Rob Lang's free guide to organising your RPG

In this entry, I take a look into a stock way of organising your free RPG. If you are stuck for ideas on how to get your idea onto paper in a way that other people can understand and ultimately run a game from. Using an example, I present an ordering that would work for most games I've reviewed (and is used by some of them) but if you feel it's not right for your RPG, then that's ok. There is no definitive structure. I include Setting here as I believe that if you want to be certain your game is to be played, you'll need a setting and a sample adventure.

Your brain is fizzing with ideas and you've projectile vomited the thought froth at full throttle into a word processor, PDF'd it and launched it onto 1KM1KT. You've joined the all-too-jolly clan of internet philanthropists. Well done!

Then you're bathed in stark daylight, every wrinkle deepening. You're pounded by a heart thumping worry and cold perspiration. Will anyone play it? Have I got my idea across?

Sometimes great ideas get buried by the author not due to bad writing but through poor organisation, which is a shame because it is a relatively easy facet to fix. I'm guilty of most of the below but I am working on changing to this format. Don't forget that an RPG is both read and referred to. It needs to be reference material as well as something enjoyable to read.

The Structure

A game should be organised in a logical structure and so that it reads well (more below in my section on style). To help illustrate my point, I'm going to use a completely fictional game from someone who really didn't know what I was up to. These are the main sections I would include:

Front Cover

At the very least, it should contain the name of your game. It does not need to be a graphic, a bit of text in a nice font will do. I'd also include your name too. You've put a lot of work into it, I do hope you're proud of it so put your name on it. Or, if it is a work of filth and you deteste it, put someone else's name on it. Not mine. Perhaps a nom de plume?

Contents Page

A contents page should include all the major headings and sub headings. Lists of tables or images belong in the Appendix. Try and keep the contents to a couple of pages and compress the font or line space to fit more on a page. Lines can be compressed as people will only scan through the Contents, they are unlikely to read it like paragraphs of prose. Only optional if your game is under 7 pages.

Thank you / Version / Dedication (TYVD)

Optional. Chances are you're going to need to thank someone for helping you through the game and this is best place for it. Might be a spouse, girlfriend (if you have both, don't include both here), online cohorts of evil, a special plushie you sleep with, therapist or parole officer. Try and keep it to a page. Always put a version on and a date. If you don't like software versioning (1.1, 1.2 etc) use round numbers.

Introduction

The introduction is likely to be the first thing that the reader will go to after the cover, so ensure it is fluffless. It must include the following:

What is in the book? System? Setting? Sample adventure?

What is the genre of the setting? What are the major themes?

What will the characters do?

what sort of mechanic is it (dice/diceless/pool)?

Character Creation

Begin this section by listing all of the steps so that the read knows what is coming. Then describe each of the steps, giving examples when needed. Optionally, include a start-to-finish character generation. Make sure your example character will fit into the example adventure you provide. Don't put your skills inline unless there is only half a page of them. Put them in the Appendix.

Mechanics

If you have designed your own mechanics, start with an introduction to them. What sort of mechanic is it? Rolling dice? Lots of adding? After this brief introduction, deal with each section in turn. If you have a core concept that runs through them all (such as rolling dice to meet a target number), deal with that first. The sections you might have are Action resolution (doing stuff), Combat (hurting stuff) and Magic (doing unbelievable stuff). Give at least one example for each type.

Setting

Free games live on their setting. Mechanics can't be played alone by anyone but a group of statistical mathematicians and statistical mathematicians aren't allowed to gather in groups without a license. Laying out your setting information is very important. Begin with a general overview, much like you did in the overal introduction above. Give the main elements, recent history, who the main NPCs are. A page at most.

As the RPG is going to be used as both something to read as well as used as reference. With that in mind, I recommend describing your setting from the top and work down. For example, describe the world, the countries, the towns, the rulers and so on until you reach the campaign area for the sample adventure.

Gamesmaster Section

GM sections are important and at the very minimum include an Example Adventure. The example adventure should showcase your setting without relying too much on the system. Imagine the experience the roleplayers will have: They'll sit down. Make characters and the GM will begin. Make the adventure simple to understand and also get the point of the setting. Perhaps give example characters too.

Additional setting information should also be included. If there are things the players should no know but the GM should, then include them. It is normally the GM that presents the game to play to the group so make it delicious for them too.

Appendix

My science background makes me an Appendix fascist. Any item that disturbs the follow of explanation should go in the Appendix. Lists are the biggest culprit. Put them at the back, they won't get read through from start to finish and are used more like reference. This is my biggest weakness and when I got the test print of Icar from Lulu, I was appaulled that I had all the lists (Skills, Psychotheatrics) inline with the prose. It might feel a bit jarring to move the skill list from inside the character creation section but I assure you that it will be better off in actual use.

Examples of things that should really go in the Appendix are:

• Skills
• Equipment
• Spells
• Bestiary
• Charts and Tables
• Character Sheet

Back cover

I would have a bit of advertising blurb on the back and perhaps instructions to the print shop that it is ok to print for personal use. If a prospective GM has printed it and bound it nicely, the players will soon go to the back cover.

On style

In this section I talk about a few stylistic points about your RPG's organisation. Style is more ethereal than structure and as the beholder, your eye is king here. If you have no idea, then try these steps as a starting point.

• Two columns is a must. Unless you're printing a pamphlet.
• Use facing pages as most people will print on both sides of the paper. Be careful where you put your page numbers as they might end up in a crease. If you're not sure stick them in the middle of the page.
• Put images in the top right and bottom left as a preference. The top left and bottom right parts of the page is where the eye scans to most easily, so best to put your text there.

Fluff

Fluff is what I call any words or content that does not directly assist player or GM in playing the game. Fluff can appear in the following ways:

• Examples that do not demonstrate meaningful bits of the system
• A chatty style of writing can add hundreds of words.
• Justifications of why a particular rule was chosen over another
• Marketing speak about how revolutionary and epic the game is. It is ok to describe why it is different by over the top adjectives is fluff.
• Over-elaborate detail regarding a small part of the setting

Choosing good examples

Examples will help the GM firmly grasp your setting and mechanics. A single example should highlight a single facet of your mechanic or setting if possible. Examples can chain together, but each example should stand on its own too so that people can get a flavour of the example when refering it. Ensure your examples are fluff-free.

Calling all designers!

• Anything I've missed?
• Any horrid travesties here?
• Am I being too harsh?
• Do you know of any other tutorials outlining similar ideas?

All comments welcome, I'll build good ones back into the post.

A big thanks

To chgowiz for letting me construct this outlandish parody based entirely on his, erm, cartoon face! He had no idea what I was going to do with it, so I can only thank him in advance for having a sense of humour. If anyone does want to make chgowiz The RPG, then I suggest you ask him first. :-)