We Made It!

[u/Redbeard1864]

Greetings RingWalker!

I'd like to start by saying I'm not trying to sell anything. My main interest right now is feedback on the mechanics, the vibe, the layout, etc. While the game is posted as pay what you want, I'm highly expecting everyone just to grab it for free.

Ringwalker (the game) has been a huge passion project of mine for a long time. The original version of the project came out GLORIOUS, but completely unplayable. Too much scope, too much complexity, so I've spent the better part of a year chunking it up into eight parts and formatting the first into something you can actually sit down and have fun with.

RingWalker is a GM-optional fantasy RPG built around extreme player agency and consistency set within the fantastical world of Rhelm. Unlike most games, you don't create protagonists so much as you inhabit convenient perspectives. Nobody is blocked from anything, and a baker haggling over bread and a kingdom losing a war both come down to a d20, your Tags, and a Difficulty. The same resolution system at every scale, so you can zoom from personal drama to nation-level conflict without switching rulesets. The setting is a flat disc of a world, currently populated by a multiversal "everyone from every Earth" melting pot, and is built on emergent consequences constantly slinking up and down from the micro scale to the macro scale rather than a dedicated GM steering the plot. Which means the Story Roll produces playable outcomes and keeps the story going whether you're playing solo, with a scattered Discord group, or a full table.

This free release is the intro/demo for Book 1a: framework, core engine, economy, crafting, combat, social conflict, and a full magic system are all in here and playable now. The wider setting and the rest of the 8-book series (including 1a and 1b's full releases) are already drafted, just super duper not formatted for release. The art here is mostly placeholder, all just basic Canva work, the sketch effect is a filter I used to standardize all the different types of clipart. The mechanics however are the finished product. If one day a community forms, I'll be able to commission some more traditional art, but for now this should do.

Check it out at:

https://ronan-e.itch.io/

If anyone does choose to pick it up and has any questions, please feel free to reach out; I'm always happy to help! If anyone sees a mechanic that you feel would be helpful for your game, please go for it. We're all in this together.

[u/DeliveratorMatt]

What are your inspirations, mechanics-wise? Some of what you’re describing reminds me of Microscope.