By the time you reach the bottom of this page, you'll be a TTRPG designer.
Are you ready to try
Caltrop Core?
Choose a genre
cyberpunk fantasy grimdark horror lyric mecha mystery noir political intrigue post-apocalyptic romance sci-fi solarpunk steampunk superhero tactical western
Choose a tone
comforting contemplative dark epic intimate ironic irreverent funny morose outrageous silly warm
What are the players' goals?
THE SYSTEM
Here’s the core of the system, including two suggested "modes." In both cases, once you've rolled, take the highest result and reference it on the table to the right.For a stat-driven game, assign a number between 1 and 3 to each stat. When that stat comes into play, roll that many d4s.In a token-based game, players can gain tokens by performing certain actions. They can expend tokens to perform special abilities, rolling as many d4s as tokens they expend.
PLUG 'N' PLAY
Stat-Based
• Pick a number of stats and name each one.
• Will the game use a class system, a pick list, or a combination of both?
• What is the core gameplay loop?
• What does this loop say about your values?
TOKEN-BASED
• Pick a number of stats and name each one.
• Will the game use a class system, a pick list, or a combination of both?
• What is the core gameplay loop?
• What does this loop say about your values?
what do you want to say?
Mechanics encourage specific behaviors and therefore express values. What are players rewarded for? What do the rules discourage? What don't the rules address? Why?These games make stories. And stories will say something, whether you intend or not.
THERE'S MORE...
For the full documentation, including licensing information and additional tips & tricks, go to
https://titanomachyrpg.itch.io/caltropcore.
It's all free!
© Lex Kim Bobrow. All rights reserved.ATTRIBUTION TEXT TO INCLUDE WITH YOUR CALTROP CORE GAME:
This work is based on Caltrop Core, published by Titanomachy RPG. The Caltrop Core SRD is licensed for use under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.