Hi all, going to try and share some development of my card-based tabletop roleplaying game via posts on the forum! Today’s post is about the initiative system (a.k.a. Tempo System). Components Reconsider Tempo Card When this card is on top of the Core deck, the Guide may change the top card of the Tempo Deck. Then the Guide activates the top card of the Tempo Deck. These activated card effects are listed below. Tempo Deck The Tempo Deck is a pile of nine face-up cards. Eight cards are units of time. The ninth card defines the Tempo Deck and serves as a reference to players. The top card of the Tempo Deck shows what units of time matter to the current scene. For example if the top card is “Days” then the story cares about what characters do each day, but the individual hours, minutes, and moments of those days are not particularly important to the story. Tempo Cards Moments: Place the Reconsider Tempo card seventh from the top of the core deck. When the Reconsider Tempo card next appears on top of the core deck, six moments will have passed. Minutes: Place the Reconsider Tempo card seventh from the top of the core deck. When the Reconsider Tempo card next appears on top of the core deck, six minutes will have passed. Hours: Place the Reconsider Tempo card seventh from the top of the core deck. When the Reconsider Tempo card next appears on top of the core deck, six hours will have passed. Days: Place the Reconsider Tempo card eighth from the top of the core deck. When the Reconsider Tempo card next appears on top of the core deck, seven days will have passed. Weeks: Place the Reconsider Tempo card fifth from the top of the core deck. When the Reconsider Tempo card next appears on top of the core deck, four weeks will have passed. Moons: Place the Reconsider Tempo card fourth from the top of the core deck. When the Reconsider Tempo card next appears on top of the core deck, three moons will have passed. Seasons: Place the Reconsider Tempo card fifth from the top of the core deck. When the Reconsider Tempo card next appears on top of the core deck, four seasons will have passed. Years: Place the Reconsider Tempo card sixth from the top of the core deck. When the Reconsider Tempo card next appears on top of the core deck, five years will have passed. Tempo reference card Time Tokens Each character has a unique time token in the core deck. When their token is on top of the deck the character may act. A character’s actions define how far “buried” they move in the core deck. Players can strategize by choosing certain actions that take more or less time. Character actions can be informed by the top of the Tempo Deck. For example, a character may act to integrate into a community more easily over the course of a few seasons, but that might be impossible (or very difficult) for the character to do in a few moments.

@TheFool everyone starts somewhere! You’ll find your voice!

@sabrinateenlich Absolutely! Here is how I'd explain the main difference between games like Pathfinder or D&D and Shadowdark: In PF/D&D, you want to play with the system, using the story as a backdrop. You have fun selecting feats and other powers, planning encounters based on your stats and special items, and the GM weaves everything into a story that makes sense to tie it all together. In Shadowdark, you want to play with the characters in a living, immersive story, and the GM uses the system only when necessary to move the story forward in a rewarding way. There's obviously a spectrum between these two styles of play, and each group falls somewhere along it, but I think that’s what sets Shadowdark apart from more traditional games. The system is solid and fun enough that it doesn’t get in the way of enjoying what happens to the characters in the story.

Free League has expanded its open game licenses! Might be an opportunity for developers! https://freeleaguepublishing.com/community-content/free-tabletop-licenses/

@bellimora said: Savage worlds tends to have some explosive excitement baked in though The one shot I played in savage worlds felt like a movie scene the whole time

@StraussBelial said: I certainly love horror TTRPGs and the best GM I can think of is my best friend, that is a clinical psychologist and create NPCs inspired in what he knows and works with, so every time he describe those NPCs and show how they act, the realism of the situations keep all of us players on the edge of our seats, because how close those stories are to reality. He always GMs Lovecraftian horror themes and make the stories as close to reality as possible, so we can think "well, that could be almost possible", on a absolutely normal and everyday place. So the setting for the characters is not particularly frightening at all, but the situations are horrible. This GM existing is frightening enough to me haha