So I just ran my first session of Trailhead, and it was a ton of fun and they even said they’d be interested in playing again. But yeah, like you all predicted, I learned a lot.

The system worked well in some ways and failed in others, and I hit exactly some of the roadblocks a few of you called out. For example, the Experience system itself held up fine, but the word “Experience” made it hard for players to come up with something active to actually use in a scene, especially with so few concrete examples in the text. I’m leaning toward renaming it to something like “Moxies.” I’ll also definitely be writing d20 tables with genre-specific examples, since a few players struggled to come up with something on the spot. I’m also toying with the idea of adding a third Experience slot.

Overall, I’m just really happy I took the plunge, and I’m already excited to make some adjustments and run it again. Thanks again for all the encouragement and feedback, I really appreciate it.

original post: https://www.reddit.com/r/RPGcreation/s/99NwomySVO

So I just ran my first session of Trailhead, and it was a ton of fun and they even said they’d be interested in playing again. But yeah, like you all predicted, I learned a lot.

The system worked well in some ways and failed in others, and I hit exactly some of the roadblocks a few of you called out. For example, the Experience system itself held up fine, but the word “Experience” made it hard for players to come up with something active to actually use in a scene, especially with so few concrete examples in the text. I’m leaning toward renaming it to something like “Moxies.” I’ll also definitely be writing d20 tables with genre-specific examples, since a few players struggled to come up with something on the spot. I’m also toying with the idea of adding a third Experience slot.

Overall, I’m just really happy I took the plunge, and I’m already excited to make some adjustments and run it again. Thanks again for all the encouragement and feedback, I really appreciate it.

original post: https://www.reddit.com/r/RPGdesign/s/D33JRW75dE

I'm a novice designer, and I built my game Trailhead as an intro to TTRPGs for my friends. Most of them have never played a tabletop RPG, and I spent a while looking for a game to try with them, but nothing quite fit the bill. I wanted something that's basically a launch pad into other d20 systems (but also give them a feel for other games too), with only the bare-essential rules.

So I made a rules-lite micro-RPG with three parts: a simple d20 resolution system with 4 stats, a Challenge system (a Success Track against a Timer), and a single resource called Grit that you spend to activate Experiences, like in Fate or Daggerheart. No skill lists, no classes. You can basically sit down create a character in like 5-10 minutes and start playing.

This sunday is the first time I put it in front of the friends I actually built it for, and I'm starting to doubt whether this was a good idea, or whether I've missed something major. Would you look at it and tell me if I've missed something here?

I've got this feeling it's somehow a) too thin and b) too complicated at the same time??? But I might also just be way too deep in theory land and should get off my butt and play it. IDK.

TL;DR: Made a game system for my friends, now I actually have to run it AND IT'S SCARY. Please send help.

PDF: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/stpiigi8y1udznuylbjo8/Trailhead_V0.14.pdf?rlkey=d6meuxvo4ufnxldpkmwyrabxk&st=reefuk0b

I'm a novice designer, and I built my game Trailhead as an intro to TTRPGs for my friends. Most of them have never played a tabletop RPG, and I spent a while looking for a game to try with them, but nothing quite fit the bill. I wanted something that's basically a launch pad into other d20 systems (but also give them a feel for other games too), with only the bare-essential rules.

So I made a rules-lite micro-RPG with three parts: a simple d20 resolution system with 4 stats, a Challenge system (a Success Track against a Timer), and a single resource called Grit that you spend to activate Experiences, like in Fate or Daggerheart. No skill lists, no classes. You can basically sit down create a character in like 5-10 minutes and start playing.

This sunday is the first time I put it in front of the friends I actually built it for, and I'm starting to doubt whether this was a good idea, or whether I've missed something major. Would you look at it and tell me if I've missed something here?

I've got this feeling it's somehow a) too thin and b) too complicated at the same time??? But I might also just be way too deep in theory land and should get off my butt and play it. IDK.

TL;DR: Made a game system for my friends, now I actually have to run it AND IT'S SCARY. Please send help.

PDF: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/stpiigi8y1udznuylbjo8/Trailhead_V0.14.pdf?rlkey=d6meuxvo4ufnxldpkmwyrabxk&st=reefuk0b

(Repost without the PDF Link since Reddit's Filters didn't seam to like it...)

I've always wanted to try designing my own rules light micro RPG, and I've finally given it a go.

My goal is to solve a common problem: D&D is by far the most well-known TTRPG out there, but starting with it can be quite overwhelming. I know there are many simple RPGs available, but I wanted to create something that uses similar mechanics to a couple of well known games while stripping away the excess.

The goal was to make it dead simple to teach, but still ensures that new players will feel familiar with some game concepts if they ever move on to another system.

I'd be really grateful if some of you could take a look at it!

Trailhead

Trailhead is a super simple system designed to get people acquainted with the concepts used in many popular tabletop roleplaying games (TTRPGs).

Design Goals

1. Fiction First: The game should prioritize the story being told over strict simulation. Rules exist to keep play fast and dramatic, not to model the world with precision.
2. The game is entirely playable with just a d20.
3. The game borrows concepts from many popular RPGs, making it an easy "trailhead" to other, more complex systems.
4. It must be fast to set up and easy to teach.
5. The core rules should fit on a single page, plus one for PCs and one for the GM.

Introduction

When playing Trailhead, most players will be playing a Hero (also called a Player Character or PC) in the story, and one player will play the Game Master (GM), who is responsible for the world. The GM describes the environment and plays the Non-Player Characters (NPCs) and monsters. The players’ job is to react and play off what the GM is putting down.

Power Level

In Trailhead, heroes are quite capable. However, before play, the group should decide what genre you are playing in and how powerful your heroes are. Are the players literal gods from Olympus, or just local crime-fighting vigilantes with nothing but their fists?

Because of the rules-lite nature of Trailhead, there is no mechanical power limit inherent to the system itself. This means that the scope of your abilities is dictated entirely by the fiction of the setting.

Basic Rules

In Trailhead, the story will take center stage most of the time, but the system gives players tools to resolve two specific things: Moments of Skill and Action Scenes.

Moments of Skill

Whenever a PC attempts a risky challenge where failure or success would change the outcome of the story, they roll a 20-sided die (1d20) and add their relevant bonus to determine the success of the action. They attempt to reach a Difficulty Class (DC) set by the GM:

• Easy: 8
• Challenging: 12
• Hard: 15
• Heroic: 20+

Matching or beating the DC means success.

If you beat the DC by 5 or more, your success comes with an extra edge, like useful information, a bonus effect, or no complication at the GM’s discretion. Likewise, if you miss the DC by 5 or more, the GM can add a real complication on top of the failure, rather than a simple no.

Rolling a Natural 1 or a Natural 20 on the die is always considered an automatic failure or an automatic success, respectively.

If circumstances heavily favor you, the GM might allow you to roll two d20s and keep the highest result is called Advantage. If on the other Hand circumstances hinder you, roll two d20s and keep the lowest. This is called Disadvantage.

Action Scenes

An action scene is any scene in the fiction where time matters on the order of seconds and stakes are high. That can be a fight, but it can also be a tense chase sequence, a high-stakes car stunt, or a desperate escape from a collapsing building.

An action scene flows back and forth. A Hero takes a turn, and then the GM takes a turn for one enemy (or an aspect of the environment). Each creature can only act ones during a round. This continues until all Heroes and enemies have acted. The round then resets.

Heroes in Trailhead

A Hero in Trailhead consists of four aspects: their Ability Scores, their Experiences, their Combat Prowess, and their Grit.

1. Ability Scores

You have four core ability scores. Assign the following numbers to them: +3, +2, +0, -1.

• Strength: athletics, physical power, endurance …
• Dexterity: agility, sneaking around, dodging, …
• Mind: intelligence, awareness, magic, tech, knowledge, …
• Charisma: charm, intimidation, leadership, deception, …

2. Experiences

This is what makes a character unique. Each character has Two Experiences (short, descriptive phrases about your past). It is recommended that one of these experiences is a Class Experience based on your heroic archetype, and the second is a personal background (e.g., Street Rat, Disgraced Noble). In theory, they could be anything, as long as they are not too broad and fit the fiction of the story. Examples are:

Master of Arms, Shadows & Secrets, Arcane Weaver, Divine Channeler, Mechanics Expert, always the move, made from pure metal, Fast Fingers, Nature Wanderer, Gentle Giant, …

3. Combat Prowess

• Hit Points (HP): Your maximum HP is 10 + 2 × your Strength. If you hit 0 HP, you fall unconscious until healed or rested. You regain up to 5 + your Strength HP on a short rest, and all your HP on a full rest.
• Defense: Your Defense is 10 + your Dexterity. Enemies must meet or beat this number attack on an attack to hurt you.
• Attack: To attack, roll a d20 + any Stat vs. the enemy’s Defense. If you hit, you deal 1 Damage. Rolling a Natural 20 increases the damage by 1. To deal more damage, you must spend Grit (see below).

4. Grit

Grit is the power that fuels your character and enables them to use their Experiences to become Heroes. In a powerful Mage, it could be their innate magic flowing through their veins or in a legendary Fighter, their unrivaled adrenaline. You start each session of Trailhead with 7 Grit.

Heroic Actions

You can spend up to 3 Grit to activate one of your Experiences, turning your roll into a Heroic Action. You gain a +2 bonus to your d20 roll for every Grit spent. If this is an attack, your damage also increases by 1 for each Grit spent. If you spend Grit on a Heroic Action and the die roll still results in a failure, you regain 1 Grit.

Powerful actions that require your particular heroic background (like a Mage casting a specific spell to locate a magic item, a Warrior cleaving multiple enemies at once, or a mechanic hacking a cyber-soldier to disable it) can only be attempted when spending Grit. If the action causes damage, the player may distribute it across all affected creatures. Fo particularly strong actions, the GM might require a minimum of 2 or 3 Grit to be spent.

Most Heroic Actions can be improvised in the moment. However, a couple of standard options have specific rules:

1. Heal. Restore 1 HP + 1 HP per Grit spent to an ally.
2. Guard. Spend 1 Grit to instantly redirect an attack against a nearby ally onto yourself instead. This does not consume your action for the round.
3. Support. Spend 1 Grit and describe how you use your Experiences to help an ally or hinder a foe. Your ally gains Advantage on their next roll, or an enemy suffers Disadvantage on their next action against an ally. You can spend up to 3 Grit at once to affect additional creatures (1 Grit per target).

Pushing Through

If you are out of Grit and want to use a Heroic Action anyway, you can spend your own HP instead, at a rate of 2 HP per Grit.

Recovering Grit

You regain Grit by resting in the fiction: 2 for a short rest, and reset to 7 for a full rest. You also gain 1 Grit whenever you roll a Natural 1 or a Natural 20.

Additionally, once per session, the GM can choose to award you 1 extra Grit whenever you intentionally use your Experiences to make a situation worse, more dramatic, or funnier (e.g., a Clumsy Mechanic accidentally dropping a wrench into a stealth machine, alerting the guards).

The Game Master

As the GM in Trailhead, you are the world-builder, the referee, and the primary narrator of the Story, but you are not playing against the players. Your job is to present challenging obstacles, and play to find out what happens.

Managing Action Scenes

Use the table below as your baseline for creating threats.

Type	HP	Defense	Attack	Damage	Role in Combat
Minion	1	8	+2	1	Fodder to make Heroes feel powerful.
Squad	4	10	+HP	+HP	A group of enemies. They Deals as much Damage as they have members.
Tough	4	12	+3	2	The standard threat; requires teamwork or Grit.
Boss	2 + (4 × #Hero)	15	+5	3	An epic, session-ending threat.

Bosses

Because Boss HP scales with party size (e.g., 18 HP for 4 players), they’ll survive the opening barrage. To make them feel truly dangerous smaller parties, have the Boss attack a number of targets each round equal to half the party size, rounded down (minimum 1). For example, against a 4-person party, the Boss makes 2 attacks per turn.