Writing a ttRPG - Wyverns & Warrens (Pt 2 - First Outline Draft) (Patreon)

(This article is not part of the content of this blog that is covered by the OGL 1.0a.)

Wyverns & Warrens (WyvWar) is my current ongoing attempt to design a short, easy, fantasy ttRPG that still has a depth of options and will give players the same feelings I had when I tried ny first few ttRPGs.. And I am doing that in weekly installments, exclusively for my paying Patrons!

(Cover art by Eric Pommer. Cover graphics by Lj Stephens)

There's a bit of a catch-22 in starting a whole new ttRPG. You need to have an idea of what you are doing before you can really write a good outline, and you really need a good outline to spell out what you're doing.

There comes a point where you just have to bite the bullet and create a first draft outline, and that's what I am doing here. I WANT this game to come in at 64-96 pages, because any MORE than that and it's just NOT a "quick and easy ttRPG" even for "Old Skool" or "Classic" definitions of "quick and easy." (And while many Indy and modern ttRPG designs blow that classic definition out of the water with how short, fast, and easy they are, that's not the feel of game I'm going for here.)

So, here's my first stab at a draft. I'm forcing myself to keep it at 64 pages, because it's EASY to expand to a bigger page count, and HARD to shrink it.

WyvWar Outline (Draft 1.0)

Introduction (2 pages) - What is this product? How many players is it for? What is an RPG? Which clacky math rocks do you need? If there's info you need before we get into the game itself, it needs to go here.

Table of Contents (2 pages) - I don't want to also do an index, so I need a good, meaty ToC.

Example of Play (2 pages) -Yep, I want tyo OPEN with an example of play. If it's interesting enough people will read it, and we can slip in explanations like what Target# means to make the following sections easier to understand on the first read-through.

Paths (16 pages) - A ton of what defines a character is going to be in the form of what Paths they take. Every character gets 3 paths, so I need a fair number of these to ensure players feel like their characters are different from one another. To have ANY idea how big this section needs to be, I have to have at least a rough idea of how many Paths I want, and how long each will be.

I know I want Origin Paths, which you can normally only take at 1st level. those would at least include Animalfolk, Dwarf, Elf, Human, and Orc. I want Background Paths, for which I see the minimum being Peasant, Yeoman, Church/Guild, Merchant, and Noble. I want Theme Paths, including Archer, Mage, Priest, Rogue, and Warrior. So, that's a minimum of 15 Paths I'm looking at, and I'd LIKE more.

If I assume Path Edges get defined with their Path, then I can't see these being less than 2 pages each... or 30 pages in a 64-96 page book. OTOH, it may make more sense to have Paths defined in one place, and ALL the edges in another. That simplifies having edges more than one Path can take. This works especially well for Edges that require specialization, For example, if I have an Elemental Affinity Edge that makes a character tied to some element, it might well require you pick an element from Air, Earth, Fire, Metal, Void, Water, and Wood. If I want Dwarves to have access to elemental Affinity (Metal), and Elves Elemental Affinity (Wood), and Orcs Elemental Affinity (Earth), then having the actual rules for Elemental Affinity in an Edge section, and each of those Paths just listing which Edges the Path gives you makes more sense than writing out that edge three times.

That'd be just 15 pages, but I'd need at LEAST 1 page to explain what Paths are, how they work, how many you get, and so on, bring us to 16. I'll go with that for now, secure in the knowledge that this is a draft of an outline of a book in flux... but the organization has to start SOMEWHERE.

Edges (8 pages) - Edges are the main way characters gain 'powers' and special abilities. This needs to cover all the edges needed for the core game. Doing it in 8 pages is a wild-assed-guess.

Skills (4 pages) I have no specific plan for skills yet, but I'll want to describe how you decide if a character can do things, ragardless of how that's done.

Core Game Rules (8 pages) - I plan to keep this simple, but it has to go SOMEWHERE. Drive (called 'hit points in my original notes), Defense, Attack, movement, environment, afflictions, maneuvers, initiative, environments, flying, fighting underwater, mounted combat, forcing a friend to eat an oreo -- anything I want to be able to have happen in the game needs a flexible, intuitive, adaptable core ruleset.

In addition to the common general ttRPG rules, I expect to have the following sections in this chapter, but I'm giving them independent page counts.

hazards and traps (2 pages) Some simple, adaptable, flexible rules for when things are dangerous without an intelligence deciding exactly when to try to hurt you. Everything from bear traps to landslides to floods to a giant rock rolling down a corridor at you should be covered here, very much including things like being on fire.

heroic moments (1 page) - This may end up only needing 1 column, but it's an important part of my plan for the feel of this game, so I want to give it all the room it needs. I can also put a half page of awesome art with it.

noncombat challenges (5 pages) - Games often don't handle noncombat things well. Need to convince a crowd to storm a fortress? Investigate a murder? Explore a wilderness? Invent the flintlock? Have a battle of the bands? Chase someone through the streets? Run a tavern? Put out a barn fire? Survive a stampede? Win a poker tournament? Convince Lady de la Vecruise to back your bid to be elected head of the Verminslayer's Guild?

Rather than ad hoc these things when they come up in adventures and class features, I want to create a single set of broad, flexible rules on how to handle anything that isn't small-unit combat. And yes, that would include mass combat. I've considered calling these Strategic Encounters rather than small-unit-combat's Tactical Encounters. But the point is to have something a GM can use for anything that is hard enough you can't just assume PCs succeed, complex enough it's not a single die roll, and important enough to spend time on, but ISN'T a typical combat encounter.

Game Moderating - (8 pages) What is the Game Moderator (GM)? What does a GM do? How do they do it? How do you start a campaign, run and write and adventure, and so on.

Foe Folio (8 pages) SUPER short stat blocks for foes, and rules for making your own.

Aaaand... that's 64 pages.

This DOESN'T have a sample adventure, which I'd love to have. But I can either work that into the blank 32 pages to go up to 96 pages, or have it be a stand-alone product (possibly as FREE separate product with pregens, to get people interested in the game.)

It also doesn't have character sheets, but I can include those as a free separate product, too.

Opinions? Ideas? Things you'd like to see added to the outline? Let me know!