these forces, no, just like the Hunters from Bloodborne they are able to fight back, having to accrue Insight to do so.

• Expand and experiment on the Sources of Control. While I like how they look at the moment, there are elements missing which I believe incite interesting mechanics and roleplaying opportunities. An area I was thinking on is the 'Succumbed to Self' section (I'll have to rename that, it doesn't feel right), which references gaining stress-related disorders and traumas. and burning out when you gain three. That isn't really a helpful rules direction. So I'll be expanding that out to potentially give guidance on what gaining stress-related disorders/traumas are like FOR YOUR CHARACTERS, and roleplaying them respectfully.
• Bonds. Honestly that's it. I just need to expand on everything about Bonds. It came it somewhat late into the current design (along with stress actually) so it's just an in-game meta-currency to save yourself on Insight and Stress accumulation. Future design will again expand and explore the position Bonds have in an investigators life, and give guidance on how to use them.
• Recovery. This is more just adding more mechanics and making this feel not as handwavey as it sounds.
• Advancement. This will need to be expanded based on other changes that occur around the place. But based on how I'm currently feeling, it might include elements like adjusting skills, increasing Harm/Insight/Stress thresholds, things like that.
• Characters. There actually isn't much I need/want to fundamentally change here. I'm really happy with how it looks and feels.
  • It's only adjudicating how the skills are distributed and named in the backgrounds, adding in equipment and a line or two describing the background.
  • Traits are just adding more in. The only concern I have with them right now is how they feel compared to both the backgrounds and distinction just after. At the moment they don't provide any mechanical benefits, and are just there to help flesh the characters. I'm wondering if I should try and find some way to codify some mechanics to these. Right now I don't know how that would look.
  • Distinctions just require editing them to make all feel nice to play, adding fun descriptions and the associated content with them (looking at you Reliquary and Personal Library). if I can I may add an advancement to more distinctions.
  • Backstory questions could be fleshed out with tables similar to how 24XX games have tables on their back-page, but these are tailored for player characters instead. It would help give players a feel on the implied setting and characters.

• Markets. Here includes just expanding the selection of weapons and armours to be useful, adding data to the shots and costs. In fact I don't really know how I want the current currency system to work. I've just been using the 24XX assumption of 1 credit is livable, so most things will cost like that, but more expensive and specialist stuff will cost 2 or more credits.
  • Along with updating weapons, I will need to actually add in mechanics on how conflicts operate. I had a small section in there, but it didn't sound right so it got shelved, so now that I'm not stressing on submitting this, I might look back to rewriting that. It's currently moving in the direction of static damage (light deals 1, medium deals 2, heavy deals 3), but I don't know how that will look and play out if you need to reach 6/8/10/12/16/20 Harm before a threat or you die. That just sounds slow.
  • Hirelings I'm fairly content with, but just rewrite them to add different potential rules usage (Followers might be a really good base to work with). Probably add a small table with sample hirelings to show the kinds of people your investigators could bring along with the case.
  • Investigative Equipment will just need to be expanded to add more interesting equipment and usable ones. Magic Seals and Aegis Limiters will need to be reworked as 'lore wise' all they do is allow casting of their respective powers (Spells and Psionics), so fun.

• The Weird. Ugh. What will need to adjust is making the GLOG-style spellcasting work with the Cthulhu Dark-style, while adding my own spin and twist to them. So it'd just be how the initial rolling and Magic Die works. The spell structure and style at the moment work, I'm happy with how they read, and it'd just be adding more spells and making sure they fit that cosmic horror/dark nature feel.
• Threats. Playtesting will be where most of the changes to Threats come in. From adjusting how the 'Dice as Health and Skill' works for monsters, and reworking how the 20XX behaviours, risks and traits could better be served or modified to get a better feeling monster. The small list that I have at the moment feels nice (if a little samey, but that is due to the plant vibes for 3 of them). The goal for the monsters is to have them feel really evocative and dynamic for the GM, and something exciting and tactical for players. Do I think these will be hard to reconcile? Yes, but I'm willing to do my best. A subsection of threats I want to add will be Traps, which will have a similar structure to monsters.

I'll make a note that the final document layout will happen towards the end of the development, just because I don't want to waste time/money on something which could change based on a decision.

Whoo, alright. Well that looks like the major strokes for future design goals for UN-EARTH. I'll be working on those and adding some necessary ones as I think they're the most important. I may make another post detailing why I'm doing this kind of TTPRG instead of just using the ones that have inspired me or even Call of Cthulhu, and a post looking at potential future RPGs I'd like to create with what I've already written. All-in-all, I loved the process of doing this game jam, and designing this TTRPG. I can't wait to get stuck into it and make it even better for all of you and even show off some interactive fiction that uses the world and mechanics.

Until then!