Here’s a secret: I don’t really like dividing stories (or anything, like music) into categories.| RPG Design Theories
Games, obviously, are meant to be fun.| montecook.substack.com
The game is called Cypher, so if we’re monkeying with the rules, we’d better make sure that cyphers work in the game, and work really well.| RPG Design Theories
Last time, I covered some changes we might make on how to track damage a player character sustains.| montecook.substack.com
Thoughts behind tabletop roleplaying games and why we love them. Click to read RPG Design Theories, by Monte Cook, a Substack publication with thousands of subscribers.| montecook.substack.com
As I wrote a bit ago, our own experiences as designers alongside what we’ve heard from others who have played the game have prompted some changes to the Cypher System.| RPG Design Theories
When modifying a rules set, most people focus on what’s changing, but just as— if not more—important is what remains the same.| RPG Design Theories
One of the hallmarks of the Cypher System is the fact that we’ve tried to make it usable with almost any genre.| montecook.substack.com
When you drive a car and something doesn’t work precisely the way you think it should, you notice.| montecook.substack.com
Last time, I wrote about games discourse, whether online or in person, and things to remember while you participate in such conversations.| RPG Design Theories
You can’t work on RPGs for thirty-five years without having a lot of discussions about games.| montecook.substack.com
(or, Words, Not Numbers)| montecook.substack.com
I get asked about format and presentation of MCG games a lot.| RPG Design Theories
Every project—and I'm not exaggerating, EVERY project—that I have ever worked on and probably ever will work on has a sort of tipping point moment.| RPG Design Theories
When a designer sits down to work on a new project, they should be challenged.| RPG Design Theories
Every roleplayer has heard it from their GM a million times: “Okay, what do you do?” It’s practically the defining phrase of RPG play.| RPG Design Theories
It’s no secret that 3rd Edition D&D made player characters more complex.| RPG Design Theories
I remember, as 3rd Edition D&D was in its last stages of development, I looked at the long list of modifiers based on situation that would appear in the Player’s Handbook.| montecook.substack.com
Most TTRPGs fall into the genres of fantasy or sci-fi.| montecook.substack.com
It was around 2010 or 2011.| montecook.substack.com
