James DAmato - The Ultimate Micro-RPG Book: 40 Fast, Easy, and Fun Tabletop Games

Adams Media

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Copyright 2020 by James DAmato.

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First Adams Media trade paperback edition November 2020

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Interior design by Colleen Cunningham, Erin Alexander, Priscilla Yuen, and Julia Jacintho

Cover design by Julia Jacintho

Images 123RF; Getty Images

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: DAmato, James, editor.

Title: The ultimate micro-RPG book / edited by James DAmato, author of The Ultimate RPG Character Backstory Guide.

Description: Avon, Massachusetts: Adams Media, 2020.

Series: The ultimate RPG guide series.

Identifiers: LCCN 2020018054 | ISBN 9781507212868 (pb) | ISBN 9781507212875 (ebook)

Subjects: LCSH: Fantasy games.

Classification: LCC GV1469.6 .U58 2020 | DDC 793.93--dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020018054

ISBN 978-1-5072-1286-8

ISBN 978-1-5072-1287-5 (ebook)

Many of the designations used by manufacturers and sellers to distinguish their products are claimed as trademarks. Where those designations appear in this book and Simon & Schuster, Inc., was aware of a trademark claim, the designations have been printed with initial capital letters.

The games included in this book are for noncommercial private use only and are under the copyright of their individual creators. Any unauthorized copying, renting, exchanging, or sale of the games is a violation of copyright law and is strictly prohibited. The games should not be posted to the Internet in any way. Games should only be copied or shared electronically through secure means in order to facilitate gameplay between private groups.

Welcome to the world of micro-role-playing games! Whether youd like to brave the desolated landscape of an alien world, tell stories of high-paced medical drama, or even compete with one another in a break room at work to see wholl get sent home early, theres something for you here.

Since their invention in the 1970s, RPGs have entranced millions upon millions of players. The Ultimate Micro-RPG Book explores an exciting subset of this hobby. Whether you are new to the world of RPGs, or if youve been playing them for years, this book offers something for you. Many of the micro-games youll find here are innovative, vastly different from anything youve played. Others are more traditional and are a great way to break into role-playing games.

This is a collection of forty tabletop role-playing games, ranging from fantasy to horror to humor. Each game has everything you need to make characters, build a world, and start playing, all in about two pages per game. The pages are designed to be torn out of the book, so you can have them for easy reference. The games rules systems are explained in under a thousand words, so they wont take much time to learn. They dont take that long to play, eitherusually about 13 hours.

Above all, micro-RPGs are about storytelling. You and your fellow gamers tell stories; where you go with them is up to you. Because of the compressed nature of micro-RPGs, the events of the resulting stories are few, but the range is as wide as the players want. In the following How to Use This Book section, youll learn more about storytelling technique within RPGs and how to make your experience even more fun. This section will explain the general rules of micro-RPGs, how theyre structured, and more. If youre an experienced RPG player, you may want to skip the first part of this section; however, if this is your first time playing RPGs, this will help you understand how to play them and what to expect.

Let the stories begin! There are worlds for you to explore!

In this section youll learn some basic techniques for role-playing. Youll also learn about establishing a safe and friendly atmosphere for your game, ensuring that all the players feel comfortable and can enjoy the game equally. Finally, youll learn how the games in this book are set up and how you can identify which games will best suit you.

First of all, just what is an RPG? A role-playing game (RPG) is a type of game in which players generate fiction through shared imagination. The core concept behind RPGs is similar to imagination-based games people play when they are young, like house, using dolls or action figures, and other simple games of pretend. These types of games call on players to inhabit a role and interact through shared imagination.

Tabletop RPGs published in game manuals introduce structure to this process. Published RPGs, or role-playing systems, help players establish goals, track abstract information, and resolve conflicts. Rule systems and randomizers (such as dice or cards) help adults make sense of what comes naturally to most children.

You might already be familiar with some well-known RPGs such as Dungeons & Dragons. When most people think of RPGs, they picture sword and sorcery stories told with polyhedral dice. However, RPGs have grown well beyond these roots to encompass every genre and set of mechanics imaginable. In this book youll find games featuring horror, science fiction, romance, comedy, and so much more. The rules will call for dice, cards, handwritten notes, drawing maps, and even drawing temporary tattoos on each others bodies!

Its a celebration of all the many wonderful things role-playing can be. Hopefully this book will help you discover a new passion, or at least a new way to enjoy something you already love.

A micro-RPG is a role-playing game with rules that are no longer than a few pages. They can be as short as 100200 words. There is no true defining factor for micro-games beyond their size, though they are typically grounded in specific scenarios or concepts. Like haiku or flash fiction they find boundless opportunities for creativity within limited space.

Designers of all experience levels use micro-RPGs to explore new mechanics, experiment with fresh game concepts, or simply create games that wouldnt work on a larger scale. While small games have existed since the early days of RPGs with photocopied ashcans and game zines being sold and passed around at conventions, the advent of online publishing has made micro-games a staple of modern design.

In the past, micro-RPGs have had something of an ephemeral quality, appearing at specific events, getting buried in forums, or getting lost in a sea of creative brilliance as they vie for attention against more polished-looking projects. This book collects innovative games created by veteran and new designers to bring you an exciting cross section of what is possible in the world of micro-design.