Matt | Krasiph | Mörk Sol is FUNDED!
@krasiph.bsky.social
(they/him)
Ex-software engineer, now full time TTRPG designer, actor, & artist.
https://infinite-citadel.com/
Creator of The Beckoning Dream, a surrealist tarot deck builder TTRPG.
Mörk Sol 600%+ Funded on Kickstarter! https://morksol.com/kickstart
Ex-software engineer, now full time TTRPG designer, actor, & artist.
https://infinite-citadel.com/
Creator of The Beckoning Dream, a surrealist tarot deck builder TTRPG.
Mörk Sol 600%+ Funded on Kickstarter! https://morksol.com/kickstart
I've been able to get # of encounters very low in my home games, even at high levels, because I've implemented ways of simulating that necessary resource drain. There's a rich design space there that the DMGs have left horrendously untouched because they don't name the actual goal.
November 25, 2025 at 9:37 PM
I've been able to get # of encounters very low in my home games, even at high levels, because I've implemented ways of simulating that necessary resource drain. There's a rich design space there that the DMGs have left horrendously untouched because they don't name the actual goal.
For example, have an environmental effect that drains hit dice and/or spell slots. Require the door to the boss be opened with some level of spell & vital energy. Create meta-currencies around limited use features that *aren't* spell slots so that other builds can contribute to these sorts of things
November 25, 2025 at 9:36 PM
For example, have an environmental effect that drains hit dice and/or spell slots. Require the door to the boss be opened with some level of spell & vital energy. Create meta-currencies around limited use features that *aren't* spell slots so that other builds can contribute to these sorts of things
That's totally fair. I would blame the bounce on "one is a number, the other is math" 🤣
That said, both are just ways of achieving the actual goal of resource drain. I wish they had emphasized that instead, and possibly provided alternative methods.
That said, both are just ways of achieving the actual goal of resource drain. I wish they had emphasized that instead, and possibly provided alternative methods.
November 25, 2025 at 9:35 PM
That's totally fair. I would blame the bounce on "one is a number, the other is math" 🤣
That said, both are just ways of achieving the actual goal of resource drain. I wish they had emphasized that instead, and possibly provided alternative methods.
That said, both are just ways of achieving the actual goal of resource drain. I wish they had emphasized that instead, and possibly provided alternative methods.
That paragraph helps, but it's not the level of guidance one would need to really get it if you don't already get it. It's *hinting* at a core design feature rather than banging you over the head with it.
"Resource drain" needs to be in the text. Talking about the *why* alongside the how.
"Resource drain" needs to be in the text. Talking about the *why* alongside the how.
November 25, 2025 at 8:27 PM
That paragraph helps, but it's not the level of guidance one would need to really get it if you don't already get it. It's *hinting* at a core design feature rather than banging you over the head with it.
"Resource drain" needs to be in the text. Talking about the *why* alongside the how.
"Resource drain" needs to be in the text. Talking about the *why* alongside the how.
Tbf, I say "6 Encounter Day" and you say "Daily XP Budget" and we're talking about the same thing from two different angles. The point is that the game wants you to engage against a certain level of threat (XP Budget) over the course of multiple encounters.
November 25, 2025 at 8:26 PM
Tbf, I say "6 Encounter Day" and you say "Daily XP Budget" and we're talking about the same thing from two different angles. The point is that the game wants you to engage against a certain level of threat (XP Budget) over the course of multiple encounters.
GM's disappearing into a cave and attaining some godlike level of enlightenment, constructing a such a finely tuned masterpiece that the stars weep as their hair falls out from stress.
The books don't give you the tools you need for Single Encounter Days, and thus you end up an alchemist.
(4/4)
The books don't give you the tools you need for Single Encounter Days, and thus you end up an alchemist.
(4/4)
November 25, 2025 at 4:47 PM
GM's disappearing into a cave and attaining some godlike level of enlightenment, constructing a such a finely tuned masterpiece that the stars weep as their hair falls out from stress.
The books don't give you the tools you need for Single Encounter Days, and thus you end up an alchemist.
(4/4)
The books don't give you the tools you need for Single Encounter Days, and thus you end up an alchemist.
(4/4)
Accepting that the PCs will curb stomp your "balanced" encounter into the dirt. A single encounter of appropriate XP amounts *cannot* do the work of six.
(3/4)
(3/4)
November 25, 2025 at 4:45 PM
Accepting that the PCs will curb stomp your "balanced" encounter into the dirt. A single encounter of appropriate XP amounts *cannot* do the work of six.
(3/4)
(3/4)
Encounters so hard the dice could go "LOL TPK" at any moment. You're having to compensate for PCs having all their resources, and thus are forced to deploy monsters that push the limits of bounded accuracy.
(2/4)
(2/4)
November 25, 2025 at 4:44 PM
Encounters so hard the dice could go "LOL TPK" at any moment. You're having to compensate for PCs having all their resources, and thus are forced to deploy monsters that push the limits of bounded accuracy.
(2/4)
(2/4)
Reposted by Matt | Krasiph | Mörk Sol is FUNDED!
Stay tuned to @infinite-citadel.com and Mörk Sol for some exciting stuff that was dreamed up this weekend!
November 24, 2025 at 1:07 PM
Stay tuned to @infinite-citadel.com and Mörk Sol for some exciting stuff that was dreamed up this weekend!