Trapped Chest

Animal companions, familiars, risen undead from the necromancer and pets in general usually add work for the GM.

In my experience most players treat them mechanically rather than as a narrative tool.

I allow it and even build rules for it, but I would be fine getting rid of pets in RPGs.

My next appearance will be at Game-itoba in Winnipeg, January 23-25.

I am planning on going to more than ever this year and branching out from Manitoba.

If you do it right the first time you won't need to fix it later.

Cutting corners may save time now, but it will cost time later.

Quest Nexus has 172 pieces. It is expensive, but art takes time and artists need to be paid.

I had an idea for a game with no art at all, but that idea is a fair way down the road.

Have we gotten to the point where charisma can just be dropped from system design?
Reducing a social interaction to a dice roll always seemed counterintuitive and felt like taking the role playing out of role playing games.

#ttrpg #indiedev #dnd #gamedesign

Wicked Congregation by Daniel Kwan A solo journaling game about cults, objects of power, and isolation inspired by Resident Evil and the SCP Foundation.

Check out this cool solo TTRPG by fellow CCU Member Daniel Kwan:

Taking a break is necessary sometimes. Jumping between projects can help with the monotony, but you will still find yourself being pulled in too many directions.

You started a national movement. That is enough to exhaust anyone.
Enjoy your rest. We will all be here when you return.

I do like that you are showcasing some of the weird stuff. In the first season I correctly guessed every game you were going to discuss.

While I am familiar with many of the recent games, I do enjoy seeing the lesser known stuff get the spotlight.

I am looking forward to the 2 player games.

Reanimated: Zombie Survival by Trapped Chest A zombie themed TTRPG witha wealth of options and a very lethal infection system.

Sweet! I get to keep all the money!, ...umm, my game is free, so 0+0, ...umm, carry the 0? comes out to ...0.

Anyways, enjoy some undead chaos with Reanimated.
There is a print version if people do actually want to pay for it.
trapped-chest.itch.io/reanimated
trapped-chest.itch.io/join-their-r...

Image with wireframe dice on it, reading Itch.io Creator Day TTRPG Self-Promo Thread

Today is Creator Day on @itch.io!

For 24 hours, Itch doesn't take a cut from sales, meaning creators keep 100% of the money you spend.

As is tradition, I want to spend the day boosting as many indie #ttrpg people as possible, so if you have games on Itch, drop them here!

We are often told to think outside the box, but sometimes you should stay inside the box.
Giving yourself a strict limit instead of a massive playground will force you to optimize.

#indiedev #gamedesign #tabletop

Design tip: When giving the player multiple choices, consider why they would choose each one.
If one choice is clearly the "correct" choice, it's not really a choice.

#indiedev #gamedesign #balance

I have been considering hosting an RPG game jam with cash prizes for the best entries, but I currently don't have the reach and engagement to make it viable.

#gamejam #indiedev #ttrpg #tabletop #socialmedia

Say what you want about the companies that produce them, but the logistics required for a TCG are impressive.

#tcg #tabletop #gaming

There are a great many tasks that I plan to get to eventually, but life keeps getting in the way and other things take priority.
There is the idea that I will get to these things the next time I have a day off, but the more I look at it the more I realize a single day off is not nearly enough.

The community keeps everything up to date. Drivers are never an issue. Generally, performance should be better than Windows, due to less bloat.

The only time something doesn't work is when a developer has gone out of their way to prevent it from running on Linux.

Been running Linux full time for years. At first some tinkering was needed, but thanks to Valve I can't remember the last time something didn't just work out of the box.

I will say, don't use the Microsoft method. It's not hard to install Linux. Just look it up and do it the old fashioned way.

As someone who grew up with the Disney Afternoon I approve of this.

Art is not usually a selling point for me in games, a game using this style would convince me.

Unsure. There are a few pieces of art left to do, then I am going to be starting a big marketing push.
I need to line it up in a way that does not step on any toes or run at the same time as more prominent creators.
I am thinking either Q3 or Q4 is realistic.

My upcoming game is Quest Nexus, a universal system meant to replace cumbersome systems like Shadowrun.
Has been in production since 2019.
Art is being done by the wonderful and talented @klurarts.bsky.social
Hoping to crowdfund in 2026.

Manitoba based developer of TTRPGs and board games.

-The Nullam Project: Star Trek: DS9 inspired hard sci-fi about a colony in orbit of an alien planet.

-Reanimated: Zombies! A big sandbox in a small package, with many options.
It does in 20 pages what AFMBE took 260 to do.

1/2

For those of us who aren’t able to attend PAXu, let’s try & make a few new friends in the TTRPG space virtually!?

Tell me about you & your work, then scroll down and boost and let’s share one another’s work. It’s not the same as sharing a drink at the Marriott, but let’s be friends anyway?

It's more of a D&D thing. Several of the 5e writers I work with swear by specific stat blocks, which take up a fair bit of page space, but I have always gone the more wing it approach.

I woke up to this new logo and now I question reality.

RPGs don't need to have set in stone stat blocks. It is important to be able to be able to build a creature on the fly.

This is a hill I will gladly die on.

#ttrpg #indiedev #tabletop #gamedesign

The end goal is to do game development as my primary job.
To make this happen I need 2 massive evergreen hits.
Unfortunately, 1 might just be a fluke.

#indiedev #ttrpg #boardgames #tabletop

I have been running Linux full time for several years.
It used to require tinkering, but now everything just works.
No pop ups, no viruses, no bloat, just my system, my way.
Valve has done an amazing job in making it more compatible with everything.

#linux #valve #gaming #computers #tech

I would say that as long you have things available for people to play even if they are not for sale, you are in the industry.

Making a living from it is a tall order. For most of us it is more passion than profit. I would love to do it as my full time job, but that is a long way off.

Being a developer is fun and fulfilling, but being a publisher is stressful and time consuming.
I did this for ethical reasons and to maintain control over my work.

Why did you choose your path into the games industry?

#tabletop #indiedev #ttrpg #boardgames #developer #publishing #gaming

When writing, do a bit of editing on your own. If you do this enough you will start to see things and you will alter your writing style, so less editing will be needed next time.

#ttrpg #indiedev #writing