Guiding Principles for Design

Draw Steel Inspiration

If MCDM created Draw Steel which is a Heroic, Tactical, Cinematic, Fantasy RPG...

I want to create a Hardboiled, Mysterious, Narrative, Low Fantasy RPG. These 4 words should ultimately guide all design. If there is a question about how to proceed, referring to at least 1 of these words is the answer to finding a path forwards.

Mysterious

A Mystery or question is at the heart of story, and the players discover it through play.

Also, the world is filled with Awe and Wonder. That feeling of awe could include pure terror, witnessing incredible power, or finding something truly novel or beautiful.

intelligence, ingenuity, the logical interpretation of evidence, and sometimes sheer luck.

Hardboiled / Morally Complex

For our purposes, Hardboiled will also mean "morally complex". Which is to say, there are morally difficult decisions to be made by the Players/PCs, and the story centers around these difficult decisions.

It is NOT morally ambiguous or morally grey. Moral complexity is characterize by their being difficult moral choices, not obscured ones.

The common argument is that hardboiled novels are an extension of the wild west and pioneer narratives of the 19th century. The wilderness becomes the city, and the hero is usually a somewhat fallen character, a detective or a cop. At the end, everything is a mess, people have died, but the hero has done the right thing or close to it, and order has, to a certain extent, been restored.

Additionally "Hardboiled" is a response to institutional corruption and the terrible things that happen in the world, but in a moral or ethical direction. There is awe, but an experienced character knows not to be taken in by it, lest you yourself become corrupt and terrible.

hard boiled 'paints a backdrop of institutionalized social corruption'

A tough, cynical guy with a gun and a lot of Street Smarts, who solves mysteries with dogged persistence rather than astounding insight, the Hardboiled Detective was America's Darker and Edgier response to the classic ideal of the Great Detective.

Bad behavior (monsters and how they were created) is due to suffering, not malice.

Narrative

The story is more important than anything else.

Low Fantasy

Typically the source of the awe and wonder will be the unknown world, and unknown magic. The world used to have a grand civilization who knew the world and knew deep magics, but that culture is now lost to time. All that is left are ruins.

There is no teleporting, speaking to others across vast distances, or wild magic effects like you might see in superhero or heroic fantasy.
It should be like...
Lord of the Rings, where magic is rare and strange.
Witcher, where few can use magic without a high price, and those who can are typically outcasts.
Game of Thrones, where magic matters and sets important things in motion, but isn't very accessible by most people.
https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/LowFantasy

HOWEVER- There should be monster hunting. it's an important fantasy to meet. A la The Witcher.

Setting

Corrupt Forest

The forest is a character of its own. It is both a safe place, with resources and refuge, and scary almost digestive properties. The corrupt part is different than the regular part. they are two personalities clashing.

Mystical places that touch other realms. The magic used from these places is dangerous (Name of the Wind Felurian, hell magic corrupting or possessing one's mind)
Institutional corruption (church, military, political system)
Ruins of cultures and magics lost
Superstitious locals

Adventure Ideas:

Einfelst Wilds adventure
Trek north into dangerous lands
Recover an ancient artifact (dungeon and gems)

GM Setup

4 Corner Opposition
The Mystery
Party Org
PC intrinsic motivation (as well as extrinsic) (PC connections to existing NPCs)
PC's relationships as mad-libs
The City & Surrounding Area is a Character

Mood-board items

Low Fantasy / Unknown or misunderstood magic
Moral Ambiguity
Mystery / Question at the heart of it
corrupt forest.
other realms- hell/faewild
Not just scary/creepy, but filled with AWE and WONDER.
That feeling of awe could include pure terror, witnessing incredible power, or finding something truly novel or beautiful

Inspirations

Priest
The Witcher
LotR
Batman (legal system is almost as corrupt as organized crime)
Princess Mononoke

Player Setup

Types of Orgs

Merc company
MIST
Explorer’s Society (nerds)
City Watch
Knightly Order
Military Squadron
Pirate Band
Mercantile/Trade Guild
Arcane Order/Mystic Circle
Secret cabal
Theatrical troupe
Hunter conclave
Druid circle/witch coven
noble court/regent court or claimant devotee
monastic/religious order

PC intrinsic motvations

enneagram
obligations
upbringing
flaws
NPC connections/relationships
Why did you join the org?

Class Ideas

https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/FantasyCharacterClasses

Fighters

Knight / Soldier
Thug / Fury
Spellsword / Sellsword / Merc / Privateer / Redmason

Rogues

Thief
Assassin
Shadow / Nightblade / Mistwalker
Scout / Spy / Operative / Infiltrator

Clerics

Priest / Healer
Battle Cleric / Crusader
Occultist / Witch Doctor / Bonekeeper
Bonespeaker. Different bones are hollowed out and called through to different effects.
Templar / Paladin / Paragon

Rangers

Sniper
Headhunter / Savage / Merc
Beast Master / Corvid Knight / Falconer
Trapper / Woodsman

Others

Bard / Minstrel / Skald
Monk / Pugilist / Shapeshifter (werewolf)
Alchemist

Notes:

Each class would have some burden, secret, or inherent flaw. The Paragon feels the need to be perfect. The Privateer has enemies looking for them. etc. That means class would tie into a PC's personal outlook and goals.

No magic classes. Finding magic is part of the setting.

There are 2 ways to go. Either the Ironsworn route of Assets (companions, paths, combat talents) (and maybe you can pick certain ones under certain classes), or the "My class is everything" route.

For example, the Corvid Knight is probably from the place in the world where Corvid Knights were created. This approach may be better for a smaller scale / indie game.

Names

Superstitious
Thaumaturgy
Mercurial
Portent
Portentious!