One of the biggest differences between video games, and tabletop roleplaying games, is the social layer on top. Yet... most TTRPGs (even the most popular ones) don't consider it when designing the game.

We designers often forget that: Rulesets don't live in a vacuum.

For background -- I was in the video games industry for 7 years prior to this, running a team of 20, and continuing development of a 10+ year old MMOFPS that had tens of thousands of players logging in every month, and made millions of dollars every year.

That game, PlanetSide 2, was pretty atypical. There was a goal to the game, loosely... an infinite battle where one of three competing factions would conquer a continent (temporarily) before fighting on the next one. But it was mostly a sandbox, where players would gravitate toward a niche they were proficient in (like driving tanks, flying planes, constructing buildings, or playing infantry) and find a way to make the game fun for themselves.

The thing is, that due to the breadth of different playstyles, and loose objectives of the game, you had a lot of conflicting demands from the community. Any update to the game would ultimately come at the cost to someone's fun in one of those niche spaces.

Now consider the world's most popular roleplaying game, Dungeons & Dragons.

There are as many different ways to play the game as there are people in the world, because each table dynamic is different. It can be rough going to find folks that are on the same wavelength as you, and also want the same things out of the game as you do.

The culture factors into it a lot as well.

Consider the way Gary Gygax played the game 50 years ago, where rulings over rules prevailed (due in part to a lack of existing rules;) to how it's been played since the early 2000s with the invention of Session Zero (and rise of the rules lawyer;) to the even more recent introduction of modern safety tools, and influence media has had on the audience (think Critical Role and Stranger Things.)



Beyond some loose advice in the DMG and PHB and lot of optional rules -- there isn't one "correct" way to play the game. And that's great! It's part of why D&D is the amazing game it is today.

However, D&D hasn't made it any easier to decide how to play the game at your table, either.

The process of finding the "right" people and what they want from a game will most often fall to the GM... and even then -- folks may not know what they want until they start playing, GM included. This can create unnecessary friction at the table, and dissatisfying games (or characters) that feel more like work than play.

If you can get everyone on the same page, right from the start, the more likely you'll be to find success. That's one of Distal's super powers...

We've designed it with the social layer in mind.

During character creation, the background system ensures you will be working with your GM to ensure that your backstory, your contacts, and other character features all come into play, because they are literal game mechanics for you and the GM to grab hold of.

During Session Zero you will be working with the other players at your table, to develop an organization, which helps determine the themes of the game, helps show the GM what you're interested in doing, and is an actual team building exercise that helps you and the GM feel out the player dynamics at the table.

These are just two easy-to-grasp examples... but much of the design of Distal considers your table dynamic, from start to finish, in an effort to set the right expectations.

It's visible in the aspects of the game we emphasize, how we design our character sheets, how you enter initiative, how you progress your character, and every step along the way.

In a game as broad as Distal (or Dungeons & Dragons,) knowing what your players want, and how you can all help each other have fun -- is gold.

If you want to hear more about the game, right from the horse's mouth -- I sat down with the folks at Role Wise recently to talk about it. It was a great interview that I think you'll enjoy a lot, if you're a fan of the TTRPG space as a whole.

Click here to watch.


Let me know what you think! Thanks, folks!
-Wrel

Hey there, folks. I'd like to share a few quick updates and timelines for all the free stuff you'll be able to pick up and experience later this month.

This Wednesday, we'll be previewing the next alpha packet and answering your questions. Be sure to leave comments beneath this update so we can bring them up on stream!
-> Add a reminder to your Apple, Google, or Yahoo calendar.

May Monthly Digest
During the Livestream, we'll also be dropping the Distal Monthly Digest for May, for free! The digest is a lightweight, monthly supplement dedicated to:

Here's a peek at one of the spreads in this month's edition.

If you missed the April edition, you can download it for free here.


Alpha 06 Packet
The next (and final) free alpha packet is coming along nicely, and the visuals are getting a bit of a glow-up, too! Alpha 06 attempts to polish some rough edges with the rules, and address slowdowns where they exist -- for example: character creation is getting a cleanup, particularly in the sluggish equipment selection step.

Here's an example page using the updated layout.


That said...

I'm interested in hearing how many folks have given the alpha material a run, and how many are waiting for a full launch. Let me know in the poll below, and thumbs up, reply, and comment to help boost the page!

Thanks folks!
-Wrel

The title of Embergut is given to those who've shamelessly entered a pact with a powerful being from the Plane of Fire.

The being offers a portion of its power, and marks you with a prominent brand in exchange. For many, this mark is kept a secret from the world, especially in the sphere of politics where stooping so low for power is, at its most generous, a point of controversy.

--

Hey there folks, today I'd like to share some details on one of the classes in Distal, and show off some of the unique mechanics it has access to.

The Embergut class has "warlock" feels with a pyromantic twist, and their abilities convey the volatility of power drawn from the Plane of Fire.

Embergut have access to a handful of spell slots (renamed invocations, in the next alpha update,) that can be recovered during downtime. This is pretty standard fare. However, they can also Bargain for more.

Bargaining for Spells
Once every 24 hours, an Embergut can speak to their pact entity through a telepathic connection -- and they must choose a specific attribute (Str, Dex, Fort, Int, or Wis,) when doing so. They immediately gain a number of extra invocations equal to the attribute they chose. So, if you had 3 Dex, you immediately gain 3 extra invocations.

So, if you're in combat, and really need some extra spell juice -- you can always take the devil's bargain...

But here's the drawback... For the next 24 hours, that stat becomes a -2, as you've effectively sacrificed that part of yourself to your pact entity for them to do -- whatever it is they do with it. Eeeesh.

This is a moment of radical transformation. Your body becomes charred and ashen, and molten rivulets replace your veins. Maybe your Dexterity depletion is represented by sacrificing your arms or legs to the all-devouring furnace.



Fortunately, once your Bargain ends (24 hours later,) your attributes return to what they were.

Power and Control
A lot of the Embergut's dynamic is a give and take between stability and chaos, power and control. This is also represented by their use of willpower die, which they lean on far more than other classes in the game.

One of the class signatures you can choose at level 3, is that of the Volatile Embergut. When your pool of willpower die is empty, you can gain a willpower die if you take on the burning condition in exchange. Separately, whenever they're burning, they can "combust" to deal damage in an area around them, at the cost of willpower.

So, set yourself on fire. Get a willpower die. While you're on fire, expend that willpower die to explode! Synergy!

Alternatively, another signature you can choose at level 3 is that of the Herding Embergut, which allows you to summon just a lil guy known as a Brandling. These lil guys act as a (limited time) companion that can bite your enemies, detonate into flames -- or be sacrificed as fuel for one of your other abilities.

There are loads of fun abilities and setups you can take advantage of when playing the Embergut, and the timeless trope of being on the leash of an entity more powerful than yourself leaves a little fuel for the narrative fire.

Let me know what you think about the Embergut, and if you dig these class overviews in the comments section!

Thanks folks!
-Wrel

Hey there, folks.

Work is underway on the final alpha version that will be available for free before moving into closed beta testing. Since the game is in a pretty good place overall, we're taking some time to assess the highs and lows to see what still needs to be improved.

Example: Building a character is loads of fun -- until you get to equipment selection, which feels like a slog.

Polishing those rough areas is our mission with Alpha 06, and we've already started addressing some of them.  In the next alpha, you'll see (at the very least) the following...

If you have any alpha feedback to share, join the conversation in our development Discord!

On yesterday's Livestream, I answered a lot of great questions from you all, announced the giveaway winner, and talked about what's on the horizon!

Watch the VOD here.

We're now a eight days into the campaign, and we've got a ways to go before we hit our campaign goal. If you can, help spread the word, and keep pushing!

Thanks all!
-Wrel

Distal launched almost a whole week ago, how are we doing?

Tomorrow's livestream (May 1st, 1pm EDT) we'll check in on the project, preview some design work being done on the next (and likely final) alpha version of the game! We'll announce the giveaway winner on stream, as well, all you need to do is play the BackerKit Mini-Game below!
--> Convert to local time, or add to your Apple, Google, or Yahoo calendar.

Yesterday we ended up in the #10 Trending 🔥 spot, thanks to all the folks engaging and pledging! Let's keep pushing! Take the following actions and get a chance at winning a free pledge upgrade.

Giveaways upgrade an existing pledge to a higher tier (or add a bonus standard edition book to a limited edition pledge,) but you must be in a place we can ship to, and pay for the shipping when we send our surveys. You can't win a giveaway multiple times... but you can still help the project by playing the game!

Thanks folks, let's keep it going!
-Wrel




Side Note: To the folks that won giveaways in the last stream (BenBRockN, Kittling, Novy, and IncendiumRPGs), I've got your names down. Originally I was going to send giveaway codes to hold onto, but it turns out that BackerKit doesn't let me match up usernames and email addresses until after the campaign ends. No worries,  either way though, I've got you covered!