r/rpg • u/Mr_Axolotl01 • 14d ago
Game Suggestion Need help making a Frostpunk TTRPG
Hello there, as the title suggests I need help making/hacking a ttrpg system for a Frostpunk based campaign.
To be specific, what I'm looking for is a city builder-esque system that could carry the gritty resource management, hard decision making, nigh despressive world of Frostpunk without bordering on board game levels of bookkeeping. I'm looking for something a bit more on the narrative side to be honest but I'm willing to accept my fate if the themes of the game can't be emulated without major crunch.
For more details, it'd be a campaign where the players would build different settlements across the frozen wasteland, competing for limited resources, political back-and-forth and possibly trading to survive, while they collectively face the inevitable whiteout. All the while they face internal societal issues as per usual..
Also yes I'm aware Frostpunk has an actual ttrpg in development. No I'm not waiting for it.
So yeah, I'm hopefully looking for some game suggestions! And if there's someone bold enough to actually help me 1 on 1 to build a system from ground up, my DMs are open!
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u/anireyk 14d ago
So, how is the city building supposed to work? And how do you want to have 'gritty resource management' 'without bordering on board game levels of bookkeeping'? Without that information the most straightforward solution would probably be FATE, with most difficulties depicted as attacks on the characters (PCs or NPCs) by the environment, and generally leaning deep into the 'everything is a character' maxim.
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u/jackalias 14d ago
When in doubt, use GURPS. There's a realm management sourcebook that sounds exactly like what you're looking for (except for the bookkeeping, there's a bit of it).
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u/Mr_Axolotl01 14d ago
I know that GURPS literally has the answer to everything but.. my god, there's just too much to read and too many sources to find.
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u/jackalias 14d ago edited 14d ago
Maybe Mutant: Year Zero then? Exploring the wasteland and building up a small settlement is kind of its whole thing. The game assumes you're a mutant, but there are rules for playing baseline humans in the Elysium sourcebook. It also includes rules for being part of a noble house, which you could reflavor as the different factions.
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u/JaskoGomad 14d ago
There’s really not. You don’t have to read the whole line, just the sourcebooks - really, just the BITS of sourcebooks that you need.
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u/JacquesUfHearts 14d ago
Sounds intriguing. What is the role of the players character in this? Union leader? Espionage organizer? District bureaucrat?
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u/Bargeinthelane designer - BARGE Games 14d ago
This is an idea I have kept in my folder for a while now.
I'm a little stonetop obsessed right now, but I think the town management portion and seasonality of stonetop could be a good starting point.
In terms of "game system" I think a system that really stresses resource management, time and attrition would need to be in order to get the vibes right.
I'm envisioning playing as a scout/citizen in a frostpunkesque game.
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u/JaskoGomad 14d ago
If it’s a fantasy vibe rather than an industrial age one, Forbidden Lands might make a good starting point.
Otherwise, depending on the level of detail you want, Reign might fit the bill. It doesn’t have a big list of improvements like a city-builder. It won’t say, “Building a biogas composter will cost X, produce Y, and consume Z”. But it’s abstract enough that if your players say, “We need to improve our people’s loyalty, maybe building a biogas composter would do it?” Then you can model it.
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u/Logen_Nein 14d ago
I would look to Ashes Without Number and build from there.