Northern Reaches 08 – Changing the Game

5e is fine. It’s fine.     
    But… It’s also a little boring and not dangerous (I will be taking no questions at this time).
    I have been playing with and investigating other RPGs to bolt onto this West Marches game. RPGs that add to context, not detract from it. There is a heap of games out there but this little list is the games I am thinking of running and how I will make it work in this campaign.

Onward!

1. Dungeon Crawl Classics 

I have actually just run the first session with this system and it worked pretty well. But, first. Why this system?
    Because of the Level 0 Funnels.
    I fucking love these things. Player’s create 4 Level 0 characters, which can be done in seconds using this. You march the pitchfork-wielding peasants into almost certain death and turn the survivors into adventurers. A mob of 20 to 30 commoners armed with basic weapons going up against the horrors of the unknown. It’s great. 
    It’s also really well supposed and there is a tonne of adventures for it. There’s a really good quick start that you can get for free which makes it super easy to get players on board. 
    DCC is also goofy, fun, and almost always has connections to extremely wild and out-there themes and ideas. For example, The Portal Under the Star adventure, which comes with the core rule book, has an orb in it that allows the players to communicate with an intergalactic space goat who gives them a quest.
    It’s batshit and it’s awesome.

2. Kids on Bikes

3. MÖRK BORG

4. Warlock!

5. Troika!

This is a very strange game. The characters travel between spheres that float in a sort of astral sea and each one is completely different. A Very strange and free-flowing RPG. 

    I hadn’t thought about this game until I played the DCC game they got hold of the magical orb and spoke to the goat alien. That got me thinking about what else is connected to this world. Perhaps they have traveled into a dead sphere that is literally just this island. Or perhaps their whole world is on it.
    Not sure.

    But I am sure that this could easily be added now. It also has one of the simplest character creations and could easily be set up and played even for just a one-shot. 

That’s my thoughts. 

If you have any ideas about other systems that would work, drop them into the comments. 

If you would like to support my work and follow me on my journey into game design and writing you can support me on Patreon.

Long days and pleasant nights.

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