Designing TTRPGs For Dummies by Martin Buinicki & Joseph Goodman

Author:Martin Buinicki & Joseph Goodman [Buinicki, Martin & Goodman, Joseph]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781394361915
Publisher: Wiley
Published: 2025-10-17T00:00:00+00:00

Making the mechanics thematic

Some TTRPGs fit mechanics to their game thematically primarily by way of visual design. A 20-sided die might have an image rather than the number 20, or the cards players use may feature art from the game. Using art this way makes sense, but I hope by now I’ve convinced you that you can go even further.

The tools you use in your mechanics work thematically depending on the primary feelings you want your game to encourage. Pulling blocks from a tower creates tension. Timers bring a sense of urgency. Drawing and flipping a card feels suspenseful. Adding dice to a pool so that players roll a fistful of them during key moments builds excitement. Opposed rolls or cards work well when games emphasize conflict.

I include letter tiles in my game SpellCaster because the act of forming words from randomly chosen letters matches the language-based magic system in my world. Playing games helps you see connections between mechanics and their worlds.

You have several additional ways to make the mechanics thematic, ranging from the rules themselves to the language you use to describe them. Here are a few:

Increase uncertainty and variability. Some genres, like horror, thrive on unpredictability. (I’m looking at you, jump scares!) Though you may be unable to reproduce these kinds of effects directly, you can use the mechanics to increase uncertainty by providing tables for random effects when PCs do things like cast spells, or adding wild cards to decks used during encounters. Timers work well for surprising players, particularly if they’re unaware that the clock is ticking. Dungeon Crawl Classics (DCC), an Old School Renaissance/Revival (OSR) game that thrives on unpredictability, uses a Luck mechanic, and the GM can ask players to make a Luck check to determine whether their PCs accomplish unlikely actions — or suffer from an unfortunate event!

Provide PCs with tools to affect their fates. Games that emphasize heroic action or epic storytelling often include rules that give players more opportunities to influence the outcome of events. These games may provide players with a certain number of points their PCs can spend when attempting an action. They may get the chance to have their PCs try again if they fail at a critical moment, provided they accept potentially worse consequences for failing a second time. Rarely are these kinds of benefits infinite, and they often carry potential costs as well. Blades in the Dark, for example, includes a Scoundrel’s Luck rule that lets PCs push themselves during certain actions, increasing the likelihood of success. However, doing so costs the PC Stress points that can ultimately knock a PC out of the action.

Use genre-specific terms for rules. Because Blades in the Dark is a TTRPG focusing on the underworld, the term Scoundrel’s Luck works nicely to describe a mechanic that essentially involves modifying a dice roll. The more your players use language that fits your genre and world when describing even the mechanics of your game, the more thematic your rules will be. That’s why you often find terms like grit in Old West games, or heroic surge in fantasy games.

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