The Rise of Indie Tabletop RPGs: Why They Matter

 


 

The tabletop roleplaying game hobby has seen a surge of creativity and innovation in recent years thanks to the rise of "indie RPGs"— independent RPGs created by small teams or solo designers. While Dungeons & Dragons remains the 800 pound gorilla, countless indie RPGs have emerged exploring new genres, mechanics, and styles of play.

What are some indie RPGs? Apocalypse World, Blades in the Dark, Monsterhearts, Dream Askew, Urban Shadows, and ioNRD are just a few examples. They cover themes like post-apocalyptic survival, steampunk heist crews, urban fantasy, romance, and science-fiction.

Indie RPGs are changing and expanding what tabletop roleplaying games can be:

Focused Genres and Themes 

Rather than trying to be all things to all players, many indie RPGs narrow in on a specific genre or theme and optimize their mechanics to best support that vision.

New Mechanics 

Indie designers experiment with fresh takes on RPG mechanics like "forget the dice" narrative systems, clock-based tension mechanics, and mechanic mashups from multiple game genres.

Emphasis on Narrative 

Many indie RPGs shift the balance away from mechanics and challenge towards crafting compelling stories together around the table.


Smaller Rules Footprint 

indie RPGs tend to have fewer, tighter rules that focus on the game's unique creative vision rather than trying to do everything.

Accessible and Affordable 

Many indie RPGs are sold as affordable PDFs or print-on-demand, lowering financial barriers to entry.

Community-Driven

Rather than coming from big corporations, indie RPGs spring from passionate creators within the community who want to explore new design spaces.

Overall, the rise of independent tabletop roleplaying games has infused the hobby with new creative energy, generating innovative game designs that push the boundaries of the medium and attracting a wider range of diverse players. The future of RPGs may look very different thanks to the rising tide of indie designers challenging conventions and forging their own unique paths.


Unique Mechanics

Here are some of the most unique mechanics I've seen in indie RPGs:

• Apocalypse World's "MC Moves" - The GM has a list of "moves" they follow based on the fiction rather than being omniscient. It puts GMing on more structured footing.

• Blades in the Dark's "Position and Effect" dice - Players roll a set of special dice to determine both their Position (advantage or disadvantage) and Effect (success level) on actions.

• Monsterhearts' "Chargen Cascade" - Characters are created by having players take turns choosing aspects that build upon what was chosen before, fostering interconnected narratives.

• Dungeon World's "Defy Danger" move - Rather than rolling separate skill checks, players roll 2d6 and add a relevant stat to "defy danger" in general, unifying mechanics.

• Fiasco's "Playsets" - The game includes different "playsets" tailored to set up particular narrative scenarios with unique twists, complications and relationships.

• Microscope's "Timeline Montage" - Players jump around a timeline non-linearly, creating events and eras that inspire one another in a freeform manner.

• Dogs in the Vineyard's "Escalation Dice" - Players roll "escalation dice" based on narrative developments, adding them to the drama dice pool to increase tension as the scenario unfolds.

• Powered by the Apocalypse games' "Playbooks" - Characters are created using pregenerated "playbooks" with built-in mechanics and flavor instead of assembling from classes/races.

Those are just a few examples of the creative and narrative-focused mechanics many indie RPGs bring to the table! The use of mechanics to reinforce specific themes and styles of play is a real strength of innovative indie games.


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